Students will present effective introductions and conclusions that guide and inform the listener's understanding of important ideas and details. Lesson:
Step 1: Assign students to groups of six. If groups have less that six students, one or more students can assume two roles so that all six roles are filled. Caution must be taken to match skills and personalities equally among the groups.
As information gatherers, each student will be assigned the following roles: historian, linguist, storyteller, cartographer, biographer, and anthropologist.
Step 2: Look at the task assigned to each role. Make sure students understand what they are to contribute to the final product.
Step 3: Students will visit the Internet sites. They will make a note card for each site by writing the URL and name and for each print resource by including title, author, publisher, city published, and copyright date at the top of each card. Students will write down notes taken from each resource on the appropriate note card. In this way, their notes will be organized and they can easily identify information needed in their bibliography.
Step 4: Once students have an idea of the information available, it is time to make a story web to organize their information for the final project. (They can use the software program Inspiration.) They should begin with the role in the center of the web and branch out with the different topics found. They will want to identify further branches about each of those topics.
Step 5: Now that students have their ideas organized, their group will need to decide which type of product would best show the information. They will write down the advantages and disadvantages of each product the groups discuss to help decide which to choose. Each group must have a different product; therefore, they will need to check with you, the teacher, to see if the product is acceptable.
Step 6: Once students have selected the end product, they will need to look at all six web drawings to decide how to organize all information into one product. Together they plan a story board.
Step 7: Students need to make a list of the tasks that need to be done. Each group member must complete one task. Some tasks may take two people to do. The begin their work.
Step 8: Students need to know that it is important to let others know where they found their information. They will create a bibliography from the note cards they wrote earlier.
Step 9: Students then edit and proofread their information. They should have someone else look at it to offer suggestions for improvement.
Step 10: Finally, students practice their presentation.
