The Millennium Me--A Multimedia Time Capsule

Newfane Elementary Newfane, NY
Teacher: Mary M. Sippel
Student:  Meghan

        This project was an integrated unit of study that connected social studies, English language arts and information systems. My third grade students, working in cooperative teams of two, used the Internet and other media to first research and later publish their findings relevant to an investigation of some significant events that have occurred during the 20th century. In addition they used presentation software to create a CD-ROM multimedia "time capsule" depicting not only these milestone events, but also a personal "snapshot" of themselves as they enter the 21st century.

        The following New York State Learning Standards/Performance Indicators (all at the elementary level) were addressed by this project:

Social Studies #1:  Use a variety of intellectual skills to demonstrate understanding of major ideas, eras, themes, developments and turning points in the history of the United States and New York.

English Language Arts (ELA) # 1 and #4:
· Read, write, listen, and speak for information and understanding.
· Read, write, listen, and speak for critical analysis and evaluation.

Mathematics, Science & Technology # 2:
· Access, generate, process and transfer information using appropriate technologies.

The teacher served as facilitator, providing guidance and assistance as needed.
In order to collect evidence of student progress towards meeting the learning standards, the following assessment techniques were be used:
· Teacher observation as teams work collaboratively gathering research
· Group discussions at various stages of the project
· Group debriefings and process discussions
· Student checklists to self-monitor progress
· Use of multimedia presentation and web page evaluation rubrics

 This project was structured for several whole class sessions using a learning center approach, and for several independent work sessions. Approximate time to complete whole project was 6 weeks (although some students took longer). One problem that we encountered was finding reference materials of appropriate reading level. Using the Internet was at times difficult since many sites now have all sorts of applets and plug-ins that our browser/computers couldn’t handle (we are still running Windows 3.1).

Elementary school age children have a very difficult time understanding when and where events have taken place. By constructing timelines and marking some milestone events, I hope it provided them with a framework of understanding. Other students viewing our stacks can get a glimpse of history through another child's eyes.

I am particularly thankful for the ability to use technology as a teaching/learning tool. My classroom has six Internet connected computers in it. I view those computers as my students' "doorway to the world". To help them navigate through that portal, I have created a classroom website http://cherryweb.com/msippel and used it to provide a structured, interactive, on-line research experience for this millennium project. It can be found at http://cherryweb.com/msippel/millennium.html I was able to have my students safely and simply access sites that will provide them with information.

What an exciting time to be teaching…the end of one millennium and the beginning of a brand new one! I wanted to create a learning experience that would be especially memorable for my students. It's not every day that one travels between centuries. I wanted my students to develop an appreciation and understanding of what has happened in the past. I feel that it will help them to understand and appreciate the future and their place in it.

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