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Exploring Exploration
Description:
This lesson with be done in collaboration with a Social Studies teacher. After the students have studied explorers and exploration in class for about a week, they will come into the Library Media Center. They will futher examine and research a specific person, place or thing associated with this section of World History in order to write a three page paper. They will be in the library for four to five class sessions. This lesson plan is intended to serve as a conclusion for an end of a unit. The purpose is to attract the students' attention with fun and interactive components while teaching them how to complete a research paper properly.
Goals & Objectives:

Instructional Goals

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-Students will be able to locate print and online resources.

-Students will be able to evaluate the importance of print and online resources. -Students will be able to evaluate the authority, value and relevance of online resources.

-Students will be able to correctly cite both types of resources. Learning Objectives

-Students will be able to identify the information needed to write a three page paper on their specific topic.

-Students will be able to research their topic.

-Students will be able to organize the information they find.

-Students will be able to put information into a paper format.

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Motivational Goals

-Students will gain confidence of their ability to identify information needs through group and individual brainstorming.

-Students will successfully research their topic and therefore gain confidence in their research skills.

-Students will understand the value of information resources.
Materials & Sources:

-A checklist provided by the LMS to the students so that they can evaluate online resources.

-A form that outlines the needed information to cite materials and resources.

-A Macmillan/McGraw-Hill Social Studies concept map.
Procedures:

-Students will enter the LMC and sit down at the tables, next to whom ever they chose.

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-Students will be asked to reach under their seats and peal off the Post-It paper. The slip of paper will have either a person, place or thing associated with exploration.

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-The LMS will then explain that each student will research their topic using print and online resources. They each must use two print and two online resources.

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-The LMS will then begin brainstorming with the students. There will be three sections to the brainstorming. The LMS will ask the students what they might need to find out about a person, place and thing, using examples that none of the students have. This will demonstrate to the students what information they will need to obtain during their research.

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-The LMS will then explain how to use each of the support materials.

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-The support materials will guide the students in:?

1. searching, locating and evaluating online resources

2. recording and organizing the notes obtained from resources

3. citing the resources
Assessment:
Student Performance Evaluation-

The LMS and teacher will examine the students' resources on the second or third day, depending on how many periods the students are in the LMC. This will take between five and ten minutes per student, to make sure they are on the right track prior to writing the paper.

-The students will be broken up into three groups; people, places and things on the second to last day of research to share their findings. This will allow for peer-assessment of research techniques.

-The LMS and/or teacher will explain to the students that a component of the paper, which they will be graded on, is explaining how exploration has affected the World. Specifically, they need to address two different aspects of the effect of exploration.

-Finally, the teacher will grade the papers on grammar, style and content. The LMS will grade the students on the resources they used and their use of support materials. Each student will use a separate support material worksheet for each resource. Lesson Plan Evaluation-The teacher and LMS will then evaluate their lessonplan and implementation. They will examine:
-Were the students interested
-Were the students involved in the group
instruction activities
-Was this lesson plan appropriate to the grade level
-Did the students seem overwhelmed
-Were the support materials useful
-How were the papers/how did the students perform
-How much did the students learn
-Which students had trouble or did poorly on the
paper and how can we remedy that next time (extrahelp, different requirements, more or less support materials)

-After this, give the students a short survey about the lessonplan. Ask them:
-Did they like it
-Were they interested
-What did they learn
-What did they like the best
-What did they like the least

Since this is a new lesson plan, incorporating many skills, obtaining feedback from students and self-evaluation will allow the teacher and LMS to improve the lesson next time.
Sources:
The concept map is a variation of the Macmillan/McGraw-Hill Social Studies Main Idea and Map.
Print this Lesson Plan
Presented By: Maureen Ganley
Website by Data Momentum, Inc.