Literacy:

Symbols: Students will be researching the internet for local historic sites. They will also be given access to promotional materials from tourism outlets and historic sites. Students will use the internet, listen to guest speakers, and watch videos on local history.

Discourse Forms: Students will create visuals to present their research. They will use a variety of forms to present their knowledge of local tourism.

Cognitive Process: Students will develop an understanding of the importance of local tourism on the local economy and on the history of the United States.

Problem-Solving:

Strategies: Historical research, data analysis, map skills, creative advertising

Authentic Anchored Problem: Students must come up with an advertising campaign for local attractions and focus on finding things for a local family to do over their spring break staycation. They must research the history of the area and local attractions. They must present their campaign to the class.

Knowledge:

Disciplinary Structures: Social Studies: History of explorers, maps, historical journals, local attractions Math: Timelines, Measurement, Temperatures Science: Habitats, Pollution, Environmental Studies ELA: Historical Fiction, Reading Comprehension, Research Papers, Oral Presentations

Disciplinary Process: Researching local attractions Reading historical fiction Reading Maps Forming and supporting hypotheses

Disciplinary Discourse: Students will create a presentation full of ideas for the Morse Family's staycation. They will do this through researching the history of Dutchess County. They will study and learn about Henry Hudson and his voyage up the river. Students will study maps of the river and the past and current habitats along the river. They will explore the development of the area and local historic sites.

Using Information:

Students will search for information on tourism in Dutchess County. They will use the internet, but will also have access to community resources.

Community:

Students will be given the opportunity to work in small groups of three or four students to complete the staycation culmination project. Throughout the rest of the unit, like in science labs, students will be working in pairs or in small groups to complete related activities.

Authentic Activities:

Student will research local tourism and plan an itinerary for a family wanting to "vacation" in the county. During the six weeks. Students will also be exposed to activities relating to local history and the environment. They will take a field trip to a local historic site and participate in a science program.

Background Building Activities:

Students will become familiar with local tourism. Students will research local historic sites.

Constructing Activities:

Students will create a final project detailing local tourism that would interest students.

Sharing Activities:

Students will present their final projects to the class and the teacher. Once all final projects are shared, the class will come up with a top ten list of must see places in the county.

Contents:

Social Studies

Standard 1: History of the United States and New York

• Students will use a variety of intellectual skills to demonstrate their understanding of major ideas, eras, themes, developments, and turning points in the history of the United States and New York.

Standard 2: World History

• Students will use a variety of intellectual skills to demonstrate their understanding of major ideas, eras, themes, developments, and turning points in world history and examine the broad sweep of history from a variety of perspectives.

Standard 3: Geography

• Students will use a variety of intellectual skills to demonstrate their understanding of the geography of the interdependent world in which we live—local, national, and global—including the distribution of people, places, and environments over the Earth’s surface.

Mathematics, Science, and Technology

Standard 1: Analysis, Inquiry, and Design

• Students will use mathematical analysis, scientific inquiry, and engineering design, as appropriate, to pose questions, seek answers, and develop solutions.

Standard 2: Information Systems

• Students will access, generate, process, and transfer information using appropriate technologies.

Standard 3: Mathematics

• Students will understand mathematics and become mathematically confident by communicating and reasoning mathematically, by applying mathematics in real-world settings, and by solving problems through the integrated study of number systems, geometry, algebra, data analysis, probability, and trigonometry.

Standard 4: Science

• Students will understand and apply scientific concepts, principles, and theories pertaining to the physical setting and living environment and recognize the historical development of ideas in science.

Standard 5: Technology

• Students will apply technological knowledge and skills to design, construct, use, and evaluate products and systems to satisfy human and environmental needs.

English Language Arts

Standard 1: Language for Information and Understanding

• Students will listen, speak, read, and write for information and understanding.
  • As listeners and readers, students will collect data, facts, and ideas; discover relationships, concepts, and generalizations; and use knowledge generated from oral, written, and electronically produced texts.
  • As speakers and writers, they will use oral and written language that follows the accepted conventions of the English language to acquire, interpret, apply, and transmit information.

Standard 2: Language for Literary Response and Expression

• Students will read and listen to oral, written, and electronically produced texts and performances from American and world literature; relate texts and performances to their own lives; and develop an understanding of the diverse social, historical, and cultural dimensions the texts and performances represent.
• As speakers and writers, students will use oral and written language that follows the accepted conventions of the English language for self-expression and artistic creation.

Standard 3: Language for Critical Analysis and Evaluation

• Students will listen, speak, read, and write for critical analysis and evaluation.
  • As listeners and readers, students will analyze experiences, ideas, information, and issues presented by others using a variety of established criteria.
  • As speakers and writers, they will use oral and written language that follows the accepted conventions of the English language to present, from a variety of perspectives, their opinions and judgments on experiences, ideas, information and issues.

Standard 4: Language for Social Interaction

• Students will listen, speak, read, and write for social interaction.
• Students will use oral and written language that follows the accepted conventions of the English language for effective social communication with a wide variety of people.
  • As readers and listeners, they will use the social communications of others to enrich their understanding of people and their views.

Tools:

Computer, internet, library resources, community resources, email, word processing software, power point, digital camera photo software, video production, etc.

Assessments:

Peer evaluation, teacher evaluation, rubrics for final project

Environment:

The learning environment will be the classroom and the computer lab. Students will complete collaborative and individual research and then collaborate on the final project.

To Do List:

The six week unit will begin with the teacher presentation on the Morse Family and their need for help planning their staycation. Over the six weeks students will work collaboratively and independently researching local tourism. This project will revolve around a six week Social Studies unit on New York State history and geography. The other subjects will build on the Social Studies unit and focus on different aspects of local history.

Week One:

Social Studies: Introduction to the explorer Henry Hudson.

ELA - study journals written by the crew of the Halfmoon. Students will complete journal writing from a historian's perspective.

Science: Simple machines unit, what simple machines were used on the Halfmoon.

Week Two:

Social Studies: NYS Map skills

Science: Continue Simple Machines unit. Students will participate in a field trip to Locus Grove Historic Site. They will complete a workshop simple machines. This workshop will be the completion activity to a unit on simple machines.

ELA: While at Locust Grove, they will participate in a tour. Upon returning to class students will complete a journal writing activity that continues last week's writing from a historical perspective.

Week Three:

Social Studies: NYS History (American Indians, Revolutionary War)

Science: Begin a river habitats unit.

ELA: Students will be reading and reviewing historical fiction pieces that cover local historic figures like Roosevelt, Hudson, and Washington.

Week Four:

Social Studies: Continue NYS History (1800-1900) Field trip to the walkway over the Hudson. Day long trip will include taking samples from the river basin, writing visual descriptive essays from the walkway, and measuring distance of the bridge in sections.

Week Five:

Social Studies: Continue NYS history (1900-Present) Project work time.

Science: Continue habitats unit.

ELA: Prep for 5th grade writing test.

Week Six: (Week before spring break) Presentations. Once all the presentations have been completed, students will compile a list of "must see" places in the county.