Lesson -- Project

Central Focus
* 4-5[?] consecutive lessons that are a part of a unit discussing the essential question of
"How has a person's courageous acts effected change in a community?"
* Requires students to be able to be able to identify the main idea, formulate a thesis,
find supporting evidence, conduct research using appropriate sources, and present their
findings in [project]
Standards Addressed
[standards]
Lesson Objectives
* I can formulate a thesis.
* I can look for evidence that supports my thesis.
* I can present my evidence in [manner of project]
* I can [etc.]
Monitoring Student Learning
* Formative assessments: Students observed throughout the lesson, students will
answer questions and provide reasoning for their responses throughout the lesson (and
in their projects as well?), students will formulate a thesis, students will complete
research of some form (even for a debate this would still be necessary to a degree)
* Summative assessments: Students will complete a project [of some type]
* Assessment accommodations: [???]
Materials
* Teacher Materials
- White board
- Dry erase markers
- Project-related handouts (e.g. graphic organizers, exemplars, resources, references,
etc.)
- Project-related texts (books, readers, etc.)
* Student Materials
- Pencils
- Notebook paper / Folder
- Copy of each handout
- Copy of project-related texts
* Technology Integration
- If any research is done online beyond what is provided by the teacher, that would go
here. (Alternatively: access to the library.)
Background and Rationale
* Key concepts: [here]

* Academic language: Claim, evidence, support, etc.

* Background knowledge: Students correctly formulate a main idea and provide
evidence to support it, etc.
* Subsequent Lessons: [?]
* Differentiated activities and assessments: Whole group discussions, turn and talk, etc.
[???]
Procedures and Timeline
Introduction
* Introduce the lesson objective as well as the learning targets for the day.
* Review what they first need, e.g., a thesis, details about the project, etc.
Procedure
* The teacher will guide them through formulating their thesis.
* The teacher will lay the foundations for their upcoming work; for example, if they
research a courageous figure and give some sort of presentation on it, this is where the
teacher might start asking about courageous people such as the students have been
reading about in class.
* The teacher will ask students more about their responses--ask why those people were
courageous, what acts made them courageous, what other people have done that was
courageous and led to change within a community.
* Discuss choosing a single person to focus on and to provide evidence for why that
person is courageous.
* Discuss how to find that evidence--for example, using texts and handouts provided by
the teacher and available within the classroom. Alternatively, using the library, or
appropriate websites.
* Describe and model in better detail the steps to complete each section of the project.
* Guide the students through the initial steps of the process, reviewing their work and
having them revise as necessary along the way. Ask why they chose a particular
individual, what that person did that the student thinks is courageous, etc.
* How the students present the information depends on the type of project. A colored
fold-out of some type will present differently than a debate.
Conclusion
* [blah]
Modifications
- Scaffolding, differentiated texts.
- Level 1s and 2s will complete the same objective of completing a project on a
courageous person through different means. For a debate, this may mean non-verbal
indications of agreement/disagreement/etc. For a hands-on project, this may mean a
project which requires less information to be included and simpler methods for providing
evidence. Or something like that.
- [more stuff here]