Objectives:
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1. Students will develop research skills.
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2. Students will compare research on encyclopedias with an Internet search.
Foreign Language Standards:
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1.0 Students will provide and obtain information.
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2.0 Students will gain knowledge and understanding of other cultures.
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3.0 Students will use various sources, including print and technology, to connect to the outside world.
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Anticipated time: This activity will take one period in the library and one double period or block period in the computer lab.
Goal: The goal is to provide students with an opportunity to research the Taínos and to compare research methods. Students will be asked to reflect upon the paucity of materials found in their library research.
Activities
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1. Students will be given the task of researching the Taíno in the encyclopedias in the library and recording all the data they find. They will be asked how they plan to research the Taíno in the encyclopedias.
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The class will agree on four letters. In the past, some have been: I for Indian, P for Puerto Rico, A for Arawak, and T for Taíno.
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2. After the library trip, the students will regroup and share their findings.
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Faced with a paucity of materials, the students are asked to analyze this.
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3. On the second day, the class will need a longer period for the computer research. The students agree on several search engines and words to use for their Internet search. Some possibilities are : Yahoo, reference, Encarta, Taíno. Students are asked to print the material they find.
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4. At the end of the block period, students return to the classroom to analyze their findings, compare them with their findings in the library, and comment on the difference.
Variation:
Students are asked to read the poem by Isabel Freire de Matos:
Indio Taíno, dónde estás?
after the library research but before the computer research. This poem explores the issue of the invisibility of the Taíno today and the silence that surrounds him.
