Description

This is Lesson 2 in the Industrial Times unit. Students research information on inventions that occurred during the second part of the Industrial Revolution. They write and publish articles on a selected invention.

Materials

-Gather resources needed to complete the lesson. Use the Industrial Times Unit Resources attachment (see Extensions) for examples of types of resources available.
-Copies, for each student, of the Finding Information Handout (see Associated Files)
-Transparency of Finding Information Handout
-Copies, for each student, of Inventions of the Latter Part of the Industrial Revolution Activity Sheet
- Copies, for each student, of Summative Assessment 1 (see Extensions) that includes both the SiteMaker and Business Section alternatives.
-Copies of Publishing Using SiteMaker (Alternative 1) (see Associated Files) for each student
-Copies of Publishing to the Business Section of the Industrial Times (Alternative 2) (see Associated Files) for each student
-Access to computers (research, word processing, and use of the Internet) (Alternative 1)
-Document stapler (to bind articles together into Business Section) (Alternative 2)
-Computer/TV presentation system

Procedures

Period 1

1. If using as part of the Industrial Times Unit, reinforce the newspaper reporter theme by congratulating students with their new status as journeymen reporters. Students should display their press cards from the first lesson in the unit, Growth of a Revolution. Explain that successfully completing the work in this lesson will lead to a good payday (grade) and toward their graduation with their Master Reporter diploma.
2. Introduce the students to the resources for completion of the unit. These resources may include their textbook, library books, and/or the Internet.
3. Introduce the purpose of this lesson. Tell the students that they, as reporters, are being asked to do research on topics and then write articles to be published. Their assignment, as journeyman reporters for the Industrial Times, is to research inventions from the last part of the Industrial Revolution and gather facts. Once they have done this, they are to choose one invention and write a detailed article. If this article is acceptable, it will be published.
4. Give each student a copy of the Finding Information handout and show a transparency of this handout. Go over the handout with them. Discuss Internet search engines if they are going to be using the Internet as their source of information. Focus their attention to the Ask Jeeves Web site (see WebLinks below) as a good example of a site that will help them in the upcoming assignment. If there is a computer/Internet/TV presentation system available, then demonstrate how this type of search engine works using an example from their upcoming assignment. If the students are going to be using books for their information, then go over how to find information from a book. Discuss techniques for reviewing information from the sources.
5. Have students complete the Inventions of the Latter Part of the Industrial Revolution Activity Sheet. They should use the previously discussed resources and techniques to complete this activity.

Period 2

6. Have selected students relate the catchy headlines and their answers for the Inventions of the Latter Part of the Industrial Revolution Activity Sheet as a way of reviewing the importance of these inventions.
7. Give each student a copy of the assignment sheet, from Summative Assessment 1 (see Extensions) for Articles for the Industrial Times: SiteMaker or Articles for the Industrial Times: Business Page depending on whether following Alternative 1 or Alternative 2 (see below).
8. Discuss the assignment and the grading rubric with the students.
9. Allow students classroom time to use resources to take notes, organize, and begin writing their articles.
10. Have the students take home the articles to be completed outside of class over the next few days. Be sure to give them a due date.
11. While the students are completing their articles outside of class, you can go on to the next lesson in the Industrial Times unit or the subsequent lesson that is planned.
12. Once students complete their articles, take up the articles and the assignment sheet and grade using the grading rubric while completing the next lesson in the unit.

Period 3

13. Return the completed articles to provide feedback. Students scoring 80 or above are allowed to publish their articles online using SiteMaker if the technology is available (see Alternative 1 below) or to the Business Section of the Industrial Times (see Alternative 2 below). Structural and grammatical changes can be made prior to publishing. The Business Section document should be displayed in a public place like the school’s library. Students can be allowed to rewrite the articles and resubmit them in order to get their reports published. The goal is to have as many of the students’ articles published as possible.

Alternative 1: (If computer access is available) Use Beacon Learning Center’s SiteMaker, the online publishing tool for students, to publish their articles.

14. Give the handout, Publishing Using SiteMaker (See Associated Files).
15. Discuss and demonstrate (if a computer/TV/Internet setup is available) how to use SiteMaker. Students that have experience with the use of the Internet might be designated as classroom experts to help other students.
16. Students, whose reports have been approved, make any necessary changes to their article and then use SiteMaker to publish their reports. They use the directions in the Publishing Using SiteMaker document (see Associated Files) to accomplish this. The use of SiteMaker can be done outside class on any computer with an Internet connection.


Alternative 2: (If computer access is not available) Have student groups create a “Business Section” for the Industrial Times.

17. Group students, whose reports have been approved, into groups of four. Have them create an attractive business section using the Publishing to the Business Section of the Industrial Times activity sheet (See Associated Files). Go over the directions found on this handout.
They then bind their articles to the cover for the business page and these documents are placed in a conspicuous place in the classroom or in the school library for further review.

Note: The publishing process is the final stage in Language Arts requirements for writing. Students work harder if they know they are going to have a public forum for their products. The publishing of the reports do not have to be done at one time, but can be done over time, thus minimizing the use of classroom time.

Extensions

The Beacon Unit Plan associated with this lesson can be viewed by clicking on the link located at the top of this page or by using the following URL: http://www.beaconlearningcenter.com/search/details.asp?item=2971. Once you select the unit’s link, scroll to the bottom of the unit plan page to find the section, “Associated Files.” This section contains links to the Unit Plan Overview, Diagnostic and Summative Assessments, and other associated files (if any).

Attached Files

This file contains the handouts and activity sheets necessary to accomplish this lesson.     File Extension: pdf