Running Header: Instructional Inquiry

Instructional Inquiry Project Brian Edwards University of New England December 11, 2012

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Going Bohemian: How to Teach Writing Like You Mean It is a book that focuses on writing strategies that apply across all content areas. The strategies that are focused on in this book give teachers great ideas and initiative for teaching writing skills in a different manner that work well for students of all strengths. When thinking about this instructional inquiry project, I wanted to pick a section or strategy from this book that works well and aligns with the curriculum of Social Studies. The section from the book that I thought was the most applicable for me was the last section of the book "Real Life: Writing and Thinking (Baines and Kunkel, p. 181)." When reading this section and looking at the different activities, I saw one that I thought would be perfect for a unit in my classroom. The "Research Brochure" appealed to me specifically because research and response is a very important skill set to develop in Social Studies. I thought that the research brochure would be perfect to do during a unit on the Great Depression. Throughout my masters degree program, I have focused a lot of my units on the Great Depression because it is an area that I have struggled teaching in the past and I am trying to get good ideas on how to make my units better. I think that the research brochure would be great to do as an activity highlighting the different programs of the New Deal.

This would be a unit that I would conduct over four different class periods. The plan would be to have students, in small groups, create research brochures on different agencies created in the New Deal. I would have groups of four or five students working on four different programs created in the New Deal. There would be several different resources that I would need to do this unit. Since I work in a correctional facility, my students do not have access to the internet. I still, however, would use internet resources that I had printed off. I would access the FDR Periodic Table website and use this to obtain resources for the activity. This website has great resources and links to resources regarding all of the different programs created in the New Deal. These resources would give history of the program, what it supplied to the country, and how effective it was. If I were in a public school, I would have

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students do an internet scavenger hunt for resources but, since that option is unavailable to me, I would print off resources necessary for 7 or 8 New Deal programs. I would also print off at least 15 images related to the New Deal and the Great Depression for students to use in making their brochures. I would also need several sheets of colored construction paper for students to use. Using these resources, students would then create a brochure advertising their New Deal program. Students would have multiple class periods to create these brochures and, when completed, they would present them to their classmates.

The book suggests that this lesson would take one or two classroom periods. I say that it will take four because I want to give an introductory lesson to give students some background knowledge, allow plenty of time for planning of project, and reserve a portion of class period for presentation. This unit would take place during the major unit of the Great Depression. Prior to this unit, students will have been instructed on the causes and effects of the Great Depression. The first day of this unit would be an introduction to FDR's New Deal policies. This can be done in a number of ways. Students can read from textbooks but I like to use transcripts from FDR's fireside chats. I think that primary source material tends to be more engaging for students because it helps to tap into the emotion of the times. I like to read my students a transcript of a fireside chat and have them write a response to it. This usually gets my students in the right mindset. The end of the first lesson I will give a little introduction into what the New Deal was, but not too much because a major part of the unit should be focused on the students learning through research. The second day will be planning the brochure and starting to put it together. The third day will be putting the brochure together and finalizing it. The fourth day will be for student presentations. This unit will fit in well with the timeline of my bigger Great Depression unit.

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There are several learning objectives for this unit. The content specific learning objectives would be that students will gain an understanding of the purpose and effectiveness of New Deal programs and are able to respond accurately to questions about the effects of the New Deal. The other learning objectives are more general but definitely not less important. One of these is that students will be able to conduct effective research and form educated responses based on this research. Research skills are very important for all students to master. The ability to gain knowledge from reading and then turn that knowledge into educated and effective academic responses is something that everyone needs to be able to do in order to be successful. Another learning objective is that students will be able to work within small groups to create an effective brochure used to teach others about New Deal programs. I think this is important because students need to learn to be part of a team to be effective in their lives. Also, working with others to create a teaching tool is great because teaching others is sometimes the best way to learn. The final learning objective would be that the students will increase their reading, writing, and public speaking skills through presentation and peer assessment. The process of creating the brochure, presenting it, and giving feedback themselves will increase the literacy skills of students and help them become better readers, writers, and constructive critics.

Assessment for this unit would be two-fold. For the brochure itself, I would create a rubric that would focus on a number of areas. Correct use of citations from the research and grammar/spelling would be categories. Also, on the rubric I would try to focus on the quality of the information on the brochure. Does it inform? Does it give specific data about the New Deal program? Are there multiple examples from the research? There will also be a category focusing on the professional appearance of the brochure. For the presentation itself I would recommend peer assessment. I'm not sure about other schools but, in my school, students always try harder when they

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are trying to impress their peers. Giving the presentation about 15% of the grade weight and giving the class a rubric with which to grade each group would not only get the groups to work harder on their presentation but also get them thinking critically about how to grade others. I think this would go a long way towards getting students more emotionally invested in the project. I believe that this unit is pretty differentiated in its approach. It involves reading, writing, and presentation skills. Students are working in groups so each student will have the opportunity to assume a role that he/she is comfortable with. Also, the presentation is pretty open ended, allowing the students to take more control over their learning process. I think there are some things that teachers can do as well to make it even more differentiated. Incorporating more technology into the presentation and allowing the addition of things like audio and video could help our more tech savvy students. Also, teachers could come up with more defined group r oles that suit to group members strengths and weaknesses. This is a model that could be easily tinkered with to suit the needs of any classroom.

When thinking about my topic for this instructional inquiry project, I wanted to choose something that I knew I could be passionate about. So often, in my classroom my students will ask me "How does this apply to the real world?" I am often searching for answers to this question as my students are convicted felons who are interested in things that will help them when getting back into the public world. This activity does exactly what the section title suggests; it gets students thinking about and using skills that are necessary in the real world. Working within a group, doing effective research, presenting completed bodies of work to a group, and a myriad of other skills are highlighted during this unit. This is the exact type of activity that can increase the literacy skills of my students while also better equipping them for their re-entry into society. This is exactly the type of activity that is needed in my field of education.

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Resources
Baines, L., & Kunkel, A. (2010). Going Bohemian: How to teach writing like you mean it. Newark, DE: International Reading Association.