Stranded: But SOARing Beyond

"Stranded : But SOARing Beyond" is a literature based interdisciplinary unit which will involve two Spencer Elementary third grade classrooms of approximately 45 students and 30 Scottsburg Elementary fifth graders in varied experiences (including several distance connections) which will serve to increase their understanding of the book Stranded by Ben Mikaelsen. Two of the three classrooms include special education students. Approximately 15% of the students have been identified through IDEA as students with special needs. Both schools are in low to middle income brackets and are primarily Caucasian. Students at both schools rarely travel more than 45 to 50 miles away from their home, so their life experiences are somewhat limited. Our goal is to provide students with a rich background of experiences that enhance their appreciation and understanding of the book. This interdisciplinary unit will address proficiencies in many areas but focuses on those in language arts, math and science. Students will analyze and compare water at different sites and share those results with each other. Connecting with a marine research center, an aquatic research site, and the author of the book allows students to have accurate and current information about aquatic life and habitats and will expand their knowledge of the word beyond their local communities.

Rationale for Grant

"Stranded: But SOARing Beyond" is a "Team Innovative Shared" literature-based interdisciplinary "Unit" developed to complement the book Stranded by Ben Mikaelsen. This unit builds on the success of SOAR (Spencer-Owen Avid Readers), a program designed to promote recreational reading for all students in the Spencer-Owen school system. Our goal for this grant is to provide participating students with a rich background of information that increases their understanding of the book. Students at both schools do not, as a rule, travel much further than a forty-five to fifty mile radius from their homes. We will begin by testing our own local rivers and streams and examining the aquatic life existing in that habitat. Larger freshwater habitats will be studied including Lake Monroe and Lake Michigan. We will progress to the study of saltwater environments, focusing on the rescue and rehabilitation of marine mammals-a theme which parallels that of the book. Students at both schools will have the opportunity to interact with the author of the book, learning about the research involved in writing the book and sharing their thoughts about the story. The culminating activity will be the Read-and-Feed at both schools that will allow students to participate in an activity that actually recreates scenes from the book and provides games and other activities that are based on the book. For more information on Read-and-Feeds check the Spencer-Owen site: http//www.socs.k12.in.us/schools/ovms/read_and_feed/default.html.

We feel that proficiencies from nearly every curricular area will be addressed in our interdisciplinary unit; however, we will be concentrating on those in the language arts, math, and science areas. Proficiencies addressed include the following: comprehending chapter books, informational materials, and audio-visual media; communicating orally with people of all ages by sharing ideas; using background knowledge to construct meaning; drawing conclusions; problem solving; following directions; demonstrating measuring skills; using tools to do things better or more easily; using data analysis and probability to analyze given situations and outcomes of experiments; studying the diversity of the life in freshwater and saltwater environments and exploring the interdependence of life in those environments.

Demographic Information

Approximately 45 third grade students from two Spencer Elementary and 30 fifth grade students from Scottsburg Elementary will be participating in the project. Both schools are similar demographically. Both are considered to be rural schools located within thirty miles of a major city or town. Income levels in both schools are low with about 30% participation in free and reduced lunch at both locations. Families in both schools do little traveling for pleasure and we consider them to be somewhat "geographically challenged" at times.

Use of Distance Technology

Since our students are not exposed to different habitats and cultures, we feel they are at a disadvantage when they read books that take place in other locations. We feel distance learning will eliminate some of the disadvantages of living in a land-locked state by allowing our students to interact with experts who work in other environments. We also feel the experience of communicating directly with the author will make this book much more meaningful for our students.

Activity Description

A. Pre-Activities

One of the most essential pre-activities for this grant is reading the book Stranded by Ben Mikaelsen. Scottsburg students will read the book on their own. Spencer Elementary students will have most of the book read to them; however, there will be enough copies of the book that they may read it on their own as well.

