OT: Teachers I need your help please

[Kanga1]

Another teacher here. I'm creating a unit for a class I'm taking this summer to do with my 4th graders next year. Of course, I want my topic to be somehow Disney related. I have a million ideas, but most seem so broad. (Plan a trip, research the parks, etc.) Anybody have any Disney activities you've done with your students?

 

[karliebug]

Can you give us some idea of your curriculum? For example, if you do a maps unit maybe you could use park maps or map a course from where you are to WDW? What type of units are you responsible for teaching?

 

[Kanga1]

Well, I don't really "have" a curriculum, per se. I'm the library/media specialist, and for this particular unit, the topic/lessons can be anything from any subject area. I'm basically taking a topic and teaching it through technology, so any subject(s) would work. I like your map idea. Hmmm....

 

[daisyduck123]

You could incorporate some Math...say telling them they have XXX amount of dollars for purchasing souvenirs, & ask them to show how they would spend the money, without going over the allotted amount. You could have them write about who they would purchase for and why.

You could do almost the same activity but change it to spending money at the food stands, snacks, etc.

Sounds like a great activity...have fun!!

 

[Aliceacc]

I'm high school math, so I may be overreaching. But how about a look at the DDP? Give them a budget. You could have them go to allears and look at menus. Give them some parameters, and have them decide whether the DDP would save their fictional family money.

Or give them a budget and have them choose a resort for a number of days, and justify their choice. I don't know whether or not you've done percents, but give them the 15% AAA discount and have them price out one Deluxe, one Moderate, and one Value.

Have them research airfare to get the best rates from your local airport to MCO.

 

[ilovepooh]

I used park maps when I was covering map skills.....using a map key, directions, etc. It was a great way to incorporate my love of Disney into my classroom. The kids loved it!

 

[StitchandPooh'sMom]

How about something using Google Earth? My DSIL is a technology teacher and did a unit on landforms using Google Earth.

 

[FSUDisneyGirl]

The 4th graders at my school did a math project in which they had to plan a vacation to Disney for their family. They had a budget and had to calculate the cost of everything. Then, they presented their trip on a big poster board. Maybe using technology, you could have them do powerpoint presentations, or create trips in groups and do powerpoints since they can be a little tricky. You could have them type up a budget in Excel, do a family newsletter in publisher, or an itinerary in word. just some ideas!

 

[jack hannah bananah]

Have you ever see Rollercoaster Tycoon (I know XBOX has it - probably others)? You could do something along these lines. For this game the kids design the rides, hire maintance, figure prices for park, decide on bathroom placement, food stand placement, sell merchandise. You could adjust this for a great math unit. My 2nd grade son has learned so much just playing this "game". You could have kids work in teams developing their park, then have another class come in and vote on the park they would most like to go to. The prices have to be realistic (some lesson on basic economics) because they have to get people to come to the park, yet hire maintenance crews and people to work the rides and stands.

Keep us up to date on what you decide to do. I can't wait to hear about the kids response in the fall.

 

[bookbabe626]

I've done the "plan your Disney trip" one in the past with my students. Like others have said, it's a great one to work in both math and language. You can either assign them a set amount and a fictious family, or you can let them use their own family and go "sky's the limit" on their budget. Depends on whether you want to mark for accuracy or creativity, I guess. Work from the official Disney site and fan sites like Allears and Mouseplanet, plus sites like Expedia or Travelocity. For print resources, raid your local travel agent and/or order all the Disney vacation kits (the vacation DVD is also a nice bonus). Our final product was a brochure done in MS Publisher and an Excel budget. (If you want to work in geography as well, have them also plan their route there, complete with stops along the way, etc. We didn't do that part, 'cause they all decided they were flying so they could get there faster.)

There's also the inventions angle...research some of the inventions or other technologies that Disney has either patented or first showcased at the parks. Audio-animatronics, some of the animation technologies, ride vehicles, things like the Segway or the other things in Innoventions...there's got to be some great info out there that could be worked into a science unit.

Or, how about World Geography, but focussing on the countries of the World Showcase?

For anything to do with animals, there's Animal Kingdom - maybe they could plan new lands or rides to showcase animals that AK doesn't have yet?

If you want to go all out on the technology angle, use one of the sites like pbwiki to have your students create their own wikipedia-style site of Disney knowledge. They could all choose different aspects of Disney to cover, which would allow total freedom of research topics. Or, you could have them focus on one aspect, like the parks or the movies, etc. If you choose this angle, make sure you watch out for copyright issues...Disney can be a little sticky about violations.

Why, yes, this is something I've thought about a fair bit...but then again, I'm also a Disney-loving Teacher-Librarian...

 

[hugabearjo]

Just a thought from a concerned parent (ex teacher).

I taught in a very low SES district so this probably alters my view.

While many of us are lucky to be able to visit Disney, many kids it is a dream that will never happen. To require kids to research some place that they most certainly already dream about going, seem a little sad for the kids who have no hope of it being a reality. Just a little worried.

JMHO

 

[hopefor4]

How about doing a map, estimate distance travelled to certain attractions, fasted route to complete all, most scenic etc. OR you could to a literary tour of the attractions and stories they respresent? I think it will depend on which area you find most fun! If you find it fun, the students will too!

Good luck!

 

[comicguy]

This may not be what your looking for as it takes about 6 -8 weeks to complete.

I am a Special Education Teacher and this past year, I had a 15:1:1 self contained class(major behavior problems) Gr 7 and 8. We did a multidisciplinary unit using The Kingdom Keepers by Ridley Pearson. We read the book as a class, viewed youtube clips of the rides(as they came up in the book). We incorporated maps(using directions by having each students explain how the characters went from point A to point B using a Magic Kingdom map. We also created a timeline as we read the book. Also used graphic organizers for short writing responses. At the end of the book the kids did 2 projects, one was the cereal box project which incorporates literary elements(man vs man and such) art(draw a scene from the book), writing, explaing how the scene that the student drew was important to the story, also included was character development using character traits for the main characters(Finn and Amanda) The students were able to learn plenty of new vocabulary terms and their meaning, They also were required to use those terms correctly in a sentence of their own. The 2nd project was they had to create either a power point or brochure on a vacation for their famlies. Each student was given 4000 dollars of monoploy money to plan the vacation(math) and then they had to record their expenditures in either the above formats. We also discussed technology and science as needed through out the book. We also researched holgrams and uses for them.

As a fun after activity the students were allowed to play on VMK

I have not formally written this up as a lesson plan but that is something I need to do this summer with the all of the other things I will be doing.

 

[bookbabe626]

Just a thought from a concerned parent (ex teacher).
I taught in a very low SES district so this probably alters my view.
While many of us are lucky to be able to visit Disney, many kids it is a dream that will never happen. To require kids to research some place that they most certainly already dream about going, seem a little sad for the kids who have no hope of it being a reality. Just a little worried.
JMHO

I understand your concerns, and I think any teacher should look at their student body first and customize every lesson to their needs and interests.

But...and don't take this the wrong way...as a teacher at a high school that serves almost entirely students from poorer backgrounds, who are also mostly high needs, behavioural or special education students, I don't think that we should stop students from dreaming and learning about other places. After all, they may never travel anywhere at all in their lives...should we stop studying other states/provinces, countries or planets then? Knowledge is never wasted, and dreams are never pointless.

Just because it may not be likely that they visit these other places, whether it's Disney or Paris or the moon, doesn't mean we should crush their dreams and say that "because you'll never go there, we're not going to learn about that place." Who knows what the future will hold for them? Those dreams might be what helps them achieve...I'd rather inspire dreamers to try to reach unlikely goals than to stifle them into giving up...