Students research the local Revolutionary War veterans and
write fact-based stories by communicating and collaborating with
descendants, museums, experts, and schools in areas where these
soldiers lived and fought.
Our county has 19 Revolutionary War soldiers buried here. Instead
of learning about the Revolutionary War as a distant event through
a textbook, students have the opportunity to bring that era to
life. The project will be introduced to students after they view
a portion of Ken Burns Civil War video, which used letters, stories,
and still photographs to bring that war to "life."
Our local Historical Society is creating their own web sites
and students will be given the challenge to bring these Revolutionary
soldiers' stories to life and to share their work by linking
their final products to that web site. Their projects may be
used as part of an exhibit at the historical society and at the
public library.
Students will make their own decisions on this project. They
will divide into groups based on their questions. They will be
responsible for choosing their roles within their groups, creating
a group contract agreement, and choosing their own direction.
Students may use e-mail, bulletin boards, and chat software to
locate and collaborate with schools, museums, and experts.
Alignment with Illinois State Goals:
English Language Arts
1.C.4c |
- Interpret, evaluate and apply information from a variety
of sources to other situations.
|
3.A.4 |
Use standard English to edit documents for clarity, subject/verb
agreement, adverb and adjective agreement and verb tense; proofread
for spelling, capitalization and punctuation; and ensure that
documents are formatted in final form for submission and/or publication. |
3.B.4a |
Produce documents that exhibit a range of writing techniques
appropriate to purpose and audience, with clarity of focus, logic
of organization, appropriate elaboration and support and overall
coherence. |
3.C.4b |
Using available technology, produce compositions and multimedia
works for specified audiences. |
4.A.4a |
Apply listening skills as individuals and members of a group
in a variety of settings. |
4.B.4b |
Use group discussion skills to assume leadership and participant
roles within an assigned project or to reach a group goal. |
5.A.4b |
Design and present a project using various formats from multiple
sources. |
5.B.4b |
Use multiple sources and multiple formats; cite according to
standard style manuals. |
5.C.4b |
Produce oral presentations and written documents using supportive
research and incorporating contemporary technology. |