The George Lucas Educational Foundation

Preparing for the Project
Sharing Prior Experience & Current Knowledge of the Project
Overview of Phase 1 Structural Features

Getting Started

This section will help the teacher and community members get the
project started in the classroom and the community. Charts are used
to help the reader see the roles, objectives, and strategies used.

Preparing for the Project

Starting a CSI project in your community will be an exciting process! (Download the Project Planning Guide (84 KB).) Before introducing the project to the students, the teacher and interested parents need to meet and prepare the project using the following steps:

Locate your local cemetery resources:

Close to the school site, with a range of sections, and open to the public.

Get a copy of the cemetery's rules for visits.
Obtain any handouts, flyers, booklets, old maps and other information on the cemetery.

Identify your local historical society:

Visit or make contact with your the organization.

Ask to copy primary source documents.

Once you have identified resources, prepare collected materials and hold informational meetings to encourage additional student, parent, and community support:

The school principal.
The school curriculum-development coordinator.
The school technology coordinator.
Local specialists in geographic-information-systems software.
A local newspaper reporter (to follow the development of the project).

Recruit support.
Expand awareness for all participants.
Develop a common language.
More clearly identify the mutual potential benefits of the project.

Turn the issue into a project.

Sharing Prior Experience and Current Knowledge of the Project

Once students, parents, teachers, administrators, and community members have established some common brainstormed goals, the work begins with the students.

Children share their knowledge of what a cemetery is. (We created a knowledge chart to post in the classroom, documenting their current knowledge.)
Review the CSI Web Quest Web site and headstone information Web pages, plus handouts available on the CSI Web Quest site. This preparation will guide your students through the main CSI activities.
Review options for global-positioning-systems (GPS) devices and geographic-information-systems (GIS) software:

We have a small GPS module for introducing students to using GPS devices for exact location measurements. If you want students to use GPS devices as a tool, check out Global-Positioning System Resources
GIS software can be quite useful. Please view our resources page for links to GIS information.

Overview of Phase 1 Structural Features

Fieldwork

Children talk about their prior experiences, including conversations with parents and caregivers.

Children share their knowledge of what a cemetery is with parents and caregivers. A prior-discussions meeting held before the project begins gives parents and caregivers an opportunity to join in the search for knowledge and points of interest.
Children share CSI Web Quest information with parents and caregivers.

Representation

Use drawing, writing, construction, dramatic play, etc., to share prior experiences and knowledge:

Children build a 3D model of a cemetery based on their current knowledge.
After creating the 3D models, students share their models in teams and update their models based on new knowledge acquired.

Investigation

Raise questions based on students' current level of knowledge:

After creating, sharing, and updating their 3D models, students generate new questions.
Students continue to work with parents, caregivers, teachers, and Web resources to investigate new information.
Students search for the geography resources under investigation to build an understanding of maps, geography, topography, etc. See links in the resources section.

Display

Share representations of personal experience on the topic:

Children share new information and begin to formulate essential questions.

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