LESSON TWO: You Be the Judge

LESSON DESCRIPTION

Students develop research focus questions using various nonfiction resources to establish a focus and purpose for a project on westward expansion.

 

GRADE-LEVEL EXPECTATIONS ADDRESSED

IL1A   develop research questions in order to establish a focus and purpose for a project

IL1B   locate and use various resources to acquire information and answer questions to guide research

 

LESSON MATERIALS

 

§         Sources of Literature

o        None

 

§         Supplies

o        Variety of nonfiction materials for students to look at

o        BKWLQ Chart transparency

 

§         Handouts provided

o        Blank Book Pass

o        Blank BKWLQ Chart

o        Nonfiction pieces about Wild Bill Hickock and Wyatt Earp

 

§         Words to know

o        nonfiction

 

FORMATIVE ASSESSMENT

Write a journal entry that will make an inference about the usefulness of having diaries, journal, letters and/or books from the past.  Scoring guide provided.

 

LEARNING ACTIVITIES

1.        Survey a variety of resources.

 

Strategy

 

Give each student a copy of a Book Pass.  Students note the title and author of the book and then "sample" the book.  In the comment column, students state something they have learned about the topic or a question related to the topic that arose from looking at this book.  After three minutes, students pass their book to a neighbor and begin the process again.  Do this until each student has seen six books.

 

Reading Background

Ideas

 

http://www.over-land.com/diaries.html

http://www.thewildwest.org/  (American history of the old west)   

http://www.gunslinger.com/west.html   (Information on renegades, rebels and rouges) 

http://www.americanwest.com/  (Information from the frontier and pioneer days of the wild west to today's modern west.)

Artman, John.  1982.  Cowboys:  An Activity Book.  Good Apple, Inc., Torrance, California.

Forbis, William H., eds.  1973 The Old West:  The Cowboys.  Virginia:  Time Life

Lybarger, Deborah and Fry, Ruth.  1996.  Thematic Unit:  Cowboys.  Teacher Created Materials, Inc.  Hunington Beach, California.

Reiter, Joan Swallow, eds.  1978.  The Old West:  The Women.  Virginia:  Time Life.

Trachtman, Paul, eds.  1974.  The Old West: The Gunfighters. Virginia:  Time Life.

 

Questions

for

Students

 

What are the features of the book in front of you?

How would you classify this book?

How would you improve the cover of this book?

What could be done to maximize the interest in this book?

How would you rate the appearance of the book?

 

2.        Complete a graphic organizer

 

Strategy

and

Questions for Students

 

Hand out BKWLQ charts to students.            

      What kind of graphic organizer does the BKWLQ chart remind you of?   (KWL)

Complete the “K” column with students working with what the students already know about the wild west.

      What do you already know about the West that we can put in the "know" column of our BKWLQ chart?

Give background information for the “B” column.

      Possible information for “B” column

      1840- 1870 - more than 350,000 people headed West

      1866-1900 20,000 people died of gunshot wounds

      Primary method of communication - history records, letters journals

Complete the "W" column by having the students generate questions that they would like to find answers to.

  How can the questions from the “W”’ column be used to help you find more information?

               

3.  Provide students with a nonfiction piece on a western legend.  Students will read the nonfiction piece and proceed to the “L” column.

 

Ideas

 

Any nonfiction piece on the west will do for this activity.  Two possible nonfiction pieces are provided, one on Wild Bill Hickock and one on Wyatt Earp.   It can be on Native Americans, cowgirls, cowboys, black cowboys etc.

 

Strategy

 

Complete the “L” column by having students answer their questions from the “w” column.

Complete the “Q” column by generating new questions.

 

 

Questions

for

Students

 

Were your questions in the “W” column enough to get your research started and guide your research?

What new questions arose as a result of your reading?

How could you improve your questions to help you in doing research? 

 

Ideas

 

Emphasize that the “W’ column will be the research questions to guide the research taking place in the next lesson.  They can be written out on a separate piece of paper if necessary.