Black+History

Word Document links to information copied below: [|Project 2 6th Grade Lesson.docx] [|Project 2 9th Grade Lesson.docx] [|Project 2 Lesson Comparison.docx]


 * 6th Grade: Internet Sources: Searching and Verifying to Use**

The sixth grade students are continuing a research unit on black history. So far we have read some short stories and short biographies on different people and events in history. They have also used pictures from different eras that depict African American culture and written and presented descriptive narrative poems about their interpretation of the events of the pictures. They have recently brainstormed by using the stories, the pictures, and some time in the library and on the Internet to find an interesting topic to research, and they are in the process of narrowing their topic down to a specific person in an era of black history. For this lesson, they will be learning how to find valid information with Internet sources. After this lesson, they will finish narrowing their topic and start searching for information for the specific questions they've determined for their topic. They will eventually organize the valid information and then compile their research into an original written research report that use at least three different sources (one must be a print resource or from an electronic database). · Students will become more comfortable with searching on the Internet · Students will use the Internet to search for specific information · Students will compare websites to determine which website provides more authoritative information
 * __Lesson Objective:__**


 * __Standards:__**
 * __Indiana Academic Standards__**: **6th Grade** **Language Arts**

Write or deliver a research report that has been developed using a systematic research process (defines the topic, gathers information, determines credibility, reports findings) and that: • uses information from a variety of sources (books, technology, multimedia) and documents sources independently by using a consistent format for citations. • demonstrates that information that has been gathered has been summarized. • demonstrates that sources have been evaluated for accuracy, bias, and credibility. • organizes information by categorizing and sequencing, and demonstrates the distinction between one's own ideas from the ideas of others, and includes a bibliography (Works Cited).
 * 6.5.3** Research Application:

Use note-taking skills when completing research for writing.
 * 6.4.5** Research Process and Technology:


 * 6.4.6** Use organizational features of electronic text (on computers), such as bulletin boards, databases, keyword searches, and e-mail addresses, to locate information.

1.1.4 Find, evaluate, and select appropriate sources to answer questions. 1.1.5 Evaluate information found in selected sources on the basis of accuracy, validity, appropriateness for needs, importance, and social and cultural context.
 * __American Association of School Librarians Standards for Information Literacy:__**

1. Bellwork - Write the following prompt on the board for students to start once they enter class: I'm getting ready to search the Internet for information about Boston. What advice can you give me to perform an effective search. (Give the students five minutes to write their advice down).
 * __Procedures:__**

2. Write "Internet Searching Tips" on the board. Have the students write the tips that are written on the board down in their notebooks. Ask the students for their advice. When a student gives some good general searching tips, add it to the list. Make sure to include and explain the following tips on the list: · Be specific about the type of information you are looking for (What about Boston are you wanting to know?) · Use key words instead of typing out questions · Browse the 1st page of results (don't only look at the first result) · Keep your search phrases short · Change the search terms with synonyms or rewordings if you aren't producing good results · Don't be too specific to produce too little results or too vague to produce too many different kinds of results

3. Briefly explain that many search engines (like google or yahoo) look for the search terms within the text of the webpages. So while students want to look for specific information, they want to think of various keywords as they might be found in different sources. For example, if I was looking for ghost stories from around Boston I may use a variations of different search terms such as Boston, Massachusetts, New England, Cape Cod + ghost, spooky, specter, spirit + stories, tales, legends. I may find some of these different types of search terms in the process searching (for example I may not know that Boston is considered to be in the "New England" region, but some of the information I find may keep mentioning "New England;" this will guide my searching).

4. Explain that the students are now going to practice search methods with some potential topics for their research paper on black history. Handout the **__Internet Search Bingo__** sheet (attached) and explain the directions to the students. Assign pairs of students to the different laptop stations and have them start this activity. When a team gets bingo celebrate by calling them out and clapping and then have the students continue searching for other the boxes (quickly celebrate every time a team gets another bingo). Do this for 30 minutes or until the first team finds answers to all the boxes.

5. Next, have the students take two minutes to discuss and decide which box they will use to search for more information. Explain that the students will now be finding multiple websites with information on the topic of that box. Their goal is to find a best site and worst site for information relating to that box. Before the students start the search, ask them to take three minutes to list with their partner what makes a website trustworthy. Again, ask student to take notes on the responses from the class. Write "What Makes a Good Internet Source" on the board. As students share, make sure the following points are added to the list: · Some address endings make a site more trustworthy (.edu, .gov, .org) · The author of the site is important (you could trust a pet shop owner about information on dogs but maybe not on information about astrophysics) · Professional 'experts' or sources are cited · Multiple sources make the same claims (or no contradictory information) · The site appearance and organization can also indicate some reliability

6. The student pairs will now search for different sites (four at a minimum) that give information on the same topic (one of the bingo boxes). They will find two sites that are trustworthy and two that are not as trustworthy. They will fill in the reflection sheet with explanations as to what makes their sites trustworthy or not.

