TITLE OF THE LEARNING EXPERIENCE:

Top Ten Facts
Author: Pam DeCarr,
Mt. Markham Central School

1. LEARNING CONTEXT

ELA Standard 1: Speaking and writing to acquire and transmit information requires asking probing and clarifying questions, interpreting information in owns words, applying information and interpretation clearly, concisely, and comprehensibly.

Related Benchmarks: apply reading skills and strategies to a variety of informational texts; gather and use information from different sources; use the computer catalog to gather information for research topics; use a wide variety of strategies for organizing information in systematic ways.

ELA Standard 2: Speaking and writing for literary response involves presenting interpretations, analysis, and reactions to the content and language of a text. Speaking and writing for literary expression involves producing imaginative texts that uses language and text structures that are inventive and often multilayered.

Related Benchmarks: determine the validity and verifiability of an information source for a research topic; organize information according to an identifiable structure; use a variety of strategies to draft an revise written work; use a variety of strategies to edit and publish written work; use simple and compound sentences in written compositions; use of conventions of spelling in written compositions; use conventions of capitalization in written compositions; use conventions of punctuation in written composition; use appropriate grammatical constructions and vocabulary in formal presentations; use a variety of sentence structure to express and expand ideas.

ELA Standard 3: Reading and writing for critical analysis and evaluation requires presenting opinions and Judgements on experiences, ideas, information, and issues clearly, logically, and persuasively with reference to specific criteria on which the opinion or judgement is based.

Related Benchmarks: Apply reading skills to a variety of academics nonacademic texts; write research paper.

Standard 4: Written communication for social interaction requires using written messages to establish, maintain, and enhance personal relationships with others.

Related Benchmarks: Convey a clear main point when speaking to others and stay on the topic being discussed; use appropriate language for specific situations and audiences: now different words used in other languages.

This activity can be adapted to all curriculum areas. The activity involves students researching a person from a list that a teacher has supplied. The teacher can fit the list to their needs. When checking on accurate web sites, record the individual at those sites in order to make a list. The list can include individuals from a certain era or have a common theme. This activity can be done on an interdisciplinary level as well.

Students need to have a foundation of research skills and basic internet research ability. They also need the basic understanding of Microsoft Publisher.

• Procedure
• Student Responsibilities: Students are to pick a partner to work with. As a group, the students pick two people from the list and sign up on a master list for the class. Groups are not allowed to pick the same people. One partner is sent to the library and the other is sent to the computer lab for internet research. While at their locations, students are to research both persons from the list and take notes on them. Students spend two days at each location and then switch. After the four days, students are brought together to work in a collaborative fashion on writing a top ten list of facts about their people. Between the partners, they share their research and decide on the most important facts about the person. The list includes ten sentences, numbered in chronological order. After the rough drafts is done, students are sent to type their final draft using Microsoft Publisher or Word.
• Teacher Responsibilities: Before the activity is introduced to the students, a list needs to be done of names and reason that person is famous. The list id one based upon the need of the class. (Ex. Black History Month)After introducing the activity, the teacher needs to state the importance of research and accuracy, review of how to take notes and if needed how to do a bibliography. During the research part, the teacher and librarian work as a guide and resource. The teacher may need to instruct student how to do Internet searches or using search engines. While writing the rough drat, the teacher needs to have examples of copies of a finished product and proofread sentences to see if more information can be added into sentences. The teacher must also set the guidelines for the finished product depending on the program used to type the final drafts. This project is very flexible.

• INSTRUCTIONAL/ENVIRONMENTAL MODIFICATIONS

Some of the instructional modifications that were made:

• Students were put into groups instead of picking their own
• The number of sentences that students needed for the final draft was decreased
• Students were given a number of facts they needed before they can write their rough drafts
• Instead of moving as group through the steps, student were given a deadline and worked at their own pace

Some of the physical modifications that were made:

• Students were not allowed to work in groups once they were in the library
• Students were separated from other by placing some in the library and others in the lab

4. TIME REQUIRED

• planning; 1 week
• implementation: 2 weeks/ 1 period a day at 39 minutes each
• assessment : one hour to correct a class of 25 students

5. RESOURCES
For the student; paper and writing utensil

For the teacher : List of people, computer lab, example of final draft, library time, resource materials, colored paper for the final drafts to be printed on

6. ASSESSMENT PLAN
The following rubric was used to assess the final draft:

0 Points 1 Points 2 points 3 Points

Rough Draft Did not Handed in Handed in

Hand in late on time

Border (style) No border Border Has a type Border

Incomplete of border reflects project

Border (Size) To large or Just right

To small

Name No Name Plain Text Changed Changed

(Word Art) Font Style Font and Style

10 Facts Not example Numbered Numbered Numbered

structure with a period and

and used ) chronological order

Font Style Can’t read Can read Good size

But should and style

Be larger

Sentences Incomplete Incomplete All complete All

6 out of 10 3 out of 10 Grammatically

Correct

Correct No 2-3 errors All Correct

Punctuation Punctuation

Facts No Effort Lack of General Great

Research Knowledge Research

Spelling 5 or more 3-4 2 All Correct

Spelling Spelling Spelling

Errors Errors Errors

Appearance Writing Looks Good Color

Doesn’t Good Looks Great

Take up the

Entire page

Total points=28

• 7. STUDENT WORK

Example of Above Average Student

1. Gwendolyn Brooks was born June 7, 1917 in Topeka, Kansas
2. Gwendolyn sated writing poems at age seven, and had her first poem published in a magazine at the age of thirteen.
3. Ms. Brooks attended Wendell Phillips and Englewood High Schools, and graduated from Wilson Junior College in Chicago in 1936 with an English degree.
4. During the 1930’s, she joined the youth Council of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP): she met her future husband through this organization.
5. Gwendolyn wrote over twenty-five books of poetry, a few novels and essays on the discrimination of African-American.
6. Her husband’s name is Henry Blakely; Jr. and together they had two children – Henry and Nora.
7. After her first poem was published, she met and became good friends with poet Langston Hughs.
8. Many of her poems are about African-Americans, and are set in her home, Chicago.
9. Brooks was the first African-American ever to win a Pulitzer Prize for writing
10. Ms. Brooks won her Pulitzer Prize for her collection of poems about a young black girl growing up in America during World War II; she wrote this book in 1950 and called it Annie Allen.

8. REFLECTION
This lesson was well received by faculty, peer review and students. This activity allows students to discover information about famous individual that they would not ordinarily known. Students are often surprised by the conditions in which a person rose to stardom. Students also discover that they can not trust the internet for accurate information. This activity allows for students to become comfortable with the internet and surfing the web.