Name:

____Miekal Morris_______________________
University_____________

Community I am learning about: ______Dragon

KNOW

LEARN

EVIDENCE

WONDER

What do I THINK I know

about this?

What did I learn?

What is my proof?

What am I wondering about

now?

I found out last

semester that Dragon
University is a title one
school.
I think that there is a
lot of poverty in the
rural area.
I think that the
community is
multicultural and
bilingual.
I think a lot of families
work on farms since I
notice that are several
in the area while I
drive to Dragon
University.
I think that there is a
lot of students who
receive some sort of a
reduced lunch since is
only about 4 students
in my interning class
that bring a lunch to
school.

The Dragon
community has a
population of 7,579.
76% of the population
is White, 15% of the
population is Hispanic
or Latino, 13% of the
population is Black or
African American, 3%
of the population is
Asian, 3% of the
population is another
race and 2% of the
population is mixed
races.
Dragon University is a
Choice school.
46.12% of the schools
population is White,
31.45% is Hispanic,
13.40% is African
American, 1.97% is
Asian, and 7.05% is
Mixed.
School improvement
plant for 2014-2015
received a B.
The first Dragon

Interview of a
community member
that has lived and
worked in the area for
over 5 years
Took a personal tour of
the area
Constructed research
on Dragon Official
website and Dragon
county website, and
Dragon University
Website.
Collected informal
information through
observations and
personal interactions
with community
members.

How many of the

students ride the bus
and how many walk
or get dropped off to
school?
How many of the
students go to after
school programs?
How many of the
Seffner residents
actually work in
Seffner and how many
travel out of town for
work?
How often does the
train come through
town and what is its
effect on traffic?
How many people live
in a household? Is
extended family
included? Are there
any pets?

University was
created in 1961 where
is was replaced and is
now known as the
civic center.
1961 the current
elementary school
was built with only 10
classrooms and
expanded in 1967 and
in 1991.
68% of the students
receive some sort of
reduced lunch.
There are several
churches in the area
There are train tracks
that cut through the
town.
The area has a lot of
poverty in this rural
area do to an increase
in population.
There is a lot of farms
in the area.
Close to interstates
Slower speed limits
that near
communities.
There was a fatal
sinkhole in the area in
2013 that reopened in
August 2015.

Adapted from: Adventure Science Center, www.adventuresci.com 12/9/08

TEACHER DIRECTIONS: KLEW charts are a variation on a KWL chart. You can use this as a starting point for a science investigation. Before you

go on a field trip to the science center, complete the KNOW section to help guide instruction. The LEARN can be used after the field trip to
record changes in student thinking. EVIDENCE can help students to recall the demonstration or activity that revised or reinforced the concepts.
WONDER answers encourage new questions for students to explore. (Recommended for grades 3 - 5) (Information from Evidence Helps the
KWL Get a KLEW, an article in Science and Children, February 2006)

Interview
(Me)

How has this community changed over time?

(Khaleesi)

It's gotten much more populated. The area used to be suburbs with a lot of open land. Over the years, more and more
people moved here and buildings, neighborhoods, and apartment complexes have gone up where there used to be
nothing but cow pastures.

(Me)

What partnerships have been developed between the community and school?

(Khaleesi)

The community and school do a lot together. The public parks almost all have after school day care programs and there
are plenty of community sports programs that a good many of the kids belong to.

(Me)

What challenges have this community faced?

(Khaleesi)

As the population's grown, the area has gotten poorer. There are a lot more homeless and families in need in the area
than there used to be.

(Me)

What is important to know about this community?

(Khaleesi)

There is a lot of family in the area. It always seems like everybody knows everybody. The community does a lot for the
school and vice versa.

(Me)

What is the best part about being part of this community?

(Khaleesi)

There is always something going on. Whether it be softball games or school based carnivals or fundraisers.

Reflection

I feel that by doing investigational research really helps me paint a better picture of the schools, the students and the
community as a whole. Every week I drive to Dragon University from Orlando and always take exit 14 off of I4. I cant help but look
at my surroundings as I drive through town and notice that it is a low income community. After doing my investigation of the Dragon
community, I was surprised that my interning school only became a Title 1 school about three years ago. After interviewing Khaleesi
and other informal observations I found out that the community is a close knit family that has close ties with the school. My
collaborating teacher told me that the local Chick Filet provides free meals to the school once a month, which I found very interesting
because it is a fast food chain and not an independently run business in the community. Right across the street from the school is the
YMCA and baseball field and the community frequently attends programs and sporting events. I felt that after I concluded my
investigation that is showed me that the Dragon community values families and friendships in higher importance than its projected
appearance. It is important for me to know this new found information to better understand my students backgrounds, so that I can
differentiate or make accommodations based on each students individual needs. By knowing more background information about the
community I can relate material to what the students are familiar with. For example, I can incorporate information or examples about
baseball, farms, or even Chick Filet instead of hockey or Tim Hortons since neither one of those are in the community. Having more
information about the amount of students who ride the bus, have afterschool activities, or parents the work late will also help me get a
better understanding the quality or the effort that is made on homework or attendance, therefore I can make accommodations when
needed. Another topic of concern is knowing more about the income of my students. By knowing how many students receive reduced
or free lunch I can paint a better picture of the students family income. Low income families might not be able to afford school
supplies, field trips, or other school activities. By keeping that in mind I can make sure that I have additional school supplies when
needed and so forth. I am not a Florida native, and since Florida is a much older state, it is filled with a great deal of history. By

knowing some of the communitys history, also creates a special sense of belonging or personal investment of appreciation for the
community as a whole as well.