Description:
Students brainstorm the quailities and traits they believe to be important and/or common in leaders. Next, they identify and use keyword searching and indexes to locate information about various leaders to support and enhance their list of traits. Students work individually, then in groups to compile a master list of desirable leadership qualities.This lesson encourages student participation and interest by using a variety of motivation methods suchs as brainstorming, teamwork, and choice.
Goals & Objectives:
LIBRARY MEDIA SKILLS OBJECTIVES
The student will:
-identify and use a strategy to locate appropriate information for a discussion.
-use catalogs and indexes to locate information about a leader or traits of a leader.
CURRICULUM OBJECTIVES:
This activity may be included in a social studies unit on world leaders and leadership or a guidance unit on leadership.
MOTIVATIONAL OBJECTIVES:
The student will:
-become interested in the research process.
-understand the importance of information skills.
-experience increased confidence in research ability.
-achieve satisfaction in research accomplishments.
Materials & Sources:
Resource List
| Credits: |
School Library Media Activities Monthly
Adapted for SOS by Kori Gerbig
School of Information Studies
Syracuse University
|
| Sources: |
School Library Media Activities Monthly
February 2003; 19:6; 21-22
http://www.schoollibrarymedia.com
http://www.crinkles.com
|
Procedures:
INSTRUCTIONAL ROLES:
-The Library media specialist and teacher together plan the focus of the lessons on leadership. Depending on the choices, the library media specialist provides appropriate resources as a special collection and models the use of different strategies for finding information for class discussions. The teacher leads and monitors the lessons and products of the students.
ACTIVITIES AND PROCEDURES FOR COMPLETION:
-The classroom teacher begins with pictures of people in leadership roles. Pictures of obvious political leaders may be shown first, followed by other kinds of leaders ranging from people in the past who have championed causes to current-day crusaders from different areas. After students have looked at the photographs and identified who they are, they may brainstorm what these people might have had in common. A list of qualities or results may be recorded and posted.
-Ask students to consider the following question: What is leadership? Students discuss and provide views. Refer the students back to the brainstormed list and ask them to consider what they said about the photographs shown. Ask students in what areas people might be considered leaders:
- Military
- Ethical
- Political
- Educational
- Spiritual
-As students discuss people in different areas, they are asked to think about the qualities that are required to be a leader. A list is started that will be posted near the list of brainstormed qualities.
-Skills or traits: initiating, commanding, thoughtful, listening, inclusive, brave, charismatic, cooperative, honest, persistent, compassionate, etc.
-As students talk about the qualities and relate them to some of the photographs, they are given the task. The students must identify a list of traits that they consider essential for a great leader.The list will be submitted as a documented list. Each identified trait must be documented with a specific example.
-Students work with the library media specialist to compile the list of traits. Because students must have examples of the traits, they may need help in how to approach the problem. The library media specialist models at least two strategies that might work:
-Strategy One: Look up the word “leadership†in the catalog to find titles with clues of the traits. Suggest words for use in the catalog and on the Internet such as leadership, leader traits, famous leaders, characteristics of effective leaders, etc.
-Strategy Two: Look up an individual who is a leader and read to see what characteristics that person has. Share reference books that focus on names of leaders. Watch the news for reports about leaders.
-Select a category like presidents. The students research an individual considered a leader in more depth. The students identify the field of endeavor for that individual and what traits made the person a leader. As students read, they record examples from the individual's life that demonstrate the trait.
-Discuss the two approaches and how one or the other might be more useful. Students may need to use both. As students prepare their lists and identify the examples from the lives of one or more individuals, they may make judgments on how they would like to group the traits. Longer lists might be categorized. Students should be encouraged to make their lists visually appealing with a poster format for display during the sharing of lists.
-When the lists are completed, small groups may gather to share the traits. Master lists of traits from the small groups may be posted. A final class list may be made of all the examples found. Suggest that students look at the lists and write a self-evaluation on one or more of the traits in terms of their own lives or life goals.
FOLLOW-UP:
-Students may look at traits of leaders in terms of positive or negative outcomes from the behaviors.
Assessment:
-After the student has identified and used a strategy to locate appropriate information for a discussion and has used catalogs and indexes to locate information about a leader or traits of a leader, he or she will complete a list of located traits with examples.
Sources:
School Library Media Activities Monthly
February 2003; 19:6; 21-22
http://www.schoollibrarymedia.com
http://www.crinkles.com
