Kendall Roper

Title: A World of Information Inside a World of Knowledge

Subject Area: 9th Grade English

Length of lesson: 1 hour 20 minutes (purposefully over-planned)

Context of Lesson: We will be starting a unit about research in which they will
have a relatively large research project due at the end. To practice researching
skills as well as preparation for other classes that involve such research
assignments, I will teach them the basics of researching in this lesson so that
they will learn how to sort out information from credible sources as well as where
to find information from multiple mediums.

Measurable Objective:
The students will show proficiency in their ability to…(Standard: W.9-10.8
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.)…about 10 foreign cultural practices and/or beliefs in
a cohesive, written format of approximately one page.

Anticipatory set:
The lesson will begin with the teacher presenting a USA Today newspaper and
asking a question to the class about something relevant to a foreign issue in the
newspaper that none of the students have any significant knowledge about. The
teacher will then use a projector and drop-down screen to project his computer
screen and show to the students how to research and find information via the
Internet about the issue. The teacher will repeat this process once more, yet this
time using an overhead projector and an encyclopedia and show how the
information about that named country can be found in reference books. (10 min)

Activities:
1. The students will engage in discussion with the teacher at the beginning
of class during the anticipatory set about a foreign issue in the newspaper
while the teacher shows examples. WHY? This activity will require
students to use their cognitive thinking skills to assess what needs to be
done in order to find the information. It will allow help students see and
hear from the teacher as well as other students how to find information
about something specific. (10 min)
 2. The students will find information in the class’ encyclopedias about 6
different given topics from the teacher in 6 groups of 5 and then each
student will say one thing that they found. WHY? This activity will break
up some cliques and get the students to interact with each other while
actively participating in a cooperative group that is not worth a grade, but
holds each student responsible for their individual effort. In the long run, it
will help them to learn amongst their peers how to research and find
information in a book of reference. (15 min)

3. The students will go to the school’s computer lab and be given the
assignment, which will be typed up with thorough explanation, to
research, on the internet, any country they wish and to find then list 10
pieces of information about that country’s culture and where they found
the information with simplified citations such as the website only. WHY?
This activity will require that the students are actively engaged, while
having the freedom to choose a country of their choice as well as let them
practice, on their own, a research skill that was briefly shown to them
earlier in class. In the long run, it will help the students learn to use the
Internet to research and find information about a given subject for this
class and many others in the future. (30 min)

4. The students will return to class with a rough draft list of their findings and
quietly write down 2-3 sentences for each of the 10 things that they found.
The sentences will consist of what they found, where they found it,
whether it was difficult to easy to find and a brief response to their finding.
WHY? This activity will require that the students do the research
assignment and analyze what they found by putting the information onto
paper in their own words while also allowing them to freely input their
comments about what they discovered. This keeps the students
accountable and engaged while also being repetitive to teach the student
something about what they learned by having them write it down. It also
helps them remember to always cite their sources of information. (20 min)

Closure:
The teacher will discuss with the class how they liked the activity, how they
enjoyed researching, what they learned, any problems or difficulties, answer any
questions they students have then discuss how they will be doing a lot more of
this in lessons to come as more is added to it. (5-10 min)

Resources:
Computer Lab
Textbook
Projector
Newspaper
Encyclopedias/Reference Books

Assessment:
In approximately one page, students will organize their 10 cultural findings in a
typed or written format by the start of the next class period. Each student will be
graded on a 4-point mastery scale related to Standard W.9-10.8 as follows:

4 (Mastered)
3 (Proficient)
2 (Approaching)
1 (Not Met)
0 (No Attempt)

Simple knowledge:
 Assesses the usefulness of each source in answering the research
question

Simple skills:
 Gather relevant information from multiple authoritative digital sources
 Avoids plagiarism
 Follows a standard format for citation.

Complex knowledge:
 Uses advanced searches effectively

Complex skills:
  Gathers relevant information from multiple authoritative print AND digital
sources
 Integrates information into the text selectively to maintain the flow of ideas

Modifications: There are a couple students who are often off task and using
the computers may be a distracting for them, so I plan on using a teacher’s
computer that allows me to access each student’s monitor in order to keep them
on task. Also, I chose to put them in groups at first so maybe the stronger
students can be an example for the weaker ones before we practice individually.
[Other modifications were redacted for student privacy].

Self-Evaluation: I over-planned the lesson in case we get through the lesson

quicker than I expected. Also, I feel like the students may need more than one
day of practice before they feel comfortable on their own so some of my lesson
will extend into the next day in order to clarify any questions they may have. I
think that this lesson is a very useful one for them to learn and I hope to convey
how important these skills will be for the rest of their lives.