Goals & Objectives:
Goal – Students will work in groups to produce a creative newspaper project that will reflect critical information that we have covered throughout this unit of study on the era of new imperialism. Students groups will randomly select from a list of countries that we have covered throughout the unit and create a newspaper project with several articles, pictures, editorials, advertisements, and other creative ideas. Prior to the final test for the unit students will share their newspapers with the class.
Objective – In groups of four or five students will work together to create a newspaper project reflecting the perspective of either one of the industrialized countries or colonized countries that we have covered in this unit. Following the assignment directions and rubric students will be given a week and a half to work cooperatively to complete the project. When the final products are due we will spend one day in class presenting and sharing their projects with the class.
Objective – In groups of four or five students will work together to create a newspaper project reflecting the perspective of either one of the industrialized countries or colonized countries that we have covered in this unit. Following the assignment directions and rubric students will be given a week and a half to work cooperatively to complete the project. When the final products are due we will spend one day in class presenting and sharing their projects with the class.
California state content and common core standards:
10.4 - Students analyze patterns of global change in the era of New Imperialism in at least two of the following regions or countries: Africa, Southeast Asia, China, India, Latin America, and the Philippines.
10.4.1 -Describe the rise of industrial economies and their link to imperialism and colonialism (e.g., the role played by national security and strategic advantage; moral issues raised by the search for national hegemony, Social Darwinism, and the missionary impulse; material issues such as land, resources, and technology).
10.4.2 -Discuss the locations of the colonial rule of such nations as England, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, the Netherlands, Russia, Spain, Portugal, and the United States.
10.4.3 -Explain imperialism from the perspectives of the colonizers and the colonized and the varied immediate and long-term responses by the people under colonial rule.
10.4.4 -Describe the independence struggles of the colonized regions of the world, including the
roles of leaders such as Sun Yat-sen in China, and the role of ideology and religion.
10.4.1 -Describe the rise of industrial economies and their link to imperialism and colonialism (e.g., the role played by national security and strategic advantage; moral issues raised by the search for national hegemony, Social Darwinism, and the missionary impulse; material issues such as land, resources, and technology).
10.4.2 -Discuss the locations of the colonial rule of such nations as England, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, the Netherlands, Russia, Spain, Portugal, and the United States.
10.4.3 -Explain imperialism from the perspectives of the colonizers and the colonized and the varied immediate and long-term responses by the people under colonial rule.
10.4.4 -Describe the independence struggles of the colonized regions of the world, including the
roles of leaders such as Sun Yat-sen in China, and the role of ideology and religion.
lesson introduction:
Before the students enter the classroom the teacher will have several actual newspapers scattered across the room on students desks. On the projector the teacher will have several images of important newspaper front pages and articles cycling through an automatic slideshow. As students enter the room the teacher will instruct them to spend a few minutes exploring through the various newspapers around them prompting them to pay most attention to the format of the articles and overall layout of the newspaper. After about ten minutes the teacher call out, “Extra, Extra, Now hear this, the era of new imperialism is upon us, this is a time of tremendous global political, economic, social, and cultural change. What we need now is reporters in the field gathering information from around our world so as to better understand this era!” The teacher will switch the projector over to the Newspaper Assignment and begin explaining some of the important vocabulary terms to the class.
Important vocabulary:
For this lesson the teacher will introduce some important vocabulary related to our unit and newspaper publication. Some of the main terms introduced to the class will be as follows:
- Headline
- Article
- Advertisement
- Anecdote
- Banner
- Caption
- Copy Editing
- Confrontation Interviewing
- Deadline
- Layout
- Inverted Pyramid
- Journalist
- Yellow Journalism
- Press Release
- Publication
- Headline
- Article
- Advertisement
- Anecdote
- Banner
- Caption
- Copy Editing
- Confrontation Interviewing
- Deadline
- Layout
- Inverted Pyramid
- Journalist
- Yellow Journalism
- Press Release
- Publication
Content delivery:
After the teacher has introduced the idea of newspaper journalism, the layout of typical newspapers, and important vocabulary related to newspapers the teacher will transition into introducing the actual assignment for the project. Students will be divided into groups of four or five of their choosing for the assignment. On the front whiteboard the class will create a list of the major countries and regions that we have covered throughout the unit. The teacher will use a historical hat with the same number of groups written down on small torn pieces of paper and have each group send up a person to randomly pick a number out of the hat. After their number is selected the group members will convene and after two minutes the teacher will have the groups select their country or region based on their number in the draft. This will ensure that the class has a variety of newspapers and we don’t end up with five England or Africa newspapers. After the selections have been made the students will have the rest of the period to begin working on their newspaper project. The students will each be given an assignment sheet with all of the requirements for the project and they will be allowed to ask the teacher for any additional questions that they may have. The students will be directed to share contact information with each other in order to work on the project outside of class. The day that the newspapers are due each group will be asked to give a brief 5-8 minute overview of their project, the articles and advertisements they created, and what they found most interesting about the project.
