LEARN NC

K–12 teaching and learning · from the UNC School of Education

Postcards of the past

Students will participate in Heritage Day activities that will enhance students' awareness of their heritage. They will take digital pictures of activities to include on a web page and research and report on information gathered. Students will create a web page to present their information.

A lesson plan for grade 3 English Language Arts, Information Skills, and Social Studies

By Karol Leaptrott, Rebecca Watt, and Regina Welsted

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Learning outcomes

Language Arts

Students will be able to draft a postcard to their grandparents (or another important person from that generation) using information generated from their picture of Heritage Day as well as integrating their experience with the research of the event.

Technology

The student will be able to use the digital camera to capture the image in which they will report and present in a multimedia format.

Social Studies

The students will be able to analyze the similarities and differences of families in different times.

Teacher planning

Time required for lesson

6 Days

Materials/resources

  • Books: Novels depicting family life in other times like Wilder’s Little House series, or Sarah Plain and Tall. Reference books and other non-fiction books about the past like the Exploring our Past Series.
  • Community Members sharing activities from the past.
  • Pencil and Paper for each student.
  • Grading rubrics for each student.
  • Thinking Map Double Bubble.

Technology resources

  • Digital Camera
  • Computer
  • Kidspiration software can be used to create Thinking maps, but there is a double bubble attached for people who do not have Kidspiration. Pencil and paper work, too!
  • Acceptable Use Policy on file for each student.

Pre-activities

The teacher reads the story Sarah Plain and Tall by Patricia McLaughin. The teacher makes available a book center with the Exploring Our Past series and The Little House Series. A class discussion about past and present community life will be culminated with a compare and contrast thinking map. Children will decide which activity they will photograph and research. Allow at least 2 days for the preactivities.

Activities

Day One

Discussion of the elements and expectations of the project will be presented to the children. The students will be given the scoring rubrics.

Day Two

  1. Demonstrate use of digital camera.
  2. Students listen to and photograph the community members with the digital camera as they share activities of the past. Pictures will be included on the web page.
  3. Students write in their journal about their activity.

Day Three

  1. Students go to library media center to research their chosen activity.
  2. They write facts discovered from research in the media center using a double bubble map format. (comparing daily life, past and present)

Day Four

  1. Using the information from the double bubble map the students will write a rough draft for their postcard. The audience for the postcard is a grandparent or another person from that generation the student knows.
  2. Using partners the students will edit each other’s writing.

Day Five

The students will write a corrected version of their postcard.

Day Six

The students will go to the computer lab and type their corrected postcard. They will choose their digital picture and then they will create a webpage entitled Postcards from the Past. If you do not have a computer lab, you can use your classroom computers. (This will take a few more days).

Assessment

Using the rubric, the children will assess their postcard. Then the child and teacher will conference to discuss the evaluation using the rubric.
Rubric for this activity is attached below.

Supplemental information

Community Resource Book could be used to facilitate the gathering of the community personnel to be used for this activity. If this book is not available in your school, check for a contact person in your community for this information. You can also check with your local Chamber of Commerce and Home Extension Agency in your county. Book Series: The Early Settler Life Series by Bobbie Kalman. Suggestions for activities to research are: Butter churn, Two-man saw, Brunswick stew, quilting, spinning wheels, horse-drawn wagons, basket making, colonial toys and colonial music.

Comments

The students enjoyed learning and using the digital camera. They also enjoyed typing and creating their postcards on their webpage. Learning how to create the web page was a memorable learning activity, which whetted their appetite to become more computer literate. The activities using the community people as resources created a positive interaction within the community.

North Carolina curriculum alignment

English Language Arts (2004)

Grade 3

  • Goal 4: The learner will apply strategies and skills to create oral, written, and visual texts.
    • Objective 4.03: Share written and oral products in a variety of ways (e.g., author's chair, book making, publications, discussions, presentations).
    • Objective 4.10: Explore technology as a tool to create a written product.
  • Goal 5: The learner will apply grammar and language conventions to communicate effectively.
    • Objective 5.07: Edit (with assistance) to use conventions of written language and format.

Information Skills (2000)

Grade 3

  • Goal 3: The learner will RELATE ideas and information to life experiences.
    • Objective 3.01: Describe personal cultural heritage and environment.
    • Objective 3.04: Relate cultural similarities and differences to personal heritage and environments.
  • Goal 4: The learner will EXPLORE and USE research processes to meet information needs.
    • Objective 4.09: Present information in a variety of formats (print, graphical, audio, video, multimedia).
  • Goal 5: The learner will COMMUNICATE reading, listening, and viewing experiences.
    • Objective 5.02: Produce media in various formats (print, graphical, audio, video, multimedia) appropriate to audience and purpose.

Social Studies (2003)

Grade 3

  • Goal 2: The learner will analyze the multiple roles that individuals perform in families, workplaces, and communities.
    • Objective 2.03: Describe similarities and differences among communities in different times and in different places.

  • North Carolina Essential Standards

    • Information and Technology Skills (2010)

      • Grade 3

        • 3.RP.1 Apply a research process as part of collaborative research. 3.RP.1.1 Implement a research process by collaborating effectively with other students.
        • 3.TT.1 Use technology tools and skills to reinforce classroom concepts and activities. 3.TT.1.1 Use a variety of technology tools to gather data and information (e.g., Web-based resources, e-books, online communication tools, etc.). 3.TT.1.2 Use a variety...

      • Social Studies (2010)

        • 3.H.2 Use historical thinking skills to understand the context of events, people and places. 3.H.2.1 Explain change over time through historical narratives (events, people and places). 3.H.2.2 Explain how multiple perspectives are portrayed through historical...