15.++Written+Description



**Description of Traveling Trunk-Project 4-MEDT 7465** **Margaret Grayburn, Mary Pope, and Jonna Way**  This Traveling Trunk provides a variety of instructional resources about national symbols and holidays. The actual Traveling Trunk is housed in one elementary school’s media center in Cobb County and is intended to be checked out by teachers at that school. Other teachers within the county will have access to the electronic resources through contacting the media center specialist or through the wiki ( // http://7465-project4-grayburn-pope-way.wikispaces.com/ ). This URL may be placed on the county’s Social Studies’ Blog so teachers at other schools may access it. If so desired, other teachers may request the Traveling Trunk to be loaned to their school for a short time through the county’s inter-school mail service. The target audience is kindergarten teachers and students. Because of the diverse populations in the county, a variety of resources are included for differentiation. These include kinesthetic activities, visuals, auditory clips, videos, and hard texts in order to address special learning needs and learning styles referred to in Gardner’s Theory of Multiple Intelligences. //

//The following cross-curricular Georgia Performance Standards related to the national symbols and holidays are addressed in this Traveling Trunk:// //**Social Studies**:// **Math**: **Language Arts**: **Music**:
 * //**SSKH1** The student will identify the purpose of national holidays and describe the people or events celebrated. //(Labor Day, Columbus Day, Veterans Day, Thanksgiving, MLK Day, Presidents Day, Memorial Day, Flag Day, Independence Day)
 * //** SSKH2 ** The student will identify important American symbols and explain their meaning. //(United States and Georgia flags; Bald eagle; Statue of Liberty; Lincoln Memorial; Washington Monument; White House; Pledge of Allegiance; Star Spangled Banner)
 * ** MKN1 ** Students will connect numerals to the quantities they represent.
 * h. Identify coins by name and value (penny, nickel, dime, and quarter).
 * <span style="color: #0000ff; font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">** MKP4 **<span style="color: #000000; font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive; font-size: 16px;"> Students will make connections among mathematical ideas and to other disciplines.
 * <span style="color: #000000; font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive; font-size: 16px;">a. Recognize and use connections among mathematical ideas.
 * <span style="color: #000000; font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive; font-size: 16px;">b. Understand how mathematical ideas interconnect and build on one another to produce a coherent whole.
 * <span style="color: #0000ff; font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">** ELAKLSV1 **<span style="color: #000000; font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive; font-size: 16px;"> The student uses oral and visual skills to communicate. The student
 * <span style="color: #000000; font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px;">a. Listens and speaks appropriately with peers and adults.
 * <span style="color: #000000; font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px;">b. Follows two-part oral directions.
 * <span style="color: #000000; font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px;">c. Repeats auditory sequences (letters, words, numbers, and rhythmic patterns).
 * <span style="color: #000000; font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px;">d. Recites short poems, rhymes, songs, and stories with repeated patterns.
 * <span style="color: #000000; font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px;">e. Describes people, places, things, locations, and actions.
 * <span style="color: #000000; font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px;">f. Increases vocabulary to reflect a growing range of interests and knowledge.
 * <span style="color: #000000; font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px;">g. Communicates effectively when relating experiences and retelling stories heard.
 * <span style="color: #000000; font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px;">h. Uses complete sentences when speaking.
 * <span style="color: #000000; font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px;">i. Begins to use subject-verb agreement and tense.
 * <span style="color: #0000ff; font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">** MKGM.1a ** Sing simple melodies in a limited range using appropriate head voice accompanied and unaccompanied.
 * <span style="color: #0000ff; font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">** MKGM.1b ** Echo simple singing and speech patterns.
 * <span style="color: #0000ff; font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">** MKGM.1c ** Sing from memory multiple songs representing various genres, tonalities, meters, and cultures including at least one song in a foreign language.
 * <span style="color: #0000ff; font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">** MKGM.2a ** Echo simple rhythmic patterns using body percussion as well as classroom instruments with appropriate technique.
 * <span style="color: #0000ff; font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">** MKGM.2b ** Perform a steady beat using body percussion as well as classroom instruments with appropriate technique.
 * <span style="color: #0000ff; font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">** MKGM.7a ** Evaluate musical performance of themselves and others.
 * <span style="color: #0000ff; font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">** MKGM.9a ** Sing, listen, and/or move to music from various historical periods and cultures (e.g. Holidays)
 * <span style="color: #0000ff; font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">** MKGM.10b ** Perform choreographed and non-choreographed movements

<span style="color: #000000; font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive; font-size: 16px;">The Traveling Trunk concept could be expanded to create additional Trunks which focus on various topics and units of study. This would be very helpful because of the time-saving factor of having everything in one place. Preparation time for instruction could be focused on planning for individual differentiation rather than finding the necessary resources. Having the electronic resources in one place is advantageous because of the storage ability, versatility, and portability of such materials. In the early grades, materials also need to be very age specific, instead of incorporating a range of age levels. The Traveling Trunk allows for customization of the target audience.

<span style="color: #000000; font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive; font-size: 16px;">One challenge encountered in the completion of this project was coordinating the group members’ schedules to allow for collaboration in an online learning format. This was resolved through the use of emails, Wimba planning sessions, the wiki, phone calls, texts, and having face-to-face- meetings. Another challenge was that library resources could not be used because of the intent to share the Trunk in multiple locations. Actual resources that were included in the Trunk were donated by various individuals or were commonly provided resources from the County of which each teacher would have access.

<span style="color: #000000; font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive; font-size: 16px;">A lesson that we learned in the preparation of the Traveling Trunk was that clear communication is vital. It was also important that the specific component assignments were chosen by individuals who had an interest and expertise in that area. We learned that ISBN references were needed to be included for the actual texts in order for teachers to find supplemental materials in their own media centers. The inclusion of county provided resources allowed for greater accessibility to the resources. We also realized that it would be wonderful if more Traveling Trunks were available in each school’s media center.

<span style="color: #000000; font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive; font-size: 16px;">As learners, a very important aspect of this project was being able to choose the group members with which we worked. This enhanced the customization and usability of the Trunk in our instructional settings. The group synergy inspired each of us to have an enthusiasm for the project which made the project as a whole purposeful and meaningful to our own practices. In addition, we learned more about the specific digital tools, such as wiki use, digital mp3 recorder, image transformation, comic strip development, and video production. These skills will enhance our use of technology in our classrooms on a daily basis.