This unit focuses on the challenging rules in times of injustice.

Unit 2 Project: When

Students are given various texts to study ranging from poetry (La
is it appropriate to Internationale & The Ballad of Birmingham), historical
challenge the rules? documents (The United States Constitution Preamble, The Bill of
Rights, The Communist Manifesto), informational text
(Impassioned Arguments Mark High Court Flag Burning
Decision) and a book (Animal Farm). In each of these literary
texts students analyze the content and its connection to the
Essential Question: When is it appropriate to challenge the rules?
The culminating project asks for students to focus on ways in
which challenging the rules produces a desired result as well as how propaganda shapes peoples
views on issues.
Although this unit is both online (Studysync curriculum) and tangible text (Animal Farm),
students need to see how historically and presently propaganda shapes viewpoints and how
standing up for social/political/religious injustice historically has made changes and continues to
do so now.

Unit 2 Project: What does it take to challenge the rules? In order to better understand how and
why people might choose to challenge authority and break the rules, students will select an event
from history in which one group or individual rose up against authority. Students will research
the movement as portrayed in various mediums, including music, recordings, photography, film,
television, and print.

Suggested topics for small-group research and presentations include:

* What first-person accounts can you find about the American Civil Rights movement? Whose
point of view do these accounts come from? What do they tell you about the movement that you
cant learn from newspaper articles and documentaries about the movement?

* What tactics have been used in various modern protest movements? Look at print, electronic
media, and other information about various protest movements during the 20th and 21st
centuries. Which tactics proved most effective, and why? Did the tactics fit the nature of the
particular movement, so that what worked for one cause was not appropriate to another? Did the
tactics used by protestors change over time, as society and daily life changed? (For example,
how have protestors used mass media and social media?)

* How has propaganda been used to persuade people to accept a certain viewpoint or course of
action? Find various examples of text, graphic, audio, and video propaganda used since 1900 to
advance various political figures, regimes, or movements. What makes propaganda different
from other forms of communication? How can ordinary people recognize propaganda when
they see it?
* What were some of the worlds most successful protest movements? Choose several protest
movements to research and find text, visual, and digital information about them. What were the
goals of these movements--what was each one rebelling against? What was the impact of each?
Why did they succeed, while others failed? Have their changes stood the test of time? Why or
why not?

* How does an individual decide to take a stand and protest against an established government or
set of rules? Interview several people who lived through the protest movements of the late 1950s
through mid-1970s. What did they think of these movements at the time? Did they participate in
any way in the protest? Why or why not? Has time changed their opinion regarding their earlier
behavior?

* What is the impact of individual leaders on protest movements? Do protest movements need
leaders to give them a focus and human face? Research several movement leaders. Use letters,
articles, photographs, and documentaries to find out more about these individuals and the
movements they led. Do certain qualities make someone more effective in leading a protest?
Explain.

Each student chooses a group to work with (between 3-5

Procedures:
students depending on class size). Each member is responsible
for conducting their own research for the project with each person using a different source.
Students receive a lesson on how to conduct research and differentiate a reputable source from a
made-up webpage. Prior to presenting, students will also be given a lesson on how to cite their
sources following the APA format as well as given access to OWL Perdue in order to reference
how to cite their sources independently. Each group will create a visual/oral presentation on their
chosen topic for the unit. It must include visuals, each member participating (speaking to the
whole class, completely answer the questions to their topic and a well-cited APA reference page.
following the guidelines for conducting research and as a group following the rubric for the
putting together of the presentation.
Complete topic-specific group research projects connected to the
Objectives:
unit theme and essential question. Practice and apply research
strategies to produce a presentation with multimedia features. Participate effectively in a range of
conversations and collaborations to express ideas and build upon the ideas of others. Practice,
apply, and reinforce Listening & Speaking, and Research Standards.

LAFS.910.RI.1.1, LAFS.910.RI.1.3, LAFS.910.RI.2.6,

State Standards:
LAFS.910.RI.3.7, LAFS.910.RI.3.8, LAFS.910. W.2.6,
LAFS.910.W.3.7, LAFS.910.W.3.8, LAFS.910.SL.1.1, LAFS.910.SL.1.2, LAFS.910.SL.2.4,
LAFS.910.SL.2.5, LAFS.910.SL.2.6, LAFS.910.RH.1.2, LAFS.910.RH.2.4, LAFS.910.RH.3.9
 ISTE Standards:
ISTE1: Facilitate and inspire student learning and creativity
ISTE2: Design and develop digital age learning experiences and assessments
ISTE3: Model digital age work and learning
ISTE4: Promote and model digital citizenship and responsibility
ISTE5: Engage in professional growth and leadership

