 |
 |
CAROLYN
BEITZEL
Diary #23
My
Civil War Unit – Final Drafts
Our classroom
has been using a cooperative learning strategy called Group Investigative
Model to complete a research project using the Civil War as the learning
concept.
The first week
we developed short term goals to aid in research, the second week we brainstormed
questions to research and this week we were preparing final drafts of our
research for an oral presentation.
Part Four
The students
effectively used journals as an organizational tool for recording and summarizing
research information from their multiple resources. These journals were
useful not as a traditional metacognitive tool, but to aid the students
in their efforts to systematize the stages involved in summarizing their
research. The groups discussed ways of approaching the summary task and
decided to divide their journal recordings into three stages: Stage One,
they recorded key information related to their question. At Stage Two, they
refined and clarified their ideas, and at Stage Three they were ready to
summarize their answer to each question.
The purpose
for Stage Three was to prepare students for their oral reports. Students
were urged to rewrite their question and record a predicted answer in an
effort to tie ideas together. The summary could be written in a narrative
format, best suited for opinion-type answers to such questions as "Who was
my favorite Civil War general and why?" or in a structured outline style,
suited to the more complex responses needed for questions like, "What were
the economic and political causes of the Civil War?"
Student Work
Most students
selected a narrative summary style. Chris, who chose to compare famous Civil
War generals, rejected his predicted answer. As he accumulated information,
his thinking changed and expanded. In terms of skill, Chris had no difficulty
consolidating information from various sources to write narratively.
Students with
broader questions who elected to follow the summary outline format were
urged to identify the questions, locate and record key information from
multiple sources and integrate the information into their concluding remarks.
Tom applied
the summary outline. Using the journal material he had developed in his
second stage of research he, along with his group, worked to refine the
ideas recorded in stage one. As a result of the clearly organized outline,
Tom had no difficulty writing a clear and thorough conclusion.
Student Example:
Chris—Comparing Civil War Generals
Topic: Civil
War Generals
Question: Who
was your favorite Civil War general and why?
Predicted Answer:
Robert E. Lee because he never gave up in spite of his many disadvantages
against a stronger Northern army.
Answer: My favorite
general was Joseph E. Johnson. He was a Confederate who led his troops in
the Battle of Shiloh, which was one of the South's major defeats. Many of
his men loved him as he fought alongside them. He was a calm and deliberate
man who worked well with his corporals and enlisted men. Unfortunatley,
President Jefferson Davis relieved him of his command when he was unsuccessful
in stopping Sherman in his march through Georgia.
Student Example: Tom—Finding the Causes of the Civil War
Topic: Cause
of the War
Question:
What were the important economic and political causes for the Civil War?
Predicted answers:
A political cause was the slavery issue, and an economic cause was the South's
lack of military technology.
I. Economic
Causes
A.
Money
1.
heavy taxation on Southern goods by Federals
2. North blocked Southern trade
B.
Goods
1.Need
for slaves to produce cotton in the South
C.
Jobs
1.
Those involved in the cotton industry would close business if they lost
slaves
II. Political Causes
A.
Laws
1.
Court voted that slaves were not property
2. Fugitive Slave Law
B.
Missouri Compromise
1.
Imaginary border between slave and free state
III. Opinions
A. The South believed that slaves were not people and had no rights
B. The North believed that slaves should not be owned and should work
for wages.
IV. Political Parties
A. Republicans were anti-slavery
B. Democrats were Southern slave owners
V. Conclusions: The causes were complex
A. The North started with trade barriers and taxation.
B. Northerners opinions about slavery conflicted with those of Southerners.
C. North wanted slaves to be free
D. South needed slaves to produce cotton
E. Slave and free states took sides
F. Slave states seceded from the Union
Reflections
I thought that
the teaching was going well by the amount of questions the students were
generating and their construction of the solutions. I knew the students
had developed a wide range of skills while studying the Civil War through
the group investigative process. As they initiated their research, they
learned that predicting an answer to their questions helped them focus on
their search as they read to prove or negate their answers.
They have learned
to use text headings, subheading and key words in their reading as they
selected information from various resources. They used their skill of Power
Thinking while note taking, either creating an outline or a concept
map. They were then able to link ideas as they synthesized their data to
draw effective conclusions.
I have accomplished
several things during this unit plan:
•
I incorporated alternative teaching and learning methods
• I learned how to include inquiry into meeting curriculum standards
• I taught content while teaching students new skills
• The students used skills they have learned in class already
I can continue
to use this method of teaching along with inquiry and problem based learning
throughout the rest of my tenure. It will be easy to incorporate this strategy
into units about the Industrial Age with reports on "New Inventions" and
the Roaring Twenties with presentations on "New American Life." It is important
to me as I develop my philosophy of education that I continue to be open-minded
about different strategies, techniques and theories and add to my "bag of
tricks" those that work for me and my classroom.
Comment
on this diary entry
Read
next week's diary
Read
last week's diary
|
|
|