7. As a class exit slip they will fill out the reflection questions at the bottom of the **__Reflection Sheet__**. If they have time left, they will continue to narrow their topic and begin preliminary searching on the Internet. **__ Assessment and Reflection __**
 * More trustworthy website: **
 * Why was this website trustworthy? **


 * More trustworthy website: **
 * Why was this website trustworthy? **


 * Less trustworthy website: **
 * Why wasn't this website as trustworthy? **


 * Less trustworthy website: **
 * Why wasn't this website as trustworthy? **

1. When I search the Internet, I think that I am most capable at…

2. The most challenging part of searching the Internet to play this Bingo game was…

** B ** || ** I ** || ** N ** || ** G ** || ** O ** ||
 * Who gave rise to Black History Week in the 1920's? || What was the name of the art and literary movement that took place among African-Americans during the 1920's and 1930's ? || Which job did Frederick Douglass have during the Civil War? || Who was the first African American woman to work as the editor of a newpaper in North America? || How much did Richard Allen pay to purchase his freedom from slavery? ||
 * When did Black History Week become Black History Month? || Name three writers associated with the Harlem Renaissance. || What jobs did Harriet Tubman perform for the Union Army during the Civil War? || Who was the first president of the National Association of Colored Women? || John Mercer Langston was responsible for: ||
 * The ACS (American Colonization Society) helped free slaves immigrate to which independent nation in the early 19th Century? || Before he joined the Nation of Islam, who was Muhammad Ali better known as? || FREE || Who led the 1831 slave revolt in Southhampton Virginia? || Why did Henry Highland Garnett encourage a worldwide boycott of cotton? ||
 * This "Moses of her people" was a famous abolitionist who helped hundreds of slaves find freedom. || What was the underground railroad? || What secret club did Frederick Douglass belong to? || Harriet Tubman was a master planner of her escape operations. What did she include to calm crying babies? || Elijah Muhammad suspended Malcolm X from the Nation of Islam for comments he made in a speech following which national tragedy? ||
 * Which Amendment gave African-Americans the right to vote? || When did Frederick Douglass travel to Britain to speak against slavery? || How did Harriet Tubman raise money for her first mission to rescue slaves? || Which slave taught other slaves how to read and write? || Name three writers associated with the Harlem Renaissance. ||

Rubric for Assessment and Reflection: Total 50 points


 * **4 websites** || 10 points ||
 * **Logical explanations as to why websites are trustworthy** || 15 points ||
 * **Logical explanations as to why websites are not as trustworthy** || 15 points ||
 * **2 reflection question completed** || 10 points ||


 * 9th Grade: Internet Sources: Searching and Verifying to Use**

The ninth grade students are continuing a research unit on black history. Their final product will be to perform the part of one character from black history in a living history museum (as people walk through they will tell their story as the character they have chosen). To help brainstorm for this project, the students will have worked in small groups to create timelines of American black history from the birth of the nation to the present day. Each smaller group will create a banner to go on the wall that presents the different events and different people involved. They will present this banner to the class. Through this, students will start to narrow their topic by noting potential people of interest. With this lesson, they will continue to narrow their topic by using the Internet to search for information on different areas of black history. They will specifically distinguish between trustworthy and untrustworthy sites. After narrowing their topic, they will use the Internet and other sources to gather information that will eventually be organized and presented in their living history museum piece. · Students will use the Internet to search for specific information · Students will compare websites to determine which website provides more authoritative information
 * __Lesson Objective:__**


 * __Standards:__**
 * __Indiana Academic Standards__**: **9th Grade** **Language Arts**

Write or deliver a research report that has been developed using a systematic research process (defines the topic, gathers information, determines credibility, reports findings) and that: • uses information from a variety of sources (books, technology, multimedia), distinguishes between primary and secondary documents, and documents sources independently by using a consistent format for citations. • synthesizes information gathered from a variety of sources, including technology and one's own research, and evaluates information for its relevance to the research questions. • demonstrates that information that has been gathered has been summarized, that the topic has been refined through this process, and that conclusions have been drawn from synthesizing information. • demonstrates that sources have been evaluated for accuracy, bias, and credibility. • organizes information by classifying, categorizing, and sequencing, and demonstrates the distinction between one's own ideas from the ideas of others, and includes a bibliography (Works Cited).
 * 9.5.9** Research Application:

Use writing to formulate clear research questions and to compile information from primary and secondary print or Internet sources.
 * 9.4.4 ** Research Process and Methodology:

1.1.4 Find, evaluate, and select appropriate sources to answer questions. 1.1.5 Evaluate information found in selected sources on the basis of accuracy, validity, appropriateness for needs, importance, and social and cultural context.
 * __American Association of School Librarians Standards for Information Literacy:__**

