Objectives:

• Students will examine a range of different plant and animal fibers by looking at fibers under a magnifying glass and drawing and describing what they see. (Observation and data recording)
• Students will begin to find out where material and fabric comes from and how it is made into the clothes that we wear today by looking in a variety of trade books that are made available at the center.
• Students will begin to gain an understanding about the process by which the colonists made fabric for clothes and quilts by looking at the trade books and bulletin board displays at the center and recording the information on their fiber investigation sheets.

Materials:

• Fibers of: natural wool, handspun wool, unspun silk, spun silk, spun cotton, unspun flax, and gold dyed wool
• Magnifying glasses
• Data sheets
• pencils

Procedure:

1. As stated above, introduction will be given at morning meeting.
2. Students will choose a fiber sample to investigate: this includes naming, describing, looking at under a magnifying glass, and drawing.
3. Students will work at their own pace, guiding their own learning, and only using me as an additional resource or facilitator.
4. My role throughout will be to prompt or encourage further thinking by posing additional questions about what they are looking at or offering differing opinions or perspectives. For example as I read their descriptions as they are working I might ask "Where does that fiber come from?", "How does that fiber feel when you touch it?" or " How can we find out what this fiber is used for?"

Evaluation (Informal):

1. Questioning and observation will be used throughout the lesson to monitor students' understanding of the materials that they are investigating. For example some of the questions listed in the fourth procedure would be used as a performance assessment and also help me to determine how much they already know.
2. I will read each students' investigation sheet to make sure that they have been engaged in the activity.
3. Evaluation will continue constantly throughout the unit as we build on the introductory knowledge that we have gained today by revisiting the information when we engage in more detailed investigations on fibers. Students will be asked to recall and apply the knowledge that was gained in this lesson.

Re-teaching/ Extension Activities:

1. Re-teaching or further exploration is always an option for students to engage in on their own, or in small groups designed by myself, because the materials will remain available at the fibers center throughout the rest of our unit study.
2. For extension, we will look more closely at specific fibers, engaging in research and possibly having some presentation on spinning and dying.
3. If possible, an extension activity that incorporates hands on and authentic experiences is to see a sheep being sheered and having the opportunity to handle the "fresh" wool. Hopefully this will be available to us at the U of I farms in the spring.