Scenario

This is an overview of what we came up with for instruction. We were struggling on how/what to teach, but then inspiration hit when we read about the chance for a wind farm coming to the area. This spurred the unit creation. Once the performance assessment was created we worked backwards from there. We had already picked out the standards to cover and then collaborated on the essential questions, unit objectives, and lesson objectives. The objectives also cover standards for English

Once we figured out the basic, we started working on the schedule of teaching. It was determined that most lessons would be co-taught, which is something new for both of us, but we wanted to give it a try. We split up the parts of the lesson we each had strengths in and set to work. There was a time limit set on the length of the lesson part we wanted to teach (so we'd each get a turn) and how we were going to handle the discussions. Since all the lessons would be in the library, I made sure we had all the equipment set up we needed, including the projector, tables, computers, and miscellaneous items we needed for other lessons. Each class is 53 minutes long, except on Wednesdays, there are 48 minutes long, and the first Friday when we are on Pep Assembly schedule (also 48 minutes long).

At the end of each day, we spent 10-15 minutes prepping for the next day, and made a list of the points we wanted to make during the lessons. On the days the paraprofessional was in the library, she was to figure out where the SPED and ESL students where and if they needed any additional teaching to understand the concept. She was also part of the prepping time at the end of the day so she could stay on top of what was happening in class.

We used several instructional strategies to make sure the students became independent learners. They included:

  • Reteaching topics as needed
  • Spiraling the topics to cover the basics and building from there
  • Mini lessons
  • Feedback on reflections and assignments
  • Peer helpers
  • Group activities

Since our school is well supplied with technology, we utilize it when we can. There are several ways we us technology throughout the lessons:

  • Online polling to engage students in discussion and review
  • Online games such as Kahoots
  • Creating a Blog to present the information for the topic
  • YouTube for video content
  • We also provided our lessons in an online format for the students to access at home as they needed

The curriculum content was considered for all content areas, including Library, Media, and technology standards for Kansas and ELA standards for Kansas. We also incorporated in the national curriculum standards of AASL. The unit was designed to meet the standards for all the curriculum standards and this reflects in the unit/lesson objectives, essential questions, and the sequence of the lessons.

Unit Information

Title: Ultimate Information Overload

Grade Level: 12th grade

Subject/topic: Evaluating Sources and Information

Time Frame: 4 weeks (19 lessons and a pos- test)

Summary:

This unit will cover the different skills needed to evaluate sources and information when conducting research or other activities that require us to have accurate information.

Key Words:

  • Source
  • Information
  • CRAAP Test
  • Scholarly
  • Citations
  • References
  • Annotated Bibliography
  • Journal
  • Facts
  • Fake News
  • Articles
  • Database
  • Reliability
  • Authority
  • Bias
  • Accuracy
  • Currency
  • Purpose
  • Keyword
  • Thesis
  • Boolean Search
  • Objectivity
  • Audience

Assessments Evidence

Performance Assessment

You’re a local reporter for the Chameleon Sun Times, which is the largest newspaper in the tri-county area. The newspaper has over 100,000 readers in combination with the physical newspaper and online readers. You feel that it is important to discover and write the truth in a world overrun with inaccurate facts and biases publications.

There has been a rumor that the power company is wanting to build a wind farm just outside the city limit on about 30 acers of land. This is a topic of controversy for the community. There are many people that think a wind farm will be an eye sore and detrimental to the community by taking away valuable farm land and jobs. This group has been campaigning hard to make sure the wind farm is a no-go. While these people have not done any research, they are sure that this monstrosity will ruin the community. They are very vocal and had the ears of many of the locals.

On the other side, there is a small but determined group that wants the wind farm because of the jobs and positive environmental impact it will have on the area. They have been researching and found that:

  • Over 300 jobs will come to the area, and 90% of the jobs will be local hires to help build and maintain the farm
  • It will lower energy costs of the three-county area by 30%
  • There will be tax breaks for residents, but they have not been able to determine how much yet
  • There are tourist opportunities, such as touring the farm and seeing how everything operates.

It is your job as the local reporter to find out the truth. What exactly will the wind farm do for the community? Your research will need to be based on facts and reliable information gathered from valid sources. This is a big job, but you are up to the task. To present the information, you will write a three-article series to be published over the next few weeks on the newspaper’s website and to be printed on the front page of the newspaper. You will need to turn in a written article no longer than 2 pages for the front page spread. (It can be the same thing that you wrote for the blog).

The blog needs to have a multimedia element each week. The viewers don’t want just words, they want to see what this will do for their community. You need to report the good and bad to give a fair view of what will happen. The editor and city council are counting in you to give a fair and accurate view of this ambitious project. Your first report is due on Wednesday of week two. Take a week to do the research

Make sure the writing is professional and relatable to everyone.


Sequencing

Additional Instructional Activities

  • Reflections over discussions: 100-word reflections over discussion in class
  • Creating Your own Fake News: Students take a topic and create their own fake news story Fake News Video
  • CRAAP Test Evaluations: Students take the information they gathered for their blog and evaluate it based on the CRAAP Test. CRAAP Test Rubric https://www.theolycenter.org/fake-news.html CRAAP Test Video
  • Database Mining: Students learn to search for information. Determine good and bad sources
  • Going Beyond Google: Activity on looking past what Google presents and finding reliable information and sources through other means such as bibliographic information at the end of articles, Wikipedia sources, and more. Wikipedia Video
  • Reliable Sources: Students will sort through several sources to determine if the source is reliable. Reliable Source Video
  • Plagiarism Review: This is a review for the student to remind them what plagiarism is and how to avoid it. Plagiarism Video
  • Citing Your Sources: This will be a quick review we do before the first article is due. It is a review of how to cite sources and where to find information on citations and references. Purdue Owl

Reflection

This unit is something that we worked hard to create. As we teach each lesson, we take the time to reflect on what went well and what we could change for the next day. The first day of co-teaching was interesting. I ran over and we ran out of time. There was so much to cover and too many questions. We had a few days built into the end in case of something like this. We pushed his lesson to the next day and it went well. By the end of the first week, we had it down. Don't get me wrong, we were still working out kinks, but it was better. The students liked the format and it is definitely something we would try again.