Sticks and Stones
September 21- November 3
Driving Question
When is the keyboard mightier than the sword?
English, Literature, and Social Studies
Project Overview
What are the kinds of things that hold us back in different societies? Students will study memoir excerpts from young people who have had others tell them they can't, they won't. They will investigate why people tell their stories and how they use words as "weapons".
Public Products
Social Studies
Group Product- Greenspire First Amendment Rights Contract
Individual Product- This I Believe Personal Essay and Notes on the First Amendment Art Project
ELA
Group Product- Banned Item Presentation
Individual Product-Persuasive Argument Essay
Lit
Group Project- Visual Art Project
Individual Product-Students perform a proper read aloud of a chosen memoir, using inflection, pauses, and emotion
Project Standards
Lit and ELA Standards
- W.8.1 Write arguments to support claims with clear reasons and relevant evidence.
- W.8.5 With some guidance and support from peers and adults, develop and strengthen writing as needed by planning, revising, editing, rewriting, or trying a new approach, focusing on how well purpose and audience have been addressed.
***Used continuously throughout the year:
- W.8.4 Produce clear and coherent writing in which the development, organization, and style are appropriate to task, purpose, and audience.
- W.8.10 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 discipline-specific tasks, purposes, and audiences.
Social Studies Standards
8 – U3.3.6 Explain how the Bill of Rights reflected the concept of limited
government, protection of basic freedoms, and the fear among many Americans of a
strong central government.
6 – G2.2.3 Explain how culture and experience influence people’s perceptions of places and regions.
6 – G4.1.1 Define culture and describe examples of cultural change through diffusion, including what has diffused, why and where it has spread, and the positive and negative consequences of the change.
7 – H1.2.2 Read and comprehend a historical passage to identify basic factual
knowledge and the literal meaning by indicating who was involved, what happened,
where it happened, what events led to the development, and what consequences or
outcomes followed.
Physical Education and Outdoor Education Connections
In Outdoor Ed students will examine how to communicate individual and group needs, how to communicate the needs of nature and will discus the impact of our footprint.
Student Final Products
Greenspire Middle School First Amendment Rights
Students wrote a paragraph expressing their opinions of one of the five freedoms in the First Amendment. They made connections between the right and their own experiences.