Luis Camargo Inquiry Project
Name: LUIS CAMARGO-PARAMO
Topic: The Importance of Foreign Languages
Part 1: Driving question:
● What are your three initial driving questions?
○ Does learning a second language improve kids’ ability to succeed in their education?
○ Why is it important for our education system to include foreign languages in our curriculum?
○ Should foreign languages be added to all middle school curriculums?
● What is your one, final driving question?
How can we increase the percentage of bilingual speakers in our schools?
● Background information of this driving question:
What grade level are you working? I am planning on working with 9th graders who take my Spanish 1 class.
Which standard are you targeting?
9-10.LST.5.1: Write arguments focused on discipline-specific content.
9-10.LST.7.2: Gather relevant information from multiple authoritative sources, using advanced searches effectively; annotate sources; assess the usefulness of each source in answering the research question; synthesize and integrate
information into the text selectively to maintain the flow of ideas, avoiding plagiarism and following a standard format for citation (e.g., APA or CSE).
Students will an open range of possibilities for their research: some may conduct research on the importance of foreign languages in our country and how it is related to our vast diversity, some others will research about the benefits and skills that they would obtain by learning a second language, some students might focus on the importance of having bilingual speakers for business relations. Then they will need to write a paper or do a presentation to explain their findings and show facts, and statistics about their research.
● Why do you think this is a good driving question?
○ Does the DQ warrant in-depth study? Yes. Students will be required to research information about foreign languages being taught in the United States and why it is important to help students learn those languages. Additionally, they will be required to expand their research into how foreign languages are part of our culture.
○ Is the DQ an authentic and relevant issue/problem for my students? Yes. Some of my students will probably wonder why they are required to take a foreign language class and this project will help them have a better understanding. Also, it will help them understand the large diversity that exists within the United States.
○ Is there more than one plausible solution to the DQ? Yes. There are different solutions that students will be able to find. Some students will focus on the diversity aspect of our society. Other students will focus on the benefits that bilingual speakers have. Other students will focus on the effects in academics for students who are bilingual.
○ Does the DQ provide opportunities for students to evaluate, analyze, present, and defend their solutions? Yes. Students will be required to evaluate and analyze their research to be able to present it to the class. They will need to have specific facts and statistics to back up their conclusions.
Part2: Grabber
● The Importance of Learning Foreign Languages
The article that I will use as my grabber does really good at grabbing the audience’s attentions. I am hoping to use it as an example of something that they could do for this project. The article also shows examples of how the author used his research to back up his statements, this is very important because that is something I will be expecting from my students. The information that is included in the article is highly relevant to our project. This grabber will be used as an introduction to the project. It will give students an idea of what I am expecting form them as far as research and sharing their conclusions.
● Culminating activities:
1) Activity 1
● What is your first activity?
Presentation. Students will be required to create a presentation regarding their research and their conclusions. After all the presentations, we will have a class discussion about their findings. They will share how their views on learning a second language have changed after working on this project.
● Why do you think this is a good activity for PBL?
● How is the activity authentic? This activity is authentic because it will allow the students to explore different aspects of the topic we are analyzing.
● Does the activity provide students with the opportunity to present and defend problem solution? Yes. This activity will allow students to present their research to the class and use evidence to back up their claims and ideas.
● Does the activity require student collaboration? Yes. This activity will require students’ participation during the class discussion.
● How will I judge what students have learned from the activity? I will grade the students’ presentations and all the information that they provide, this will help me to understand what they have learned from this activity.
This is the rubric that I will use to grade the students' work.