Indigenous+People+Dictionary

=Indigenous People Dictionary Project=

Description
Students create an online wiki dictionary focusing on indigenous people. All four grades will contribute to, and edit the dictionary as the unit progresses. The students consolidate their understandings of the terms that they learn, the importance of clarity and precision in descriptions and the skill of working collaboratively.

MKIS Indigenous People Dictionary

The site is open to viewing.

IT Skills Emphasised

 * Collaboration is a key element of many online projects
 * Collaboration is aimed at enhancing everyone's final product
 * Editing/Saving online resources
 * Wiki's and the various ways of editing/creating new pages using wiki's

Language Arts
Standard 1: Uses the general skills and strategies of the writing process 1.3 Editing and Publishing: Uses strategies to edit and publish written work (e.g., edits for grammar, punctuation, capitalization, and spelling at a developmentally appropriate level; uses reference materials; considers page format [paragraphs, margins, indentations, titles]; selects presentation format according to purpose; incorporates photos, illustrations, charts, and graphs; uses available technology to compose and publish work Standard 3: Uses grammatical and mechanical conventions in written compositions 3.2 Uses pronouns in written compositions (e.g., substitutes pronouns for nouns, uses pronoun agreement) 3.3 Uses nouns in written compositions (e.g., uses plural and singular naming words, forms regular and irregular plurals of nouns, uses common and proper nouns, uses nouns as subjects). 3.4 Uses verbs in written compositions (e.g., uses a wide variety of action verbs, past and present verb tenses, simple tenses, forms of regular verbs, verbs that agree with the subject) Standard 9: Uses viewing skills and strategies to understand and interpret visual media

Social Studies
See Curriculum Map for Indigenous People

IT
Standard 2: Social, ethical, and human issues - Students understand the ethical, cultural, and societal issues related to technology. Students practice responsible use of technology systems, information, and software. Students develop positive attitudes toward technology uses that support lifelong learning, collaboration, personal pursuits, and productivity. 2.1 Identify issues related to how information and communication technology supports collaboration, personal productivity, lifelong learning, and assistance for students with disabilities. Standard 3: Technology productivity tools - Students use technology tools to enhance learning, increase productivity, and promote creativity. Students use productivity tools to collaborate in constructing technology-enhanced models, prepare publications, and produce other creative works. 3.1 Identify and apply common productivity software features such as menus and toolbars to plan, create, and edit word processing documents, spreadsheets, and presentations. Standard 4: Technology communications tools - Students use telecommunications to collaborate, publish, and interact with peers, experts, and other audiences. Students use a variety of media and formats to communicate information and ideas effectively to multiple audiences. 4.1 Identify telecommunications tools (email, online discussions, Web environments) and online resources for collaborative projects with other students inside and outside the classroom who are studying similar curriculum-related content.

Supporting Resources (Electronic)
Various online dictionaries including [|Pidic Picture Dictionary] [|Fact Monster Dictionary]

Note: All grade 3 students have been allocated individual wiki logins. The logins are mkis3a1 etc, following from their school login. The password is the same as their school password. These logins could be used for further student activities for grade 3's during this or other years.

General reflection of the project

 * Some students found this project difficult as they were not used to collaboration and preferred to work alone
 * The learning involved from a Social Studies perspective was good as the students needed to be able to clarify their ideas
 * Some teachers embraced this more than others, those students who were given more access to the wiki were much better able to master the skills associated with working with a wiki.