Lesson Plans

 Content Areas  
 Language Arts History / Social Studies
 Business / Vocational Training

The fuller lesson plans that we have collected so far are arranged by dominant subject area. Many of them, however, are inter-disciplinary lessons that would be usable in more than one content area. For example, a lesson on autobiographical writing can be integrated into both the language arts and the social studies classroom.

If you have ideas you wish to contribute, please send them to us. Please include the following information to help others adapt the lesson for their purposes:

 

Language Arts

 

Content Area: Language ArtsTitle: Autobiographical ReflectionsGrade: 9-12Time: One Week (minimum)Submitted by Patsy Watts, College of the Ozarks

 

Purpose: The lesson works on several levels simultaneously, helping students move from telling (specific detail) to analyzing (drawing generalized conclusions). The autobiographical focus validates students' lived experiences, heightens their awareness of the community which helped shape their values, and helps them become more self aware. The lesson requires that they focus on two distinct experiences, recreate those experiences in a detailed narrative, and finally analyze those experiences in a concluding piece.

 

Objectives:

1. Recall significant detail surrounding two important autobiographical events.

2. Write effective narrative scenarios which make use of concrete detail, pacing, and dominant mood.

3. Analyze both scenarios, composing a reflective commentary on the conflicting values and assumptions in both scenarios.

(Other objectives could be delineated, depending upon the developmental level of the students with whom you are working. You will probably want to itemize specific prewriting and revision objectives. You may also be interested in promoting oral delivery, sharing the pieces through writing workshops or presentations.)

 

Procedure:

Day One:

1. Introduce the lesson by inviting students to recall times when their idealized expectations of an event were in sharp contrast with the reality of what really happened. Their expectations may have been positive and the event negative; or perhaps a dreaded event turned out memorably enjoyable.

You might also invite students to think about change--the ways in which we and the world around us constantly shifts and alters. Provide a few examples of contrasting experiences:

2. Ask students to generate their own list of ten to fifteen contrasting experiences. Let them work independently for a short time; then ask for volunteers to share some of the items on their list.

3. Explain that they will be writing two narrative pieces that attempt to recapture those events. The narratives should be separate from each other for the time being. Review the rudiments of effective narrative writing--concrete detail, effective pacing, dominant tone or mood.

4. Ask students to spend the rest of the hour writing one of the scenarios. Engage in as much brainstorming and prewriting as you are accustomed to doing. The more detail generated in prewriting, the better the final essay will be. They should have composed a rough draft for tomorrow's class.

Day Two

1. After briefly discussing the essays composed yesterday (reviewing the purpose and the theme of contrast and change), ask for volunteers to read their essays. Take three or four volunteers to help stimulate others to consider their writings. Discuss the narrative strengths of those pieces.

2. Explain that today they will concentrate on the conflicting scenario. Work through similar brainstorming activities to help students get started on their narrative of the second scenario.

3. Allow the last part of the class time for writing the second scenario.

Day Three:

1. Begin class in a similar way, asking for volunteer readers. Discuss students' choices of scenes to contrast.

2. Introduce the next stage of the assignment: analyzing the two scenarios. Get students to respond, orally or in writing, to such questions as these:

It is important that students have time to articulate their responses. Continue to probe, asking students to explain and clarify as they consider the above questions.

3. Explain that the final piece they will write is an analytic or self-reflective piece that attempts to answer the above questions (or others that occur to you or them).

4. Continue to discuss the notion of change and the conflict between ideal and real.

5. Allow students to write for the last portion of the class.

Day Four:

1. Workshop in small groups, allowing students to read and respond to the essays of their peers.

2. Discuss revision tips that you see are needed. Emphasis that the structure of this piece is atypical. The reader will not have a sense of the importance of the scenes until reading the last section (the analytic piece). No transition is demanded between the two scenarios.

3. Briefly address editing concerns.

Day Five:

1. Students should be ready to submit their essays. Decide how much time should be spent responding to each others' writings. Consider publishing, on-line or in a class anthology, student writings.

Show-Me Standards Addressed:

Performance Standards:

Goal 1: Students will acquire the knowledge and skills to gather, analyze, and apply information and ideas.

1.1. develop questions and ideas to initiate and define research.

1.6. discover and evaluate patterns and relationships in information, ideas, and structures.

1.8. organize data, information, and ideas into useful forms (including charts, graphs, outlines) for analysis or presentation.

Goal 2: Students will acquire the knowledge and skills to communicate effectively within and beyond the classroom.

2.1. plan and make written, oral, and visual presentations for a variety of purposes and audiences.

Knowledge Standards:

CA 1. speaking and writing standard English (including grammar, usage, punctuation, spelling, capitalization.

CA 6. participating in formal and informal presentations and discussions of issues and ideas.

Thanks to Sherry Dobbs, Matt Jackson, and Dorell Kirschner for the basic idea for this lesson. All three teach at West Junior High, Columbia, MO. They shared their ideas at the Write to Learn Conference at Lake of the Ozarks, MO, 1998.

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Content Area:  Language ArtsTitle: Poetry from Taney County ProseGrade:  6-12Time:  One and a half DaysSubmitted by Patsy Watts and Lanette Tice, College of the Ozarks

Purpose: The lesson helps students read carefully for dominant idea and for expressive language. They are able to create poetry without the tension of invention from scratch. They are also able to share their work orally or on a display board.

