Instructional+Strategies

====//Description //: Students will be placed into small groups of no more than five classmates where they will discuss the novel in detail. Each group will be given a single scene in the novel which they will discuss, analyze, question, and connect it to The Great Depression. As a group, students will then share their findings with the class. The class will then discuss the scenes and findings as a large group once each small group has reported out. ====

====//Technology //: Students will be given the opportunity to research their group's scene's connection with The Great Depression using the Internet and search engines such as Google, Bing, and so forth. Once each group has a solid understanding of their scene's meaning and connection to The Great Depression, they will collaboratively create a Prezi presentation to present to the entire class. This will help facilitate meaningful learning because students will have to organize their research, thoughts, and ideas into one presentation. This will teach teamwork, research skills, and how to use a technological tool to get across their meaning. ====

====//Rationale //: Students are going to be collaboratively creating a Prezi and, in small groups, presenting it to the entire class. My classroom is extremely diverse, which I think is absolutely wonderful and a great learning experience on its own, but I want students to work together as a team. My students will get to know their classmates well over the course of the year and group work is an excellent way to do this. Those students who sleep in the back of the classroom will be working in groups with their peers; they are more likely to participate when they are one of four in a group than when they are one of 31 in a classroom. The ability to connect the novel to such a prominent time in America's history is an impressive skill that I know my students can achieve. ====

====//Description //: I will be demonstrating to students how to work collaboratively by using two other teachers who have agreed to help out during their prep hour. These teachers will have pre-designated "roles" so that I am able to model to my students the best (and worst) ways to be an active member in a small group discussion and collaborative project. My two co-workers and I will role play three different scenarios that often occur in a small group: (1) A group member does not complete their part of the assignment, holding the rest of the group back from accurately completing the assignment; (2) A group member constantly believes that their way is the correct way and will not listen to the other group members' opinions; (3) One group member is continuously doing all of the work for the entire group. Students will be seated in a circle around the demonstration. ====

====//Technology //: To help facilitate meaningful learning during the presentation I will use a single computer that has access to the Internet and Prezi. ====

====//Rationale //: I will ask two of my co-workers to help with the demonstration so that I am sure they will act out each scenario with accuracy; I do trust students, but many students get shy in front of the class or giggly and I want the scenario to be as true to form as possible. Students will be viewing the demonstration from their desks which will be in a circle around the demonstration because I want each student to see and hear as much of the demonstration as possible: from facial expressions to body language, from words muttered under someone's breath to words yelled at an inappropriate volume. I will be using a single computer during the presentation because each small group of students will only be using a single computer. I want to role play for students a scenario as close as possible to their situation in an attempt to dispel issues before they arise. While I want my students to become a team I understand that with as much diversity as I have in my classroom students will not always get along as I would like, but that does not mean that they cannot work collaboratively. I will show them how.====