The goal for this lesson is for students to follow the Big Six/Super Three steps for research in order to write biographies of famous African Americans that were part of the Road to Equality. Students will be allowed to choose the individual that they would like to research. They will be given a guide to assist them in the research process.
Students will begin by identifying the individual for research and creating a list of key words that may assist them throughout the research process. Key words are those words that a student may use when consulting an index or table of contents in a nonfiction text. Also, key words are used when conducting internet searches for information related to particular topic. It is helpful for students to identify these words in advance of the actual research process. Students will be required to use at least three sources--a reference source, a non-fiction text, and an internet source. This requirement creates a balance of information and allows the students to evaluate their sources for quality of information. This provides students with an introduction to the concept that not all sources are equal for content or quality of information.
Throughout their time in the library, students will be researching their topic, taking notes, and listing their references. There are a variety of tools that may be used for this process. They are located on the internet. Please check the reference list for those sources. I have included some for the reader's perusal.
To address differentiated instruction, students may be paired up so that they work in teams. Students who struggle with writing yet have an artistic talent may contribute to this project through their drawings and illustrations of the individuals that are being studied. These pieces will be added to the visual display.
At the end of this project, exemplar pieces of research will be included on the visual display entitled, "The Road to Equality". This bulletin board will be on display for the entire school community to observe.