African American History Month Research Project and Presentation
Overview
This is a research project designed for 3-5th grade using digital resources to research various famous African Americans from both the past and the present. It incorporates data collection and presentation using a variety of materials. Presentation options could vary depending on grade level and material accessability.
African American History Month Research Project
Famous African Americans Research Project and Presentation
Unit: African American History
Subject: Social Studies Grade: 4th
Lesson Objective(s): SWBAT
| Assessments:Formative: teacher will monitor the digital collection of information and assist as necessary when students are presented with difficultiesSummative: Students will be graded on their data collection paper as well as their presentation | |||
| ELL/SPED & Brain-Based Strategies:Brain-Based Strategies: Chunking, Music, Space/Location, Visuals, FeedbackELL/SPED: leveled websites, text-to-speech, text rephrasing | Technology Tools: Laptops, Google search engine, PebbleGo, possibly Google Slides (student choice) | |||
Materials:
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| State Standards: RI.4.1, RI.4.3, RI.4.7, RI.4.9, W.4.7, W.4.8, W.4.9 | ||||
| ISTE Student Standard: 3.a, 3.b, 6.a, 6.b | ||||
| Time | Materials | Strategy | Lesson Directions | |
| 10 min | Names on pieces of paper, copies of data collection paper | Introduction: Discuss the project with students. Tell them they will each choose a famous African American to research. Once they have picked, they will use the internet and/or biographical texts to find information that fills various sections on the data collection sheet (show and go over sheet). | ||
| 10 min | Laptops, visual of Google search engine | Chunking; music, space/ location, leveled websites, text rephrasing, text-to- speech, Feedback | Lesson: Discuss with students what are appropriate ways of searching the internet. Go over how to add “for kids” after the name of their person to get information on their level as well as school-appropriate websites. Go over a list of pre-approved sites (duckster.com, kiddle.com, etc) and discuss why we NEVER use wikipedia. | |
| 45 min - 1hr | Laptops, data collection paper | Practice: Students will use their own laptops and Google search engine to find information on their chosen subject. The SPED and ELL students will have the opportunity to use the program “PebbleGo,” which has biographical information on many subjects written at a primary level. There is also a text-to-speech option in this program so students can be more independent. These students may also work with an IA to have the information rephrased as necessary to ensure understanding. Students will be allowed to move to other room locations, have music playing in the background, and sit on alternate seating when necessary. | ||
| Same as above; blends together | Check for Understanding: The teacher will revolve around the room during this time or pull a small group off to the side. Things the teacher should be looking for are: age-appropriate sites, not focusing on pictures, being sure students are understanding what they have read and are recording the information correctly and being able to regurgitate the information in a way that is not just rereading the text. | |||
| 45 min - 1hr | Laptops, data collection paper, poster paper and markers, lined paper | Choices | Conclusion: Students will use the information they collect to build a presentation. They may choose the format of the presentation from a visual poster, a Google Slides presentation, or a written essay. All information from the data collection sheet must be present, they must find and use a picture from the internet in their presentation, and it needs to be neat and easily read. Those using Google Slides may need additional assistance to create easy-to-read slides and change their backgrounds, text size, text color, etc. | |
| Assessment Goal:100% of students will complete the data collection sheet. Students will work to achieve an 80% or better on their presentation. | Assessment: Students will turn in their data collection sheet for a grade. They will also need to show and read their presentation, no matter what type they chose to do. The presentation will also be graded. Their posters, essays, and slide presentations will then be displayed in the hall outside the classroom door. |
| Resources: |
| Ramakrishnan, J. (2018, April) Brain based learning strategies. https://www.researchgate.net/publication/324704225_Brain_Based_Learning_StrategiesWIDA (2020) English Language Development Standards. https://wida.wisc.edu/teach/standards/eld |