Objectives:

1. Find an article of interest on the Taney and Beyond web site.

2. Read carefully, extracting main idea and supporting detail.

3. Create a poem by excerpting lines from the prewritten prose.

4. Establish a dominant mood or tone for the piece.

5. Prepare poem for class bulletin board.

Procedure:

1. Read a poem you have created from one of the articles in these archives of from a news article you have clipped from the newspaper. For example, here is a poem written by Lanette Tice, drawn from a newspaper article on Hunter Kelly, an infant with Krabbie's disease:

The Autumn of Hunter KellyHunter James Kellyborn on Valentine's Daybreaking hearts ever since8 months olda milestoneHunter's time is measuredin monthshe doesn't have yearsDying in slow motion.

Whatever poem you share, be able to show students the original piece of prose, either on an overhead, a copy, or on the computer screen.

2. Invite discussion about the effect of the poem compared to the effect of the article. Also consider whether the poem captured the main idea of the article, distinguishing between main idea and supporting detail.

3. Look closely at the tone of the piece you shared with students. Ask them to consider the ways tone is created in a piece.

4. Next, explain that they will be creating a poem from a piece of prose that deals with Taney County. The prose can be from the newspaper or from this web site; however, a copy of the prose must be submitted with the poem created. Students should read the piece, extracting main idea and whatever supporting detail they think will help them create a poem. They may recast lines, write their own lines, or extract phrases and clauses from the prose piece. The poem will be shared orally on the next day. Students should also prepare a copy that they can post on the bulletin board, alongside the prose text.

5. Consider, as needed, other poetic conventions, but do not drone on about speaker, stanzaic form, and so forth. Allow students to search for articles and to begin writing their pieces.

Evaluation:

Students will submit their poem and prose pieces during the next class period. After allowing small groups of four to share their poems with each other, ask for one poem to be read per group to the rest of the class. Poems will be evaluated primarily on completion, though some attention should be given to development, main idea, tone, and presentation.

A variation on this lesson would be to provide a prose piece and ask students to mark through lines they don't wish to keep, selecting only those lines (or parts of lines) that they think are powerfully expressed or necessary for capturing main idea. The final "found" poem will include only those lines and phrases they found in the original article. You may choose to have the entire class work with the same article for this assignment so that they can compare their poetic transfigurations of the prose.

Show-Me Standards Addressed:

Performance Standards:

Goal 1: Students will acquire the knowledge and skills to gather, analyze, and apply information and ideas.

1.1. develop questions and ideas to initiate and define research.

1.6. discover and evaluate patterns and relationships in information, ideas, and structures.

1.8. organize data, information, and ideas into useful forms (including charts, graphs, outlines) for analysis or presentation.

Goal 2: Students will acquire the knowledge and skills to communicate effectively within and beyond the classroom.

2.1. plan and make written, oral, and visual presentations for a variety of purposes and audiences.

2.5. perform or produce works in the fine and practical arts.

Knowledge Standards:

CA 1. speaking and writing standard English (including grammar, usage, punctuation, spelling, capitalization.

CA 2. reading and evaluating fiction, poetry, and drama.

CA 6. participating in formal and informal presentations and discussions of issues and ideas.

Thanks to Lanette Tice, Springfield, MO, for preparing a similar lesson and writing the poem on Hunter Kelly. We have reworked the lesson to make it clearer, but Lanette shared her ideas at the 1998 Write to Learn Conference, Lake of the Ozarks, MO.

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Content Area: Language Arts & Social StudiesTitle: Dialect and Idioms in Huckleberry Finn and beyondGrade: 9-12Time: Two to Three DaysSubmitted by Patsy Watts, College of the Ozarks

Purpose: The lesson helps students become more aware of language and more sensitive to regional speech. It aims at helping students understand the difference between dialect and idiom. Though here the lesson is linked to the study of Mark Twain's Huckleberry Finn, the lesson can stand alone or can be linked to any other piece that reveals a flavorful use of language.

Objectives:

1. Explain the difference between dialect and idiom.

2. Find examples of dialectical expressions and idioms in writing and in the speech we hear everyday.

3. Compile a dictionary of dialectical and idiomatic expressions, explaining those expressions in standard edited English.

 

Day One:

Procedure:

1. Explain the differences between dialect and idiom by discussing the following:

Dialects are variations in speech that are unique to given areas: American dialects are generally matters of vocabulary, grammatical constructions, and pronunciation.

Note the following example:
"You don't know about me, without you have read a book by the name of 'The Adventures of Tom Sawyer,' but that ain't no matter. That book was made by Mr. Mark Twain, and he told the truth, mainly. There was things that he stretched, but mainly he told the truth. That is nothing. I never seen anybody but lied, one time or another, without it was Aunt Polly--Tom's Aunt Polly, she is--and Mary, and the Widow Douglas, is all told about in that book--which is mostly a true book; with some stretchers, as I said before." (32)

How is this example different from standard edited English in its vocabulary?

 

grammatical constructions?

 

implied pronunciations?

 

2. Supply additional examples from the reading or from spoken English. Ask students to Answer the above questions for each of the following examples:

3. Move into a discussion of the novel that explores critical questions concerning Twain's use of dialect.

Your Turn:
1. Twain said that he attempted to recreate four different dialects in the book. Above you have been given examples of the poor whites and the African Americans. Attempt to find three examples of each of the other two dialects. How are these dialects different from the two sets of examples above?

