Brief Description Objectives Materials and Resources Activity Description Internet Resources

• Grade level: Middle/Upper Elementary, High School

• Subject Area: Social Studies

Brief Description

    Student task forces contact the local agency they have selected to profile.
Objectives

Students will:

• Learn about the history of various organizations in their community and how they are run.
• Gain experience in making professional contacts with organizations.

Materials and Resources

    In developing our lessons and activities, we made some assumptions about the hardware and software that would be available in the classroom for teachers who visit the LETSNet Website. We assume that teachers using our Internet-based lessons or activities have a computer (PC or Macintosh) with the necessary hardware components (mouse, keyboard, and monitor) as well as software (operating system, TCP/IP software, networking or dial-up software, e-mail and a World Wide Web client program, preferably Netscape, but perhaps Mosaic or Lynx). In the section below, we specify any "special" hardware or software requirements for a lesson or activity (in addition to those described above) and the level of Internet access required to do the activity.

1. Special hardware requirements: None.
   
2. Special software requirements: None.
   
3. Internet access: A medium-speed (28,000 BPS via modem) or high-speed (greater than 1 MBPS via network) for visiting Web sites.
   
4. Internet resources: See our list of Internet sites below.

Activity Description

• After students have selected their organization, teams should set up an initial meeting with the agency. At the initial meeting, students propose creating a Web site for the organization. Prior to the meeting, students should:
  • Be sure that each team member understands the basic mission of the agency.
  • Outline areas in which they need more information and develop a list of questions to be asked during the initial meeting.
  • Visit some of the sites listed below to see examples of Web sites created by children about agencies in their communities. While they view these sites, students should develop a list of things they want to gather and include in their Web site.
  • The teacher should write a letter of introduction to be given to agencies at the initial meeting that explains the project and what students are required to do. (You may also want to include some of the addresses for Websites listed below so that agencies can see samples of the type of work students can do.)

• Students conduct their interviews with local agency representatives. In addition to the items mentioned above, students should ask agency members about the history of the organization, to find out when, why, and how the agency was founded. Students should also ask members how the agency is run today, to find out how and when decisions are made.

• Students may also be encouraged to spend some time volunteering at the agency they profile in order to get a better understanding of the type of work the agency does.

Internet Resources

• St. Johns Community Connection
  [http://www.jcn.com/riley/community2.html]
  A page created and maintained by fifth graders in St. Johns, Michigan.

• Puget Sound Community School Internet Team
  [http://www.speakeasy.org/~gmorris/team/]
  Students at this non-traditional school have formed partnerships with a number of local agencies and businesses to create Web pages for each of their partners.

• Erving Elementary School's CyberFair96 Entry
  [http://www.tiac.com/users/erving/cyber/welcome96.html]
  The fifth and sixth graders at Erving received first place in the 1996 CyberFair competition for their Web pages which profile local businesses in their community.

• Addison Elementary School's CyberFair96 Entry
  [http://cyberfair.gsn.org/addison/addisonhome.html]
  Fourth and fifth graders in this Brookfield, Ohio school worked to create a Website that profiles their community, including snapshots of local businesses. They received third place in the 1996 CyberFair for their entry.

• Corona Avenue Elementary's CyberFair '96 Entry
  [http://cyberfair.gsn.org/bjcorona/index.html]
  A group of third through sixth graders at Corona Avenue Elementary School in Bell, California created this electronic newsletter with profiles of local business and community organizations. They received an honorable mention in the 1996 CyberFair competition.

• Palm Middle School's CyberFair96 Entry
  [http://www.pe.net/~rcarner/cybermenu.html#anchor527700]
  Middle school students in Moreno Valley, California created this Website which profiles community organizations and business. They received and honorable mention in the 1996 CyberFair contest.

• Kloofwaters School's CyberFair96 Entry
  [http://cyberfair.gsn.org/kloofwater/index.html]
  Students in this rural school located in Rustenburg, North West Province, South Africa compiled descriptions of local individuals and organizations important to their community. They received an honorable mention in the 1996 competition.

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