What Were They Thinking Then, What Are We Thinking Now?

Submitted by klehman on Tue, 03/08/2011 - 00:05Printable version Bookmark and Share
Created By:
Kathy Lehman
Title/Role:
Head Librarian
Organization/School Name:
Thomas Dale High School
Location:
Virginia

Grade Level:
10
Type of Lesson:
Stand-alone lesson
Type of Schedule:
Flexible
Collaboration Continuum:
Intensive
Content Area:
Language Arts
Content Topic:
Compare primary sources from two time periods to analyze issues from a work of literature.
Standards for the 21st-Century Learner
Skills Indicator(s):
1.1.2 Use prior and background knowledge as context for new learning.
1.1.4 Find, evaluate, and select appropriate sources to answer questions.
2.1.6 Use the writing process, media and visual literacy, and technology skills to create products that express new understandings.
Dispostion Indicator(s):
1.2.5 Demonstrate adaptability by changing the inquiry focus, questions, resources, or strategies when necessary to achieve success.
1.2.6 Display emotional resilience by persisting in information searching despite challenges.
2.2.3 Employ a critical stance in drawing conclusions by demonstrating that the pattern of evidence leads to a decision or conclusion.
Responsibilities Indicator(s):
1.3.1 Respect copyright/intellectual property rights of creators and producers.
1.3.3 Follow ethical and legal guidelines in gathering and using information.
2.3.1 Connect understanding to the real world.
Self-Assessment Strategies Indicator(s):
1.4.2 Use interaction with and feedback from teachers and peers to guide own inquiry process.
2.4.1 Determine how to act on information (accept, reject, modify).
3.4.2 Assess the quality and effectiveness of the learning product.
Scenario:
After reading a novel or play for English class, students will pick a main issue in the work and compare how the issue is perceived in two primary sources from two time periods. Newspaper articles will be accepted as primary sources in this assignment. One source must be from the time period of the novel. One must be from today’s point of view. Students will consider how three characters in their book view the issue. Students will consider these questions: Are the characters in agreement over the issue? What do you think the author is trying to say by creating this situation? Would one character agree with the first primary source you found? Looking at the second primary source from “today”, ask yourself: have the ideas and perspectives about the issues changed with time? Has the issue been resolved? Why or why not? Students will create a PowerPoint to present their findings covering the issue and how the characters would respond to the primary documents. This is a 10th grade American Literature class.

Overview:
In the library students compare primary sources from two time periods relating to an issue in their novel or play. Students compare how the issue was perceived by characters in their work to how it is perceived by individuals today. The essential questions for this lesson are: Have the ideas and perspectives about the main issue of the novel or play changed with time? To what extent has the issue been resolved?

Final Product:
Students will create PowerPoint presentations displaying the two primary sources, the issue of their novel or play and how they perceive their characters would respond to them. Students will also analyze their issue in terms of today’s attitudes and defend their opinion.

Library Lesson:
• Students will learn to analyze their topic for keywords and keyword combinations to use in online searches. • Students will learn to develop questions to answer in their research about the issues in their work to determine what type of primary document to locate. • Students will learn to access primary sources online from the Library of Congress. • Students will learn to access historical newspapers using Google News. • Students will learn to access subscription databases with historical documents on the issues in their novel or play. • Students will learn to persist in revising their search terms as needed to generate an appropriate results list for their topic.

Estimated Lesson Time:
90 minutes
Assessment
Product:
SL and teacher use a student self assessment checklist (see attachment) to verify that each student locates a primary document from two periods in time on a theme relating to their work.

Process:
SL and teacher circulate as students use their own keywords to access primary sources on their novel or play. Students having difficulty locating primary sources at the time of their novel or play will need to be guided to revise their keywords or try other resources.

Self Questioning:
Do I understand my issue? Do I know what the characters in my book or play think about the issue? Have I accessed the best resources for my topic? Do I know which keywords I need to pull up the best primary sources or newspaper articles? Did I use the best combination of search terms? Did I use too many search terms in the same query? Did I remember to match the search term with the correct field? Did I alter the combination of search terms and fields multiple times for different results? Did I evaluate the article to be sure I can use it before I made a source card? Did I make a source card for each primary source I will use in my project?

Instructional Plan
Resources students will use:
Dataset (ie. lists, tables, databases)
Still image (i.e.paintings, drawings, plans, and maps)
Interactive Resource (i.e. webpages, multimedia learning objects, chat services)
Text (books, letters, poems, newspapers, etc.)

