Rachel Temple-Roberts Collection Development Assignment FRIT 7134-Spring 2011 March 8, 2011 Description of Site and Learners I teach

at Whitehead Road Elementary School in Athens, Georgia. Whitehead Road Elementary School is one of 14 elementary schools in the Clarke County School System. Clarke County Schools has four middle schools and three high schools. Whitehead Road Elementary School has approximately 660 students and is currently has the largest population of any Clarke County Elementary School. The student body is about 40 percent Hispanic, 43 percent African-American, 14 percent white with the remaining students being Asian and mixed race. The students in the school range from Pre-K to 5th grade. There are 3 Pre-K classes, 5 kindergarten classes, 5 first grade classes, 4 second grade classes, 4 third grade classes, 4 fourth grade classes and 4 fifth grade classes. There is a large ESOL population and there are three full time ESOL teachers who serve those students. Whitehead has 5 full time EIP personnel and one full time gifted teacher. The teaching faculty currently numbers 55 full-time teachers with 2 full time administrators. Whitehead Road is a Title I school, and has been named a Title I school of distinction for the last several years. Whitehead Road Elementary has made adequate yearly progress (AYP) every year that the measure has been in place. Much emphasis is placed on achievement and the use of data to determine the level of achievement that has been reached by students. Teachers spend a great deal of time working in teams to analyze data and to make plans which individualize instruction. Data is carefully recorded so that it may be easily accessed and shared with administrators and colleagues. The school has recently instated a new period in the school day known as extended learning time. During this daily 45 minute block of time students work in flexible groups to close achievement gaps where necessary and to have the opportunity to focus on enrichment activities when they are able to demonstrate understanding of the appropriate GPS. Clarke County has worked hard to make sure that its students and teachers have access to up to date technology. The school has two computer labs, one of the labs can hold an entire class and the other can hold 16 students. All full time teaching staff are assigned their own laptops and every classroom is equipped with a Smartboard and classroom 2-5 classroom computers. The school also boasts two mobile labs which can be used by classroom teachers to enhance lessons. The school system uses the Campus system to keep track of most student records electronically. Media centers throughout the district use the Destiny computer system which allows teachers to see what resources are available at other schools and check them out though an interlibrary loan system. Athens-Clarke County is located about 65 miles Northeast of Atlanta and has the smallest amount of land of any county in Georgia. Athens-Clarke County is home to the city of Athens, Bogart and Winterville. The city of Athens is home to the University of Georgia which has a student population of about 34,000 students. The population of Athens-Clarke County was 114,737 as of the 2008 census. The countys racial make-up is 69.7% white, 25.3% African-American, 3.4% Asian, 9.2%

Hispanic and 1.5% other. Twenty-eight percent of all of the population lives below the poverty line according to the 2007 census. The median household income as of 2007 was $36,158. In Clarke county 81% of all people above the age of 25 have a high school diploma and 39.8% of all people above the age of 25 have a bachelors degree. The current 4th grade class at Whitehead Road Elementary School has 96 students who are taught in four different classes with one of those classes being a special education collaborative class. Each of the four classes has about 24 students. There are 42 Hispanic students, 42 African-American students, and 14 white students. The students in this grade receive many different services; there are six gifted identified students, 11 who are served for special education, and 14 who receive ESOL services. The current 5th grade class has 99 students who are also taught in four different classes with one of those classes being a special education collaborative class. Each of the four classes has about 25 students. There are 29 Hispanic students, 60 African-American students, and 8 white students. The students in this grade also receive many different services; there are 14 gifted identified students, 9 who are served for special education, and 6 who receive ESOL services. The reading level of the students in these grades ranges from a 2nd grade level to 12th grade level readers. This is a very diverse class which needs a wide range of resources which address their ethnic, social and learning needs. Curriculum Review . The fourth grade social studies curriculum ends with a study of the abolitionist and suffrage movements. The Fifth grade Social Studies curriculum begins with a study of the Civil War and Reconstruction because these two sets of standards link so closely together I felt it was best to include information and materials for both. SS4H7 The student will examine the main ideas of the abolitionist and suffrage movements. a. Discuss the biographies of Harriet Tubman and Elizabeth Cady Stanton. b. Explain the significance of Sojourner Truth to the abolition and suffrage movements. Historical Understandings SS5H1 The student will explain the causes, major events, and consequences of the Civil War. a. Identify Uncle Toms Cabin and John Browns raid on Harpers Ferry, and explain how each of these events was related to the Civil War. b. Discuss how the issues of states rights and slavery increased tensions between the North and South. c. Identify major battles and campaigns: Fort Sumter, Gettysburg, the Atlanta Campaign, Shermans March to the Sea, and Appomattox Court House. d. Describe the roles of Abraham Lincoln, Robert E. Lee, Ulysses S. Grant, Jefferson Davis, and Thomas Stonewall Jackson. e. Describe the effects of war on the North and South. SS5H2 The student will analyze the effects of Reconstruction on American life. a. Describe the purpose of the 13th, 14th, and 15th Amendments. b. Explain the work of the Freedmens Bureau.

