Students will explore the people, places, and events of life in the early settlements and colonies of the United States of America with a focus on the native peoples’ perspective. This module concentrates on the beginning of American democracy. We look at settlements and the people and culture behind them with a specific emphasis on the Native American perspective. History can help students develop a sense of where things have come from and where they may be heading.
Objectives: At the end of this module, students should be able to:
Assessment
Students complete a variety of written assignments and final projects to assess progress. All work is archived in individual student folders at the WiloStar3D site. Final multimedia projects are showcased at the WiloStar3D site and are archived into personal student portfolio CD’s at the end of the school year to document progress and student growth.
WiloStar3D teachers provide written daily feedback on all student assignments. Students have password protected learning portals where assignment feedback is stored along with their e-gradebook. Students have access to this area 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.
These include:
Module Resources
The Witch of Black Bird Pond by Elizabeth George Speare
Self-Selected Historical Fiction Novel
No aspect of our past is more enshrouded in myth and misconceptions than the history of Native Americans. This module examines the rich and diverse cultures of the first Americans and the far-reaching consequences of their encounter with Europeans.
Students will examine the cultures of the Plains and the Southwest Indians. These cultures will be compared with the culture of the students. Map reading skills will be reinforced. In science, different habitats (desert and plains) are studied. Animals indigenous to each area will be presented. Graphing and computational skills will be reinforced in math. Various games will be played, with an emphasis on simple probability. Various Indian related stories will be read for language arts. Sign language, story writing and poetry are also included. Because of the rich artistic history of Native Americans, a wide variety of art projects are incorporated.
Highlights of this module include the construction of a 3D Native American virtual world community.
This module is an introduction to science fiction as well as a unit designed to start students thinking about the future and their roles in it. Twenty short stories are to be read, and their similarities and differences discussed. As students read through these stories, they will be exposed to many possibilities for life in the future. More important, they will become more aware of the present, and how what we are doing right now will affect all our futures.
Students conduct research on space science and fiction by completing the online space lessons. After completing their research, students compose science fiction stories about imaginary planets by creating an interactive 3D mars world! Students’ stories incorporate elements of fact and fiction that they gather during their research.
Students begin this unit by discussing science fiction and working towards an operational definition of science fiction for the purposes of this unit only. Many students do not realize that movies such as Star Wars, Aliens and E.T. are science fiction. Students learn that science fiction concepts can be future-oriented, based on real scientific knowledge and predictions.
Objectives:
At the end of this module, students should be able to:
1. Understand the concepts of future and change.
2. Understand how their own future effects of change upon their lives.
3. Predict possible alternatives for the future.
4. Examine themes of adventure, family, relationships, and technology and our responsibility to technology and change.
5. Develop organizational skills through record keeping.
6. Examine the impact of technology on the space program, in the past, and at present.
7. Speculate on the direction that space exploration could (or should) take in the future.
8. Create a 3D Mars Space Colony
Assessment
Students complete a variety of written assignments and final projects to assess progress. All work is archived in individual student folders at the WiloStar3D site. Final multimedia projects are showcased at the WiloStar3D site and are archived into personal student portfolio CD’s at the end of the school year to document progress and student growth.
WiloStar3D teachers provide written daily feedback on all student assignments. Students have password protected learning portals where assignment feedback is stored along with their e-Gradebook. Students have access to this area 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.
These include:
Module Resources
Self-selected Science Fiction Novels to coincide with a genre study of science fiction writing and science fiction authors.
The WiloStar3D online homeschooling oceanography unit is an integrated module that gives the student an overview of the oceans. It deals with the nature of the ocean basins, the physical and chemical aspects of the water in the oceans, the nearshore environments, the ocean’s interaction with the coastline and finally the interactions between organisms and their environments. Students also study the tools of oceanography as well as life within the different ocean zones.
This module uses the novel The Cay and Treasure Island to teach language arts skills during this 6 week module. Students create a 3D aquarium as a final research project in our 3D learning world called Wiloworlds.
Objectives:
At the end of this module, students should be able to:
Assessment
Students complete a variety of written assignments and final projects to assess progress. All work is archived in individual student folders at the WiloStar3D site. Final multimedia projects are showcased at the WiloStar3D site and are archived into personal student portfolio CD’s at the end of the school year to document progress and student grow.
WiloStar3D teachers provide written daily feedback on all student assignments. Students have password protected learning portals where assignment feedback is stored along with their e-Gradebook. Students have access to this area 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.
