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Great American Families
Thomas Kelly Sisk
Kreuzberg Elementary School, U.S. Department of Defense Dependents School, Germany Region
Subject: Language Arts
Grade: 5
"In our present-day society, we need to place as much positive
emphasis upon families as possible."
Purpose and Description of Project
Thomas Sisk and his 26 fifth-graders set out to learn about the
American family by comparing and contrasting the roles of pioneer
family members with those of today and investigating the daily
routines of the children's own families for similarities and differences.
To help them in their research and to display their findings,
the children wrote essays, interviewed family members, took photos
of their activities, and tape recorded narration to accompany
the photos.
In the course of the project, explains Sisk, the youngsters sharpened
their language skills-both oral and written-learned interviewing
techniques, got a basic lesson in photography, and studied layout
and design. The final products of all their work were individually
designed displays of captioned photos that ranged from bound albums
to shadow boxes and triptychs. These were presented along with
the students' taped commentaries, which in some cases included
actual interview segments with family members. The displays were
set up in a special week-long exhibit at the school that was open
to students, teachers, families, and other members of the community.
Since tape recorders were also made available, visitors could
both see and hear about these "Great American Families."
Activities
Activities during this project fall into seven groups:
- Social studies unit - While studying "Families and Communities,"
the students were involved in brainstorming, discussions, role-playing,
and interacting with a guest speaker.
- Tape recorder - These sessions involved a demonstration by the
school media specialist, hands-on experiences with the recorder,
a group recording, and role-playing.
- Interviewing techniques - Students wrote and selected good interview
questions, composed introductions to Q&A sequences, interviewed
family members at home, and played the finished tapes in class.
- Photography - In workshop sessions conducted by a community
professional, students were instructed in the use of
cameras; studied distance, lighting, backgrounds, and
photographic vocabulary. They then took photos of their family
members and mounted them.
- English grammar and creative writing-Students did outlines,
rough drafts, and final essays on their families.
- Art-Students learned about layout and design for small scale
presentations, studied contrasting and complementary colors, and
discussed display materials and backgrounds.
- Career awareness - While the youngsters had previously discussed
careers as one aspect of family activities, this session focused
on a guest speaker (a computer analyst) and on the various careers
of their families and their value to society.
Materials, Resources, and Expenses
Human resources included guest speakers, the school media specialist,
a community photographer, and parents who were the subjects of
photos and interviews.
Equipment included cameras (most students
provided their own; others came from the school media center);
26 rolls of film; flash attachments for cameras without built-in
flash; two tape recorders and 26 cassettes; and display materials
such as construction paper, tag board, paints, stencils, contact
paper, glue, and scissors.
Outcomes and Adaptability
Sisk found that the students remained highly motivated throughout
the project and that family pride was evident among all participants.
Students learned about photography, improved oral communication
and writing skills, and produced unique displays of their work.
He adds that the investigation of the special talents and abilities
of each child's family and resulting increase in the children's
self-esteem led to many positive behavior changes. The active
involvement of parents also helped bring school and home closer
together.
The teacher thinks that the project can be valuable at almost
any grade level and that it provides teachers with "a unique
way to really get to know your students, their families, and their
innermost feelings about family and values."