c. Explain how slavery was replaced by sharecropping and how African-Americans were prevented from exercising their newly won rights; include a discussion of Jim Crow laws and customs.

Standard SS4H7

Concept abolitionist and suffrage movements

Tasks/Activities/Projects Students read biographies and write short essays about Elizabeth Cade Stanton and Harriet Tubman Students write persuasive essays about why slavery and voter freedom should or should not be allowed from the perspective of various people Read about and discuss the importance of the underground railroad and Sojourner Truth/ watch united streaming video on the subject

Resources Maps Social Studies text and accompanying biographies Media Center videos and books Teacher created Smartboard lessons and power points United Streaming video

Standard SS5H1

Concept Civil War

Tasks/Activities/Projects Read aloud a short biography on Harriet Beacher Stowe and discuss. Watch reenactment video on Harpers Ferry. Students take notes/ class discussion/ create map/answer questions Read text book on topic of how states rights and slavery increased tensions Create charts with the important facts about each battle and map the battles Create charts with the important facts about the important figures of the Civil War Venn diagram and essay comparing and contrasting the impact of the Civil War on the North and South Video take notes and write an short essay about 13,14 and 15 amendments Read text book on Freedmans Bureau and discuss Define sharecropping and discuss

Resources Maps Social Studies text and accompanying materials Media Center videos and books Teacher created Smartboard lessons and power points United Streaming video

SS5H2

Reconstruction

Websites Maps Videos/United streaming

how it prevented African-Americans from being upwardly mobile Review and discuss what the Jim Crow laws were and how they impeded African- Americans

Text book Teacher made Power Points and Smartboard lessons

Collection Review In reviewing the collection on the Civil War and Reconstruction I looked both in the Media Center itself and on the Destiny data base. I noticed that there was a good deal of new and nearly new resources. When I talked with the SLMS she said that they had recently weeded and replenished the books dealing with the Civil War and Reconstruction, but acknowledged that there was room for improvement. While she has new materials she does not have the amount that she needs to serve the large number of students and classrooms who use them. I was able to find 87 titles concerning this historical era; four were movies, 29 were non-fiction books, 22 were fiction titles and 18 were biographies. It is obvious that it is imperative that the number of materials be increased. When I asked about circulation of these items the SLMS was very clear that they were popular items especially in the early fall and late spring when these items are most in use. The SLMS did not feel that the data on the circulation of these items was very accurate as many of them are used primarily in the media center so that they may be easily shared among the classes. She was however able to tell me that in the 900s section of the library there had been 179 check outs to date this year. She estimated that the majority of them had been to check out books about the Civil War era. The materials themselves were easy to locate in the Media Center. The nonfiction books were located in shelves along the back wall of the Media Center and organized using the Dewey decimal system which is clearly labeled for easy access by students and faculty. There are tables just in front of the nonfiction section for easy use during research. The biography section runs perpendicular to the nonfiction section and is organized alphabetically by the subjects last name. The fiction books are organized in shelves which are parallel to the biography section and organized by the authors last name. When I looked at the materials themselves they looked very new which speaks to their recent purchase date. The books are heavily used, although they do not show much wear as of yet. When I asked classroom teachers what they would like to see in the media center regarding these standards they expressed that they liked what was there, but needed more of it and of a wider range of reading abilities. Teachers also told me that they would like to have some class sets of books both fiction and nonfiction to use to integrate the social studies standards into other parts of their day specifically the reading portions of the day. In light of the large percentage of the school population who are Hispanic I feel that it would be helpful if we could stock the library with some books which are written in Spanish whenever possible. Also, I feel that whenever possible we should look to purchase books which look at

historical issues from diverse perspectives. I think that it is particularly important that the AfricanAmerican experience during the pre- and post Civil War Era is represents as well of that differing groups such as women, children, soldiers who fought on both sides of the conflict and civilians.

Additional Resources http://frit7134.wikispaces.com/