This lesson will span over the entire year. However, the following
timeline is from the beginning of the 2003-2004 school year until the project
due date which is at the end of February.
September and October: The students will
be given a pre-writing assessment and it will be graded by language arts
teachers other than myself. Students will be using Inspiration software
to help organize their brainstorms. The teacher will also guide the
students to internet links that will give them ideas on how to use the writing
process. Then the students will be taught how to use and understand
rubrics and how they apply to the writing process. The students will
be required to keep a journal for various writing samples as well as reflecting
upon their own writing skills and how that makes them feel about themselves.
November: Introduction of the Project Menu.
The students will then be informed about their choices for the project,
what is required for each project, and each student will have an idea of
which project they would like to do.
December: Students will gather information
for their project from the social studies, science and language arts curriculum.
January: The students
need to have a completed rough draft of the written portion of the project
and have a definite decision on which visual they want to produce to go
with their presentation.
February: At the beginning of the month,
the students will be given a post writing assessment and it will again
be graded by other language arts teachers. Hopefully, students will
see a gain in their writing abilities and furthermore, how they feel about
themselves. By the end of February, the students will have completed
their final draft and the oral presentations will take place.
