Lesson Fourteen - Putting it All Together
Description
Students complete research, then consolidate their research through the writing process, creating a version of their work from which an audience will be able to read and learn. Discussion of the final format of the presentation and display follows as students add finishing touches and prepare for the project sharing and celebration.
Expectations
- identify and compare the ways in which people in various early civilizations met their physical and social needs, including how they interacted with and used the natural environment;
- use a variety of resources and tools to investigate characteristics of a number of early civilizations,
including their significant innovations and technological advances;
- show how innovations made by various early civilizations have influenced the modern world.
– identify major early civilizations (e.g., Mediterranean,African, Asian, North/Central/South American) and locate them on a world map; 5z10 – identify some scientific and technological advances made by two or more early civilizations (e.g., written language, calendar, time-keeping methods, invention of the wheel, medicine, sculpture, irrigation, building methods, architecture, embalming, aqueducts, metalwork);
- formulate questions to develop a research focus (e.g.,What farming methods were used by the Aztecs? How did trade between early African civilizations contribute to mutual prosperity? How did social organization differ among various North American First Nation peoples?);
– compare maps of early civilizations with modern maps of the same area;
– use appropriate vocabulary (e.g., culture, myth, legend, civilization, technology, democracy ) to describe their inquiries and observations.
– make connections between some elements of modern life and similar elements from early civilizations (e.g., the Olympic ideal, democracy, money as a medium of exchange, citizenship, philosophy, mythology, trade, social structures, legal systems, theatre, architecture);
– compare and respond to myths and legends from two or more early civilizations;
Teaching / Learning
DAYS ONE THROUGH FOUR - Research:
1. Give students time to engage in group research investigating their topic. Remind them of the value of the research they have already completed during the unit subtasks, and encourage students to use the information they have collected as part of their final projects. Remind them of what they have already created and how it should be used in their projects.
2. While students are working on their research, conference with students to ensure that students are making the required connections. Remind them to use the research questions and resources collected during Lesson 9.
DAYS FIVE TO SEVEN - Writing Process:
3. During the next three periods, students should work on writing rough drafts of their compiled research, including revising and editing it.
DAY EIGHT - Writing Process Continued (Final Draft/Presentation):
4. If possible, show students some exemplars of high-quality student displays of research from projects done by students in past years.
5. Through leading questions, help students to notice the characteristics of a high-quality visual presentation.
6. When telling students how they can create equally high-quality visual displays, emphasize the importance of planning ahead.
DAY NINE - Review and Plan:
7. Ask students to think back to the seminar presentations they did during Lesson 8. What made the seminars they saw successful? What made certain seminars less successful? What things did they do when planning their seminars that helped them to succeed? How can students use their experiences from those seminars to help them prepare a museum tour presentation to share during the last day of the culminating task?
8. Tell students to meet with their museum groups and put their museum tour together, then to rehearse it.
Adaptations
Refer to the suggestions for adaptations made throughout this unit.
Assessment
Throughout the student periods for this lesson, use anecdotal notes to assess how well students are handling the writing process
Assessment Strategies
- Observation
Assessment Recording Devices
- Checklist
- Anecdotal Record
Notes to Teacher
The purpose of this lesson is to provide students with guidelines for their final display and project presentation.
Although an outline of parameters and components of the final project have been provided, it has been left up to individual teachers to determine the scope and style of the final products based on time constraints, needs and abilities of students.
It may be helpful to provide art class time for the creation of museum exhibit displays.
Include a general discussion of the final product. What will it look like and include? Have students remembered everything? What should the final presentation displays look like? Should there be a standard display format or should each group be allowed to create their own format?
