Blog Duel

Learning Objectives:

1.      Describe a historical verbal or physical duel between two people in history.

2.      Describe the origins of the discontent of each others’ views and how the problems grew.

3.      Describe the outcome and historical significance of the duel itself.

4.      Evaluate blogs on the internet and those created by peers.

Formative and Summative Assignment

Outcome:  Students will compose a blog post describing the origins and outcome of a verbal or physical duel between two people in the past. Students will use and evaluate blogs on the internet and of their classmates.

Assignment Description:  Blogs have become an outlet for many aspiring writers to post informative articles on a variety of historical topics that we used to find in scholarly journals.  Reading and following blogs is a very common activity for our students and writing an informative, thoughtful blog can become part of their portfolio as they search for jobs in the future.  The class should follow at least one but hopefully a few blogs from the beginning of the term.  The instructor might provide a discussion time each week to discuss what is covered in the selected blogs.  Students may even be encouraged to respond to those blogs. Students will read and select their top three history blogs and share those with classmates.  After using blogs for a while, students will write their own blog post about a duel either assigned by the teacher or selected by the students.  (Students could be asked to blog about anything but this carries home the theme of the blog duel that will come later in the lesson and that individual disagreements occur and can be taken too far even by our leaders.)  Students will post their blog into a discussion or closed blogging tool.   Students will read each others’ blog and select their favorites for a blogging duel.  The dueling blogs will post additional articles and the class will evaluate them for accuracy and interest and vote for their winner.  (Just like in a real duel, there has to be a winner).

Steps and Instructor Notes:

1. Blogs can be a great addition to the curriculum in your classroom on a daily basis.  Select a blog that is appropriate for your class and follow it on a regular basis from the beginning of your term.  This could be done as an ongoing discussion or a kick off for each Monday.
2. Students will research and select their top three history blogs and share them in a discussion with their classmates.  Their post should include links to the blogs and an evaluation of their quality. 
3. Students will compose their own 400 word blog post describing a historical duel.    The duel can be a verbal debate like the Lincoln-Douglas Debates or an actual duel like Burr and Hamilton.  Students will post this blog in a discussion or other online tool.  Students will vote for their favorite post by a classmate. 
4. The top two bloggers’ will duel for the title of “Best Class Blogger.”  The two bloggers will post additional articles on historical topics of their own interest.  The class will evaluate their posts for accuracy and other qualities the class determines using the earlier evaluation remarks they made about public blogs.  The class will select the “winner” based on criteria they establish.

Rubric is based on 100 points total but this assignment is very organic and is as much about participation and collaboration as composing a blog post.  Simply put, done right students will be motivated to participate in this without points and will be exposed to specific historical facts as well as blogging/writing techniques.

10 points-Student submitted their top 3 blogs and described the qualities of each.
50 points-Student posted a grammatically sound 400 word post about a duel that described who, what, where, when, why, and the historical significance.  Student read and voted for the best blogs in the class. 
50 points-Either student was nominated for best blog and kept writing or student helped create criteria to evaluate “best” bloggers and voted for best.

Blogs that might be useful:

Throwing Down the Gauntlet History's 7 Most Famous Duels - http://newsonrelevantscience.blogspot.com/2012/06/throwing-down-gauntlet-historys-7-most.html  

http://www.thehistoryblog.com/

http://ushistoryfiles.wordpress.com/

http://ushistorysite.blogspot.com/

http://blog.americanhistory.si.edu/                       

A list of blogs- http://www.blog4history.com/2010/11/top-50-american-history-blogs-2/

Life of an Artifact

Students will be asked to:

1.    Describe the events a historical object experienced.

2.    Describe the purpose of the object, how it was significant, and how it was used at the time and how the use of the object evolved over time.

3.    Locate and include a picture of the object found either on the internet or take one of an object in a museum, antique store, or in their own home.

4.    Compose a first person narrative as the object.  Include clues for classmates to determine what the object is, but do not specifically reveal what the paper is about.

Summative Assignment

Outcome:  Students will compose a first person descriptive narrative about an object and how it was used in historical events and how the purpose for the object changed over time.

