The Living Renaissance Museum is a project designed to incorporate technology and the Internet into the sixth grade social studies curriculum at Westfield Intermediate School.  The goal of this project is to provide students with access to a wide range of resources that they may use during a unit on the Renaissance.  The students will choose an important figure who lived during the Renaissance, and they will create an in-depth report, speech, and presentation about this person.  The culminating activity for this project will involve each of the students acting as a their Renaissance person in a Living Renaissance Museum that is presented to parents, community members, administrators, and fellow students.

Implementation Plan
        After some initial lessons on the events during the Renaissance, each sixth grade student will choose an important figure from the Renaissance to research.  These figures may be artists, scientists, theologians, mathematicians, royalty, or any other prominent figure of the Renaissance.
Students can do preliminary research on their figure using the Internet and Renaissance software.
        Once students have chosen a figure, they may then complete more in depth research about their person, such as their accomplishments and contributions to the Renaissance era.  The Internet will allow them to download pictures and other graphics helpful in their final project.  With this research completed, students will begin forming a speech that contains what they feel their Renaissance person would have said.  Each student will give their speech during the presentation of the Living Renaissance Museum.  They will also form a display on a threaded board to be used in the museum.  The display will consist of information about and pictures of the figure, other graphics, such as inventions, and other relevant materials.
 Students will also research the type of clothing that their figure would wear and develop a similar type of outfit.  The students will then outline what they have learned by posting their research projects on the Internet.
        Finally, students will present their completed project to other students, teachers, administration, parents, and the community in the Living Renaissance Museum.  Each student will be "frozen" until someone comes to the display and pushes the button to activate the student.  The student will then proceed with their speech on their accomplishments and activities during the Renaissance period.
        Other students will take photos of the students in the museum on a digital camera.  After the Living Renaissance Museum has been presented, students will post these photos on the web.
       In order to complete this project in the manner desired, it would require a digital camera, a scanner, software of the Renaissance, and installation of more RAM in 15 computers.

Software to be Purchased
        We have selected software from several different publishers to purchase.  We choose the  particular pieces of software itemized on the next page because they are appropriate for a variety of learning styles and they each offer unique learning experiences.  Some of the software is research based and consists of a collection biographies about Renaissance people which the students will use during their research.  However, some of the software is interactive and will help the students to learn more about the time period by allowing them to make decisions as they travel through a virtual world supposing to exist during the Renaissance period.

Training and Support
          The teachers using the software, scanners, and digital camera will receive training from the school's technology coordinator on how to use the equipment.  The technology coordinator will also oversee the installation of the RAM and software into the computers that the teachers already have in their classroom, and will be responsible for any maintenance on the new equipment.  In addition to internal training, an outside consultant will do training on innovative ways of incorporating technology into the classroom.

Budget

Evaluation
        At the end of each semester, a committee will evaluate the degree of implementation of the technology into the curriculum and how the technology is being used to supplement instruction.  Training will continue to be provided for teachers who would like to use the equipment.  The final project, the Living Renaissance Museum, will be evaluated yearly by the teachers that use it.

Eligibility
        Westfield-Washington Schools are a 501 (c)(3) tax-exempt organization and is located in the sixth Congressional District. Westfield Intermediate School is an Indianapolis suburban school with approximately 450 students enrolled during the 1997-98 school year.  The 1997-98 Retention Rate for Westfield Intermediate School is 98.8%.

This grant will be submitted to:

                                                Lilly Endowment, Inc.
                                                2801 North Meridian Street
                                                Indianapolis, IN  46208
                                                (317) 924 - 5471

Created by:  Wendy Beddoe and Kenna Steele