Teaching Research, Paraphrasing and Presentation Skills
With Civil War Letters
A Hands On Activity Using Civil War Letters
By Laverne E. Denyer*
And you thought that there was no interesting research project for students.
Wrong! Here is one that can help you expand your skills while having fun. This unit
of study is interesting, informative and fun for all students.
* Finding an interesting, informative and practical way to prepare students for the
research and writing of a formal paper can be a real challenge.
* The incorporation of California's curriculum content standards adds another
challenging layer to this important task.
* When the necessity to bridge between traditional research/reporting skills to
digital media is included, it can often be a daunting task.
* Creativity, practicality and a way to make it student-friendly are imperative.
This lesson provides the how-to's and theory of one such lesson.
* Using the Civil War as the topic, a variety of teaching strategies are
combined into one comprehensive lesson plan.
This lesson focuses on a set of web pages developed by Laverne E. Denyer as a teaching tool in a
Senior Project class. http://ctap295.ctaponline.org/~ldenyer/ Since students were required to
write an 8-10 page research paper, many methods were used to evaluate and improve their
research and writing skills. This exercise was just one of many exercises used.
The web pages were developed as part of the CTAP 295 Educational Technology Academy
project sponsored by Sacramento Office of Education and CSU, Sacramento. Laverne is a Lead
Teacher for the San Juan School District, Pasteur Middle School Cohort.
It is important, however, to realize that as resource loaded as this page is, it is intended to act as a
sample of the way that teachers can use the Internet as a research tool to prepare students for
writing assignments.
CIVIL WAR LETTERS
PARAPHRASING & RESEARCH PRACTICE LESSON PLAN
LANGUAGE ARTS SKILLS
By Laverne E. Denyer
http://ctap295.ctaponline.org/~ldenyer/
I.
Teacher Information:
A.
B.
Standards Addressed
1. Grade Levels
A. 11th & 12th Grades
B. Adaptable for 6th through 10th Grades
2. Writing
A. 1.6 Develop presentations by using clear research questions
and creative and critical research strategies (e.g., field
studies, oral histories, interviews, experiments, electronic
sources).
3. Listening & Speaking
A. 2.4 Deliver multimedia presentations: a. Combine text, images,
and sound by incorporating information from a wide range of
media, including films, newspapers, magazines, CD-ROMs,
online information, television, videos, and electronic mediagenerated images.
4. Note: There is crossover into many other language arts standards
besides the two listed.
Instructional Objectives
1. Students will be expected to meet the following objectives
2. After reading one of the Civil War Letters, students will write a
paragraph that paraphrases the entire letter and includes the name
of the sender and recipient, the date written, and a minimum of
three key points from the letter.
3. As part of a small work group after reading all five Civil War letters,
students will compile a data list which itemizes at least four facts
listed in the letters.
4. As part of a small group after reading all five Civil War letters,
students will compile a list which of at least two conclusions
inferred from the letters.
5. As part of a small work group after reading all five Civil War letters,
students will formulate and write at least two follow-up questions
related to the topic.
6. Using the small work group developed questions, individual
students will create a word processed list, or data base, and
description of at least two related web sites (including URLs) which
address the formulated questions.
7. Using the materials developed in the previous steps, students will
write a two page report, meeting MLA standards, which lists their
findings, conclusions and questions.
8. As part of a small work group, students will combine their resources
to develop a multimedia presentation that summarizes and
presents each of the previous components, including graphics,
sound, sound design components, and accurate language
components.
9. As part of a small work group, students will give a presentation of
their digital slide show to the large group employing acceptable
informative speech skills.
http://berners.bcoe.butte.k12.
ca.us/~ldenyer/
Language Arts check
sheet
http://berners.bcoe.butt
e.k12.ca.us/~ldenyer/st
andards.htm
10. After all other activities are completed, students will complete a
written evaluation of their performance as a group member and
an individual.
C.
Student Activities
1. For this activity you will need
A. Digital Slide Presentation (with Overhead transparency
backup)
B. Lesson Plan
C. Computer with software
D. Word Processing Software
E. Digital Slide (PowerPoint, Publisher, Presentations, etc.)
Software
F. Graphical Organizer (Inspiration) Software
G. Display Medium (overhead projector, computer with
TV converter, LCD, etc.)
H. Student Materials:
a. Set of Five Civil War Letters
b. Notepaper/pencils and/or computers
c. Computer with software (same as above) – or overhead
transparencies & pens
d. Connection to the Internet for research
e. Student Instructions in Document form
2. Introductory Activity
A. Time: Approximately 1/2 hour
B. Introduce the activity by using the slide presentation and
holding a discussion about research materials: availability,
how rich they are even when they seem skimpy, locating,
etc.
C. Pre-Test
3. Enabling Activities
A. #1 Time: 1 hour (can go to 1 1/2 hours)
a. Break students into small work groups (5 works the best).
Have the group designate a facilitator, taskmaster and
a recorder.
b. Students:
i. each read at least one of the five letters;
ii. each student write a one paragraph
summary/paraphrasing the letter; discuss all five
letters;
iii. take note of facts, suppositions and research
questions;
iv. create a list of facts, suppositions and research
questions
B. #2 Time: 1 hour
a. Students individually research their questions using the
Internet. Have them each create a webliography and a
short catalog of illustrations to support their findings.
C. #3 Time: 1 to 2 hours (depending upon resources,
competency and available time)
a. Students again work in their small groups to discuss their
findings and create a digital display of their materials
Digital Slides
Lesson Plan
5 Letters
Pre-Test
(example -- will open new page). The display must be
creative, include graphics, include all appropriate
information (including the group members' names) and
be user friendly. For schools with limited technology, a
set of overhead transparencies could be substituted.
D. Culminating Activity
a. Time: 15 minutes per group
b. Each small group gives an oral presentation, using their
digital display project, of their work.
4. Assessment
5. Pre-Test
6. Group Evaluation
A. Each student completes a written evaluation of their group
work and their individual work. Remember, it is important
that for the group evaluation, each student evaluates the
group as a whole, minus themselves. For example, if there
are five members in a group, the student would evaluate the
other four members as a whole group with a potential of
25% of the work done by each.
B. Rubric
C. Teacher completes a rubric for each student's work.
D. Post-Test
D.
Results
1. After implementing your lesson (sometime between January &
March), insert a chart of your pre-test, post-test, and culminating
assessment data.
II. Web Resources & Supplementary Materials
A. Introductory Activity
1. Introductory Digital Slide Show
B. Enabling Activity
1. Internet sites:
a. Index of Civil War Information Available on the Internet
http://www.cwc.Isu.edu/cwc/civlink.htm An excellent
resource with links to letters and journals —
including a
link to "Evaluating Internet Research Resources"
b. Educational Technology Teacher Resource Links