Research Projects

One academic/expert resource that supports the use of this strategy:

https://www.dmgov.org/InfoCenter/Pages/HistpricalInofrmation.aspx
In one paragraph, explain why you think this is a useful pedagogical strategy/
teaching tool for this particular unit.
This strategy is important for this unit, because the students are able to obtain factual
information on the topic presented to them; the town they live in. The students will be
using computers and specific websites to browse and find information. The students will
be given a template with questions to answer throughout their research, answering
these questions will give them the baseline of facts they need for the rest of the unit.
This will provide students will a foundation of information that they are able to build on
throughout the rest of the unit with the use of interviewing and generating questions on
a variety of topics that interest them are that were inspired during their research.
In one paragraph, describe how you would apply that strategy in this unit.
Researching will be done by giving the students a list of resources to use to find the
answers to specific questions about the town they live in. This will be done at the
beginning of the unit, so the students can answer the questions given by the teacher
and be able to generate questions themselves throughout their research. While they
find answers to specific questions, students will be asked to write down one question to
correspond with each piece of factual information they find. This could be something
they find interesting, want to learn more about, etc. there will be a separate spot on
their template for the generation of these questions. The students will use the facts and
questions they have come up with later in the unit during the interview phrase.
Identify one type of student who may struggle with this strategy, and what
modifications could encourage the student full participation and success.
Some students that would have issues with this strategy are ones who have not been
expose to technology as much. Based on previous lessons and knowledge of students, I
will be able to pick out which students may need help and pair them with student that
will help enhance their learning of this skill. These partners will help enhance learning
and show how to use the computers effectively and appropriately.

Essay Writing
One academic/expert resource that supports the use of this strategy:
https://www.teachervision.com/skill-builder/reading-comprehension/48785.html
In one paragraph, explain why you think this is a useful pedagogic
strategy/teaching tool for this particular unit.
This strategy is important for this unit, because the students are able to take the factual
information from their research and provide the teacher with understanding of the facts
through their writing. Students will be using summarizing techniques to piece together
bits of factual information from the webpages and the template they have filled out.
This is an important piece of evidence for the teacher to be able to monitor
understanding of the subject being researched.
In one paragraph, describe how you would apply that strategy in this unit.
I would apply this strategy with the use of a cross-curricular literacy lesson on the topic
of summarizing. The students will use strategies to use for summarizing nonfiction
articles and webpages. The students writing will reflect their comprehension of the topic
they are given to research. This will also be used as a formative assessment tool for the
teacher to evaluate the understanding of the content.
Identify one type of student who may struggle with this strategy, and what
modifications could encourage the students full participation and success.
English Language Learners may have trouble with this strategy, because of the language
barrier. These students will be given the option to write in broken up sentences, rather
than in essay form. This will still reflect their understanding, but will have less focus on
the writing structure and sentence fluency.

Brainstorming Questions
One academic/expert resource that supports the use of this strategy:
hil.troy.k12.mi.us/staff/bnewingham/myweb3/.../Thick%20Questions.pdf
In one paragraph, explain why you think this is a useful pedagogic
strategy/teaching tool for this particular unit.

This strategy is important to this unit, because it is useful in keeping the students
engaged and making the lesson meaningful to them. Throughout the research phase of
the lesson, the students will find facts that will hopefully spark questions in their mind
that they will want to know more about. Students will be brainstorming questions about
particular topics of interest in regards to the history of their town. The questions that
will be generated will be ones that can help lead into a discussion. They will use these
questions in an interview with an elderly person who grew up in their community. In
relation to the essential question presented, this strategy gives the students the
opportunity to find information that they think is worth knowing or asking questions
about topics that they think would answer the question what makes our town special.
In one paragraph, describe how you would apply that strategy in this unit.
I will apply this strategy by tying in the research template the students used throughout
the research phase of the unit. As a class, we will come together and share certain topics
that seemed interesting and that the students would like to know more about. The
students will share the questions they had when conducting their research of the history
of their town. Each student will be in charge of picking or writing new questions that can
be asked during the interview phase of the unit. Each question should be a thick
question, one that does not only have one right answer or could have a different answer
if asked to a different person. The students will have previous knowledge of asking thick
question during reading lessons.
Identify one type of student who may struggle with this strategy, and what
modifications could encourage the students full participation and success.
English Language Learners may have troubles with this portion of the unit. To modify
the lesson, I will give them a template to fill out that contains good sentence starters.
These students will only be in charge of filling in the bulk of the question. (e.g. What
was your favorite part about _________________ as a kid? Students are able to write
anything they please; school, play, sports, family, etc.)

