Lesson+Ten

__ Grade Level __ : // 10 //

__ Unit __ : // Decades in American History // __ Lesson Objectives __ : // Students will learn to work in groups while researching different decades in American History. Students will learn to use Google tools to assist them in their research. Students will work together to create a poster and incorporate their creative art skills into their presentations. //

__ Time required to complete this lesson __ : // The students will have 2 weeks to complete this assignment using time both outside of class and in class. We will be spending 1-2 days of in class time working on preparing the posters right before the presentations start. //

__ Title of lesson __ : // Goggling America’s Past //

__ Description of lesson __ : // Students will be using the following Google tools in this lesson in order for them to develop their research skills while learning about different decades in American history: // · Knol · Google Calendar · Google Books · Google Forms · Google Docs · Google Images __ Assignment __ : // (directions created in a **__[|Knol]__**), you can also just follow the directions below because some of the widgets did not transfer into the knol. //

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Hello Students! As you can see you have been put into groups of 5 for this next assignment. Each group has a question sheet in front of them with a decade written at the top.

Your homework for the next two weeks is to research about your decade with your group and find out exatly how Americans lived in the last century, write a short collaborative 4-5 page research paper about your topic, and create a poster to present to the class. We will be using various Google tools to assist us in our research. Follow the 5 easy steps below to get your project done on time:

1) Take a look at the **__[|Google Calendar]__** below to make sure your group stays on track with the assignments. The calendar has important dates for your project and it will also let you know if we will have any class time to work on your presentations.

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2) To start your research we will be spending a few class periods in the computer lab using **__[|Google Books]__** and **__[|Google Search]__** to find sources to conduct your research. Just like we learned before, we are going to focus on reliable internet sources and how to find a trustworthy website as opposed to someone's opinionated blog. We will be practicing our internet research skills over the next few weeks. As you can see from the worksheet in front of you each decade has 5 questions that need to be answered in your paper which means each person in your group needs to write a well written paragraph or two about the subtopic of their choosing.

3) Once everyone has their topics researched and their paragraphs written, you will be using **__[|Google Docs]__** to put it all together adding a short introduction and conclusion to your paper. Check out this video as a short introduction to Google Docs and don't worry we will be spending time in the lab and I will show you how to use it and create a google account for you to use if you do not have an email address yet.

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4) After your paper is written you group will use **__[|Google Images]__** to look for pictures that defined your decade. Choose one to include on the cover page of your paper with a short annotation on why that image represents your decade the best.

5) Finally, you will use all the other images you found to create an art poster/collage of the images you found while researching your decade. You may also draw/color in things on your poster as well. Each poster should have your group’s decade written/drawn somewhere visible for others to recognize. These posters are a visual representation of what you have learned and should reflect the research you did for your paper. Each group will do a short 2-3 min. presentation to the class saying a few things about their decade and explain the images on their poster. After each presentation we will be grading eachothers groups using this short survey from Google Forms, created in Google Docs.

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Good luck and as always feel free to email me with questions at any time or just see me before or after class. One of the main goals in this project is for you guys to work together to create something to share with the class. Use each other’s strengths to build something great! Remember the only limit is your imagination!

__ Resources/materials needed __ : // Teachers will need time in a computer lab to help the kids get started on their research. They will also need this work sheet which I created in Microsoft Word: //

// [|American History through the Decades worksheet.doc]

Poster paper is also needed for the kids to create their posters as well as the usual art supplies: glue, markers/crayons, construction paper. //

__ Technology used __ : // This assignment used Google tools including Knol, Google Calendar, Google Books, Google Search, Google Forms, Google Docs, and Google Images. //

__ The technology used in this lesson changes the teaching / learning in this way __ : // This lesson utilizes Google tools in a great way. Google offers many features that a teacher can use to help supplement lessons and make them easier to kids who have a busy life to complete assignments faster. For instance Google Docs allows the students to work on their research paper without actually having to meet up to get the work done. The assignment can be edited by everyone online and they will not waste any time emailing drafts back and forth to each other. //