Teacher Page: How Do Communities Change?
Overview: Students will research and create a multimedia presentation to answer the questions: “How do communities
change?” and “How did Danbury change?”
Grade 3 Learning Guide Objectives:
Social Studies
Initial Understanding
Identify the main idea in a source of historical information
Developing an Interpretation
Create timelines that sequence events and peoples, using days,
weeks, months, years, decades or centuries
Making Connections
Write short narratives and statements of historical ideas
Create appropriate presentation from investigation of source materials
Critical Stance
Describe why is change important to a community
Information Literacy and Technology
Initial Understanding
Identify keywords for searching for information (with assistance)
Use Internet resources to locate information, with supervision
Developing an Interpretation
Work in more than one program or window at the same time
Take print and/or electronic notes in own words from several sources of information
Use technology to organize and reorganize information
Making Connections
Work collaboratively and cooperatively with peers and others when using computers
Describe a course of action for addressing an essential question and completing the task
Organize information into related categories
Construct slide shows, multimedia presentations, web pages, spreadsheets, databases to
communicate ideas or data and present conclusions
Create and use digital images in presentations
Critical Stance
Evaluate their process for searching (with assistance)
Assess the retrieved information for relevancy and completeness (with assistance)
Use a rubric to assess whether the product meets conventional standards and expresses ideas
clearly (with assistance)
Process:
1. In the classroom, students will read about and discuss the idea of
change. Clothing styles, cars, and music change over the years, What
else changes? Is change a good thing?
2. Throughout the year, read and discuss the different Danbury
newsletters. As you read each one, talk about some of the main themes
of history: people, places, economy, transportation, education, culture,
major events, community services, and politics, giving students
opportunities to practice note taking strategies.
3. As a class, use Kidspiration to create a graphic organizer web to
brainstorm ways in which Danbury has changed since 1684. What themes
of history have effected Danbury?
Danbury Public Schools 10/2006
How do communities change? Grade 3
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4. Team students to work together to create a timeline that details one of the main themes of history and how it has changed
Danbury. (Example: How has transportation in Danbury changed since 1684?) They can use Kidspiration or Timeliner to
create a sequence of events. Students may use the newsletters or the Danbury web site to find specific events to add
details to the timeline. This is a form of note taking and should be in the student’s own words.
Example:
5. Do a simple introduction to Keynote. Demonstrate the use of templates, changing text, and adding slides. Use a sample
Keynote, but don’t demonstrate with one of the topics the students will be researching.
6. Students use the topic timeline/sequence chart as notes to create a multimedia presentation in Keynote to describe the
changes in Danbury over the last 300 years.
Adding images from the web:
7. Discuss the rubric as you give the presentation assignment so that students have a
• Locate the image on the web site
framework from which to plan the project. They may include photos, slide shows of
• Drag it directly onto the Keynote
photos, music, video of themselves describing changes, anything to illustrate ways in which
slide.
• Copy and paste the URL into a text
Danbury has changed. The presentation must include the critical stance: “How do
box on the page as a caption to cite
communities change?”
the source.
8. Students work in teams to complete a presentation. It is important to get the ideas on the
slides, then to go back and add images, sound, or video.
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How do communities change? Grade 3
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9. Once they get ideas on the slides, show them in small groups how to include images from the web and cite their sources.
Students will ask when they need more direction than that, but most students figure it
out on their own. You can learn more about Keynote using Atomic Learning.
Adding video:
10. Students hand in their presentation to the group shared folder and present it to the class
• Use the Cannon Powershot digital
from the data projector (in the lab or classroom).
cameras to take short movies.
Differentiation:
1. Team students that can help each other, while each contributes to the project.
2. Xerox the newsletters so that students can highlight key phrases or ideas, or use stickies
to mark key ideas.
3. Consider assigning topics that are easier to specific students. (i.e. transportation)
4. Students who finish quickly can include transitions, animations, and sound narration.
• Set the dial on top of the camera to
Video.
• Download the images from the
camera into iPhoto.
• In Keynote, use the Media Browser
to drag the video into the
presentation.
Assessment: How well have students explained “How Danbury has changed over time?” or “How Do Communities Change?”
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How do communities change? Grade 3
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How Do Communities Change Rubric
Name: __________________________________________
Support/Evidence
Design
Images
Works Cited
Critical Stance
3
Presentation includes examples that clearly
support and connect to ideas.
All of the slides
• Have same font
• Size of font fits page
• Good choice of color
Images are well chosen to help describe
the text.
The source of all images and ideas are
cited.
The presentation clearly answers the
questions, “How do communities change?”
and “How did Danbury change?”
Danbury Public Schools 10/2006
2
Presentation includes examples
that support and is somewhat
connected to ideas.
Most of the slides
• Have same font
• Size of font fits page
• Good choice of color
Images somewhat help
describe the text.
The source of most images and
ideas are cited.
The presentation mostly
answers the questions, “How do
communities change?” and
“How did Danbury change?”
How do communities change? Grade 3
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1
Presentation includes examples
that unclear or may not
connect to ideas.
Only some of the slides
• Have same font
• Size of font fits page
• Good choice of color
Images do not help describe
the text.
The source of images or ideas
are not cited.
The presentation does not
answer the questions, “How do
communities change?” and
“How did Danbury change?”