Media specialists are responsible for collaborative support to classroom teachers in several areas. Efforts by the Media Specialists in these areas should be conducted so as to also be of major benefit to the students involved. My personal approach to teaching requires that the Media Specialist efficiently balance several objectives to ensure maximum benefit to the student and worthwhile support to the classroom teacher. These objectives are:
One area which traditionally receives a lot of attention at Canby Lane is preparation for the annual Iowa Test of Basic Skills - the ITBS.
Teachers and students are often so ‘buzz-bombed' by the emphasis and multiplicity of ITBS terms, conditions and phraseology that they are heartily ‘sick' of it. As one third grader at Canby Lane recently said, "If I hear ITBS one more time I'll scream!"
Nevertheless, ITBS proficiency is a Georgia DeKalb County Board of Education requirement and the preparation for the test continues to receive major emphasis. Collaborative support of the classroom teachers in this area will continue to be a major Media Specialist responsibility.
ITBS preparation at Canby Lane requires a considerable amount of teaching resources, and I have used various approaches to support the classroom teachers in this area. Specifics and lesson plans for some of the successful approaches may be of interest to other Media Specialists and my intent is to share that information through a series of articles on this website.
This first article will address ITBS preparation by increasing the student's skills in the use of maps.
Using road maps to teach students map concepts is not specified in the Georgia QCC and is frequently overlooked.
However, road maps may be efficiently used to teach map concepts such as direction, location, distance between points, and map keys. The success of this approach at Canby Lane for all students, and especially second and third grade students, has generally been demonstrated by dramatically improved map reading skills by the students involved.
An example lesson plan used for second and third grades at Canby Lane is as follows:
- Objective -
- The student shall be able to identify direction, location and point-to-point distance. The student shall be able to calculate point-to-point distances via a given route.
Requires -- Four or five sessions. Sessions are limited to one half hour as a reasonable limit on the student's attention span.
Materials needed -- One current Georgia Department of Transportation Highway Map for each student.
Session 1 -- Student introduction to maps and understanding of the general cardinal map directions, and location of a student's home locale within a larger area.
- Introduction - write student's answers to the following questions on the blackboard.
- What is a map?
- What do we know about maps?
- Why is a map necessary?
- Hand out one current Georgia DOT road map to each student - Allow time for the students to become familiar with the maps and express comments before proceeding. Clarify any obvious misconceptions.
- Demonstrate how to fold the map to enable a view of the Atlanta Metropolitan Area.
- Open the map to full size.
- Introduce the cardinal map directions of North, South, East and West.
- Have the students identify the general cardinal map direction of Atlanta within the state of Georgia, i.e., Atlanta is in the northern part of Georgia.
- The first session normally ends here. Collect the maps.
Session 2 -- Introduction to map key symbology and the identification of a smaller locality within the Atlanta area.
- Hand out the Georgia DOT road maps to each student.
- Introduce map keys and some of the symbols involved. Include Highway symbols for Interstates, US Routes, and State or local roads, and symbols for cities, towns and schools.
- Fold the map to the Atlanta Metro Area sections.
- Have the students locate Canby Lane School's street within the Atlanta area.
- The second session normally ends here. Collect the maps.
Session 3 -- Introduction of point-to-point distances, and their summation to calculate total milage or distance.
- Hand out the Georgia DOT road maps together with a xerox copy for each student of the map section involved.
- Have each student use their xerox copy as a worksheet to independently identify point-to-point distances around the I-285 perimeter and add them to calculate the total milage.
- The third session normally ends here. Collect the maps.
Session 4 -- Continuation of calculating point-to-point distance.
- Hand out the Georgia DOT road maps together with a xerox copy for each student of the map section involved.
- Have each student use their xerox copy as a worksheet to independently identify point-to-point distances from Six Flags Amusement Park to Canby Lane School via I-20 and add the distances to calculate the total milage.
- The fourth session normally ends here. Collect the maps.
Session 5 -- Continuation of calculation of point-to-point distance and overall review.