Another essential pre-activity for our project is making sure that the connection between Scottsburg Elementary and Spencer Elementary works correctly. We have scheduled an after-school connection between the to schools for this purpose. We will also take advantage of this time to coordinate our activities.

Students will participate in a habitat study of the Spencer Elementary courtyard. This will assist students in learning the procedures they will use for the entire water study. The skills involved in the study will include observation, recording of data, measurement, and sharing of results in various formats. They will be working individually and in small groups.

Spencer Elementary and Scottsburg Elementary students will meet via a distance connection. This will be the first meeting between the schools. During the connection students will share results of habitat studies conducted at each school.

B. Events

Spencer Elementary students will conduct water testing at McCormick's Creek State Park. The students from Scottsburg will also do testing at Falls of the Ohio. The results of these tests will be shared during the second distance connection between the schools.

Students from both schools will meet face-to-face at Monroe Reservoir. During this visit students will conduct water tests along the beach and from pontoon boats on the lake. Boats were very important in the book Stranded which takes place in the Florida Keys. Although the vessels mentioned in the book were not pontoon boats, we feel that it is important for our students to have the experience of floating in the middle of a large body of water. The Scottsburg students will only be able to stay for the afternoon, however Spencer Elementary students will be camping out overnight at the lake. We are planning to serve them a seafood meal in the evening to go along with the ocean theme of the book.

Students will connect with the Aquatic Research Center at East Chicago. During the connection students will converse with divers who are actually submerged in Lake Michigan. The divers will share the aquatic wildlife of the lake and also conduct water testing similar to what the students have done previously.

Students will work individually and in cooperative groups to study marine habitats. A variety of research tools will be explored including the Internet, resource books, personal contacts, etc. The study results will be shared through HyperStudio reports, posters, games, and skits.

Mote Marine Research Laboratory in the Florida Keys will connect with schools to discuss the care and rehabilitation of marine wildlife. This will also give students the opportunity to ask questions and demonstrate the knowledge they have developed from their own research.

Ben Mikaelsen, author of Stranded, will meet with students via a distance connection. This unique opportunity will allow students to question Mr. Mikaelsen about the book and what he learned during his time at a marine research facility. From previous connections with Mr. Mikaelsen, we are sure students will find him both engaging and inspirational.

An important component of the book was how the main character and others dealt with her physical handicap. We plan to contact Melanie Hounshell and Terri Klingehoefer at the IU/Indiana Institute on Disability & Community for assistance in finding resource materials which would be appropriate for our students.

Teachers at Owen Valley Middle School (the site of the distance equipment) have expressed interest in viewing the distance events as they are happening. We are able to share these events with anyone in the building through the use of Channel One equipment. We also plan to offer these distance events to another elementary school in our corporation that has distance equipment.

C. Post Activities

As a culminating event, students at both schools will participate in a Read-and-Feed centered on Stranded. The Read-and-Feed will allow students to demonstrate the knowledge they have gained about the book and marine habitat. Although Scottsburg Elementary has not hosted this kind of event before, Spencer Elementary teachers have conducted several Read-and-Feeds. One of our sharing techniques involves inviting Scottsburg staff members to the Spencer Read-and-Feed and, at a later date, having Spencer staff members travel to Scottsburg to help them prepare for this activity.

As a distance education content provider, Spencer Elementary and Owen Valley Middle School teachers will demonstrate and share methods for hosting a successful Read-and-Feed.

Students will work with teachers to develop classroom websites that include information and artifacts from the unit.

Information regarding the unit will be shared with local newspapers, staff members at both elementaries, and with school board members.

Two of the teachers involved in the unit were asked to present at the Spring NCTE (National Council Teachers of English) Conference in New York in the spring of 2000. The focus of the presentation proposal was on ways to connect students with authors in meaningful and purposeful ways. If the proposal is accepted, Ben Mikaelsen will present at the conference with us. This unit would be the subject of the presentation. .

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Created: Nov.25. 2000   Last updated: Nov.26. 2000. Comment to Dave Bartlett.