2. There has been much debate concerning the authenticity of the dialects Twain creates. Do you think the four different dialects are reasonably accurate? Why or why not? Do you find any pattern insulting or degrading to the speaker? Why?

3. At the time Twain was writing, the attempt to recreate authentic speech patterns was a brave move (his novel could have been rejected by the reading public). How have attitudes toward speech changed, if they have?

Day Two:

1. Concentrate on idioms for the day. Contrast these speech patterns with dialect:

Idioms are words or group of words or grammatical constructions that cannot be literally translated into another language. Idioms generally grow out of a peculiarity in structure or syntax or the unveiling of layers of a metaphor.

Note these examples:

"I didn't need anybody to tell me that that was an awful bad sign and would fetch me some bad luck. . . " (34)

Look up the literal definition of fetch. What difficulties can you see in attempting a literal translation of the above sentence?

 

 

2. Ask students to consider the literal definitions of the idioms in these sentences and the confusion that would result if listeners did not understand the metaphors.

"We judged that three nights more would fetch us to Cairo, at the bottom of Illinois, where the Ohio River comes in, and that was what we were after." (95)

 

"Jim was most ruined, for a servant, because he got so stuck up on account of having seen the devil and been rode by witches." (36)

 

"Now, that's something like. That'll answer." (38)

 

"Dat truck dah is trash; en trash is what people is dat puts dirt on de head er dey fren's en makes 'em ashamed." (100)

 

 

". . .and we snaked her out, private, and took her down there, but she failed on the first pies, because we didn't know how, but she come up smiling on the last one." (237)

 

 

 


3. ask students to prepare to study idioms on their own. In groups of three, make a dictionary of at least forty of the idiomatic expressions you find in the Huckleberry Finn or in the spoken English you use everyday. Arrange your expressions alphabetically, providing a sample sentence illustrating the use of the expression and a definition of the expression written clearly enough for a non-native speaker of English to understand.

 

all quotations taken from Twain, Mark. The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn. Ed. by Gerald Graff and James Phelan. Boston: St. Martin's P, 1995.

Show-Me Standards Addressed:

Performance Standards:

Goal 1: Students will acquire the knowledge and skills to gather, analyze, and apply information and ideas.

1.1. develop questions and ideas to initiate and define research.

1.8. organize data, information, and ideas into useful forms (including charts, graphs, outlines) for analysis or presentation.

1.9. identify, analyze, and compare the institutions, traditions, and art forms of past and present societies.

Goal 2: Students will acquire the knowledge and skills to communicate effectively within and beyond the classroom.

2.1. plan and make written, oral, and visual presentations for a variety of purposes and audiences.

Knowledge Standards:

CA 1. speaking and writing standard English (including grammar, usage, punctuation, spelling, capitalization.

CA 6. participating in formal and informal presentations and discussions of issues and ideas.

CA 7. identifying and evaluating the relationships between language and culture.

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Title: Researching Word OriginsContent Area: Language ArtsGrade: 10-12Time: Two to Three DaysSubmitted by Lisa Davis, Green Forest High School

Purpose: The lesson is to be used when studying language history and/or development. Students learn how to find the origins of words and expressions and phrases. They should have an enriched understanding of their own speech and an appreciation for the way language changes over time.

Objectives:

1. Listen closely to speech patterns around us to identify and categorize Ozarkian dialect and idioms.

2. Use a variety of materials in order to find the origins of words, sayings, expressions, proverbs, and the like.

3. Explain the relationship between changing language and the changing cultures in which we live.

Materials needed:

1. Examples of word origins

2. Lists of words and sayings

3. List of possible references:

Procedure:

1. Begin by asking students if they have ever wondered where a word, saying, or expression came from. Some discussion on this topic should follow. If needed, the teacher should provide some words or sayings to get the discussion going. Explain that there are many resources available which provide such information on word origins.

2. Use the following examples of word/phrase origins:

Develop as many additional examples as are helpful for students.

3. Distribute the attached list or ask students to study some of the expressions in our archives. They should select one or two expressions and find the origin and meaning of the expressions. They will present their findings in class. They must also document the source of their information using MLA style.

 

Sample Words and Phrases

 elbow grease hit the deck jazz by and large
buck (dollar) a bird in the hand is worth two in the bush a penny saved is a penny earned beggars can't be choosers
jack of all trades bring home the bacon good things come to those who wait don't make a mountain out of a molehill
Stupid is as stupid does don't count your chickens before they hatch the early bird gets the worm if the good lord's willing and the creek don't rise
 red tape  down in the mouth ugly as sin petered out
up the creek without a paddle cat's got your tongue cockles of the heart you can't get blood out of a turnip
don't cry over spilt milk the grass is greener on the other side fools rush in where angels fear to tread pretty is as pretty does
break a leg kick the bucket silence is golden cop a plea
one foot in the grave dead as a doornail cat on a hot tin roof throw in the towel
do unto others as you would have them do unto you a merry heart doeth good like a medicine; but a broken spirit drieth the bones a rose by any other name is still a rose  what crosses the devil's belly lands on his back

Works Cited:

Ernst, Margaret S. In a Word. Great Neck: Channel Press, 1960.

Morris, William and Mary Morris. Dictionary of Word and Phrase Origins. New York: Harper & Row, 1962.

