Our Journey Through Italy

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Michael Ward (Walter Reed) ECI-595 Elementary Me
thods
December 7, 2002
Our Journey Through Italy (A Thematic Unit)
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GOALS

• Students
• Engage in high levels of thinking and meaningful
  learning.
  
• Increase their motivation to learn through
  individual and cooperative efforts.
  
• Are able to visualize connections between
  classroom subject matter and the real world.
  
• Develop a broad appreciation for Italian
  influences to American culture.

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Overview Framework

• Theme Travel (Journey Through Italy) -- 6th
  Grade
  
• Type of Thematic Unit Interdisciplinary
  (Language Arts, Science, Geography, Computers,
  Art, Music, and Math)
  
• Start Date Either during or soon after
  students study the Roman Empire (Social Studies)
  
• Duration Conducted over a 3-week period (3
  days per group x 5 groups) one or two classes
  per day.
  
• Procedure My class of 31 students is already
  divided into 4 groups of 6 and one of 7. I am
  the class tour guide and begin the unit by
  describing how we will conduct the unit, organize
  the groups and assign roles functions for the
  members of each group. Each group is headed by
  an assistant tour guide, responsible for
  providing the entire class with information about
  the city/location we are going to and how we will
  get there. At each city/location, we will
  accomplish our thematic unit objectives
  designated for that place.

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Overview Framework (Continued)

• Procedure (cont) As the homeroom teacher for
  the 6th Grade at my school, I teach Language
  Arts, Science, and Math. For this unit, I have
  prepared the lesson plans for those subjects and
  Geography. In addition, I have coordinated with
  the Computer, Art, and Music teachers to build
  lesson plans for those subjects they will teach.
  All objectives stem from curriculum guidelines
  from my school (Nativity Catholic School, Burke,
  VA). Prior to accomplishing the first two
  objectives, I will present information and lead
  a class discussion about Italy. Before
  accomplishing the objectives assigned under each
  group, the group and I will present information
  and lead a class discussion about the groups
  assigned city/place. For these events, I will
  use audio-visual aids at my disposal, such as a
  travel video and slides I have accumulated over
  the years.

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Overview Framework (Continued)

• Assigned Cities/Respective Lessons/Schedule
• Entire Class Travel to Italy
  
  
• Introduction - Process
• Objective 1 - Italy
• Objective 2 Research/ Travel Brochures
• Group I Rome
• Objective 3 - Roman Numerals
• Objective 4 - Daily Journal
• Objective 5 - Distances

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Overview Framework (Continued)

• Assigned Cities/Respective Lessons/Schedule
  (cont)
  
• Group II Pompeii, Mts. Vesuvius and Etna
• Objective 6 - Volcanoes
• Group III Florence
• Objective 7 Renaissance da Vinci
• Objective 8 Italian/English Words
• Group IV Venice
• Objective 9 Concertos Vivaldi
• Objective 10 Personal Letter
• Group V Verona the Alps
• Objective 11 Plate Tectonics
  Mountain-Building
  
• Entire Class Wrap-Up

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Geography
Earth Science
Math

• Map of Italy Familiarization with
  Cities Terrain

• Volcanoes
• Plate Tectonics (Mountain Building)

• Roman Numerals
• Calculating Distances (Miles vs. Kilometers)

Journey Through ITALY
Language Arts Writing
Language Arts Spelling/Vocab

• Daily Journal
• Personal Letter

• Italian English Words

• Groups Prepare Travel Brochures of Assigned
  Cities

ART
MUSIC
Computers (Research)

• Concertos (Vivaldi)

• The Renaissance Leonardo da Vinci

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OBJECTIVES

• Students will familiarize themselves with the map
  of Italy and be able to locate Italys major
  cities places.
  
• Using the internet, books, and magazines from the
  library, students will prepare travel brochures
  for their assigned cities/places.
  
• Students will be able to read and write Roman
  Numerals, be able to convert them into Arabic
  numerals, and use them to solve problems.
  
• Students will start and maintain a daily journal.
  
  
• Students will be able to find the distances (in
  kilometers) between locations on a map of Italy
  and convert these distances into miles.
  
• Students will learn how and why volcanoes form,
  where they occur, and what their effects are..
  

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OBJECTIVES (CONTINUED)

• Students will familiarize themselves with the
  Renaissance in Florence and Leonardo da Vinci.
  
• Students will recognize, know the meaning of, and
  spell correctly Italian words that have been
  adopted into the English language.
  
• Students will familiarize themselves with
  Venetian Baroque Composer Vivaldi and his Four
  Seasons.
  
• Students will write a personal letter, describing
  their trip, to their relatives.
  
• Students will learn about how plate tectonics
  changes the surface of Earth and how mountains
  are formed.
  

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OBJECTIVE 1
Students will familiarize themselves with the map
of Italy and be able to locate Italys major
cities places.

• Activity Students will color a map of Italy
  by following written directions.
  
