* Description of Project
It is intended for students in 8th or 9th grade. The content area is American History, specifically American Presidents. Students are expected to combine Library resources with Internet resources. In this project students are asked to examine a current issue with the American Presidency, look to see how the current President is handling it and then how previous Presidents have handled similar issues. Students will be asked to use their knowledge of how American Government works to guess why different Presidents have done similar or different things. Finally, each student will be asked to produce a statement of what s/he would do if s/he were the President of the United States.
* Objective and Rationale of the Project
My goal for the project is for students to be able to view current events and compare them to the history of the presidency. Essentially the students should be able, at the end of the project, to understand more about how, what and why the President does as President.
* Specific Outcomes for the students
The goal of this internet project is to enable students by helping them realize that they can seek out and discover information about the world around them, rather than having information spoon-fed into them. I hope to spark more political interests in students, as they learn more about the Presidency, they will learn more about American Government and will therefore, hopefully, feel empowered.
Those who are not familiar with e-mail will become familiar with e-mail, list-servs, search engines,
* Daily Lesson Plans for the Unit (2 class periods)
These lesson plans presume that a computer lab is available with one PC per student.
First Day
Introduction (10 minutes) - introduce the project "You as President." A current issue will have already been selected (depending on current events) by the teacher. Introduce the topic, including an overview of the issue and several websites and/or periodicals describing the issue (prepared in advance).
Inform the students that they have a quest, a knowledge quest. They will be asked what they would do about the issue if they were President of the United States. To aid them in their quest, they will be gathering information on-line and in the library.
Let them know that they will have only five days in which to come to their conclusions, also that they will need to provide a rationale for their decisions based upon their knowledge of American Government, knowledge of what former U.S. Presidents have done, and what the current President is doing.
The instructor should let them know how they'll graded. Class participation and statements of what one would do if one were president based upon and supported by research should be the two chief criteria.
Instruction and Activities [30 minutes]
Students can start off with the search engines or by examining previously selected webcites. Either way, the instructor should remind them that they'll have to wrap up ten minutes before class is over. The instructor should go around and make sure that the students are on task, and help them get unstuck, and pair kids who don't know how to use the internet with those who do, or instruct the student directly.
Suggested websites to kick off with:
http://www.vcsc.k12.in.us/staff/mhutch/modpres/mainpage.htm
http://gi.grolier.com/presidents/nbk/nbk_toc.html
http://dir.yahoo.com/Arts/Humanities/History/U_S__History/People/Presidents/
Wrap-up and review
For the last 10 minutes of class the instructor should ask the students what the difficulties are that they're having, they should be listed on the board (first 5 minutes)
Then, the instructor should help the students brainstorm possible solutions to these problems (second 5 minutes). I suggest that the teacher try and lead students to come to conclusion that perhaps they should work together, so that they might share what information they're gathering.
Else in the week:
A brief over-view of what is available in the school library is appropriate on the second day. The school librarian should take them through a tour of the libraries resources and tools. Once done, students should be allowed to make use of either the library's books, or the on-line resources.
If the school library has access to on-line periodicals, students should receive instruction on its use, most likely on the second, or even first day.
Students should be introduced to web-based e-mail so that they can send e-mail to anyone they would like to contact for more information, this should be done early on in the process.
For the most part, the other days should be spent giving the students time to research on-line and in the library.
Fifth Day
Introduction (5 min.) The instructor should remind them that this is the final day for gathering information in class. Students should be directed to any web-resources outside of school that are open to the public, such as the local public library, if they don't feel finished.
Activities (35 min.) Students are allowed time to work on-line as well as in the library. Those who are ready to start their papers are encouraged to do so.
Wrap-up and review (10 min.) Remind them that their final papers are due the next school day, as well as what the appropriate format for the paper is.
* Design rationale
The internet was used chiefly because it allows access to information beyond the scope of the school library, especially concerning current events. The inclusion of the school library is done especially so that students realize the validity of "old school" research; so that they see that even though the internet is fast, "interactive" source of information, they still have books to use, especially for researching historical information.
It is the skills of using the internet effectively which is part of my learning objectives for the students.
* Summaries of Two project descriptions read for the week of 4/19 as well as copies of the articles, these must come from appropriate Journals such as Learning & Leading with Technology or Educational Leadership.
The South African Elections '94 Internet Project
Students are asked to consider elections in South America from the perspective of the country in which they reside. Each student also selected a particular area as the focus of the aspect of their country they represented: Historical, Arts & Literature, Political/International Relations, The Media, and The Local Scene.
They make use of information sources not readily available in the media and discover little known connections between South America and the rest of the world.
The Civil Right Movement (A Web Project)
Through the context of African-American History, students:
.. gain an understanding of the civil rights movement
.. outline the contributions of significan figures in the movement
.. develop their own opinions on the movement through self-expession
Students complete a slough of activities directed by their instructor, including matching statements, completing projects done in the library and on the website of the project, and research done by students on self-selected topics. All of the students' work is to be presented in web format.