Interactive Resource URL:
http://www.loc.gov/teachers/

Resources instructor will use:
Projector
Laptop
Smart board

Instruction/Activities
Direct instruction:
The teacher instructs students in the classroom with an overview of the project and explains the grading rubric. Students are instructed before they come into the library: • Choose a controversial issue addressed in your novel or play. • Consider how three different characters in your book view this issue. Are they in agreement? Do they have different opinions? Why? • What do you think the author is trying to say by creating this situation? In the library, the librarian uses a projection system with a Smart Board to show students how to access online resources using the pathfinder. Begin showing a primary source document from one of the primary source sets on the Library of Congress teacher's pages. Evaluate the resource together using the question guide provided on the teacher's pages(see sample document attached) <http://www.loc.gov/teachers/usingprimarysources/>

Modeling and guided practice:
After evaluating a primary source together, the librarian uses an online computer projection system with Smartboard models accessing and citing each resource on the class pathfinder. Taking examples from several students, the librarian brainstorms specific novels and issues to help students determine which keywords will give the best results. Students proceed to the library computer workstations. Accessing the class pathfinder, students begin their own search. The librarian and teacher circulate to monitor student work. Students not getting the results they expected are guided to revise their search terms and field combinations to increase success.

Independent practice:
Students continue to combine search terms to modify their results lists and locate historical and current primary sources relating to their novel or play. They must experiment with multiple online resources to determine which best supports their query(see reflection questions under checklist in attachments). The teacher and librarian continue to circulate and assist students as needed in finding sources they can use and filling out source cards. A few students will probably need to continue working on this assignment after school and from home. They now have the tools they need to complete their research for their assignment and create their PowerPoints.


Have you taught this lesson before:
Yes

Strategies for differentiation:
For students with physical disabilities, the databases and online search engines provide audio access and enlarged text. The keyboard helps those with fine motor disabilities. Much of the information gathering and citation collection can be done as point and click with the mouse.
AASL/Common Core State Standards Crosswalk

Common Core State Standards English Language Arts:

CC.9-10.W.5 » English Language Arts » Production and Distribution of Writing » 5. Develop and strengthen writing as needed by planning, revising, editing, rewriting, or trying a new approach, focusing on addressing what is most significant for a specific purpose and audience. (9,10)

CC.9-10.W.8 » English Language Arts » Research to Build and Present Knowledge » 8. Gather relevant information from multiple authoritative print and digital sources, using advanced searches effectively; assess the usefulness of each source in answering the research question; integrate information into the text selectively to maintain the flow of ideas, avoiding plagiarism and following a standard format for citation. (9,10)

CC9-10RS/TS3 » Reading Standards for Literacy in Sci Tech » 3. Follow precisely a complex multistep procedure when carrying out experiments, taking measurements, or performing technical tasks, attending to special cases or exceptions defined in the text. (9,10)

CC9-10WH/SS/S/TS1b » Writing Standards » b. Develop claim(s) and counterclaims fairly, supplying data and evidence for each while pointing out the strengths and limitations of both claim(s) and counterclaims in a discipline-appropriate form and in a manner that anticipates the audience's knowledge level and concerns. (9,10)

CC.9-10.W.2.b » English Language Arts » Text Types and Purposes » b. Develop the topic with well-chosen, relevant, and sufficient facts, extended definitions, concrete details, quotations, or other information and examples appropriate to the audience's knowledge of the topic. (9,10)

CC9-10RS/TS8 » Reading Standards for Literacy in Sci Tech » 8. Assess the extent to which the reasoning and evidence in a text support the author's claim or a recommendation for solving a scientific or technical problem. (9,10)

CC9-10RS/TS9 » Reading Standards for Literacy in Sci Tech » 9. Compare and contrast findings presented in a text to those from other sources (including their own experiments), noting when the findings support or contradict previous explanations or accounts. (9,10)

CC.9-10.R.L.1 » English Language Arts » Key Ideas and Details » 1. Cite strong and thorough textual evidence to support analysis of what the text says explicitly as well as inferences drawn from the text. (9,10)

CC.9-10.R.I.2 » English Language Arts » Key Ideas and Details » 2. Determine a central idea of a text and analyze its development over the course of the text, including how it emerges and is shaped and refined by specific details; provide an objective summary of the text. (9,10)

CC.9-10.R.I.3 » English Language Arts » Key Ideas and Details » 3. Analyze how the author unfolds an analysis or series of ideas or events, including the order in which the points are made, how they are introduced and developed, and the connections that are drawn between them. (9,10)

CC.9-10.R.I.5 » English Language Arts » Craft and Structure » 5. Analyze in detail how an author's ideas or claims are developed and refined by particular sentences, paragraphs, or larger portions of a text (e.g., a section or chapter). (9,10)

CC.9-10.R.I.9 » English Language Arts » Integration of Knowledge and Ideas » 9. Analyze seminal U.S. documents of historical and literary significance (e.g., Washington's Farewell Address, the Gettysburg Address, Roosevelt's Four Freedoms speech, King's "Letter from Birmingham Jail"), including how they address related themes and concepts. (9,10)

