Unit 6: A Call to Arms: Getting Involved in the World Culture
Fall 2013, 7 Days
Rationale:
The purpose of this course is to expose students to different cultures and the connections that we share with the world’s culture. Despite whatever opinions students may have about these cultures, students will be able to see that we never live our lives in isolation. Education writer David Gall writes that, “we are too prone, still, to see cultures as hermetically sealed packages of European, African, Asian or some other kind of national culture, rather than the fluid things that they are” (22). This particular unit is focused solely on this notion.
During this unit, students will spend their time working on their final projects. These final projects will reflect student’s progress in this course. They will not only be focusing on their own cultural positionality (something that we did at the beginning of the semester), but they will also be examining this in relation to one world culture of their choosing. Another purpose of this assignment will be to give students an opportunity to get involved in this world culture. By coming up with an action plan regarding an issue in another culture, students will be able to see the connections between that particular culture and their own. They will then be able to see instances where they can involve themselves and break out of that isolated cultural mold. Essentially, this entire unit is the culminating text of the course.
Textual Materials:
DHMO website: http://www.dhmo.org/
Calendar: 7 days
The purpose of this course is to expose students to different cultures and the connections that we share with the world’s culture. Despite whatever opinions students may have about these cultures, students will be able to see that we never live our lives in isolation. Education writer David Gall writes that, “we are too prone, still, to see cultures as hermetically sealed packages of European, African, Asian or some other kind of national culture, rather than the fluid things that they are” (22). This particular unit is focused solely on this notion.
During this unit, students will spend their time working on their final projects. These final projects will reflect student’s progress in this course. They will not only be focusing on their own cultural positionality (something that we did at the beginning of the semester), but they will also be examining this in relation to one world culture of their choosing. Another purpose of this assignment will be to give students an opportunity to get involved in this world culture. By coming up with an action plan regarding an issue in another culture, students will be able to see the connections between that particular culture and their own. They will then be able to see instances where they can involve themselves and break out of that isolated cultural mold. Essentially, this entire unit is the culminating text of the course.
Textual Materials:
DHMO website: http://www.dhmo.org/
Calendar: 7 days
Goals:
Students will learn...
Students will learn...
- the difference between credible and non-credible research
- effective ways of incorporating research into a paper
- the process of researching a topic
Reading- Informational
CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RI.9-10.8: Delineate and evaluate the argument and specific claims in a text, assessing whether the reasoning is valid and the evidence is relevant and sufficient; identify false statements and fallacious reasoning. |
Writing
CCSS.ELA-Literacy.W.9-10.2: Write informative/explanatory texts to examine and convey complex ideas, concepts, and information clearly and accurately through the effective selection, organization, and analysis of content. CCSS.ELA-Literacy.W.9-10.4: Produce clear and coherent writing in which the development, organization, and style are appropriate to task, purpose, and audience. (Grade-specific expectations for writing types are defined in standards 1–3 above.) CCSS.ELA-Literacy.W.9-10.6: Use technology, including the Internet, to produce, publish, and update individual or shared writing products, taking advantage of technology’s capacity to link to other information and to display information flexibly and dynamically. CCSS.ELA-Literacy.W.9-10.7: Conduct short as well as more sustained research projects to answer a question (including a self-generated question) or solve a problem; narrow or broaden the inquiry when appropriate; synthesize multiple sources on the subject, demonstrating understanding of the subject under investigation. CCSS.ELA-Literacy.W.9-10.8: Gather relevant information from multiple authoritative print and digital sources, using advanced searches effectively; assess the usefulness of each source in answering the research question; integrate information into the text selectively to maintain the flow of ideas, avoiding plagiarism and following a standard format for citation. CCSS.ELA-Literacy.W.9-10.9: Draw evidence from literary or informational texts to support analysis, reflection, and research. CCSS.ELA-Literacy.W.9-10.10: Write routinely over extended time frames (time for research, reflection, and revision) and shorter time frames (a single sitting or a day or two) for a range of tasks, purposes, and audiences. |
Language
CCSS.ELA-Literacy.L.9-10.1: Demonstrate command of the conventions of standard English grammar and usage when writing or speaking. CCSS.ELA-Literacy.L.9-10.2: Demonstrate command of the conventions of standard English capitalization, punctuation, and spelling when writing. CCSS.ELA-Literacy.L.9-10.6: Acquire and use accurately general academic and domain-specific words and phrases, sufficient for reading, writing, speaking, and listening at the college and career readiness level; demonstrate independence in gathering vocabulary knowledge when considering a word or phrase important to comprehension or expression. |
Activities:
DHMO Activity
Citation Activity
Assessments:
Action Plan Project
Asia
Grammar
Argumentative Writing
Literary Analysis Writing
DHMO Activity
- Students will be asked to do a quick research write up on the DHMO.org website. This is a website that upon first glance looks legitimate, however, it isn’t. Students will be asked to complete a few tasks regarding this website with a partner and then will be asked to evaluate the credibility of it.
- It’s an activity to show remind students that not all websites are credible, and so they must be cautious in their research.
- For this activity, we will review the rhetorical devices of ethos, pathos, and logos that students will have originally been introduced to in the African unit to help determine credibility when researching. We will do this by looking at the use of these appeals in advertisements.
- 1. Divide class into groups of 4
2. Give examples of ads with pathos, logos, and ethos.
3. Within these groups students will have to complete a set of activities. Each activity will begin at simply identifying the rhetorical devices to higher level thinking questions.
a. Read through passages from pre test and identify which rhetorical device it is.
b. Criticize the effectiveness of each advertisement.
c. Each group will create their own advertisement based on a topic that they’re assigned.
d. Share out to class. - Students will then discuss how these rhetorical devices could hinder the credibility of a source. Were students really being honest or credible when creating these ads?
Citation Activity
- In order to cite their sources correctly, students will have to have a working knowledge of MLA citation. I will introduce MLA citation and then give the students a number of websites in which to visit. These websites have all made practicing citations into games.
- http://library.williams.edu/citing/game/play.php?game=3
- http://depts.washington.edu/trio/quest/citation/apa_mla_citation_game/mla_book.htm
- http://bibliobouts.org/ (This website will require students to register. This one is a maybe).
- Students will then be required to fill out a worksheet, tracking their progress in this activity. This worksheet will be used to help evaluate how much time needs to be spent on citation in the class.
Assessments:
Action Plan Project
- The final project for this course will be what I like to call an Action Plan.
- Students will choose one region that we have studied as well as one text from that region. From this text, students will identify a current need or issue in that culture’s society.
- Students will be expected to do research involving this issue. They will write a 2-3 page paper on this research.
- However, students will not just be required to write the paper. Another aspect of this assignment will be to create an “action plan”. This action plan will be some sort of solution or contribution to a solution that a student could make. For instance, if a student wished to do their project on Malala Yousafzai, they would find a way that they would contribute to her cause. This would have to be a more in depth plan besides just donating money. They could maybe hold a fund raiser to raise money for this cause.
- Students will complete this research and action plan, and put it all together in a binder. The last day of class will involve students going around and sharing their action plans.
- Students will also complete a final exam. This exam will NOT be comprehensive and will pick up after the midterm. Many of the test questions will be made from student work and presentations. This exam will include…
Asia
Grammar
Argumentative Writing
Literary Analysis Writing
- Students will be given an in depth study guide to help them, since their focus should be more on the final research project.