Interviewing
One academic/expert resource that supports the use of this strategy:
http://career-advice.monster.com/job-interview/interview-preparation/boost-yourinterview-iq/article.aspx
In one paragraph, explain why you think this is a useful pedagogic
strategy/teaching tool for this particular unit.

This is an important strategy, because it gives the students an opportunity to practice

their interpersonal and speaking skills while gaining knowledge of a particular topic.
Students will use the questions they have generated to participate in a discussion with
an elderly person in their community. Finding information from a primary source is a
good skill to develop, because the students are able to get information first-hand and
ask questions as they come up, instead of having to do further research and findings.
The interview process is also very engaging for students and the use of a field trip to a
local nursing facility will provide a learning environment that is different than the typical
classroom setting. This strategy also give the students the opportunity to share what
they are learning with other people. Being able to discuss what they are doing in school
will act as a review of content for them and reinforce what they have already learned.
This part of the unit relates to our essential question, because the students will be able
to see some similarities and differences between how life is growing up in their
community today, compared to how it was 50+ years ago. Students will be able to
recognize what was special about the community before and how it has changed, or
stayed the same.
In one paragraph, describe how you would apply that strategy in this unit.
The students will be going on a field trip to a local nursing home to conduct their
interviews. Before the field trip, students will be given several opportunities to practice
their interview questions and do a mock interview with their classmates. As the teacher, I
will model what good interview etiquette looks like and give students a chance to put it
into practice before going to the nursing home. This will give the students an
opportunity to think of how they would like to further discuss certain topics after their
interviewee has answered their initial question.
Identify one type of student who may struggle with this strategy, and what
modifications could encourage the students full participation and success.
Students that may struggle with this portion of the unit are those students who are
intimidated in social settings. I will give the students the option to interview alone or
work with a partner and take turns asking their questions with the resident. Some
students do not feel comfortable around the elderly, so this may alleviate some of this
concern as well.

Role Playing
One academic/expert resource that supports the use of this strategy:

https://teaching.unsw.edu.au/assessing-role-play-and-simulation
In one paragraph, explain why you think this is a useful pedagogic
strategy/teaching tool for this particular unit.
This is a good strategy to use with this unit, because it gives the students the
opportunity to use what theyve learned throughout their research, brainstorming and
writing of questions, and interviews to answer those questions to display their learning
to their classmates. The students will be able to use their creativity to write a script and
perform what theyve written. The students will need to address particular points
throughout their skit with the use of dialogue and setting. The students will need to role
play in groups and, working together to write the script so that it has all the information
that needs to be shared. Students will be given a checklist of main points that need to
be covered throughout their skit, so that they know their expectations of the
assignment. These main points will cover factual information from the research and will
also draw in information that was conducted during the interview process. This will be
the summative assessment for the unit. Each skit will be similar with certain facts, but the
students will be using information from their individual interviews to include in the
writing of their script. This will deepen the thinking of our essential question, because
students will be able to see a variety of reasons why their town is special and how it has
changed over the years.
In one paragraph, describe how you would apply that strategy in this unit.
This strategy will be at the very end of the unit. The students will be split into small
groups to work with. As the teacher, I will give each group a list of main points that need
to be covered in the skit. These points will be their display of understanding of content.
The students will each be given a role in their skit, so that everyone is participating. Each
student will be expected to participate in the writing of the script as well. After given
sever opportunities to practice, a second field trip to the nursing home will be planned
for the performance of the skits. During their final performances, they will be assessed
on content knowledge, including each of the main points, and participation.
Identify one type of student who may struggle with this strategy, and what
modifications could encourage the students full participation and success.
Students that will have trouble with this portion of the unit are students who arent
comfortable with public speaking. From my background knowledge of student behavior
trends, I will group the students up, so that the students that arent as comfortable will
be paired with students who arent as shy. These students may help motivate or take
some of the pressure of these students during the role playing process.