Burns,+Adam

One of the difficulties of applying PBL to a history class is that there seems to be few examples of real world problems to address. After all, history takes place in the past! Fortunately, James Percoco [|wrote a fine book] about "applied history". In "A Passion For the Past," he shares several ideas of how to engage students in history in the real world. One of the advantages Percoco has is that he teaches in northern Virginia, a hotbed of history. But, thanks to technology, we here in Michigan can make that world a little smaller.

==== This lesson asks students to research and engage in a debate on historical preservation. Anything that is currently trying to be preserved would be best, especially if it is local and can be visited. To give a more general outline, I chose Civil War battlefields for this lesson, seeing as they always seem to be facing a Wal-Mart or casino in the news. It is important to note that the Civil War is not in my content curriculum, though part of our high school content expectations are to provide students with experiences that force them to think about issues in history. So again, this lesson is not limited to the Civil War, but students will probably find the most information on that. ====

==== P2.3: Know how to find and organize information from a variety of sources; analyze, interpret, support interpretations with evidence, critically evaluate, and present information orally and in writing. ====
 * ==== Daily Lesson GAME Plan I - PBL ==== ||
 * ==== Lesson Title: Debating Battlefield Preservation ==== |||| ==== Related Lessons: Civil War lectures ==== ||
 * ==== Grade Level: 10th grade ==== |||| ==== Unit: Civil War ==== ||
 * ==== GOALS ==== ||
 * ==== Content Standards: Michigan Social Studies Standards: ====

P2.4: Use multiple perspectives and resources to identify and analyze issues appropriate to the social studies discipline being studied.
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 * ==== ISTE NETS-S ====

-Students will work with a group and formulate an argument to use in a classroom debate on historical preservation.
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 * ==== PROCEDURE ==== ||
 * ==== Before-Class Preparation: Students will have studied the Civil War (or any other part of history relevant to a current preservation debate) enough to be familiar with the basics of the topic. They will add more insight through their research. ==== ||
 * ==== During Class: ====

1) Students will read through a selection of historical preservation articles for homework. They will be instructed to come to class with a pro/con opinion on historical preservation.
==== 2) At the beginning of class, the teacher will lead a discussion on historical preservation. What is it? Why do we do it? How does it benefit society? The discussion will slowly focus on the readings. ==== ==== 3) The project will be introduced and students will be given class time to prepare for a debate on a given topic (Civil War battlefields, Indian burial grounds, local sites, etc.). Students will conduct independent research in the media center using a variety of sources. ====

4) The debate will be held in class after two days of research. Time can be adapted as needed. A reflection discussion will follow the debate.
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 * ==== Time: Research: 2 days ====

Debate: 1-2 days
|||| ==== Instructional Activities ====

The teacher will model effective research techniques and lecture on the topics being researched.
|| ==== Materials and Resources ====

Computer lab time for research days, suggested readings and websites (ex: http://www.civilwar.org/)
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 * ==== MONITOR ==== ||
 * ==== Ongoing Assessment(s): Students will be quizzed on lectures and readings. Students will also have to show evidence of productive research at the end of each class period. ====
 * ==== Ongoing Assessment(s): Students will be quizzed on lectures and readings. Students will also have to show evidence of productive research at the end of each class period. ====

==== Accommodations and Extensions: Stronger students may be placed with weaker ones to assist or students may elect to work alone. If students would prefer to find their own topic on preservation (not Civil War battlefields), they will research and present both sides. A fine extension would be to go beyond virtual field trips and visit an actual Civil War battlefield (or nearby historic site facing preservation issues). ====

Back-Up Plan: Have lecture on historical preservation prepared if computers fail.
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==== Daily Lesson GAME Plan II - Social Media Collaboration ====

==== || ==== P2.3: Know hot to find and organize information from a variety of sources; analyze, interpret, support interpretations with evidence, critically evaluate, and present information orally and in writing. ====
 * ==== Lesson Title: Blogging Your Thoughts ==== |||| ==== Related Lessons: Civil War lectures, Debating Battlefield Preservation ==== ||
 * ==== Grade Level: 10th grade ==== |||| ==== Unit: Civil War ==== ||
 * ==== GOALS
 * ==== Content Standards: Michigan Social Studies Standards: ====

P2.4: Use multiple perspectives and resources to identify and analyze issues appropriate to the social studies discipline being studied.
||
 * ==== ISTE NETS-S ====

-Students will collaborate with group members in an online discussion to continue the debate after the initial classroom debate has ended.
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 * ==== PROCEDURE
 * ==== Before-Class Preparation: Students will have studied the Civil War and have worked through the battlefield debate in class. This lesson is a part of a year-long activity in which students create a blog and respond to weekly prompts that can be found here: []. This blog will focus on each student’s reaction to the debate. “Responding” to the debate could be continuing it with their own argument, reflecting and commenting on what they saw in class, or even introducing new ideas. ====

3. After a week or so, part of the class time will be given to hearing any new insights or arguments that were raised in the week’s blogging.
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 * ==== During Class: Class time will be given to the class discussion at the end of the week. Otherwise, this lesson will take place out of class. The teacher will monitor the new digital classroom in the blogospere. ==== ||
 * ==== Time: 7 days for blog posts and discussions. ==== |||| ==== Instructional Activities ====

Students will be familiar with the blogging activity, but might need some hints on the discussion portion.
|| ==== Materials and Resources ====

None required.
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 * ==== MONITOR
 * ==== MONITOR
 * ==== The teacher should ensure that all blog posts have been made in the necessary time frame and that group discussions are proceeding smoothly. The teacher should make an effort to add their thoughts to each group’s discussion. ====

Back-Up Plan: In the event that there is a computer catastrophe, plan on giving the class time to journal and share their thoughts in small grous.
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 * ==== EVALUATION
 * ==== Lesson Reflections and Notes ==== ||

Content Standards: Michigan Social Studies Standards:
==== P2.3: Know how to find and organize information from a variety of sources; analyze, interpret, support interpretations with evidence, critically evaluate, and present information orally and in writing. ====

During Class:
==== 1) Students will research first-person accounts of the Civil War. For this lesson, they will be working alone. They will research during class time, and use websites like []. ==== ==== 2) After completing their research, students will prepare a digital story of their person’s experience in the war. They are free to present however they like, though they must use technology and must record their story. Suggested modes of presentation will be podcasts, iMovies, and so on. ====