CC.9-10.W.1.a » English Language Arts » Text Types and Purposes » a. Introduce precise claim(s), distinguish the claim(s) from alternate or opposing claims, and create an organization that establishes clear relationships among claim(s), counterclaims, reasons, and evidence. (9,10)

CC.9-10.W.1.b » English Language Arts » Text Types and Purposes » b. Develop claim(s) and counterclaims fairly, supplying evidence for each while pointing out the strengths and limitations of both in a manner that anticipates the audience's knowledge level and concerns. (9,10)

CC.9-10.L.3.a » English Language Arts » Knowledge of Language » a. Write and edit work so that it conforms to the guidelines in a style manual (e.g., MLA Handbook, Turabian's Manual for Writers) appropriate for the discipline and writing type. (9,10)

CC.9-10.R.L.2 » English Language Arts » Key Ideas and Details » 2. Determine a theme or central idea of a text and analyze in detail its development over the course of the text, including how it emerges and is shaped and refined by specific details; provide an objective summary of the text. (9,10)

CC9-10RH/SS8 » Reading Standards for History » 8. Assess the extent to which the reasoning and evidence in a text support the author's claims. (9,10)

CC9-10RS/TS1 » Reading Standards for Literacy in Sci Tech » 1. Cite specific textual evidence to support analysis of science and technical texts, attending to the precise details of explanations or descriptions. (9,10)

CC.9-10.L.4.c » English Language Arts » Vocabulary Acquisition and Use » c. Consult general and specialized reference materials (e.g., dictionaries, glossaries, thesauruses), both print and digital, to find the pronunciation of a word or determine or clarify its precise meaning, its part of speech, or its etymology. (9,10)

CC.9-10.SL.2 » English Language Arts » Comprehension and Collaboration » 2. Integrate multiple sources of information presented in diverse media or formats (e.g., visually, quantitatively, orally) evaluating the credibility and accuracy of each source. (9,10)

CC.9-10.SL.3 » English Language Arts » Comprehension and Collaboration » 3. Evaluate a speaker's point of view, reasoning, and use of evidence and rhetoric, identifying any fallacious reasoning or exaggerated or distorted evidence. (9,10)

CC.9-10.W.1.c » English Language Arts » Text Types and Purposes » c. Use words, phrases, and clauses to link the major sections of the text, create cohesion, and clarify the relationships between claim(s) and reasons, between reasons and evidence, and between claim(s) and counterclaims. (9,10)

CC9-10WH/SS/S/TS2a » Writing Standards » a. Introduce a topic and organize ideas, concepts, and information to make important connections and distinctions; include formatting (e.g., headings), graphics (e.g., figures, tables), and multimedia when useful to aiding comprehension. (9,10)

CC9-10WH/SS/S/TS2c » Writing Standards » c. Use varied transitions and sentence structures to link the major sections of the text, create cohesion, and clarify the relationships among ideas and concepts. (9,10)

CC9-10WH/SS/S/TS2d » Writing Standards » d. Use precise language and domain-specific vocabulary to manage the complexity of the topic and convey a style appropriate to the discipline and context as well as to the expertise of likely readers. (9,10)

CC.9-10.W.6 » English Language Arts » Production and Distribution of Writing » 6. Use technology, including the Internet, to produce, publish, and update individual or shared writing products, taking advantage of technology's capacity to link to other information and to display information flexibly and dynamically. (9,10)

CC9-10RS/TS7 » Reading Standards for Literacy in Sci Tech » 7. Translate quantitative or technical information expressed in words in a text into visual form (e.g., a table or chart) and translate information expressed visually or mathematically (e.g., in an equation) into words. (9,10)

CC9-10RH/SS7 » Reading Standards for History » 7. Integrate quantitative or technical analysis (e.g., charts, research data) with qualitative analysis in print or digital text. (9,10)

CC.9-10.L.1 » English Language Arts » Conventions of Standard English » 1. Demonstrate command of the conventions of standard English grammar and usage when writing or speaking. (9,10)

CC.9-10.L.2 » English Language Arts » Conventions of Standard English » 2. Demonstrate command of the conventions of standard English capitalization, punctuation, and spelling when writing. (9,10)

CC.9-10.SL.4 » English Language Arts » Presentation of Knowledge and Ideas » 4. Present information, findings, and supporting evidence clearly, concisely, and logically such that listeners can follow the line of reasoning and the organization, development, substance, and style are appropriate to purpose, audience, and task. (9,10)

CC.9-10.W.2.c » English Language Arts » Text Types and Purposes » c. Use appropriate and varied transitions to link the major sections of the text, create cohesion, and clarify the relationships among complex ideas and concepts. (9,10)

CC.9-10.W.2.d » English Language Arts » Text Types and Purposes » d. Use precise language and domain-specific vocabulary to manage the complexity of the topic. (9,10)