Student+Audience

Grade 1
Linton Stockton Elementary houses kindergarten through grade five for a total of 810 students. Last school year (grades k through six), 96% of the students were white, and 52% of the students received free or reduced lunches (DOE Website). I taught a unit very similar to this when I student taught about six years ago. We read this story, went to a local farm, drew animals using the Paint computer program, and finally made a chart comparing the number of animals we saw. This group of students was excited to see first hand what is done on a farm. Therefore, linking what you are teaching in the classroom to the real world is very important to this age group. Allowing the students to build on prior knowledge is also important to set the stage for learning. Regarding information literacy, the students will be guided to the appropriate resources. This is shown in the virtual tour activity where the students are provided the link. The students will be exposed to a variety of resources throughout the unit. This will help them build upon the exploring phase of the inquiry process, because as the students mature, they will be expected to identify appropriate resources on their own.

Grade 7
Linton Stockton Junior High houses grade six through eight for a total of 343 students. Last school year (grades 7 and 8 only), 98% of the students were white, and 34% of the students received free or reduced lunches (DOE Website). The seventh grade class that will possibly be completing the literature circle unit has twenty students. They range in abilities, but the majority of them have a high reading ability and reading comprehension. The students know the basics in terms of information literacy. For example, they understand how to recall important information and how to find resources. These students need guidance when finding multiple types of resources and when evaluating resources. Most of the students find a couple of websites and stop researching. Therefore, the students need to be taught how to evaluate resources and how to find multiple types of resources to confirm findings. They need to understand that it is okay to begin the research process over several times before drawing conclusions and solving problems. This group of students enjoys putting presentations and projects together. In fact, they are motivated to complete projects like this, because they would rather be creative and design something instead of writing papers. Therefore, I know they will be interested in completing the projects. The students will just need guidance throughout the inquiry process. The students will be connected to the real world through the conversations and discussions that take place in their small groups. Students need to know how to conduct meaningful conversations, so the students will hold various conversations discussing the book, journal entries, or products.