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Creating a Personal Literature Database
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Description:
This is a 5th grade lesson/unit plan, created collaboratively with the language arts and technology teacher, which provides participants with the opportunity to improve their information skills by creating personalized databases of book titles that they have read. Utilizing collaborators' input, the OPAC, WorldCat, and The Novelist, students will locate literary information to store in databases that they will construct with Microsoft Access. Genre will be a required input field, thus affording practice at classifying literature by genre. The lesson concludes with each student dressing as a literary figure (via an entry made in their database) while they compete in a “guess the database owner" game. A final requirement is a one page PowerPoint presentation reflecting on the experience. This lesson plan is gratifying to students because it is personally relevant and can be used to provide lists to other school-community members, aiding in the selection of literature for literature circles, guided reading and reading for pleasure.
Goals & Objectives:
Instructional Goals:
  1. Students will understand the purpose of an electronic database.
  2. Students will practice using databases.
  3. Students will understand how to, and create an electronic database.
  4. Students will classify literature by genre.

Learning Objectives:
  1. Understand at least five database search terms including the use of "and", "or", "not", "truncation" and "proximity searching".
  2. 5th graders will practice using the OPAC, WorldCat and The Novelist to locate literary information to be entered in their literary databases created with Microsoft Access.
  3. 5th grade students will store six or more fields of literary information on book titles they have read in an electronic database (Microsoft Access) creating at least ten rows.
  4. All participants will be required to classify each of their literature selections using at least one of eight genre categories- Biography, Contemporary Realistic Fiction, Historical Fiction, Informational, Modern Fantasy, Poetry, Picture Book and Traditional Fantasy.

Motivational Goals:
  1. Promote the value of learning information skills and show how these skills are relevant to students' personal experience.
  2. Increase students' confidence in using electronic databases.
  3. Promote satisfaction with an end product that will be continually useful.
Materials & Sources:
White borad, handouts, job aids, OPAC, Internet, Microsoft Access, Microsoft Word, The Novelist (subscription database), an Elmo and 15 networked terminals,
Procedures:

Introduction:  

  • Ask students which databases they have experience using and why they used a particular data-base. This discussion connects to background knowledge, and increases relevance and confidence for students.
  • Display student responses on a white board under two section headings Database and Use.
  • Add a personal touch to the lesson by describing my own experience with installing database driven software in industries requiring storage of large amounts of information.
  • The FDA requires drug manufacturers to track the production stage of each pill. In the automotive industry, every part number on each model must be stored. Ask students if they know which company claims to have the largest database. Answer: UPS-street addresses worldwide!
  • Excite students by mentioning the opportunity to create their own databases on a subject that is relevant to the books they have read.
  • Distribute a handout describing the project requirements.
  • Discuss handout.


The next exercise, a bridge activity, is intended to reduce fear and anxiety (emotions common during the beginning stages of a project). Students meet project team members and learn their functions, including types of information they can provide and questions they can answer. The media center is separated into learning centers manned by the following collaborators. The media specialist who fields questions pertaining to the assignment, the OPAC, WorldCat and The Novelist; The language arts teacher will showcase her role as facilitator on matching genre to title and reminding students of titles they have read. The last station is manned by the computer lab instructor and network technician who are responsible for Microsoft Access and computer issues respectively. Each station will feature a different snack food. A job aid will help students identify and contact project team members.

 

Session 1 

  • Discuss database terms including "key" concept.
  • Have students brainstorm on ideas for their keys.
  • Guest lecturers (see credits) will play the "human database game" and practice 8 database searches.
  • Distribute handout on searching.

Session 2 

  • Students will practice using database tools for this project by completing handouts on The Novelist, the OPAC, and WorldCat. Follow up with a brainstorming session of fields students might include in their databases.
  • Next to each field identified include a source (ie the Internet).
  • Display student responses on a white board under two section headings Field and Source.

Session 3 

  • Encourage students to complete a draft of fields to include in their databases. Remind them that genre code is a required field and pass out a genre job aid.

Session 4

  • Have students report directly to the computer lab. (This will avoid a decline in interest resulting from a change in seating).
  • Give motivational feedback to the group letting them know that they have mastered sources for their literary database information and they are now ready to enter the exciting phase of construction, where they will need to learn how to use Microsoft Access.
  • The computer lab instructor, in collaboration with peer teachers, will conduct a Microsoft Access Learning Center.

Sessions 5-8 

  • Students are allotted 4 library periods to actually construct their databases. Each period will open with a discussion regarding any issues or questions students have so they can increase their confidence levels before tackling more work.
  • The media specialist and collaborators will move about the media center and provide individual assistance and praise during construction. Handouts will track q and a's.

Final Session 

  • As part of a learning progress check, ask students to reflect on what they have learned.

Conclusion:

  • Recap with a question session.
  • Ask students to share obstacles they encountered and how they resolved them. Have students attend the session dressed as a character from a title in their database.
  • Once database listings are distributed, play the unscramble the database owner guessing game.
  • Inform students that they don't have to share all titles in their database with the group,only ones they feel comfortable with.
Assessment:
Have each student present a five minute PowerPoint presentation on their database.
1. How did they go about deciding which fields to include?
2. What were some sources of literary information and what kinds of searches and reporting does their database support?
3. Finally, what are some additional applications for their database?
Learning will be assessed using the attached rubric. A feedback handout will have questions for students to answer on ways to improve the lesson plan.
Sources:
•Guest lecturers Sandy Baker and Cathy Spitzer, LMS, Cicero High School, North Syracuse.
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Presented By: Virginia Halprin
Website by Data Momentum, Inc.