CEClang.60


TITLE:    "LET ME TELL YOU ABOUT MY STATE!"

AUTHOR:   Debbie Schimmer, Yukon Public Schools,
          Yukon, OK

GRADE LEVEL:   4-6.

OVERVIEW:  Let Me Tell You About My State is a
communication project through amateur radio.  Amateur
Radio communication is mainstreaming in many schools
across the United States. It is a tool used to motivate
and excite the discovery of learning from  amateur
radio operators.  More and more teachers and students
are becoming license operators.  These teachers and
students are forming partnerships with one another to
link research projects for data collecting and
comparing.

PURPOSE:  The purpose of this activity is to develop an
awareness of the concepts of the United States through
the Amateur Radio communication services.  It provides
an opportunity for the students to verbally interact
information about their state.  Comparing and
collecting data about different cultures, current
events, geography, history, government, natural
resources, and climate conditions are examples of
shared data.  Students will be given the opportunity to
interact with another student operator to exchange
information.  Verbal questioning skills, critical
thinking skills and the growth of writing skills will
be enhanced.  Through sharing of information about
ones' state, published reports will be written from the
acquired data.

OBJECTIVE(s):
1.  Develop an awareness through amateur radio
    communications and shared knowledge of:
    a.  Geography of the different states
    b.  History of states
    c.  State symbol
    d.  Tourism/places to visit
    e.  Government --parts that comprise government
        and how it works
    f.  Economy/manufacturing/natural resources of
        different states
    g.  Population
    h.  Climate conditions
2.  Become involved in publishing their reports in
    the network computer lab.
3.  Graphing and plotting data information
4.  Apply other information from the services of the
    Amateur Radio.

RESOURCES:
Teacher Materials:
Hands-On Elementary Science Fourth Grade Manual:
Energy Transfer Lesson Macmillan Publishing Company
Regions Near and Far

QST American Radio Relay League Journal

NASA Educational Briefs for the Classroom:  STS-9 and
Amateur Radio

ICOM IC-735 Ham Transceiver

Students Materials:
Writing journals, thermometers, graph paper, map
pencils

ACTIVITIES AND PROCEDURES:  The teacher who is a
license amateur radio operator will develop a
partnership with another teacher from another state.
Together they will develop plans for their students to
share information.  These operators will place students
on a team and schedule days for communication on the
radio transceiver.  One example of gathering data to
share is the climate conditions of ones' state.

1.  Place students on a team
2.  Allow time three times a day for one week. The
    students will take the temperature of the
    weather conditions outside.
3.  Allow them to take a reading once in the
    morning, noon and afternoon.
4.  After a week of gathering data, the different
    teams will relate their data with the other
    members of the team over the amateur ratio.  The
    operators from the other state will communicate
    the temperature data gathered from their state.
5.  The students can also relate other information
    about the climate conditions:  rain, snow, fog,
    etc.
6.  The students will write their findings and
    comparisons during computer lab time.
7.  The students will graph and chart the
    information.

TYING IT ALL TOGETHER:  Students will use the Amateur
Radio service to interview ham radio operators from
different states.  The information they receive will be
written in a report and printed out in the network
computer lab.  The sharing and communicating of this
information will develop a network communication
between Novice License Schools across the United States
and with fellow operators.