March 29, 2013

Collecting Artifacts in India

Imagine a box of artifacts for students to use during research.

      The other day on Karen Bonanno's Scoop.it I came across this gem about how simple artifacts can support student inquiry in the context of PBL (Project Based Learning). 
      Teachers (and school librarians) can collect artifacts to activate and support student inquiry. For a research unit on India, students can observe a multitude of artifacts such as a flag, map, or currency. For example, as students examine a flag from India, they might observe and wonder the meaning behind the saffron, white, and green colors. They might also wonder the story about the wheel, or chakra, in the flag's center. Better yet, students could also tap into prior knowledge and make connections to the meaning of our own red,white and blue in the American flag. 

     As students generate their own questions, the teacher/librarian can record them for further work. Student-generated questions might result in deeper inquiry because the students feel more ownership of their own questions.  
      As school librarian, it's important to make everything in the school library accessible to the entire learning community. As I consider what Indian artifacts to collect for my school library, how can I assure fair access to the artifacts? I'm thinking of creating a couple of Artifact Boxes that classroom teachers can borrow and use as they teach about India. Furthermore, I can digitize the Indian artifacts by taking pictures of each item and uploading the pics for easy access by all.   
Image source: http://www.wpclipart.com/money/treasure/treasure_chest_3.png.html

4 comments:

Brian Miller said...

oo that artifact box idea sounds really cool...can i use on in my class? smiles...might be a bit of postage...

Ms. Gibson said...

Hi Brian,
If you want some stuff for your class, let me know!

Unknown said...

My colleague formed a Digital Media Club so that he could delegate the work of photographing/videotaping, editing, and uploading to students. He maintains our Website, so this has taken much of the burden off of him while helping the students learn new skills. They photographed and edited almost three-hundred pieces of student artwork for our Website (click on link): http://wcbryanths.org/apps/album/#albumREC_ID=56058&s=0. The principal loves it because all school events are captured and uploaded in a more timely manner and because all the multimedia promotes our school.

Ms. Gibson said...

Joey, Thank you for popping over to this blog. After I comment here, I will fly over to your website and see how you guys are doing this awesome work!