Show-Me Standards Addressed:

Performance Standards:

Goal 1: Students will acquire the knowledge and skills to gather, analyze, and apply information and ideas.

1.1. develop questions and ideas to initiate and define research.

1.8. organize data, information, and ideas into useful forms (including charts, graphs, outlines) for analysis or presentation.

1.9. identify, analyze, and compare the institutions, traditions, and art forms of past and present societies.

Goal 2: Students will acquire the knowledge and skills to communicate effectively within and beyond the classroom.

2.1. plan and make written, oral, and visual presentations for a variety of purposes and audiences.

Knowledge Standards:

CA 1. speaking and writing standard English (including grammar, usage, punctuation, spelling, capitalization.

CA 6. participating in formal and informal presentations and discussions of issues and ideas.

CA 7. identifying and evaluating the relationships between language and culture.

Lesson provided by Lisa Davis, Green Forest High School, Green Forest, AR. Minor adaptations were made to link the lesson to a study of Ozarkian speech.

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Content Area: Language Arts & Social StudiesTitle: Using Personification to Reflect on HistoryGrade: 9-12Time: Two Days  Submitted by Patsy Watts, College of the Ozarks

Purpose: The two day lesson requires students to consider point of view in historical writing. After reading a piece on local history that personifies the White River, students will be writing an account of an historical event from the perspective of a nonhuman observer.

Objectives:

1. Explain point of view and its effect on a reader's understanding of an event.

2. Contrast two pieces on the White River from differing points of view.

3. Explain personification.

4. Recreate an historical event using personification.

Overview: This brief lesson engages students in reading two short pieces on the same object, written from differing points of view. More analysis will be focused on the second piece, which employs several creative writing strategies, including personification. The students will then brainstorm details of an historic event from the perspective of something nonhuman. They will write a follow-up essay.

Materials Needed: internet access to Taney and Beyond: "White River" and "The River Runs Through It"

Procedure:

Day One

1. If you have classroom computer terminals, ask students to find the "White River" section in the Historical Archives of this website, under Natural Resources. They may access this article by clicking on "Complete Site Directory" at the bottom of the home page, and then clicking on "White River."

2. If you do not have access for all students, print off the White River section and distribute it to students.

3. Introduce the focus on the White River and why it would be included on the website. Then explain to students that the site offers two pieces written from very different points of view. Read the first section in class outloud.

4. Briefly discuss the point of view of the piece and the strengths and limitations of that perspective.

5. Next, introduce the term personification. Explain that the second piece uses more creative writing strategies, including this technique. Begin reading the piece aloud. Decide for yourself whether the students need to read all of the piece aloud or whether to give them a few moments to finish the piece.

6. Ask students to consider the differences between the two accounts. They are likely to have different views on which they like better, but many will say they appreciate the imagery and imaginative appeal of the second piece.

7. Finally, explain that the class will be writing an historical piece from the point of view of some nonhuman participant or observer. Brainstorm for ten minutes or so to help them come up with events and possible points of view. For instance, a Baldknobber raid might be narrated from the perspective of a barn that was burned or a hanging tree; the building of Taneycomo Dam might be told from a fish's perspective.

(Note: The event does not have to be a local history event. It could be global, national, state. It could even be a personal experience.)

Assignment: Continue brainstorming and select the topic and point of view with which you will experiment. Organize some of the information you would like to include in the essay.

Day Two

1. Open class with a brief discussion of yesterday's activities, reminding students of the purpose of the lesson and what they will be doing today.

2. They should have brought their brainstorming. They will spend the biggest part of the hour drafting their essays.

3. Stop the students about five minutes before the end of the hour. Ask for readers to share their writing. Ask students to complete the essay for tomorrow's class, having someone else read what they have written and comment on the effect of the point of view. The essays will be due at the beginning of the third day.

(Note: You could extend this activity if you wished, asking students to share their original pieces and then to switch their points of view, recreating the same event from someone else's perspective.)

Evaluation: Effective participation in class discussion, focused time on writing, timely submission of essay

 

Show-Me Standards Addressed:

Performance Standards:

Goal 1: Students will acquire the knowledge and skills to gather, analyze, and apply information and ideas.

1.1. develop questions and ideas to initiate and define research.

1.8. organize data, information, and ideas into useful forms (including charts, graphs, outlines) for analysis or presentation.

Goal 2: Students will acquire the knowledge and skills to communicate effectively within and beyond the classroom.

2.1. plan and make written, oral, and visual presentations for a variety of purposes and audiences.

Knowledge Standards:

CA 1. speaking and writing standard English (including grammar, usage, punctuation, spelling, capitalization.

CA 3. reading and evaluating nonfiction works and materials (such as biographies, newspapers, technical manuals)

CA 6. participating in formal and informal presentations and discussions of issues and ideas.

SS 2. continuity and change in the history of Missouri, the United States, and the world.

SS 6. relationships of the individual and groups to institutions and cultural traditions.

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Content Area: Language Arts & Social StudiesTitle: Oral Historical Research, Family HistoryGrade: 6-8; 9-12Time: Two Weeks (Minimum) Submitted by Patsy Watts, College of the Ozarks

Purpose: The unit engages students in oral historical research, refining their interviewing skills and giving them a reason for meaningful interaction with their family members. In investigating their family histories they will gain glimpses of different generational concerns and historical forces shaping those concerns. They are also required to present their final project, thereby helping them develop speaking and listening skills.

