10th Grade: Informational Essay--Shared Research and Technology-based Publication
WHAT IS AN INFORMATIONAL ESSAY UNIT?
In an Informational Essay Unit, students engage in a personal inquiry, building research and essay writing skills and strategies. Their research develops an informed view which enables students to create a product to inform an audience.
ASSESSMENT
Working in a collaborative environment, students become a group of writers who support each other, share their research, discuss their passions, actively make decisions and revisions to their work, write with an authentic audience in mind, and learn from established writers in order to add to the student’s repertoire of writing decisions. The unit rubric delineates the qualities of effective informational essays. Students will also self-assess and prepare written reflections. This combination serves as evidence of a student’s achievement and the development of metacognitive skill.
STUDENT OUTCOMES
The informational essay unit is designed to provide students with the vital opportunity of seeing themselves as capable thinkers and decision-makers in the following ways:
- Students become more flexible in their writing and thinking as they have time to explore ideas and topics of interest.
- They develop a repertoire of strategies for researching ideas and topics of interest including both primary and secondary research.
- They practice a variety of ways to generate ideas and revise writing, including inserting, cutting, or reducing words.
- They investigate the ways other writers write about complex ideas and create an essay from a range of options: print, digital, image, or spoken.
This unit continues the use of a workshop approach, which develops reading, writing, and thinking skills that will be resonant throughout the school year.
How can I inform myself about issues that impact the daily lives of Americans?
American Character
Researchers draw upon prior knowledge to make decisions about topics of interest to study. They develop a daily reading or viewing habit when exploring the world in search of examples that provide a definition for their ideas about the research inquiry.
Inquiry Question: What character traits define Americans?
· What are the character traits of Americans who created social changes to ensure a democratic society for all?
· What are the character traits evident in local heroes and social activists in the daily news?
Teacher Model and Think-Aloud: Introduce the Pre-Unit Assessment Task as a collective inquiry to define characteristics of being American. This pre-assessment will establish the habit of sharing research information and the standard for research.
Pre-Unit Assessment Task
Define the American Character using a minimum six-slide Google Presentation that uses graphics, images, sounds, and words to illustrate the definition.
Inquiry Question: What character traits define Americans?
· What are the character traits of Americans who created social changes to ensure a democratic society for all?
· What are the character traits evident in local heroes and social activists in the daily news?
Teacher Model and Think-Aloud: Introduce the Pre-Unit Assessment Task as a collective inquiry to define characteristics of being American. This pre-assessment will establish the habit of sharing research information and the standard for research.
Pre-Unit Assessment Task
Define the American Character using a minimum six-slide Google Presentation that uses graphics, images, sounds, and words to illustrate the definition.
Group Mini-Task:
We will be guided through inquiry into the character and actions of individuals who changed society to maintain a democracy. We will view clips and read texts that portray the actions and character of individuals who made changes of society through their actions. These individuals at the moment they acted were ordinary Americans.
More to come on this project as we develop it together as a GROUP.
More to come on this project as we develop it together as a GROUP.
- What are the character traits evident in these individuals?
Prep to Talk:
Read the news clip from a local paper. What are the character traits evident in these local heroes? What personal connection do you have with these character traits?
Turn-and-Talk: Is this individual or group capable of maintaining a democratic society through their actions? What evidence in the article does the following: 1) illustrates a character trait essential in individuals that work for social change; 2) illustrates how the actions have the potential for social change?
Turn-and-Talk: Is this individual or group capable of maintaining a democratic society through their actions? What evidence in the article does the following: 1) illustrates a character trait essential in individuals that work for social change; 2) illustrates how the actions have the potential for social change?