• Materials Maps of Italy with instructions
  (www.enchantedlearning.com/europe/italy/italyactiv
  ity.shtml) , coloring pencils, overhead
  projector, and transparency of Map of Italy.
• Procedure After working 1 together, students
  will pair up to complete this activity.
  
• Evaluation Quiz (www.enchantedlearning.com/eur
  ope/italy/italybwquiz.shtml)

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OBJECTIVE 2
Using the internet, books, and magazines from the
library, students will prepare travel brochures
for their assigned cities/places.

• Activity Create a travel brochure of an
  Italian city/place by writing, drawing, and using
  materials from reference sources.
  
• Materials Computer/internet, books
  magazines from the library, blank sheets of
  paper, folded for draft brochures,construction
  paper, scissors, glue, markers, maps of Italy.
• Procedure Provide directions for making
  brochures. Show examples of travel brochures.
  Pass around the first handout and as a group,
  read the directions together and brainstorm a few
  possible ideas. Hand out a sheet folded exactly
  the way the final brochure should be so that
  students can do their rough draft on the blank
  sheet.
• Evaluation Brochures will be assessed
  according to the level of work produced by the
  student by looking at the quality of handwriting,
  the effort put in, neatness, and details
  provided.

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OBJECTIVE 3
Students will be able to read and write Roman
Numerals, be able to convert them into Arabic
numerals, and use them to solve problems.

• Activity Introduce Roman Numerals through
  class discussion and use of the chalkboard,
  students use manipulatives to create Roman
  Numerals, and class works conversion problems
  together.
• Materials Different forms of dry pasta.
• Procedure After a good introduction to Roman
  Numerals, students use dry pasta to create Roman
  Numerals. Together, practice converting from
  Arabic Numeral to Roman and vice versa practice
  adding and subtracting Roman Numerals.
• Evaluation Hand out Doing Math the Roman
  Way at (www.education-world.com/a_lesson/TM/WS_l
  p276-03.shtml). Students solve 8/10 correctly.

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OBJECTIVE 4
Students will start and maintain a daily journal.

• Activity Introduce journal-writing ask
  students to write their first journal entry
  together in class. For the remainder of the
  trip, as homework, students will make entries in
  their journals concerning trip related activities
  they participated in each day.
• Materials Composition books.
• Procedure Students are asked to include, as a
  minimum, the following topics in their daily
  write-ups (1) What they experienced, (2) What
  they enjoyed or did not enjoy about the days
  activity(ies) and why (3) How they can apply
  what they experienced and (4) Ideas they might
  have for follow-on activities related to what
  they just experienced.
• Evaluation On a weekly basis, assess journal
  writing based on creativity, correct use of
  grammar, sentence structure, and spelling.

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OBJECTIVE 5
Students will be able to find the distances (in
kilometers) between locations on a map of Italy
and convert these distances into miles.

• Activity Introduce the metric system with
  respect to measuring distances. Using
  worksheets, students will plot distances (in
  kilometers) between major cities/places in Italy
  practice converting kilometers into miles and
  vice versa.
• Materials Paper copies of map of Italy (slide
  10) worksheet with distances between key
  cities/places ruler.
  
• Procedure Following a class discussion on the
  metric system and the formula for converting
  kilometers to miles (and vice versa), practice
  converting distances students will practice
  converting and labeling distances, in kilometers,
  on their maps.
• Evaluation Using another copy of the same map
  of Italy, students will correctly convert
  distances in kilometers to distances in miles. A
  minimum of 8/10 distances should be converted and
  labeled on the map correctly.

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OBJECTIVE 6
Students will learn how and why volcanoes form,
where they occur, and their effects.

• Activity Explain how and why volcanoes form,
  where they can be found, types of volcanoes and
  their effects. Relate this information to Mt.
  Vesuvius and Mt. Etna. Students then color and
  label the parts of a volcano on a worksheet and
  conduct a cloze activity.
• Materials Worksheets at www.enchantedlearning.c
  om/subjects/volcano/activities.shtml, overhead
  projector, transparency of the inside of a
  composite volcano.
• Procedure Provide information to students
  concerning volcanoes. Using the overhead
  projector describe the parts of a composite
  volcano then, leaving the projector with
  transparency on, ask students to label and color
  their worksheet. Following this activity, do the
  Cloze Activity together.
• Evaluation Quiz at www.enchantedlearning.com/su
  bjects/volcano/activities.shtml students should
  correctly answer 80 of the questions.

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OBJECTIVE 7
Students will familiarize themselves with
Leonardo da Vinci the Renaissance.

• Activity Introduce the Renaissance period in
  Florence and Leonardo da Vincis contributions.
  Conduct an activity on perspective in drawing a
  scene.
• Materials Picture of the Mona Lisa,
  worksheets, sheets of acetate, masking tape,
  bandanas.
  
