Current+Events,+Emily+Phillips

Lesson Plans for Grades 4 and 8 ** **//Inquiry Skill: //** Questioning is at the core of all inquiry. __The Blue Book on Information Age Inquiry, Instruction and Literacy__ states “The process of Information Inquiry involves the application of the ancient Socratic Method of teaching through self-posed and mentor-posed questions in order to gain meaning in today’s overwhelming Information Age” (Callison 171). This, in conjunction with Mary Dalbotten’s proposition that students need to acquire new information to respond to the need and demands of society and the workplace by reading a wide range of text to build an understanding of the cultures of the United States and the world (Callison 177), led to the design of this lesson plan.
 *  Current Events

4th grade lesson plan 8th grade students are victims of the “all about me” syndrome. Typically, kids of this age are primarily focused on friends and social circles. As a result, they are often blind to what is happening in the world around them. This unit encourages students to look beyond their personal issues and look at community, state, national or world events and issues. Once students become inquisitive about a particular current event, they will delve into learning the details of the event or issue and how this event impacts his or her life. Once they have wiggled through the information, students are expected to weave and wrap their knowledge into an informative presentation to share with their classmates. Students will have gained enough information to be able to answer some classmates’ questions about the topic.
 * //Overview of 4th grade unit // **    By the time students reach the 4th grade, they are becoming interested in the world around them. Students have a basic awareness of our country, our government, the continents and numerous nations of the world. Many 4th grade classrooms utilize //Time for Kids// or other current event materials. The first goal of this unit is to encourage inquiry by requiring students to wonder beyond the information that is on the page, and to ask questions in order to gain a better understanding of the issue. The second goal is to __introduce__ the students to the concept that not all sources are factual; some are based solely on opinion and some simply provide the wrong facts. Finally, to increase engagement and motivation, students are asked to use technology (programs such as Microsoft Publisher) to create an informational brochure about their chosen current event.
 * //Overview of 8th grade unit//**

8th grade lesson plan

//** Lesson Comparison **// Although there are many similarities in these lessons including the opportunity to choose a current event of interest, the encouragement of metacognition, the opportunity to gain skills and confidence and teacher modeling, there are subtle differences that focus on various levels of maturation as well as aiding the growth of the student from novice to expert. The 4th grade lesson plan addresses AASL standards that focus on the skills students need explore a topic or subject and is very controlled. Although by grade 4, students are capable of asking questions about events, they have difficulty asking questions beyond those that require yes, no or one word answers. This lesson plan encourages students to ask questions that will lead to answers beyond simple fact. There is ample support for 4th grade students as they move through their inquiry. Because children of this age are often overwhelmed with the amount of information they find and can be easily distracted by visually appealing magazines and websites, the majority of the sources (articles) are already available for the students. In an effort to introduce and encourage them to find useful information on their own, they are asked to look for one additional source without the guidance of the teacher. Scaffolding is provided by assisting the students in organizing their knowledge through the means of the providing a graphic organizer and modeling. Finally, the students are encouraged to reflect on their process and determine which sources were the best for gaining valuable information. In contrast, the 8th grade lesson is less controlled and more guided. The AASL standards addressed are primarliy dispositions in action or ongoing beliefs or attitudes that guide thinking. By 8th grade, most students have mastered the skills needed to explore a topic and are capable of locating reliable sources with relevant information. Therefore, the students are free to locate sources on their own. In addition, students in this age group are familiar with a wide variety of graphic organizers and are capable of determining which graphic organizer will best suit their needs; as a result, the scaffolding provided for the 4th graders is removed. __The Blue Book on Information Age Inquiry, Instruction and Literacy__ encourages modeling inquiry by challenging students to consider cause and effect, problem solution, and question and answer. (Callison 179) This lesson pushes students to wonder beyond the simple, factual 5W information and requires them to brainstorm additional questions, that once answered, will lead to determining the causes, effects, problems and solutions related to their current event or issue. Callison, Daniel, and Leslie Preddy. __The Blue Book on Information Age Inquiry, Instruction and Literacy__. Westport, CT: Libraries Unlimited, 2006.