Stages of Evolution of the Modern Day Horse

Author: Mary Maitland

School: Madison Oneida BOCES,
Spring Rd, Verona, NY 13478
School Phone: 315-361-5742

Learning Context:

Recognize the different uses of horses
Recognize different breeds and their identifying factors
Identify disciplines of riding and driving within different breeds
Research and gather information from various sources to describe breed characteristics

This learning experience connects to the Social Studies and English standards. It follows the historical development of the horse through developmental changes in habitat and ecosystems. It involves a research project using breed organizations, business letter and Internet access to complete the project.

The students need to know:

Research techniques
How to write a business letter
Use of the Internet
Oral presentation skills
Written project skills
Use of the word processor

Procedure:

Students will:

Research through Equine magazines a Breed Association to contact
Contact a Breed Association via business letter asking for information on specific breeds and evolution
While waiting for response, the students will use three other resources to gather information; they may use Internet, interview people in the field, library or current chronicles
Document information found for use in their written and oral presentation
Document the resources used for future footnoting
Use the rubric as a guide for development of the oral and written presentation
Orally present the information to the class

Teacher will:

Review and edit the student's business letters
Act as a resource and a guide during the research process
Provide access to the Internet
Edit written and oral documents
Provide the students with a rubric
Final review and grading of the presentation with the use of the rubric

Instructional/Environmental Modifications:

More instructional support may be necessary when working with lower functioning students. Use of Resource Center staff would assist the lower level students to develop their presentations. In dealing with students uncomfortable in presenting oral work in front of the class, more informal presentations may be allowed. For instance, students may sit to present the material or may use note cards to assist them with their confidence. Use of students with excellent research abilities to assist the students having difficulty with the project may also be a technique used.

Material and Supplies:

For the Students:

Paper and Pencil
Word Processor
Internet Access
Access to Equine Chronicles
Library Access
Textbook
Rubric

For the Teacher:

Internet Access
Availability of Adequate Resource Staff
Rubric

Assessment Tools and Techniques:

Formative evaluation will take place throughout the process. The students will have deadlines to meet and will be evaluated according to their progress. The summative evaluation will take place with the use of the rubrics. Also each student will be expected to develop four questions for each presenter. These questions will be evaluated by the instructor. They will be expected to have at least two of the four questions using higher level reasoning. They will also be evaluated on their participation in the group discussions after each oral presentation.

(See Attached Rubrics)

Time Required:

Research of the Breed Association and Rough Draft of Business Letter: 2 days-(each day is about two hours)
Use of various resources: 2 days class time and one week for research on their own time
Rough Draft: completed at the end of the week's research
Final Draft: completed one week after revisions
Oral Presentation: completed one week after revisions
Assessment: will be completed one week after the presentation

Student Work:

Not available at this time.

Reflection:

This project assists students to work independently as well as work on interactions with others through providing assistance. It utilizes various reading, writing and research techniques to effectively present information both orally and written. The English Language Arts standards addressed are Standard 1 and Standard 3. The Career Development and Occupational Studies standards addressed are Standard 1 and Standard 3b. Professionalism is addressed in this project through the proper use of a business letter. Professionalism is also stressed in the oral presentation itself.

Stages of Evolution of the Modern Day Horse

Rubric for Oral Presentation

Total Points: _____=_____%

Scale	Content Accuracy	Eye Contact	Voice/Volume	Voice/Fluctuation	Voice/Grammar	Note Card Usage	Visual Props	Terminology	Length
4	Very accurate informa-tion on subject	Entire crowd for 75% of the presentation	Very clearly heard by all the crowd	Very good use of fluctua-tion	Very Articulate	Very limited use of note cards	Use of 3 or more props	Very clear and accurate use of equine terminology	5-7 minutes
3	Accurate information on subject	Most of the crowd for 50% of the presentation	Clearly heard by all the crowd	Good use of fluctuation	Articulate	Limited use of note cards	Use of 2 props	Clear and accurate use of equine terminology	3-5 minutes
2	Somewhat accurate information on subject	At least half of the crowd for 25% of the presentation	Not always clearly heard by all the crowd	Fair use of fluctuation	Not always articulate	Frequent use of note cards	Use of 1 prop	Somewhat clear and accurate use of equine terminology	2-3 minutes
1	Lack of accurate information on subject	Half of the crowd or less for less than 25% of the presentation	Not heard clearly by crowd	Poor use of fluctuation	Rarely articulate	Constant use of note cards	Use of no props	Limited use of equine terminology and not always accurate	2 or less

Stages of Evolution of the Modern Day Horse

Rubric for Written Presentation

Total Points: _____=_____%

Scale	Grammar	Spelling	Reasons for Change	Uses of Horses	Identifying Factors	Disciplines	Terminology	Details
4	Less than 2 errors	Less than 2 errors	1 documented reason for 5 changes w/more than 1 documented for 3 or more of the evolutionary changes	Includes 5 different uses of the horses	Includes 5 different breeds and 5 identifying factors for each breed	Includes 5 disciplines of riding and driving within different breeds	Very clear and accurate use of equine terminology	Excellent use of details to support information
3	3-6 errors	3-6 errors	1 documented reason for 4 changes w/more than 1 reason documented for 2 or more of the evolutionary changes	Includes 4 different uses of the horses	Includes 4 different breeds and 4 identifying factors for each breed	Includes 4 disciplines of riding and driving within different breeds	Clear and accurate use of equine terminology	Good use of details to support information
2	7-10 errors	7-10 errors	1 documented reason for 3 changes w/more than 1 reason documented for 1 or more of the evolutionary changes	Includes 3 different uses of the horses	Includes 3 different breeds and 3 identifying factors for each breed	Includes 3 disciplines of riding and driving within different breeds	Somewhat clear and accurate use of equine terminology	Fair use of details to support information
1	More than 10	More than 10	1 or no documented reason for 2 or fewer changes w/less than 1 reason documented for evolutionary changes	Includes 2 different uses of the horse	Includes 2 different breeds and 2 identifying factors for each breed	Includes 2 disciplines of riding and driving within different breeds	Limited use of equine terminology and not always accurate	Poor use of details to support information