Coach: Cynthia Brawner, James Wadsworth Elementary Adaptable for grade levels: PreK-8 Key Subject Area(s): Social Studies Also incorporates: Art, Music, Drama; Language Arts; Math; Special Education; Technology; Parental Involvement; Interdisciplinary
Study Group Teaching Method Description:
Witness your students transform into real photojournalists as they discover important social studies and social science terminology throughout this inquiry-based exploration of Chicago neighborhoods. With this teaching method, students learn age-appropriate social studies and social science terms as various neighborhoods in Chicago are explored and studied.
The inquiry-based learning process explored in this Study Group allows students to work in small teams in an effort to learn about four different Chicago neighborhoods, collectively identifying and examining the culture and environment of each neighborhood. The students will also gain practice as “junior photojournalists” as they use disposable cameras to document the association between the discussed social studies and social sciences concepts and these diverse Chicago neighborhoods. This teaching method combines hands-on activities with project-based learning, which helps to provide students with a meaningful way of researching different neighborhoods, while also creating a lasting memory of their experience.
Illinois State Standards and Benchmarks:
State Goal 16: Understand events, trends, individuals and movements shaping the history of Illinois, the United States and other nations State Goal 17: Understand world geography and the effects of geography on society, with an emphasis on the United States
About the Coach:
Cynthia Brawner teaches second grade at Wadsworth Elementary School. A nineteen-year veteran with the Chicago Public Schools, Cynthia continuously seeks professional growth; she is Nationally Board Certified and holds two masters degrees in Early Childhood Leadership and Advocacy and School Administration. She has a long list of leadership experiences include: having completed training to implement the Schools Attuned model, an on-site faculty member with the Association for Supervision of Curriculum Development (ASCD), CPS Golden Teacher lead mentor, Chicago Teachers’ Union Delegate, and a teacher consultant for the Chicago Area Writing Project (CAWP)—just to name a few! Cynthia is a multiple grant winner with CFE, including leading five past Study Groups, numerous Small Grants, and two-time action research fellow with the Teachers Network Leadership Institute (TNLI).
Meeting Times:
The Study Group meeting
schedules are determined together at the Study Group Program Kick-Off Dinner on
Thursday, June 4, 2009.
