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| Procedure | ||||||
| The actions of students and teachers and the interactions among and between students and teachers: | ||||||
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What Students and Teachers Do
The teacher will introduce the experience by discussing with the class the significance of the Cold War era. Teachers might try a number of activities to encourage discussion on this topic. For example, they might ask students to write down significant events where they can remember where they were, those "defining" moments in history. Many students might respond that they remember when Princess Diana died, or for some it might be the World Trade Center Bombing. The teacher would then discuss that each generation has a significant defining moment. For the generation that is now in their 30's it is the tearing down of the Berlin Wall and the space shuttle disaster. For those that are older many of the defining moments are related to the Cold War.
The teacher would then distribute the words to the song "We Didn’t Start The Fire" by Billy Joel. The teacher would ask students to read the words and to note which items they were familiar with and which they were not. The song would then be played for students to hear.
The teacher would then explain to the class that they were now going to be assigned a fun research project designed to enhance their understanding of the era. The teacher would also explain how use the song itself is a timeline of the era from the sixties to 1989 and how it is great experience for doing document-based essay questions (DBQ’s). The assignment project would be distributed and discussed.
Copies of the rubric used for assessing the presentations should be distributed. Teachers may actually want to show students all of the score sheets, perhaps using overheads, so they know how they will be assessed. Students would be broken up into cooperative learning teams to complete the project.
Teacher Score SheetOne item that needs to be discussed with students before they begin research is the credibility of Internet and interview source materiel. Not all sources are "good" or legitimate sources. What makes a legitimate or good source must be delineated. For example, web sites maintained by Universities, professors and publishing houses are considered legitimate sources. Sites maintained by hobbyists, other students, or Billy Joel enthusiasts are not legitimate.
The teacher will describe the project and the group’s responsibilities.
Project DirectionsEach group will create a booklet, poster, video, web site, and CD ROM that explains each item in the song. The poster will have the title of the song on the top and then each item would have a picture and a one-sentence description. Students should keep it to one sentence, two tops, and should keep it in chronological, in a time line or page-by-page format.
If desired, students can do a video with pictures with a title graphic underneath it, a web site CD ROM with scanned in images and brief descriptors, etc. Students can get information from friends, family, textbooks, magazines, books and web sites.
Take the class to the library to get them started with their research. Assign a due date. The project takes students about three weeks to do a good job, so plan accordingly.
The song has 5 stanzas so each student can be assigned a stanza to work on. Each student’s individual section must be clearly marked as such.
The group writes a sixth stanza together, with pictures. The song was written in 1989 so the sixth stanza will be the nineties.
Student Work for a 1990s Stanza
Each project must have a works cited page attached. Individual items do not need to be cited for this project.
When students have finished their projects you need to take a day to have them present them. Set up the classroom like a trade show. Each group should have a table and a visual presentation. Each group will be given time to make an oral presentation of their exhibit. Students will present how they did their research, items they had difficulty finding, and those items they were not able to find at all. Groups should also explain to the class those items they found most interesting and exciting. Some groups will use their time to present web sites, CD ROMS or PowerPoint presentations. Students and the teacher will then circulate around the room and evaluate each other’s work. The evaluation sheets will be tabulated and become part of the student’s grade. (See the Rubric and Score Sheets mentioned above.)
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