Within the Active Learning characteristic, this project falls on

Technology
the Adaptation Level as students choose to use either Microsoft
Integration Matrix: Power Point or Prezi to present their findings. They are given
certain requirements, but they must adapt the material to demonstrate their findings. As a group
project, this continues to follow the Collaborative Learning Transformation since they must use
research to answer a topic of their choosing. Students must work together to find a variety of
sources to demonstrate multiple perspectives on protest issues on the local, national and
international level as well as in the past and present. This project entails the Constructive
Learning Infusion because students after conducting the research are given minimal guidelines
for the presentation, but are given the choice of how to put it together. In order for this project to
fall into the Authentic Learning Adaptation, students choose to focus on different issues in which
they analyze the use of protests and how it worked to achieve a benefit for an injustice; they
analyze propaganda to determine its impact on society as a whole or they reflect upon societal
issues in which challenging laws can benefit the greater amount of people. Finally, in the Goal
Directed Learning Infusion students must demonstrate their knowledge from what they
researched and relate that information to their audience. Students cannot simply read a Power
Point Presentation or Prezi, but use bullet points to develop their ideas.
This unit asks students to explore the issue of taking a stand on issues that are important to them;
civil, social, and religious rights. In the past, it hasnt had as much of an impact as it has this
year. My school is predominantly Hispanic. Many of these children come from countries where
their rights have been stolen and they feel they must defend them even more now.

Computers, Projector, Research

Materials:
 Presentation Rubrics

Total Points 10 -8 points 7-6 points 5-3 points 2-1 points

Slides Have the required 8- Have about 6-8 Have about 5 Have less than 5
10 slides with bullet slides with bullet slides with some slides with some
points of information points of information information
information
Visuals/Audio Visuals (1-2 per Visuals (1 per Visuals (sporadic Visuals (less than
slide) correlate to the slide) correlate to between slides) half the slides) not
chosen topic and/or the chosen topic may or may not correlate to topic
audio that plays well and/or audio that correlate to And/or audio w/
and also correlates to plays and chosen topic difficulty to play
topic correlates to topic and/or audio w/ not correlating to
difficulty to play topic
may or may not
correlate to topics
Information Information clearly Information Information Information
in students own mostly in clearly clearly
language, clearly students own copy/pasted from copy/pasted from
correlates to topic, language, research, lengthy, research, lengthy,
minimal to the point, correlates to topic, may or may not not following
in bullet form might be lengthy, be in bullet form bullet form
in bullet form
Reference Each source clearly Each source Some sources Missing sources,
Page following APA following APA follow APA not following
format including format, including format, including APA format
research from all research from research from
members w/ minor most members w/ most/some
errors some errors members
Performing 4 Advanced 3 Proficient 2 Basic 1 - Emerging
a Speech
Poise You appeared calm and You seemed calm and You mostly seemed You seemed wiggly
confident. There was no confident. Only one poised. A couple of and not at all
distracting behavior. or two minor major distracting poised. You had
distractors were behaviors bothered many distracting
noticed, but they were the listeners. behaviors.
not overly distracting
to the not overly
distracting to the
listeners.
Voice Your voice was just Your voice was just You spoke a bit too The audience had a
right for the space not right for the space. A softly or too loudly. hard time hearing
too loud or too soft. couple of words were Several times your you. Many words
Every word was heard. mumbled or blurred words were not were not understood
You did not mumble or together. You did not clear. because of
blur words together. have any strange mumbling.
You did not have any vocal patterns.
strange vocal patterns
Life You had a lot of feeling You had some feeling You only had one or There was no life in
in your voice. We heard in your voice. There two places where the speech. You
emotion, passion, were several parts that you seemed to come spoke in a
excitement, sadness, really came alive for alive and put feeling monotone voice and
etc. You were engaging, the listener. into your speech. did not put any
and enjoyable to listen emotion into any
to. part of the speech.
Eye Contact You constantly looked You mostly looked at You only You never looked at
at your audience. You your audience. You occasionally looked anyone. You read
looked at each member looked at some at the audience. straight from the
of the audience. You members of the Many audience power point/Prezi
barely glanced at the audience. You used members were
power point/Prezi. the power point/Prezi never looked at.
You read from the
power point/Prezi
over half the time.
Gestures You had very effective You had some Only one or two You had not
hand, face, and body gestures that times did we see gestures.
gestures. Your motions contributed to your some gestures.
added a lot to your speech.
speech.
Speed You were not too fast or You were not too fast You spoke a little You spoke way too
too slow. You varied or too slow. Your too fast or too slow. fast. There was no
your speed: faster for speech had one speed change of pace.
exciting parts, slower to You did not use
add emphasis. You used pauses.
pauses to let main
points sink in with the
listeners.