• Procedure After introducing the subject
  matter, students will conduct the activity
  described at www.mos.org/sln/Leonardo/UsingLeosWin
  dow.html to gain an appreciation for perspective
  when drawing.
• Evaluation Students will color in the Mona
  Lisa outline provided at www.enchantedlearning.com
  /artists/davinci/coloring/monalisa.shtml.
  Students will be assessed according to the
  quality of their work.

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OBJECTIVE 8
Students will recognize, know the meaning of, and
spell correctly Italian words that have been
adopted into the English language..

• Activity Students are given a list of some
  common Italian/English words (next slide). The
  words are written on the chalkboard, defined and
  illustrated. Where possible, pictures of the
  items represented are shown or actual items are
  brought in and shown. Students then practice
  spelling the words and work two puzzles prepared
  from (puzzlemaker.school.discovery.com) and
  distributed to them (1) word search, and (2)
  crossword puzzle.
• Materials Word Search and Crossword Puzzle
  visual depictions of Italian/English words.
  
• Procedure Described above.
• Evaluation A two-part quiz is administered to
  check for spelling and vocabulary definitions.
  Students are expected to achieve a minimum score
  of 80.

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OBJECTIVE 8
Students will recognize, know the meaning of, and
spell correctly Italian words that have been
adopted into the English language.. (cont.)
List of Some Italian Words Adopted Into the
English Language -- pizza -- spaghetti
-- ravioli -- linguini -- pasta
-- tortellini -- solo -- macaroni -- lasa
gna -- prosciutto -- salami --
gorgonzola -- cafe latte -- grotto
-- antipasto -- gondola -- zucchini --
graffiti -- fiasco -- cappuccino --
espresso -- violin -- volcano -- design
-- portico
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OBJECTIVE 9
Students will familiarize themselves with
Venetian Baroque Composer Vivaldi and his Four
Seasons.

• Activity Introduce the Baroque period of
  music and discuss composer Vivaldis biography.
  Play excerpts from Vivaldis Four Seasons
  students draw or write their impressions of what
  they heard.
• Materials Audio recording of Vivaldis Four
  Seasons art tablets colored pencils.
  
• Procedure After introducing the subject
  matter, an audio tape recording of the Four
  Seasons is played. At key point during and
  after each season, the class will discuss their
  interpretation of the season. Students are asked
  to jot down notes concerning their impressions.
  
• Evaluation Students may choose to either draw
  or write their interpretation of the Four
  Seasons. Their must be a minimum of one scene
  for each season (if they choose to draw), or a
  minimum of one descriptive paragraph for each
  season.

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OBJECTIVE 10
Students will write a social letter, describing
their trip, to their relatives.

• Activity After a class discussion on the
  types and parts of social letters with an
  emphasis on the friendly letter, students are
  asked to pick one activity they enjoyed so far in
  the trip and write a brief thank-you letter to
  the tour guide, thanking him for the opportunity
  to participate in the activity. As students
  finish, their work is critiqued and they write
  their friendly letters to their relatives.
• Materials Unlined paper, pen.
• Procedure Students will write 2 social
  letters first, a short thank-you letter (for
  practice) and then a 2-page minimum friendly
  letter to one of their relatives, describing
  their trip so far!).
• Evaluation Students will be assessed
  according to the level of work produced by the
  student by looking at the quality of handwriting,
  the effort put in, neatness, correct use of
  grammar, sentence structure, and spelling.

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OBJECTIVE 11
Students will learn about how plate tectonics
changes the surface of Earth and how mountains
are formed.

• Activity After describing the chemical and
  physical layers of the Earth, introduce the
  historical development of the plate tectonic
  theory, describing the location and types of
  plate boundaries. Then, demonstrate plate
  tectonic theory. Students do a jigsaw puzzle and
  word search to reinforce their understanding.
• Materials Map of the world, cardboard box,
  tape, sheets of paper, scissors, worksheets.
  
• Procedure Following a class discussion on the
  layers of the Earth, plate tectonic theory, and
  the plate boundaries, demonstrate plate tectonic
  theory by conducting the activity at
  volcano.und.nodak.edu/vwdocs/vwlessons/activities/
  p_number5.html students will then do the 2
  activities at volcano.und.nodak.edu/vwdocs/vwless
  ons/activities/p_number6.html and (same site, but
  substitute the number 8 for 6).
• Evaluation Students correctly answer 80 of
  the questions at volcano.und.nodak.edu/vwdocs/vwl
  essons/activities/p_number7.html.

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WRAP-UP
Final Project Students prepare a report on the
trip, using information already gained and
assimilated from brochures, journals, letters,
other activities and classroom discussions.
Report will be a minimum of 3 pages in length and
will contain the following topics (as a minimum)
1. Title and description of the Thematic Unit
2. The Itinerary 3. A paragraph of what you
observed/learned at each Italian city/place 4.
What you thought of the Thematic Unit (What did
you like, and what didnt you like? and 5. An
answer to Do you think you would like to take an
actual trip to Italy? Why or why not?