Student engagement:
Students will be allowed to form groups of four or five depending on the number of people in the class. After looking over the actual newspapers on their desks and around them they will write down all of the important vocabulary being introduced by the teacher into their history journal. After the vocabulary is covered the students will be given the assignment handout and introduced to the Newspaper Project Assignment. The students will be allowed to ask any basic questions that they have at this point. As a class the students will compile a list of countries that they have learned about over the unit. Each group will send up a representative to randomly draft a number out of the history hat. After each group has a number they will be given two minutes to talk to their group about which region they may want to grab up for their project. After each group has selected their country or region they will be given the rest of the period to begin working on their projects. Each group will have to first come up with an appropriate name for their newspaper that reflects their country. The assignment calls for each newspaper to include one major headline with a feature article and picture, four other various articles, supporting pictures, at least two advertisements, and one letter to the editor. Students will be urged to divvy up the various tasks amongst their group members and ensure that each member of the group knows what he or she is responsible to do. Students will be urged to look at the real newspaper examples to see various layouts and formatting for actual newspapers for inspiration and ideas for their own project. During the remainder of the class students will be allowed to work on their project, discuss ideas, and ask the teacher questions. They will be told that they have a week and a half to complete the project, but not to wait until the last day to try and do the whole thing. Students will be asked to trade contact information and to come up with times that they will be able to meet outside of class to compile their articles and complete the newspaper. Throughout the next week and a half students will be given small amounts of time to meet with their group and discuss how things are going. The final day that the projects are due students will have to come to the front of the class as a group and share their final product. The students will have to deliver a 5-8 minute overview of their project, the articles and advertisements they created, and what they found most interesting and challenging about this project.
lesson closure:
As class is ending the teacher will tell the class that, “we need strong reporters out in the field compiling stories based on evidence that they find from various sources.” The teacher will answer any additional questions that the class may have and let them know that they will be available to talk to any time before the project is due to answer any follow up questions or read over any potential articles. Students will have a week and a half to work together and complete the project. On the final due date students will have to present their newspaper as a group to the class. They will have to share the roles of each group member, each talk about the article the created, share their advertisements and pictures, and talk about what they found most interesting and challenging with this project. After they share their project students in the class will be able to ask any questions that they might have for the group. As each group finishes their presentation the teacher will ask, “So, why does your group think that it is important that we study the era of new imperialism?” This will reinforce the overall unit and give a basic reflection what each group has learned along the way. The teacher will collect and grade each newspaper based on the rubric each group was given and then display several of the projects around the room after each group has received their grade.
Assessment
Formative – Throughout the project there will be several opportunities for progress monitoring. The teacher will be constantly checking for understanding by answering questions that students have with the project, and with the content of their newspaper articles in general. As students work within their groups the teacher will roam around the room and listen in to make sure that students are on task and to hear some of the ideas that they are coming up with for their project. The teacher will ask the students some questions along the way to guide them in the right direction and check for understanding. When the students present their final product they will be asked to verbally share what each of their articles was about, what information they chose to include, and what parts of the project that they found interesting or difficult.
Summative – When the projects are collected the teacher will grade each newspaper based on the rubric that the students were provided. The teacher will read each students writing to assess their knowledge of the content and overall writing ability and style. Students will be graded on their writing conventions and how well they were able to present information within each of their articles. They will also be graded on the overall appearance of their final product and how well they put their newspaper together.
Summative – When the projects are collected the teacher will grade each newspaper based on the rubric that the students were provided. The teacher will read each students writing to assess their knowledge of the content and overall writing ability and style. Students will be graded on their writing conventions and how well they were able to present information within each of their articles. They will also be graded on the overall appearance of their final product and how well they put their newspaper together.
ACCOMMODATIONS FOR ENGLISH LEARNERS, STRIVING READERS, AND STUDENTS WITH SPECIAL NEEDS:
This lesson will be project based and be completed in a group setting with several members working together to complete the assignment. English learners, striving readers, and students with special needs will be encouraged to participate in their group to the very best of their ability. Extra examples will be provided for any of these students along with additional support for any areas of the project that they feel uncomfortable of unsure of. The students will be given a week and a half to complete their project so any students that are struggling will be encouraged to ask questions and come to the teacher for help. English learners and striving readers will be given additional vocabulary terms and additional reinforcement of ideas to assist them in their completion of the project. Group members will be able to work together with any students who are struggling in order to complete their final product. Students will be urged to come to the teacher with any completed articles or ideas for suggestions or help with writing. Overall the teacher will definitely focus on providing these students with additional support and guidance, and in general these students should have plenty of time to come to the teacher with questions or concerns that they may have.
Resources:
Actual newspapers
http://www.angelfire.com/trek/puknews/refsnp.html
http://www.intel.com/content/www/us/en/education/k12/assessing-projects.html
http://www.angelfire.com/trek/puknews/refsnp.html
http://www.intel.com/content/www/us/en/education/k12/assessing-projects.html