Objectives:

I . engage in extended oral research on a topic of interest.

2. conduct effective interviews to gather information.

3. Synthesize information from a variety of sources to create an original project.

4. Write original pieces experimenting with at least five separate genres.

5. Present history project in an engaging and dynamic manner.

Overview:

Students will be asked to research some particular dimension related to their families: the family itself, a person in the family. an event that profoundly affected the family. The bulk of their research will be done by interviewing people in their families (though other sources can be used as well). The final project will be a compilation of their research: they must write about the topic in at least five different genres: video or audio clips. a dramatic script, poems diary or journal entries, letters, sketches. posters, book jackets, ballads, news articles, short stories, character profiles, or any other medium. They may also use "found" artifacts (ones they did not create) but these are in addition to the original pieces. They must document all sources and present the project to the rest of the class in an engaging way.

Day One:

1. Explain the scope of the project to students. If possible, show a project that you have created to help students see some of the possibilities. Decide how many entries to require based upon the time that you plan to spend on this project; establish a number that allows variety and stimulates students to think about their family history in different ways, but keep the number small enough that students will have time to revise and edit. (They should also be forced to select their best work to share, a tough assignment for many.)

2. Have prepared a handout on the assignment and some sort of rubric or checklist to distribute on the day the assignment is given. There are sample assignment sheets at the end of this lesson.

3. Begin talking about oral research and its strengths and challenges. Ask students to reflect upon the way they already engage in oral research to some extent. This type of research, however, will require effective planning and recording. They will be engaged in note-taking, audio recording, video recording, or all three. Likewise, they must consider in advance the things they wish to discover and plan the interview in such a way as to get that information first (rather than extending the initial interview into a grueling endurance test for everyone concerned).

4. Talk about interviewing tips. Provide sample interview questions. Emphasize that students should steer away from "Yes, No" questions unless they are able to follow up with exploratory questions. Also emphasize the fact that recording must be done with the permission of the person being interviewed. A sample list of questions is provided at the end of this lesson.

5. Consider engaging in this project with students: investigate some aspect of your own family history so that you can share ideas with students and model your own work. Also, questions that occur to you while you are completing the project will also be occurring to your students. The learning environment will be more vibrant if you are discovering alongside the students. (Do not, however, drone on and on about yourself and your experiences; you will bore students to death and they will hate the assignment.)

Day Two:

1. Work with students on conducting mock interviewing sessions. Discuss some of the questions they pose and some provided on your handout. What makes a good question? How do you get the speaker to clarify or explain in more detail something you haven't understood?

 

2. Also begin thinking about likely contacts. Ask students to list possible topics for research. Then ask them to identify several possible contacts in their families who might be able to tell more about the topic.

3. Encourage students to begin their research as soon as possible so that they will have enough time to think about their discoveries. Show a few autobiographical projects, including Leslie Marmon Silko's Storyteller and several regional family histories available through Taney Hills Library. Illustrate the multi genre approach that these pieces take.

 

Day Three:

1. Discuss transcribing, editing, and documenting information gathered through oral research. Several students will have already begun collecting information, so they are ready for guidelines on accuracy and documentation.

Days Four and Five:

1. Based upon the progress they are making, decide what skills and concepts your students need to study.

Days Six through Eight:

These days should explore possible genres for writing about the history collected. As you explore a specific genre, discuss the advantages and limitations of each. Allow students class time to work on their projects.

Day Nine:
Review documentation. Discuss and model effective oral presentation skills.

Day Ten:

Present projects and engage students in peer evaluation/feedback. Display those projects that can be displayed in your classroom for at least two weeks.

 

Sample Assignment Sheet

Every family has a rich history and some important accomplishments. How much do you know about your own? Here is a chance to learn more about who you are by delving into your family's history. After you research, you will be sharing your findings with the rest of the class.

The Assignment:

Select some important event, person, or accomplishment of your family to research. Research that topic primarily by interviewing people in your family (or ones who are close to your family). Talk to as many people as possible to get as much insight as you can.

Once you have fully researched the topic, begin thinking about ways to share your information. You must write at least five original pieces. Here are some ideas for different genre approaches:

You may also use "found" artifacts (ones you did not create), but these are in addition to the original pieces. Assemble these pieces, making sure that you document the sources of your information in a supplemental bibliography, as well as on the piece itself.

Figure out a way to pull these artifacts together. You might be able to create a book for some of them. Or you might want to create a larger collage. Whatever you do, create a table of contents to help direct your readers.

Next, consider how you will share this project with the rest of the class. Your presentation can take several forms, but you will be evaluated on the basis of these criteria:

Sample Interview Questions

The following questions are excerpted from a sheet provided by Joy Ewing, Rolla, MO. Joy uses Bill Zimmerman's How to Tape Instant Oral Biographies as a resource for developing questions.

1. What is your full name? (If the subject is a married woman, ask for her maiden name.)

2. What does your name mean? Were you named after someone? Did you know the person? What was he or she like? Do you share any personality traits?

3. When were you born? Where? Were you born in a hospital, at home, or somewhere else?

4. What is your nationality? What about the national or ethnic origin of your family?

5. Who were the first family members to settle this country? What were their names? Has the family name changes since that time? When did they arrive? What did they bring with them? What experiences did they have when they got here? What languages did they speak? What did they do for a living in their homeland? What did they do for a living once they got here? Was it difficult to find work? Why?

