Matthew C. Winner

Collaboration

May 31, 2006

Working Together in Collaborative Classrooms

The following is a list of links to collaborative projects involving students working together from a number of different schools around the community, state, country, or globe through a shared learning experience. All projects listed are appropriate for a 4^th grade class and are organized by content area.

Science:

Journey North – Students add to scientific research by reporting signs of animal migration through this collaborative project. A variety of species can be reported on, including birds such as the oriole and hummingbird, plants such as milkweed and tulips, and creatures such as manatees, monarch butterflies, and even earthworms! Lessons are provided for teachers to help introduce the species, habitat, and other background information to motivate students as well as educating them on why they’re migration is being tracked, when to expect to see them, and where to look.

(http://www.learner.org/jnorth/)

Date visited: May 31, 2006

Math:

The Global Grocery List Project – This project can be adapted for any age level, but it works well using 4^th grade math curriculum goals. Students are asked to go to a grocery store with a parent and record information on the price of certain items from a list. Prices for items such as a pound of peanut butter or one egg require students to calculate using conversions and decimals. The project is ongoing and prices can be submitted at any time.

(http://www.landmark-project.com/ggl/)

Date visited: May 31, 2006

Social Studies:

Postcards from America – By subscribing to this website’s “Live-at-the-scene” e-postcard mailing list, teachers receive an email from a different part of the United States each week. Postcards include a photograph of the destination, historical information, and a chance to experience a new location in the United States. The creators of the project set out across America each year in hopes of new sites and exciting information to share. This year’s tour is entitled “The Wild Side”. The project is not created intentionally for use in a classroom, but provides a great opportunity for students to experience life in other parts of the country.

(http://www.postcardsfrom.com/index.html)

Date visited: May 31, 2006

Reading:

Writing Links – This collaborative writing project is designed for students to help write stories in three parts. In a collaboration with two other schools, classrooms, or groups within the same class, students compose a part of a 3-part story. The story is then passed along and other schools add to the text until all three parts are completed. Finished works can then be printed or added to a website.

(http://www.qesnrecit.qc.ca/ccdb/writing/index.php)

Date visited: May 31, 2006

Cross-Disciplinary:

Come Along With Us – Schools partner up to enrich the field trip experience in this ongoing collaborative project. Virtual partners are matched up by field trip and interest. Students going on the field trip receive questions from their Virtual partners. They then look for answers while on their field trip and, upon arriving home and sharing answers as a class, students then correspond with their Virtual partners and share the information they’ve learned. Likewise, if students are interested in gathering information about a location around the world, they need only to find a Virtual partner who is field tripping to the location!

(http://www.qesnrecit.qc.ca/cc/partners/indexen.htm)

Date visited: May 31, 2006