Research+Packet

=Lesson: Project Introduction and KWL Chart=

Goal:
Introduce the project and expectations for student work, select a topic for the research project, activate and assess prior knowledge of the topic, and begin to formulate questions to guide research about the topic.

Lessons will be conducted using an interactive whiteboard to display images and the graphic organizers. Students or the teacher can fill in the graphic organizer on the board as the lesson progresses.

Preactivity:
Discuss a recent actual or hypothetical event (aftermath of Hurricane Katrina, fatal accident involving DUI) and have students brainstorm the variety of people who might have been involved in or affected by the event. Display several photographs to stimulate discussion. Describe the possible roles of the participants, and have students discuss which category each person would fit into according to the definitions on the Introduction page of this wiki. For example, in the DUI incident, a friend who knew the driver was drunk could be classified as a bystander, but if they served the drinks they could even be considered a collaborator. Have students share their opinions about what each person could have done differently to change their role.

Activities:

 * 1) Teacher will explain that students will be conducting research on people who lived during the Holocaust to determine which role they might have played in the event. The research packet, consisting of the checklists and graphic organizers located on the Forms page, will be handed out and briefly reviewed.
 * 2) Students will be given a list of names ([|Research Selection List09.doc]) for their research project. The names on the list will be individuals who had significant roles during the period of the Holocaust, or whose lives were significantly impacted by the Holocaust. Students will choose 4 names of interest to them, and then will select which one of those they will study. Students will choose in an order determined by drawing numbers out of a jar to assure fairness in selection.
 * 3) After assignments have been given, students will be asked to fill in the “K” portion of the KWL chart ([|pre research notes 2009.docm]) to demonstrate prior knowledge about the person they have chosen. The class will then share the information they have written. If a student has no prior knowledge of their assigned person, the teacher will briefly (2-3 sentences) explain how the individual was involved with the Holocaust.
 * 4) Students will be instructed to think about what they would like to know about the person in order to be able to determine which category they fit into: Perpetrator, Collaborator, Bystander, Resister, Rescuer, or Victim. Students should write these questions in the “W” portion of the KWL chart.
 * 5) Students will share some of their questions aloud. Students may add to their list of what they would like to know based on their classmates’ questions. While questions are shared, teacher will guide students to determine whether questions are quick facts that are easily verified, or will require more analysis to answer.

Follow-up:
Teacher will instruct students to turn to the Essential Question Worksheet ([|essential Question worksheet.doc]). Explain that a supporting question will be used to help answer the essential question, and that they should be more complex than just a factual question (e.g., When was X born?). For homework, students should convert the questions in their KWL chart into supporting questions and write (or type) them into the graphic organizer (see forms page).