6. Do you know when and where your grandparents were born? Their full names?

7. Do you remember any of the stories your grandparents told about what life was like when they were younger? What are some of those stories?

8. Do you know where your grandparents are buried?

9. What are the full names of your parents? When and where were they raised? What were they like? How did they make a living?

10. Did you have many aunts and uncles? What were their full names and what do you remember about them?

11. Who were your favorite relatives? Why?

12. Did you have any brothers or sisters? What were their names and when were they born in relationship to you? What were they like as young people? Do you remember any funny stories about them? How have they changed as adults?

13. Where did you life as a child, and what was your hometown like then? Can you describe your childhood home? What do you miss about it?

14. What did you look like as a child? What was your personality like? Can you think of any stories that show the way you were?

15. Did you have a nickname? How did you get it?

16. What did you like doing as a child? What were your favorite games or activities? Who were your favorite people?

17. Who do you think influenced your life the most when you were young and in what way?

18. What great person (people) have you known in your life? What made that person special?

19. What goals did you have as a young person? What goals did your family have for you?

20. What led you to choose the line of work that you do or did? What is there about it that you like most? least? When did you start working and what kinds of jobs did you do?

21. When did you first meet your husband or wife? Under what circumstances? What was he or she like when you first met? What attracted you to him or her? How old were you both? What was your courting like? How soon after you met did you marry?

22. What was life like in the early days of marriage? Where did you live? Was it hard to get by? How did you make your living? What was a typical day like for you at work or at home? Did you have any problems in the early years of your marriage? What about? What advice do you offer others for making a marriage work?

23. Did you go to war? Which one(s)? Where were you stationed and what was it like? How long did you serve and in what branch?

24. Did you have children? When? What are their names and dates and places of birth? What were your children like? How did they differ from one another? What favorite stories do you have about them? How did children change your life? How did you raise them to be good human beings? What values did you try to teach them--religious, moral, social, or other?

25. What do you remember about me as a child? What was I like then? Whom did I resemble? Was I very different from the way I am today?

26. What do you think has been the happiest time in your life? What was the worst? How do you get over sad periods?

27. What do you think was a turning point in your life? How did your life change after this event? How did you learn to stand on your own two feet? When?

28. What have been the major accomplishments in your life? What have been the biggest problems, mistakes, or adversities? How did you overcome them?

29. Looking ahead, what things do you want to accomplish in life? What are your dreams?

30. If you had your life to live over, what would you do differently?

Show-Me Standards Addressed:

Performance Standards:

Goal 1: Students will acquire the knowledge and skills to gather, analyze, and apply information and ideas.

1.1. develop questions and ideas to initiate and define research.

1.8. organize data, information, and ideas into useful forms (including charts, graphs, outlines) for analysis or presentation.

1.9. identify, analyze, and compare the institutions, traditions, and art forms of past and present societies.

Goal 2: Students will acquire the knowledge and skills to communicate effectively within and beyond the classroom.

2.1. plan and make written, oral, and visual presentations for a variety of purposes and audiences.

Knowledge Standards:

CA 1. speaking and writing standard English (including grammar, usage, punctuation, spelling, capitalization.

CA 6. participating in formal and informal presentations and discussions of issues and ideas.

CA 7. identifying and evaluating the relationships between language and culture.

SS 2. continuity and change in the history of Missouri, the United States, and the world.

SS 6. relationships of the individual and groups to institutions and cultural traditions.

The basic ideas for the assignment and the interview questions for this lesson come from Joy Ewing, Rolla High School, Rolla, MO. Joy shared the ideas at the Write to Learn Conference, Lake of the Ozarks, MO, 1998. She credits Beta Noel, Columbia, for much of the information.

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Business and Vocational Education

Content Area: BusinessTitle: Travel Project Grade: 8-10Time:  One Week (minimum)Submitted by Alisa Fulkerson, College of the Ozarks


Objectives:
1. The students will use the Internet for research on Taney County.
2. The students will practice making wise consumer decisions.
3. The students will devise their own conclusions on Taney County and the cities within the county.

Anticipatory Set:

I will first tell the students about the different cities and townships within Taney County and the cities that are fairly good for industry. They will then choose within their groups, that I have already selected, what their industry will be for their project and into what city they will expand their business.

Instruction/Modeling:

This project requires each group, acting as employees of a business, to research the county that its business is hoping to expand to. They will need to find information on the Internet about Taney county. They will also make travel plans for their business manager to attend a meeting in the county. They should plan their research as if the meeting would be held in Forsyth, the county seat.

After the research is complete, an itinerary should be prepared detailing the business manager's visit to Taney county.

The students should research the following: Facts about the county (for example, population, geographic area, demographics {statistics}, government structure, economic system)

· Economic facts (for example, exports, imports, chief agricultural products, currency, transportation styles available) . Travel information (for example, methods/costs of travel to the county, methods of travel while in the county, hotel accommodations, communication modes available in the county)

· Culture and customers (for example, customs which affect business relations, holidays, major religions, etiquette)

· Eating habits (for example, general cost of meals/restaurants, when people tend to eat, etc. )

Guided Practice:

The students will start out with me helping each group with their questions. A handout with Internet sites for international travel information will be provided to help.
Independent Practice:

The students will then be on their own to look up any additional information to find more Internet sites with their group.

Closure:

The students will then wrap up the day by discussing within their groups what they will begin to write for their itinerary for the next lesson.

