The FasTracKids enrichment program strives to bring the students' communication skills to their highest level. To do this, students must have an understanding of many of the ways we communicate, as well as which methods of communication would be most useful in different situations.

"Setting the Stage" - Before starting the program, ask the students: If you wanted to invite a friend who lives across town to play, what would you do? What if your friend didn't have a phone? Can you think of other ways to communicate?

"Kenny and Jean Plan a Field Trip"
Our cartoon characters, Kenny and Jean, are planning a field trip to look for insects to photograph. They want to invite their friends to join them. Students are given clues as they help Kenny and Jean determine the most effective way to do this.

"Megaphone"
After deciding who to invite and where to go, Jean decides to tell their friend Flora about their plans. Illustrating the most basic and ineffective form of communication, Jean plans to yell out the window to get Flora's attention.
Hands-on activity - As a simple activity to illustrate a less-than-effective communication method, students have the opportunity to make megaphones by simply folding stiff paper into a conical shape. These can be decorated simply, or more elaborately later, if time permits. Using the megaphones, students are instructed to talk to each other from across their classroom. Talk about the ineffectiveness of this method of communication.

"Invitation"
Kenny and Jean must use their creativity to think of another way to invite their friends. The mailed invitation is introduced, and students are encouraged to think about what kinds of information would be useful to include.

"Invitation Game"
Learning Station activity - On the Learning Station are pictures showing information that might be important to include in the invitations. Students are instructed to choose a picture that represents something and explain why they think it would helpful BEFORE touching the icon. Then, by touching the icon, the item is described as being useful or not and why. Three of the items are not particularly useful, and this encourages the students to reason as they make their decisions, as well as explain their reasoning.

"Make Your Own Invitation"
Hands-on activity - Now students can apply their newly acquired knowledge by creating their own invitations, envelopes and stamps. Teachers should supply paper, markers, and envelopes for this activity. (envelopes can also be made by folding a larger piece of paper). Encourage the students to create their own 'stamp' to ensure the mailing of the letter. Since most of the students are not yet writing clearly, they can be encouraged to draw a symbol in the correct locations to indicate the address. (i..e., if they would like to send their cat an invitation, draw a cat in the area where the address would appear).

"The Post Office"
Now that Kenny and Jean have completed their invitations, they must take them to the post office to be mailed. Ask your students what they think happens to the mail when it is put into a mailbox. Some children do not realize that mail is handled and distributed by people, so this part of the story may clarify that aspect. During this conversation, they can identify with Kenny and Jean and decide what must happen next to get their mail to its proper location.

"The Mail Game"
Touch-screen game - To apply this knowledge a different way, a touch screen game allows the students to 'deliver the mail' by matching the addressed mail to the correct house. These are simple number matches. Students must also examine their mail closely to make sure the correct information is included, as one letter is missing a stamp and should be returned.

"Listening to the Radio"
As Kenny and Jean are returning from the post office in the car with their mother, they are listening to another form of communication - the radio. Talk about the different kinds of information a radio communicates. As they listen to the radio, our characters hear a portion of the upcoming weather report. Before they have the chance to hear it, their mother changes the station. Why do Kenny and Jean want to hear about the weather for their field trip? Encourage the students to talk about why it would be helpful information.

"The Radio Game"
Touch-screen game - A car radio with large buttons used to change the station is shown on the Learning Station. Students are instructed to choose radio buttons to help Kenny and Jean find the station that was about to deliver the weather report. As each button is chosen, a different type of program or music is presented. Students must deduce which is the correct station by what they hear. By the time the correct button is chosen, the weather report is just ending and the story advances.

"Newspaper and TV"
At home, Kenny and Jean tell their father how frustrated they are at not being able to hear the weather report. Father is reading the newspaper with the television on in the background. Students are asked to determine what two forms of communication are being used in this picture. What do these tools communicate and how? Father then shows the children how he can consult the newspaper for the weather report. The weather page is shown and weather symbols are presented.
Hands-on activity - Provide a number of newspapers for students to examine. Instruct students to locate the weather page. Most daily newspapers have black and white renderings of the weather map with symbols. One example of an easy-to-read weather page is provided in USA Today, an internationally-distributed colorful daily paper. Use this opportunity to talk about how the newspaper communicates valuable information any time we need it. The television is presented as another form of communication as a weather report is being shown. Compare the advantages and disadvantages of receiving our news and weather information by using this form of communication and the radio or newspaper.
Videotaping activity - After watching the weather report presented on the Learning Station, students role-play as reporters while being videotaped. The weather icons on the Learning Station are activated by touch, allowing students to be creative in their presentations as they move the icons around the map.
Two videotaping activities are provided in this lesson, allowing teachers to determine which is most effective and beneficial to their individual classes.

"The Telephone"
As the story proceeds, Kenny and Jean receive mail from the friends invited for the field trip. Jean realizes they have forgotten to tell friends what supplies to bring. Because the picnic is tomorrow, what form of communication would be the most effective way to contact the friends? The telephone is then presented as the most immediate communication tool. Students are invited to talk about what items would be important to take on a field trip. Encourage creative answers and discuss why these items are important or useful.

'The Phone Game"
Touch-screen activity and videotaping (optional) - Students must use their listening skills to understand the directions for this game. The teacher should guide the activity for the first few players. One student at a time will choose one of the icons of supplies shown on the Learning Station. Provide a toy phone or phone prop to encourage the role-play. That student, after making a choice, will call a selected student on the telephone and ask for that chosen item to be brought to the field trip. The receiving student responds by confirming the item he or she will bring. Then, the receiving student becomes the 'calling' student, choosing another item on the Learning Station and another student to receive the call. This continues in a chain-event pattern until all students have been called and called another. The last student to receive a call can call the teacher, as all students have participated. This way, all students have the opportunity to initiate a call and make a request, as well as confirm another's request.
This is another activity that can be videotaped to encourage the role-play. This will obviously depend on the size of the class and the ability of the teachers and aides to coordinate the process, since some younger students would require more guidance.

"Face to Face Communication"
Kenny and Jean learn that there are new neighbor children to invite to the field trip. These new neighbors do not have a telephone yet and it is too late to send an invitation. Students are asked how they could be invited. They are then reminded that face-to-face communication is sometimes the most effective.

Supply List for Activities
"Today I Discovered" - parents handout
Stiff paper to roll to make megaphone (optional objects and markers to decorate)
Paper and envelopes (or these can be made by simply folding) to make invitations to 'mail'.
Markers to make invitations and draw 'stamp'.
Newspaper with weater page to examine (provide the number of pages so students have to locate the weater page)
(optional) telephone prop for role-play activities
videotape