Assignment+Overview

__ Personal Experience: Connecting Past, Present and Future __ “We are made wise not by the recollection of our past, but by the responsibility for our future.” // - George Bernard Shaw // s.

__Essential Questions:__ How do personal experiences impact out view of the world? How does our view of the world shape our actions? __Standards:__ __Social Studies:__ 1.1, 1.2, 1.3, 1.4 __EnglishLanguage Arts:__ 1, 3, 4 __AASL:__ 1.1.1, 1.1.2, 1.1.3, 1.1.4, 1.1.5, 1.1.6, 1.1.8, 1.1.9, 1.2.3, 1.2.5, 2.1.1, 2.1.2,2.1.5, 2.1.6 2.3.1, 3.1.2, 4.1.7 __ISTE:__ 1.b, 2.a, 2.b, 2d, 3 (all), 4.a, 5.a, 5.b, 6.b

The aim of the project is to draw out, using student personal essay and interviews of community members, the way the ways in which major historical events affect one’s worldview and how that worldview can affect our actions.

Two hooks will be used. The first involves using an animoto video to peak interest in the topic, using photos of major events in the twentieth century. For the second, students will analyze and discuss the quote by George Bernard Shaw provided above.

Because the students are around 14, it will be difficult for them to connect a major event in American History to their personal experience. The ELA teacher is required to do a unit on personal essay, which this part of the assignment will fit into nicely. She will use the essential questions to drive this part of the assignment. This assignment is usually in the form of a traditional written piece, but she is exited to integrate web 2.0 into the process if appropriate.

The first hook will be used when I introduce the project in class, before Thanksgiving break. The students will view the animoto and we will read the quote. Next the wiki will be introduced. We will take a tour of the wiki and students will be shown how to access the page. We will read the general overview of the assignment. Part of students’ homework will be to talk to relatives over the holiday and start probing for important events that shaped lives.

Prior to holiday break we will again visit the wiki. We will visit the “Events and Topics” page in anticipation for the research component of the project. There will be several pre-packaged topics (see wiki), but students will be encouraged to submit their own idea if they have found a person who is willing to be interviewed.

After holiday break, students will be scheduled for library time. This initial visit will have two objectives a) to complete a lesson on using wikispaces and to introduce the school databases and websites I have posted on the wiki for student research (I also plan to have table to display print resources). Students will be given time to initially research, discuss and choose their topics. Some students will already have set up an interview with someone, so their choice will be clear. For class work (or homework if they need more time) students will be given a topic choice sheet (attached) based on phase 1 (explore and connect). Students may ask to meet with me or the LMS to discuss strategies if they are “stuck.” I realize that some kids will choose their topic right away and some will struggle, so I envision this process to be complete (students having topics) to take about two weeks. This will also give me the time to start grouping the students by topic.

Once students are in groups, they will be assigned a wikispaces page that will serve as their workspace for the project. The first assignment they will have is to conduct a conversation on their pages discussion board with regard to what they think the quote by George Bernard Shaw means and how it may apply to this assignment.

Once students find and connect with their topic, the job of creating a short presentation on the facts (who what when where why) for their fellow students. Students will have a library lesson in which they set up portaportal pages (actually, I plan on doing this the first half of the year, to get students accustomed to using the tool) where they can save links and share them with their group. This is not meant to be extensive, just an overview that sets up the interview. Students will be given the choice of Web 2.0 tools to create this. Animoto, photostory or glogster will be choices, as well as any approved presentation tool except powerpoint, only because I want the students to learn a new tool, and they are all familiar with PowerPoint. Ideally I would love to use voicethread and have the students comment on one another’s work, but having used it last year, it is impossible if the students to not have school email addresses to have a school-governed account, which FMS requires.

The other part of this beginning research is to begin generating questions and deciding how the essential questions will inform their interviews. Students will brainstorm using their wiki workspace. Students will be given instruction in Language Arts on interviewing skills and questioning. There is also the possibility of having a local reporter (a colleague’s daughter) in as a guest speaker.

Students will create a list of questions to be given the individual before the interview. This will allow the participant to think about their answers.

Students will conduct interviews using flip video recorders from the library.

With the results of their interviews, students will go back to the library to investigate any inconsistencies between their initial research and their interview, research any topics related to their interview that were mentioned in their research, or fill in any gaps associated that were made evident by the interview. Groups will embed their videos on their wikispaces page and Their original presentations may be adjusted to reflect this work.

The next step is for students to construct meaning by comparing their own groups personal essays (that were driven by the essential questions) and the information form the interviews. Students will use venn diagrams to compare and contrast and find common themes.

For the final product, students will use Windows moviemaker to join interviews of themselves and their interviewee. Their task is to convey how their personal experience and that of the interviewed relate and express it using in their movie.