Internet Sites for International Travel Information

AMERICAN EXPRESS TRAVEL---http://www.americanexpress.com/travel/

. ASIA TRAVEL---http:l/asiatravel.com

· AT&T WORLDWIDE TRAVELER--http://www.att.comltraveler

BUSINESS TRAVEL ONLINE---http://www.btonline.com

· COUNTRY AND CITY TRAVEL GUIDES--http://cyber.cclims.com/mall/travel/country. html .

FLIFO CYBER TRAVEL AGENT---http://yahoo.flifo.com

· DESTINATION INFORMATION INTERNATIONAL--http://www. sys I .com/travel/whertogo.htm

· HOTELS AND TRAVEL ON THE NET--http:www.hotelstravel.com/homepage.html .

HOW FAR IS IT?---http://www.indo.com/distance

· INTERNATIONAL BUSINESS KIOSK--http://www.webcom.com/one/world/

· INTERNET TRAVEL NETWORK--http://www.itn.net

· TRAVEL SOURCE--http://travelsource.com/index.html

. TRAVELOCITY---http://www.travelocity.com

· THE TRIP.COM---http://www.thetrip.com

· WORLD FACTBOOK---http://www.odci.gov/cia/publication/nsolo/wfb-all.htm

· BRANSON CONNECTION---http://www.bransonconnection.com

Show-Me Standards Addressed:

Performance Standards:

Goal 1: Students will acquire the knowledge and skills to gather, analyze, and apply information and ideas.

1.1. develop questions and ideas to initiate and define research.

1.8. organize data, information, and ideas into useful forms (including charts, graphs, outlines) for analysis or presentation.

Goal 2: Students will acquire the knowledge and skills to communicate effectively within and beyond the classroom.

2.1. plan and make written, oral, and visual presentations for a variety of purposes and audiences.

2.7. use technological tools to exchange information and ideas.

Knowledge Standards:

CA 1. speaking and writing standard English (including grammar, usage, punctuation, spelling, capitalization.

CA 6. participating in formal and informal presentations and discussions of issues and ideas.

SS 4. economic concepts (including productivity and the market system) and principles (including the law of supply and demand).

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Content Area:  BusinessTitle: Travel Project #2 Grade Level: 8-10Time:  One day Submitted by Alisa Fulkerson, College of the Ozarks

Objectives:
1 . The students will demonstrate the ability to prepare a structured itinerary using Internet resources.
2. The students will demonstrate effective presentation skills.
3. The students will effectively compose their thoughts in a group setting.

Anticipatory Set:

The students will first review in their groups what material they have found. I will then go over what an itinerary is and what is to be expected in a proposed travel plan. The students will also be told the group will do an oral presentation after they have set up their itinerary.

Instruction/Modeling:

After all the research has been completed, an itinerary should be prepared detailing the business manager's visit to the county. This itinerary should cover the moment the executive lands back in Taney county and arrives back in their city. The students will be told to allow adequate travel time. The trip should last no longer than three business days. The budget should be somewhere between $1000-$1500, though, the less the cost, the more impressed your boss will be. The students will be told to itemize the trip expenses also.

Closure:

The students will then wrap up the day by each group presenting their own itinerary and explaining what they found on their searches.

Show-Me Standards Addressed:

Performance Standards:

Goal 1: Students will acquire the knowledge and skills to gather, analyze, and apply information and ideas.

1.1. develop questions and ideas to initiate and define research.

1.8. organize data, information, and ideas into useful forms (including charts, graphs, outlines) for analysis or presentation.

Goal 2: Students will acquire the knowledge and skills to communicate effectively within and beyond the classroom.

2.1. plan and make written, oral, and visual presentations for a variety of purposes and audiences.

2.7. use technological tools to exchange information and ideas.

Knowledge Standards:

CA 1. speaking and writing standard English (including grammar, usage, punctuation, spelling, capitalization.

CA 6. participating in formal and informal presentations and discussions of issues and ideas.

SS 4. economic concepts (including productivity and the market system) and principles (including the law of supply and demand).

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Content Area: BusinessTitle: Marketing Taney CountyGrade: 8-10Time:  One week (minimum)Submitted by Alisa Fulkerson, College of the Ozarks

Objectives:
1. The students will research Taney County on the Internet.
2. The students will find information on places to see and things to do in Taney County from the Internet and Encarta Encyclopedia.
3. The students will make a travel brochure on Taney County.

Anticipatory Set:

I will start this activity by telling the students that I am planning a trip to Taney County and I don't know what to do while I am there. So the students will make a travel brochure. The most creative brochure wins. The students will then break up into their preselected groups.

Instruction/Modeling:

I will hand out a worksheet to start the students off on what they will be doing. This will also help them to do more of this activity on their own within their groups. I will go over the directions and the worksheet with the students first.

Guided Practice:

Within their groups, the students will look up the Internet sites to find what they are needing for their brochure. I will be around to help each one of the groups individually.

Independent Practice:

The students will then have to figure out within their groups how to display the information on their brochure to look attractive to not just me, but the average tourist also. They will have to be able to work together in their groups with the worksheet guiding them along.

Closure:

The students will then turn in their finished brochure. I will then bring in a few "guest' teachers to judge the brochures and there will be a winner.