1. Bellwork - Write the following prompt on the board for students to start once they enter class: You have the option to buy a used car from a 16 year-old boy, a car salesman, a stranger who put an advertisement in the newspaper, or your uncle Joe - the honest mechanic. Briefly explain why you would or would not buy from each of these people.
 * __Procedures:__**

2. Discuss which person they would trust the most and why (from the bellwork question). Explain that they will be using Internet sources to find information for their living history piece, and they will have be very careful about which sources they trust because some sources are unknowledgeable (like the 16 year-old), some may have biased motives (like the car salesman), and some may be unreliable just because you don't know anything about the author (like the stranger). Other sources may be as trustworthy as Uncle Joe or as informed as the car salesman (even if they are biased). It will be important for you to distinguish which sources are more reliable and best meets your needs.

3. Have a brief discussion with the students on what makes a site more trustworthy or less trustworthy. As students share, make sure the following points are made (encourage the students to write these down as they may refer to these later): · Some address endings make a site more trustworthy (.edu, .gov, .org) · The author of the site is important (you could trust a pet shop owner about information on dogs but maybe not on information about astrophysics) · Professional 'experts' or sources are cited · Multiple sources make the same claims (or no contradictory information) · The site appearance and organization can also indicate some reliability

4. Tell the students that they will be using the Internet to search for information on the people and events in black history. They may decide to use a person they find today as their topic. First they will use the following website to take a quiz to find out how much they already know about specific people of black history. The website is: **http://www.brightmoments.com/blackhistory/**. Inform the students that they should take the level one quiz without looking for the answers. They should take note of any that they were unsure about.

5. Then they will look up the answers to two of the harder questions on the Bright Moments website in the biographical information in the sidebar. They will record the questions and answers on the provided table.

6. Next, they will open another webpage to search for the answers on different websites. They should find a more trustworthy site and less trustworthy site (they do not both have to have answers that are the same.. just information on the same topic). They will record what makes the site more or less trustworthy on the attached __"**Who Do You Trust?**" **table**__.

7. They will repeat this process for the level two and level three quizzes.

8. If they finish early, they may start searching for information on different people of interest (that may become their topic) while they wait for the other classmates to finish.

9. Next, they will pair up with a classmate (encourage them to pair up with someone who has missed some of the same questions they have). If students are not paired up in two minutes, pair them up randomly. They will now decide on the most trustworthy website out of all their combined trustworthy sites and the least trustworthy of all their combined sites. After 6 minutes, they will be asked to share with the whole class why one website received the best reward and the other received the worst award.

10. End class with time to narrow their topics and to search for trustworthy sites relating to that topic.

 **__ Who Do You Trust? __** instructions

Use the provided table to complete the following steps.

1. After taking the level one quiz, record two of the harder questions in the "Questions" column. (If you knew it all, pick two anyway).

2. Look up the answers to these questions on the quiz website (brightmoments.com/blackhistory). Record the answers as given in the website in the "Answers from brightmoments.com" column.

3. Open a new webpage by using ctrl+n (new page) or ctrl+t (new tab) and use a search engine of your choice to search for other sites that would provide information to topic in the questions (it is not important to find the exact same answer). Your goal is to find one trustworthy site and one less trustworthy site. Record the site address and a brief explanation as to why it is or isn't trustworthy in the last two columns of the table.

4. Repeat this process for the level two and level three quizzes (you should have six questions total when you are finished).

5. While you are waiting for the rest of the class to finish this process, you may start to narrow your topic down by using any of the resources available to you at this time (Internet, paper and pencil, classroom books). If you have narrowed your topic, you may start to search for trustworthy sites. Make sure to record the addresses.

6. When everyone is finished, the teacher will direct you to pair up with another student. At this time you will both look for the most trustworthy and least trustworthy sites from your combined lists. It would be nice if the sites are related to the same topic, but this is not necessary. Be prepared to share with the class why you gave the reward to the least and most trustworthy sites.

- An example of one completed row of the table is provided below

I know of the National Geographic magazine, and it has a reputation of providing solid educations material. || //http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Underground_Railroad// Wikipedia entries can be entered by anyone. Even though it is probably reliable, I just cannot be sure how trustworthy the author is. ||  **__ Who Do You Trust? __**
 * ** Questions ** || ** Answer from brightmoments.com ** || ** Trustworthy site **
 * and why ** || ** Less trustworthy site and why ** ||
 * What was the underground railroad? || A way for slaves to escape to freedom || www.nationalgeographic.com/**railroad**/


 * ** Questions ** || ** Answer from brightmoments.com ** || ** Trustworthy site **
 * and why ** || ** Less trustworthy site and why ** ||

