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Robin Adamopoulos
ENGL 534 ESOL Writing
Lesson Plan
October 7, 2004
Lesson Plan: Developing Strategies for Conducting Research
Information Quest: Power Point Presentation
Audience: Middle School – 7th and 8th grades
Setting: Inclusive Social Studies Class with a high concentration of ELLs – varying
proficiency levels. This lesson involves a content area teacher co-teaching with the
ESOL teacher. Some aspects of the lesson could be pre-taught in the ELL pull-out
period: note-taking stages and outline format, for example. This lesson involves a unit
on the Romani people, also known as Gypsies, in preparation for a literature unit reading
Louis Sachar’s book, Holes.
Maryland Social Studies Voluntary Content Standards:
Standard 1: History
Students will examine significant ideas, beliefs, and themes; organize patterns and events;
and analyze how individuals and societies have changed over time in Maryland and the
United States. Students will use historical thinking skills to understand how individuals and
events have changed society over time.
Standard 2: Geography
Students will use geographic concepts and processes to examine the role of culture,
technology, and the environment in the location and distribution of human activities and
spatial connections throughout time. Students will use geographic concepts and processes
to understand location and its relationship to human activities.
Standard 5: Peoples of the Nations and World
Students will understand the diversity and commonality, human interdependence, and
global cooperation of the people of Maryland, the United States and the World through a
multicultural and historic perspective. Students will understand how people in Maryland,
the United States and around the world are alike and different.
Objectives:
1.) Students will create a Power Point presentation working through the steps
required for research: note-taking, outlining, writing, editing and producing a
presentation.
2.) Students will acquire skills in note taking—paraphrases and direct quotations;
writing a sentence outline from their notes; and creating a bibliography using
MLA format.
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Materials:
1. Suggested reference materials:
Burke, Patrick.1997. Country Fact Files: Eastern Europe. Austin, TX: Raintree
Steck-Vaughn Publishers.
Sanborne, Mark. 1996. Nations in Transition: Romania.
New York: Facts on File, Inc.
Sirimarco, Elizabeth. 2000. Gypsies. Mankato, Minn.: Smart Apple Media.
Willis, Terri. 2001. Romania: Enchantment of the World.
New York: Grolier Publishing.
2. Index cards for note cards
3. Access to personal computers with Microsoft Power Point, Internet, and word
processing software
Procedure:
1.) The Information Quest in this unit centers on the topic of the Romani People—
Gypsies. This quest could be assigned to the entire class. Another option would
be to assign various quests on related topics to the novel Holes, if library
resources would be a problem, for example. Other suggestions for quests could
include: Slavery in Texas, The Westward Expansion—Pioneer Experience, and
Native Americans of the southern plains.
2.) Build interest in involvement in the project by first asking students to complete
part of a K-W-L chart (see sample attached). What do you know about gypsies?
What do you want to know? At the end of the activity students can fill in the last
part of the chart with what they have learned from the Information Quest activity.
Keep the list the students made on an overhead or chart paper to share with them
when dividing up the questions for the activity.
3.) Students will be assigned to an Information Quest group of no more than 3 to 4
students.
4.) Each group will have one person as editor and another group member as
“reference” person, who will be responsible for assembling a final bibliography
from the sources consulted.
5.) Each individual student will be assigned one research question based on the first
day’s discussion of what the students wanted to know (with some things added by
the instructor). There are two ways to assign the questions: The teacher can
write the questions on individual sheets of paper or index cards and hand them to
each student; or, the students may pick the questions out of a hat – at random.
6.) Suggested Questions for Romani Quest:
Who were the Romani people? Where did they come from? Where (in which
countries) do the Romani people live today? Why are the Romani said to live
a “nomadic existence”? How do the Romani people survive: meet their
needs of food, clothing, shelter? What types of jobs do they have? What is
their language? How does their language differ from other European
languages? Why are the Romani people discriminated against?
7.) Before beginning the research stage, students will need some instruction in notetaking skills. Prepare an overhead with the definition of a paraphrase—taking
someone else’s ideas and writing them in your own words, giving credit to the
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author. Give examples of effective and ineffective paraphrases. Also, give
examples of properly cited quotations.
8.) Students will also need some instruction in citing sources. MLA format is
suggested for this assignment. Students should cite the author’s last name and
page number using parenthetical references, and write a works cited entry for
each source consulted. Students will need hands-on instruction throughout
researching and writing the project. The teacher should collect and give feedback
on the note cards before students move on to the next stage of the project.
9.) Students will research their questions. A few suggestions: Select the sources
from the library and have them available in the classroom for students. For more
proficient students – a class time in the library may be appropriate to allow the
students to find and choose their own sources. Also, depending upon proficiency,
students could conduct research on-line using Google and keyword searches to
answer their questions.
10.)
After the note-taking/research stage, the students will begin outlining –
drawing main ideas from their notes to create sentences which will become part
of the Power Point Presentation. Sentence outlines are preferred for this project,
and a mini-lesson on outlining should be a part of the direct instruction. (Sample
Outline Hand-Out attached). Students should take their note cards home to
prepare a simple outline.
11.)
When the outlining stage is complete, students will be ready to begin
assembling the Power Point. Each student will be responsible for at least 3 slides
as a part of their group’s presentation. The editor will decide the order of the
presentation while the “reference” expert will collect the group’s works cited
entries to compile a word-processed bibliography.
Assembling the Power Point:
The Power Point should be assembled using a process approach:
1.) Groups will decide a format for the Power Point.
2.) The editor will create a title slide and a credits slide with the group
members’ names.
3.) Each group member will complete three slides with the information
from their sentence outlines.
a.) First step: select a design template for the slide.
b.) Second step: type in the information for the slide
c.) Third step: choose a graphic – picture for the slide, select
animation features and sound, if any.
d.) Last step—edit slides – run spelling/grammar check and scan
for errors.
4.) The editor will compile the presentation and submit to the instructor
along with a word-processed bibliography.
5.) Each group will present their Power Point to the class and receive
feedback from class members.
6.) Students will reflect on their group’s performance and their individual
performances by filling in the last column of the K-W-L chart
(attached).
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Time Frame:
1.) Note-taking/Research stage: 2 to 3 (50 minute) class sessions at the most.
2.) Outlining stage: 1 (50 minute) class session with a take-home component.
3.) Assembly of the Power Point Presentation and bibliography: a total of one
hour divided over 3 days (20 minutes per class period). The Power Point
assembly can be worked around other instruction.
4.) Power Point Presentation to the class and community: This could be done as
an after-school-evening screening involving parents and family, or it could be
an in-class activity. The students should be invited to provide feedback on
each group’s presentation – either verbally or in writing—as in an “exit slip.”
Evaluation/Assessment:
Formative Assessments: The project should be monitored and graded in stages:
Note Cards Completed on Time (25 percent of project grade)
Outline in the Proper Format and Met Deadlines (25 percent)
Bibliography/Works Cited in Proper Format (20 percent)
Power Point Presentation—suggested rubric follows (30 percent)
Summative Assessment:
Power Point Rubric:
Content—strong basis in research-- 40 points
Organization—well organized, cohesive – 30 points
References—quotes and paraphrases are properly cited—20 points
Creativity, Design—10 points
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Information Quest: K-W-L Chart
What I know
What I want to
know
Possible Research
Questions
What I learned
Reflections on Power
Point