 


TRAVEL BROCHURE PROJECT

Using the Internet and WordPerfect, you will:

To Set Up Tri-Fold Brochure Using WordPerfect 8:

· Using the FORMAT pull-down menu, select PAGE, and then PAGE SE1MP

· Click in the SIZE tab and select LANDSCAPE ORIENTATION (paper size should be letter 8.5" X 11", but these should already be selected in the left-hand box)

· Click on the DIVIDE PAGE tab and select 3 columns and I row

· click on the PAGE MARGlNS tab and change the left and right margins to .375" and top and bottom margins to . 5"

. Click on OK to initiate the changes

· to change from one column of the brochure to the next, press ENTER

Some Travel Planning Sites to Get You Started:

. http://city.net

· http://travel.org/index2.html

· http://www.travel.com

· http://www.mindspring.com/content/travel/

· http://tracel.yahoo.comldestinations

· http://www.surf-sun.com

. http://www.fodors.com

· http://www.vacations.com/vacations.html

· http://www.cybertrip.com

· http://www.ego.net

· http://www bransonconnection com

To Obtain Text or Image From the Internet:

· Find the image you want, point to it, right click the mouse, and select SAVE IMAGE AS

. Save the image to your disk in the proper format-A:picture

· If you find an article to use, you may either highlight the text you want and use EDIT, copy to copy and edit, Paste in your word processing program to paste

OR

. From the webpage with information you want, to File, Save As...

· Save the file on your disk with the he extension TXT-A:webpage.txt

· You can open the file later in your word processing program and copy and paste then.

Remember to write down the Internet address of the web site where you obtain information for the project. (You will document all sources from which you excerpted information. You should also e-mail the site to explain your project and ask permission to use the object or text.)

Show-Me Standards Addressed:

Performance Standards:

Goal 1: Students will acquire the knowledge and skills to gather, analyze, and apply information and ideas.

1.1. develop questions and ideas to initiate and define research.

1.8. organize data, information, and ideas into useful forms (including charts, graphs, outlines) for analysis or presentation.

Goal 2: Students will acquire the knowledge and skills to communicate effectively within and beyond the classroom.

2.1. plan and make written, oral, and visual presentations for a variety of purposes and audiences.

2.7. use technological tools to exchange information and ideas.

Knowledge Standards:

CA 1. speaking and writing standard English (including grammar, usage, punctuation, spelling, capitalization.

CA 6. participating in formal and informal presentations and discussions of issues and ideas.

SS 4. economic concepts (including productivity and the market system) and principles (including the law of supply and demand).

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Content Area: BusinessTitle: Reflecting on Proposition B: Binding AgreementsGrade: 8-10Time:  Two daysSubmitted by Alisa Fulkerson

The purpose of this lesson is to incorporate newspapers and graphic aids into the business classroom to improve comprehension of current local events such as Proposition B.

Objective:

The students are to know and grasp the current event of Proposition B and relate it to Unit 3 "Making Binding Agreements."

Materials Needed:

1. Newspaper article(s) on Prop. B

2. Applied Business Law textbook.

Procedure/Activity:

1. Present an example from the newspaper (or read the section in the Historical Archives of this site) about Proposition B and the pros and cons of the law to carry concealed weapons. Then relate the law to business law by asking questions about how the students feel that it is related.

2. Ask students to consider what others around them think about the proposed law. Discuss drafting and conducting surveys to gain insight into public opinion. What kinds of questions are appropriate for a survey? Brainstorm lists of questions and discuss their strengths and weaknesses.

3. The class will then divide into groups of four. Each group will make up a survey about the law with a minimum of five questions. Each person in the groups will survey 10 people apiece for homework the next day. The next day the students will return to their groups of four and make graph about their results.

4. The students are then to be given a worksheet about Proposition B and business law.

Evaluation:

The students will have understood the law of Proposition B and made their own decisions about it. This lesson also incorporates having the students work together to make graphic aids. They will also have a clearer understanding of business law terms as they relate to current political questions:

Sample Business Law Questions:

Directions: These questions are critical thinking questions. Please use your newspaper article that you chose and my example in class.

1. Do you think that the law Proposition B should allow anyone to carry a concealed weapon or just someone who is legally competent? Please explain what legally competent is and your opinion on the matter.

2 Should there be a signed contract made to be able to carry a gun? Also explain who would be the offeror and the offeree if a contract was made.

3. Describe how genuine assent relates to Proposition B?

4. Do you think that the government could make undue influence over this law or do you think that most people will just use this law to the full extent and abide by it totally?

5. What are your opinions on the law? Please explain thoroughly.

Show-Me Standards Addressed:

Performance Standards:

Goal 1: Students will acquire the knowledge and skills to gather, analyze, and apply information and ideas.

1.1. develop questions and ideas to initiate and define research.

1.8. organize data, information, and ideas into useful forms (including charts, graphs, outlines) for analysis or presentation.

Goal 2: Students will acquire the knowledge and skills to communicate effectively within and beyond the classroom.

2.1. plan and make written, oral, and visual presentations for a variety of purposes and audiences.

2.7. use technological tools to exchange information and ideas.

Knowledge Standards:

CA 1. speaking and writing standard English (including grammar, usage, punctuation, spelling, capitalization.

CA 6. participating in formal and informal presentations and discussions of issues and ideas.

SS 4. economic concepts (including productivity and the market system) and principles (including the law of supply and demand).

SS 7. the use of tools of social science inquiry (such as surveys, statistics, maps, documents)

 

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