The Community Discovered - A Friend Is...

{CD Home}
	Staff Development Model

	Curriculum Units/Lessons Units and lessons are to incorporate into existing curriculum the four strands of the grant: arts integration with a DBAE approach, technology integration, constructivist learning theory, and interdisciplinary curriculum.

	Resources Web sites & sources of information to assist participating teachers.

	Special Interest Groups Special focus on subjects such as Posters, Latino Art, Storytelling, Folk Art, Public Sculpture, and Post Office Murals.

	Information Read the grant abstract, goals, and other background information.

	Evaluation Team Website View surveys, data, and more from the Evaluation Team.

A Friend Is...

Joanne Hoos

The purpose of this unit is for students to investigate characteristics of friendship through literature and interviews. The students will share their ideas through posters.

Grade Range Intermediate (4-6)

Concepts Relationships
Friendship

Topics Social Skills

Purpose Statement: What characteristics make a good friend?
Software: Clarisworks
Netsacpe
NSCA Telnet
Hardware: MAC 5400
Internet Resources: Community Discovered poster site-
http://communitydisc.wst.esu3.k12.ne.us/HTML/sigs/posters.index.html
NMAA poster site
Standard Resources: Community Discovered poster trunk
Houghton Miflin anthology (1996)
How Humans Make Friend Loraine Leadhy
Wise Quotes Skills for Building Positive Character
Language Arts Teacher Objectives: Provide students with literature about friends and friendship.
Provide samples of character education posters.
Provides samples of quotes addressing friendship and character.
Provide opportunity for students to discuss and analyze the meaning behind quotes.
Language Arts Content Objectives: Student will read a story about friends and identify the cause and effect of events in the story relating to their friendship.
Student will list important details from How Humans Make Friends.
Student will compose questions and interview keypals via email regarding their thoughts on important characteristics in friendship.
Student will read and rephrase quotations from Wise Quotes.
Math Teacher Objectives: Provide posters for student to evaluate size of lettering in relation to illustration, etc.
Provide opportunity for student to plan and measure lettering and graphics as they create a poster.
Discuss symetry found in posters.
Math Content Objectives: Student will plan size of lettering, size of graphic, position on page, etc. as they create their poster.
Look for symetry in other posters and as they plan for their poster.
History Teacher Objectives: Introduce students to posters from the past and present.
Discuss the message of the posters and how they are related to events in our history.
History Content Objectives: The student will examine a variety of posters and interpret messages from the posters.
The student will relate the posters to events in history.
Performing Arts Teacher Objectives: Provide opportunity for students to problem solve and role play scenarios related to friends and problems they might have.
Performing Arts Content Objectives: Students will examine problems that might arise among friends and role play ways to handle situations that might arise among friends.
Technology Teacher Objectives: Provide sites for students to view posters.
Provide opportunity for students to email keypals with questions about friendship.
Technology Content Objectives: The student will examine various posters for message, and style.
The student will email keypals with questions regarding character traits they value in a friend.
Visual Arts Teacher Objectives: Expose students to a variety of posters.
Assist studetns as they discuss the message of the poster and elements of design used in creating the poster.
Provide materials and time for students to create their own posters.
Visual Arts Content Objectives: The students will examine posters.
The students will choose a message they wish to convey with a poster and design and create their own poster.
Instructional Outline: 1. Read and discuss "Felita" and "We Could Be Friends" in the anthology.
2. Read portions of How Humans Make Friends to the students.
3. Students will formulate questions about friends and friendship then email these questions to their keypals.
4. Students will read and interpret quotes about friends and positive character traits.
5. Students will examine posters through the Internet and the Community Discovered poster trunk. They will discuss the message and design of the poster.
6. Students will plan and design their own poster.
Teacher Reflection: The students chose some clever illustrations to match the quotes and captions they chose for their posters. We used poster board and colored pencils for most of the posters. They cut letters out of construction paper. Using tempera paint for the illustrations they drew might have added more color and made the illustrations stand out more. The lettering overpowered the posters in some instances. We edited several times and still had spelling errors when the posters were finished.
Teacher Artifacts: Plans, posters, poster trunk
Student Reflection: The students were proud of their posters. They found that the posters were hard to make so that they were neat, centered and edited for spelling.
Student Artifacts: Posters

All Unit Plans are to be considered "Works in Progress". As teachers reflected upon the challenges and successes of each unit they were encouraged to return and make modifications. Also, each teacher was at their own level in incorporating the four strands of the grant into their daily teaching. As they grew more comfortable with each area they were encouraged to revisit their Unit Plan and make modifications. These Unit Plans are a snapshot of where the teachers were when the grant ended.