Collaboration Elective

Note: These collaborative sites have been chosen as sites suitable for a sixth grade Social Studies class.

Who Are You Taking to Dinner? – This site invites students to choose any three people from history and explain why they would invite those three figures to dinner. The students are required to define the terms of a “hero” or “heroine”, and describe the characteristics of the hero or heroine that they choose. This is a good website to use as a culminating activity, to span various units, where the students learned about a variety of personalities. Also, it’s a useful website when conducting thematic teaching, for the students practice Language Arts skills by defining characteristic traits. http://www.eduplace.com/projects/dinner.html

Aboriginal Myths – this project involves students from various continents, as they collaborate together to learn about the myths of the Aboriginal tribes of Australia. Once students display the information of the structure, content, and purpose of the myths, they then create their own myths to share with others over the Internet. This would be a good project to conduct after completing the Greek Unit on Mythology, as an extension. http://www.epals.com/projects/mythology/myth_4to7.tpl

Flags from Around the World – students create a representation of their country’s flag, and project it onto the Internet. The students share their flag, and explain the symbols of, and other information about, their flag. http://www.epals.com/projects/flag/

Currencies and Barter Systems – this project is a good project when learning about the beginning bartering systems of Ancient Times. Students learn about their currency and barter system, and compare that information with other countries’ currency and barter system. Students also communicate with each other to compare various tactics that they use with regard to handling money and currency. Additionally, students can creatively design their own forms of currency. http://www.epals.com/projects/currency/money_4to7.tpl

Ancient Civilizations – teachers and students collaborate together to learn about various aspects of Ancient civilizations. The collaborative group meets to share ideas and display work. The site contains links to categories of topics to be investigated, such as Egyptian Symbols, Ancient Architecture, and Ancient Games, for example. http://www.schoolnet.ca/grassroots/e/project.centre/projectsearchdisplay.asp?ps_projectid=32003

Postcard Geography – students post various picture postcards, whether it be about their area, a place or topic they are learning about, etc. This is a good way for students to become introduced to other places, cultures, and customs of different areas. http://pcg.cyberbee.com/

Native Cultures – this site gives directions for schools to choose a native culture in their area and provide up to seven web pages of information. The pages should be divided into different topics, such as a Report Page, Traditional Food Page, Culture Day Page, Folklore Page, etc. The whole school is encouraged to collaborate together on this project. The purpose is to help teachers and students gain a better understanding of, and appreciation for, their local cultures. http://www.schoolworld.asn.au/culture/cultone.html

Country Reports – this site leads students to reports on a plethora of different countries. Each country provides a vast amount of information about the geography, economy, and society, of each country. http://www.emulateme.com/

Discovery Web Quests– students choose from a number of various quests and projects, and learn about different places and parts of history. Students also are able to “meet” the explorers who conducted the expeditions. http://dsc.discovery.com/convergence/quest/quest.html

The Odyssey – students visit various “treks” where they are able to delve into many facets of a certain area, such as the Middle East and Africa. Each “trek” has links to learn about the area’s geography, “time capsule” history, and even to “multimedia and special guests!” This is great for students, when learning about a certain area, such as the Middle East, to enrich the student’s experience with that area by collaborating with this site. http://www.worldtrek.org/odyssey/index.html