- Hand out the Georgia DOT road maps and have each student fully open their map and locate Savannah, Georgia.
- Have each student use separate worksheets to independently list point-to-point distances from Atlanta to Savannah using I-75 from Atlanta to Macon, and I-16 from Macon to Savannah. Then have each student independently add the distances to calculate the total milage.
- Conduct an overall review and write on the board current student answers to the original questions -
- What is a map?
- What do we know about maps?
- Why is a map necessary?
- The fifth session, and the lesson plan, normally ends here. Collect the maps.
- Objective -
- The student shall be able to identify direction, location and point-to-point distance. The student shall be able to calculate point-to-point distances via a given route. The student shall be able to identify mountains, rivers, and lakes on a Georgia map.
Requires -- Four or five sessions. Sessions are limited to one half hour as a reasonable limit on the student's attention span.
Materials needed -- One current Georgia Department of Transportation Highway Map for each student. One Graphic Learning Corporation 1987 General Georgia Map for each student.
Session 1 -- Student introduction to maps and understanding of the general cardinal map directions, and location of a student's home locale within a larger area. Student understanding of graphic representation of major rivers, lakes and mountains.
- Introduction - write student's answers to the following questions on the blackboard.
- What is a map?
- What do we know about maps?
- Why is a map necessary?
- Hand out one current Georgia DOT road map to each student - Allow time for the students to become familiar with the maps and express comments before proceeding. Clarify any obvious misconceptions.
- Demonstrate how to fold the map to enable a view of the Atlanta Metropolitan Area.
- Open the map to full size.
- Introduce the cardinal map directions of North, South, East and West.
- Have the students identify the general cardinal map direction of Atlanta within the state of Georgia, i.e., Atlanta is in the northern part of Georgia.
- Hand out one Graphic Learning Corporation 1987 General Georgia Map to each student.
- Introduce the graphic, pictoral and symbolic representations of rivers, lakes, and mountains.
- Have the students identify the major rivers, lakes and mountains shown on side two of the map.
- The first session normally ends here. Collect the maps.
Session 2 -- Introduction to map key symbology and the identification of a smaller locality within the Atlanta area.
- Hand out the Georgia DOT road maps and general Georgia maps to each student.
- Introduce map keys on both maps and some of the symbols involved. Include Highway symbols for Interstates, US Routes, and State or local roads, symbols for cities, towns and schools, and the State Tree, State Bird and State Flower.
- Fold the road map to the Atlanta Metro Area sections.
- Have the students locate Canby Lane School's street within the Atlanta area.
- The second session normally ends here. Collect the maps.
Session 3 -- Introduction of point-to-point distances, and their summation to calculate total milage or distance.
- Hand out the Georgia DOT road maps together with a xerox copy for each student of the map section involved.
- Have each student use their xerox copy as a worksheet to independently identify point-to-point distances around the I-285 perimeter and add them to calculate the total milage.
- The third session normally ends here. Collect the maps.
Session 4 -- Continuation of calculating point-to-point distance.
- Hand out the Georgia DOT road maps together with a xerox copy for each student of the map section involved.
- Have each student use their xerox copy as a worksheet to independently identify point-to-point distances from Six Flags Amusement Park to Canby Lane School via I-20 and add the distances to calculate the total milage.
- The fourth session normally ends here. Collect the maps.
Session 5 -- Continuation of calculation of point-to-point distance and overall review.
- Hand out both the general Georgia maps and the Georgia DOT road maps and have each student fully open their DOT map and locate Savannah, Georgia.
- Have each student use separate worksheets to independently list point-to-point distances from Atlanta to Savannah using I-75 from Atlanta to Macon, and I-16 from Macon to Savannah. Then have each student independently add the distances to calculate the total milage.
- Conduct an overall review using both maps and write on the board current student answers to the original questions -
- What is a map?
- What do we know about maps?
- Why is a map necessary?
- The fifth session, and the lesson plan, normally ends here. Collect the maps.
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