Rubric for Who Do You Trust activities: Total 50 points


 * **6 questions** || 6 points ||
 * **6 correct answers** || 6 points ||
 * **6 trustworthy websites** || 6 points ||
 * **6 less trustworthy websites** || 6 points ||
 * **Logical explanations as to why websites are or are not trustworthy** (with varying examples - all the untrustworthy sites cannot be untrustworthy for the same reason) || 20 points ||
 * **Presentation of best and worst sites (with partner)** || 6 points ||

**__Lesson Comparison__** Heath Allen Dearing My lessons both focused on the information standards of selecting and evaluating appropriate sources for validity. They also focused on similar language arts standards of research applications. The main focus of the language arts standards in this lesson was that of evaluating sources for validity in the whole process of research. This is a skill that needs practiced in any grade level. However, my learners are obviously at different learning and maturity capacities. A lesson that works extremely well with one of my ninth grade classes will probably sink with the sixth grade class who needs more structure less time on one task. On the other hand, a lesson that works well with my sixth graders, may be accomplished by my ninth graders, but they will not be challenged to their potential. With these units I have tried to meet the needs of each grade level and account for maturity and depth while teaching essentially the same skill. With the sixth grade students I have tried to account for less experience by giving them more specific search time with a high interest bingo game to keep their attention (as their attention spans are much shorter than that of ninth graders). Built within this unit was a mini-lesson on search terms and practice with general searching on the Internet. I also paired the students up for this lesson so that they might help each other through the process and have a partner ready to discuss and reflect with them. After practice and discussion of general searching on the Internet, I had them move into evaluating what was valid information and what was not. Again they did this with a partner, but they were asked to individually reflect on the process before the lesson was done. The next lesson in this unit would review their reflections and garner more practice with valid information on websites. I would also lead into other sources like electronic databases and non-fiction books (which tend to be more reliable anyway). I would start with something harder to validate like Internet sources so that when talking about the other sources, we could focus finding the most appropriate information out of the valid sources (which they will have to apply to Internet sources as well). They will need lots of time and practice with searching before diving into their final product. The lesson I have provided is just the start of that practice. On the contrary, ninth graders should not need as much practice with general searching. It will be assumed that they know how to find different sites, which is why they will start with a search activity that is already leading into validating the information. They will gain more practice in searching skills they have already built up since sixth grade, but they will still be asked to criticize Internet information more quickly and with more depth. They will be finding more websites to critique over more topics and they will have to give more in depth reasons as to what makes the website trustworthy or not. Then, they will be asked to move into applying this skill to their own research project a lot more quickly than the sixth graders will. The ninth graders will receive a review lesson about the other sources (electronic databases and print sources), but they will not have as much time devoted to practicing with those sources as the sixth graders will have because it will be considered review. The ninth graders will also be doing most of this work independently. Only at the end of the searching and validating lesson do they pair up with a classmate as a reflection of what they have been practicing. After a discussion to wrap everything together, they will move into their specific searching and they will be expected to utilize this skill. To summarize, the sixth graders will need more practice in searching and overall more time in learning and applying the skill of evaluating valid information. The ninth graders will have had more practice with searching, so they will need only review in that area, but their application of validating sources will require more depth and they will begin to apply that skill to their own independent projects more quickly. For each grade level there was a focus on moving the learner toward "expert" in the skill. As mentioned, the ninth graders are probably becoming more expert in searching at their grade level already. The sixth graders, however, may be closer to novice end. Though the sixth graders have probably had some training in searching in the lower grade levels, they will still be practicing using search terms and evaluating results. That is why I have included that skill within the lesson. It makes sense to teach both types of evaluation skills (for appropriateness and trustworthiness) while practicing searches. In making sure sources are valid, each grade level will be moving toward expert as well. Again, the ninth graders will have had more exposure to this skill, but I find that they still need a lot of guidance in selecting valid sources. I used some similar methods to guide both grade levels toward expert in this skill. I started both of them off with an introductory/engagement response to discuss. Again, the sixth graders were starting with the searching skill rather than the validation skill because they will be given more time to validation and I think they needed a weightier review of search skills. I also kept the activities relatively short for the sixth graders (except for the game which will engage them longer anyway). With both groups, I used the theme of the final project (black history) to practice the skill. This way they are still moving through the stages of inquiry that relates to their final product while working on a specific skill within that process. Again, the sixth graders will have more time for the overall process (especially these middle phases). I focused very little on search strategies for the ninth graders, but assumed they knew them when they were asked to apply them by searching for the different topics. This will give them practice, but will also lead toward more depth in understanding valid sources on the Internet. By the end of the unit, both groups will be coming back to their sources to choose the most appropriate and trustworthy sources, however, the sixth graders will be doing this in chunks throughout the process as they need much more structure. The goal is the same for both grade levels: Become more efficient at finding trustworthy sources.