These include:
Resources Needed
1. Treasure Island by Robert Lewis Stevenson
Reading level: 6-adult
Editorial Reviews
This award-winning novel remains a powerful classic of prejudice, love, and survival. In 1942, 11-year-old Phillip Enright lives with his parents on the Dutch island of Curaçao, but when the war moves too close for comfort, his mother decides to travel with him back to the safety of Virginia. When their boat is torpedoed, however, Phillip is blinded and finds himself adrift on a life raft with an old black man and a cat. They eventually land on a deserted island. Phillip is suspicious of “the large Negro,” but soon grows to trust–and ultimately love–the patient and generous Timothy. Dedicated to “Dr. King’s Dream,” The Cay has a clear message that friendship is colorblind; it is also a terrific adventure story of a young, newly blinded man learning to survive on an uninhabited island. (Ages 12 and older)
3. Self-Selected Novels for Reading Workshop
This WiloStar3D online homeschooling virtual world module is about the people, places, and battles of the American Revolution. In module 5 students studied the reasons the English colonists came to America. This module begins with the irritations and frustrations that lead up to the fight for independence. The students will make comparisons and connections between the demands the British government placed upon the colonists in 1776 and those placed upon our American citizens today. After this module, the students will go on to discuss the United States Constitution and the building of a new government.
Module Goals
Students will be able to connect the situations and people of the eighteenth century to those in the 20th century, have an awareness of the factors that lead up to the Revolutionary War, recognize that there were minorities and women who fought for America’s independence.
Objectives:
At the end of this module, students should be able to:
Assessment
Students complete a variety of written assignments and final projects to assess progress. All work is archived in individual student folders at the WiloStar3D site. Final multimedia projects are showcased at the WiloStar3D site and are archived into personal student portfolio CD’s at the end of the school year to document progress and student growth.
WiloStar3D teachers provide written daily feedback on all student assignments. Students have password protected learning portals where assignment feedback is stored along with their e-Gradebook. Students have access to this area 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.
These include:
Module Resources
The Fighting Ground, Avi
Self-Selected Novel
This integrated module covers topics relating to the rain forest ecology, ancient Maya civilization and how archeology uncovers the pieces of the past. Students read Jaguar during this study and participate in an online collaborative 3D project re-recreating a lost civilization.
An introduction to the way archaeologists work using the lost civilization of the Maya as the basis. In the process of learning about these examples students explore how to find and excavate archaeological sites, how to date the past, and how to interpret archaeological data.
Learning about the Mayan people and their culture is achieved in this module through visuals, writing and developing computation in Mayan. This module will help the students become aware how our modern hierarchies are similar to their own social structure.
Students will realize the great contributions in astronomy and math by identifying calendar symbols.
Students also explore the Ancient Mound Builders and Mississippian Culture.
Objectives:
At the end of this module, students should be able to:
Assessment
Students complete a variety of written assignments and final projects to assess progress. All work is archived in individual student folders at the WiloStar3D site. Final multimedia projects are showcased at the WiloStar3D site and are archived into personal student portfolio CD’s at the end of the school year to document progress and student growth.
WiloStar3D teachers provide written daily feedback on all student assignments. Students have password protected learning portals where assignment feedback is stored along with their e-Gradebook. Students have access to this area 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.
These include:
Module Resources
Jaguar by Roland Smith
Self-Selected Novel
In this fun beginning WiloStar3D virtual world online homeschooling class, students learn how to build and manipulate objects in Wiloworlds, our online 3D learning world. Students learn how to create objects, build simple structures, add commands and execute actions. Students create their own student housing sector to showcase their skills as part of the course completion.
Topics covered in 3D Programming 1 include:
Builder’s Academy 101 offers everything kids need to build their own 3D castles and houses. In this 3D course children can embark on a fun-filled adventure that covers these areas:
This unique program takes your child on an adventure they’ll never forget! Children not only explore the 3D worlds that already exist within Wiloworlds (castle and house templates), but they can also construct their own unique models from the tools provided. Any objects and buildings children create may be accessed at home as well!
3D building combines fun experimentation and exploration with engaging learning experiences. In addition, children acquire an understanding of the way things are built and learn to follow clear instructions, building good listening skills.
Everyone dreams of building their own fantasy world. Now your dreams can come true!
The objective of this integrated online homeschooling module is to expose students to new ideas in the area of animal behavior and to help develop critical thinking. This module also exposes students to Jack London’s classic Call of the Wild.
In this module, students explore the proximate causes and ultimate evolutionary explanations for the behavior of animals. The goal is to give students exposure to current ideas in animal behavior, and to develop abilities in independent, critical thought. Students take an in depth look at the current state of Wolf populations world wide to study changes in populations. Classes consist of 3D classroom lectures, discussions, and 3D student presentations on observations using supplemental material from scientific journals and Web sites.
Objectives
Assessment
Students complete a variety of written assignments and final projects to assess progress. All work is archived in individual student folders at the WiloStar3D site. Final multimedia projects are showcased at the WiloStar3D site and are archived into personal student portfolio CD’s at the end of the school year to document progress and student growth.
WiloStar3D online homeschool teachers provide written daily feedback on all student assignments. Students have password protected learning portals where assignment feedback is stored along with their e-Gradebook. Students have access to this area 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.
These include:
Module Resources
Call of the Wild, by Jack London
Self-Selected Novel