Submitted by: JaNee Jones & Sarah Billups
Collaborators:School Librarians
School: Varina High School
Summary
The objective of the “Can you hear me now?” unit is to provide students with the tools to effectively and powerfully express themselves. This creative and informational unit will develop student centered learning as the students discover and explore a variety of nonfiction texts and produce unique works within the nonfiction genre. Through the unit, students will continue practicing the fundamentals of English, reinforcing SOL and SAT test taking strategies, and collaborating for a common goal. From 6 word memoirs, impromptu debates and persuasive letters, this lesson does it all with the student as the creator after understanding the concepts. As a goal of nonfiction is to entertain while informing, there is nothing more powerful than providing students with tools to share their voice at such a pivotal age.
This specific part of the unit focuses on independent, collaborative, and creative research and critical thinking. Students are challenged with developing a “How to Video” to teach their peers a skill that is pertinent to their generation. It extends beyond the simplicity of “How to walk,” as students create age-appropriate, high-interest, and audience focused videos, which requires advanced research skills, creative questioning, communication, and complete interest in a topic.
TIPC Ratings
Ideal/Target – Students are provided with an authentic task to provide a well researched solution to through synthesis of resources and evaluation of information. Students are challenged with creating a research question, conducting research, evaluating the information, and synthesizing the information into a new product.
Approaching: Students are engaged in meaningful questioning, critical thinking and authentic assessment to a purposeful problem through the development of research questions, research, analysis, and production creation.
Approaching: Students are provided with an authentic problem that requires collaboration within and beyond the classroom without direct supervision from the teacher. Students are encourage to create group norms and communicate needs of the group for project success digitally and independently.
Ideal/Target Students are personally engaged in creativity and innovation that requires personal and group growth, risks, and the development of new ideas.
Download Files
Contents:
- LESSON PLAN
- STUDENT ARTIFACTS
