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Tradin' Places
Kristina Kruse
Algonquin Middle School, Algonquin, Illinois
Subject: Language Arts
Grade: 8
"It was obvious that a slide show or photo-album provided
that personal link between students. Class members wanted to 'see'
their newly-found friends."
Purpose and Description of Project
Kristina Kruse's students participated in a Pen Pal exchange augmented
by a biographical slide/tape presentation. First, the students
prepared introductory letters to students in Arizona and Florida
as part of their classroom study of letter writing. The letters
were followed by a slide/tape show on local points of interest
and history for which the students shot and selected the slides,
researched and wrote the script, and finally sequenced the slides
and taped the narration and background music. Kruse hoped to increase
student proficiency in a number of areas: letter writing, research
and note-taking, creative writing, and
camera skills.
Activities
During the first week, students were introduced to the parts of
a letter, and they practiced writing a humorous letter. Kruse
explained the Pen Pal exchange, and then students wrote rough
drafts of their letters of introduction. Students proofed the
drafts in groups of three and wrote their final letters which
were read in class and critiqued before being mailed. During the
next week the school's media director gave an hour-long workshop
on using the camera. The class then decided what pictures they
wanted to shoot; selected photographers, script writers, narrators,
and presenters; began the actual research at the local newspaper
office and library; and took walking tours to shoot the slides.
When old slides of Algonquin were discovered in the media center,
students voted to add a history section to the presentation.
A science teacher at the school who was also an accomplished photographer
demonstrated his own slide/ tape presentation on local points
of interest, and a local author offered advice on writing the
narration. The third week was spent in actually assembling the
slide/tape show: slides were selected, sequenced, and numbered,
and the narrations was written, edited, rewritten, and timed prior
to the final taping session. Again, the media director helped
by supervising the taping sessions and assisting with final editing
decisions. The last week was taken up with trial performances
for other students, parents and PTA members, and interested community
residents before the final show was mailed to the Pen Pals.
Materials, Resources, and Expenses
In addition to the assistance and advice provided by the school's
media director, the science teacher, and the local author, the
librarian at the public library helped select materials for the
historical research and invited the students to use the library
for a public presentation of the show. Students used the school's
35 mm camera, slide projector, overhead projector, and reel-to-reel
tape recorder. Eight rolls of KODAK Slide Film were purchased
and commercially developed for the presentation.
Outcomes and Adaptability
Interest in the project remained high throughout, and Kruse notes
that the students found they could communicate successfully and
form friendships with people they had never met.
As students became involved in preparing various aspects of the
project, they showed new competencies in photography, script writing,
and public speaking. Each individual's progress and growth was
assessed daily through their work.
Kruse has used the same project in a fifth-grade social studies
class and plans to use it in a fourth-grade state history class.
Thus, she feels the Pen Pal exchanges have wide appeal to students
in groups of any size in a variety of settings. The project's
"simplicity in implementation, materials and classroom effort
in proportion to student involvement and intrinsic rewards make
it highly attractive and adaptable to a great many grade levels
and curriculums. "