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Powerful
Explorations - Language Arts Lessons
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Big
Idea
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A
written document is only as valuable as the sources on
which it is based. It is essential, especially in the sciences,
to base one’s papers on solid scholarship, on articles
from respected journals which contain reliable facts and
statistics, and logical arguments. Valid studies must be
in journals that are peer reviewed, and have been replicated.
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Essential
Question |
What
constitutes a reliable resource when doing research, especially
in the areas of science, environmental health, and energy
production? |
Learning
Cycle
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Lesson
Title & Description
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Objective
Students will:
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Class
period & week
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Engage
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Coal
and Oil: Powering Our Way of Life
Students
will brainstorm all the areas in which oil and petrochemicals
are used and the
impact on American life if these become scarce
or highly priced.
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1.
Identify some of the common products that are made using
petrochemicals;
2. Identify some of the effects that higher gasoline and coal
prices would have on the American economy;
3. Organize the above information in a coherent chart;
4.
Participate in a class discussion to highlight information
and insights discovered by creating the chart.
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Explore
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A
Snapshot in Time
Students
will read an article about America’s
energy consumption for understanding and to find instances
of bias.
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1.
State the main ideas in an article on America’s energy
consumption;
2.
Create questions to clarify the meaning of the article;
3.
Site words and phrases that reveal a bias the author may have.
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Week
1,
3 classes
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Explain
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Reliable
Sources
Students
will meet with the librarian to find out what resources are
available in the library and how to ascertain
that a source
is reliable.
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1.
Use the library resources to find texts containing reliable
information;
2. Create a series of guidelines for determining if a source contains
valid information;
3. Distinguish between sources of high quality and poor quality. |
Week
2,
1 class |
Apply/Project |
Finding
the Sources
Students
will find articles that have reliable scientific information,
read them thoroughly, present their main ideas
and significant
facts to the class as well as share how they established
that they were reliable articles.
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1. Select
an article that is about the assigned topic;
2. Read the article for meaning;
3. Analyze the article for reliability using established criteria;
4. Organize the information from the article and reasons that
it is reliable into a coherent presentation;
5. Share the findings with the class in a well-organized and concise
presentation. |
Week
2,
4 classes |
Big
Idea |
The
executive branch of government will sometimes put together
a task force to explore a problem and come up
with a solution. Findings from this task force then can
be taken to the legislative branch of government and
presented at Congressional hearings. The form of the
findings is presented as a position paper which is a
persuasive document meant to promote a specific course
of action. |
Essential
Question |
What
constitutes an effective position paper, one capable of
persuading a Congressional committee to consider health
related issues when adapting an alternative form of producing
energy? |
Learning
Cycle |
Lesson
Title & Description |
Objective
Students will: |
Class
period & week |
Engage |
“Who
Is Your Audience and What Do They Need to Know?”
In preparation for the unit’s
final project in which students will be making presentations
concerning various forms of energy and their impact
on multiple aspects of life, especially environmental
health issues, students will brainstorm with you about
the things that a person should and should not do when
speaking publicly and what impression these behaviors
create.
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1.
Generate a list of all the possible ways people can make
their ideas about a subject known in a democracy
2. Identify the audience of each form of expression |
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Explore |
Putting
Together a Position Paper
In this lesson students will learn the format for writing position papers as an essential part of the third quarter’s final project, the meeting of the U.S. President’s energy task force. |
1.
Identify the audience of the position paper
2. Create a format that effectively persuades the target
audience
3. Identify the necessity of clear arguments supported by
appropriate information |
Week
3,
1 class |
Explain |
Gathering
the Appropriate Information
This lesson will be devoted to finding
appropriate information necessary for written articulation
on position developed in previous lesson. |
1. Find reliable sources of information in order to create and
support at least arguments
2.
Find examples of well-written mission statements |
Week
3,
1 class and
week 4,
3 classes |
Apply/Project |
Writing
the Position Paper
In this culminating lesson students
will write practice writing position papers on a form
of alternative energy production for final project
preparation in government class at third quarter’s
end. |
Write
a position paper which is a persuasive document containing
at least three arguments and following the conventions of
proper English |
Week
4,
2 classes and
week 5,
5 classes |
This is
the second of three learning cycles in the 3rd quarter:
#1 Reliable Sources of Information
#2 Writing the Position Paper
#3 Presenting the Position Paper |
Big
Idea |
No
matter what form of energy production a community chooses
there will be environmental health considerations. When
the legislative or executive branches of government make
national policy they hold hearings to gather information
from experts. It is essential for those speaking before
a Congressional committee or a Presidential task force
considering energy policy make their arguments succinctly
and accurately, building up to the most crucial considerations
of which the biomedical impact on a community and environmental
health issues constitute a substantial focus. |
Essential
Question |
How
does a person effectively, and persuasively present arguments
about the choice of an energy source to a governmental
fact finding committee in a manner that accurately represents
the issues, especially those that involve environmental
health? |
Learning
Cycle |
Lesson
Title & Description |
Objective
Students will: |
Class
period & week |
Engage |
“Who
Is Your Audience and What Do They Need to Know?”
In preparation for the unit’s
final project in which students will be making presentations
concerning various forms of energy and their impact
on multiple aspects of life, especially environmental
health issues, students will brainstorm with you about
the things that a person should and should not do when
speaking publicly and what impression these behaviors
create. |
Identify word choices, sentence patterns, organizational
formats, and verbal and non-verbal behaviors that a speaker
would use and would avoid to create a strong oral presentation. |
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Explore |
Speakers
in Action
Building on the awareness students
now have on the importance of effective public speaking,
this lesson will allow them to observe actual people
speaking before governmental committees. |
Identify, through the creation of a rubric, effective behaviors,
techniques, and practices in giving presentations that
include scientific information in a formal setting. |
4
classes
Week 6 |
Explain |
Refining
Your Public Speaking Skills
In the previous two lessons the students
established the behaviors, techniques, and practices
that lead to a presentation being successfully persuasive
when given in a formal governmental hearing.
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1. Use the rubric to craft an effective oral presentation.
2. Polish their presentations through practicing with peers. |
4
classes
Week 7 |
Apply |
Stating
your Position
This lesson will afford the students
the opportunity to present the arguments of their position
papers in a setting which simulates the conditions
of a formal governmental hearing on the environmental
health implications of an alternative form of energy
production.
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1. Make
a formal presentation effectively presenting the benefits
of a form of energy production to a simulated governmental
hearing.
2. Rate the presentations of their peers using the rubric. |
6
classes
Weeks 7 and 8 |
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