Assignment Description:  Creative writing assignments in history encourage students to more fully immerse themselves in an event or time.  Understanding the role of tools or objects in relation to history is not only interesting but an important part of telling a historic story.   In this assignment, students will describe in detail the “experience” of an object.  The instructor may want to limit the object choices for students to a certain period or event, or the instructor may want to select some famous objects such as the flag raised at Ft. McHenry in 1814 that inspired the Star Spangled Banner or Dizzy Gillespie's B–flat Trumpet.  The Smithsonian Institute is a great resource online to find more inspiring images of objects for this assignment.  You may also want to provide suggestions of objects that aren’t necessarily famous and allow the student to be broader in their research such as a gun carried into a WWI battle.  The student might start with the factory where the guns were created, use in a training camp for soldiers, it’s time on the battlefield, and then now being displayed in a museum.  While a gun may appeal to many students and is an obvious choice, encourage student to think more creatively.  The object could be  an old school desk from Little Rock, Arkansas or a wagon wheel used by a pioneer family traveling west for a new life and now mounted on a wall in a home.  Encourage creativity, imagery, and attention to detail.  Part of the interest in this assignment is for students to not to identify the object directly in their paper, but rather provide clues to what it is so classmates have to really pay attention to the details to figure out each object.

Steps and Instructor Notes:

1.   Collect some images of objects, or in a face-to-face class bring in some unusual objects, used in a certain period.  Students can also search for artifacts in their own home or grandparents home that they could tell the story about.  Students could also take pictures of objects in a museum or antique store. 

2.    Take a picture of the object or even multiple pictures of the object from many angles or in use.

3.    Research the use of the object in history.  Encourage students to collect lots of facts and specific examples and then thread a story together about that object.

4.    Write a 3-5 page creative narrative essay that is grammatically sound in first person as the object.  Do not identify the object in the narrative and do not include an image that might give away what you are.  However, provide at least one image to the instructor.  (The instructor could post all the pictures and let students match stories with images or simply provide images after students have an opportunity to guess.)

 Rubric is based on 100 points total but this assignment would take several days and is very dependent on participation which could be evaluated many different ways:

10 points-Student submitted a creative 3-5 page narrative for classmates to read that is in first person and describes the life of an object.
10 points- Student participated in a discussion about and guessed the object for at least 2 other classmates.
20 points- The description of events and use of the object is historically accurate.
30 points-Student included at least 1 image and was very detailed about the object.
20 points-Overall the student composed a grammatically sound and well-organized document.
10 points-Citation is included in the assignment.

Comparing a Civil War Soldier to a Modern Soldier

       Learning Objectives: 

1.  Compare and contrast the battlefield equipment and rucksack packing list of a Civil War soldier to a modern soldier. 
2. Identify equipment and rucksack packing items of these American foot soldiers. 
3.  Describe why soldiers have certain equipment then and now.
4. Create a chart comparing Civil War soldier’s equipment and rucksack packing list to a modern soldier.
5. Compose a double-spaced 3-5 page comparison essay describing what equipment a Civil War soldier carried into battle and what they carried with them while marching and contrasting that to what a modern soldier uses today.

Formative/Summative assignment

Outcome:  Students will compose a double-spaced 3-5 page comparison essay that describes the equipment carried into battle by a Civil War foot soldier and what they packed in their travel bags.

Assignment Description:  To better understand life as a Civil War soldier, students will compare and contrast the battle equipment soldiers used and the items they carried from camp to camp with the equipment of a modern soldier.  Ideally in a face-to-face class, a current US Army soldier would be invited to show and explain the modern equipment he or she currently uses.  In an online class, this could still take place with a guest speaker discussion, web conference session, or by video.  Students will then research the items a Civil War soldier carried (possibly divide the class into Northern and Southern soldiers to cover both sides and different experiences.)  While researching, students will create a chart comparing the Civil War and modern soldier’s equipment.  Then students will compose a comparison essay that contrasts the Civil War soldier’s and modern soldier’s equipment in battle and travel.  One side benefit for this assignment is that students will better understand the harsh conditions the Civil War soldiers experienced but also appreciate and better understand the lives of the men and women who currently fight for our country.

Steps and Instructor Notes:

1. Arrange for a soldier to visit the class.  Outline for this volunteer the project expectations and request they bring equipment used in both the battlefield and in day-to-day life (what they would pack in their rucksack.  Be sure to confirm and get special permission with the school if any weapons were to be brought on campus, even army knives.  
2.  Students will take notes to begin to build a comparison chart, but class could create one as a group, in teams, or pairs at next face-to-face meeting or on google docs.  
3.  Provide library and research time for students to find both primary and secondary sources about what Civil War soldier’s equipment in the battlefields and in camp was like.
4. Students will complete chart for Civil War Soldier.
5. Students will compose a comparison essay that is double spaced and 3-5 pages in length.  The comparison chart should be a good resource for students while doing this essay.  Citation should be provided and instruction from the instructor regarding the citation of the modern soldier's visit to the classroom should be provided.

 Rubric is based on 100 points total but it is likely this assignment would take several days and is very dependent on participation which could be evaluated many different ways.

20 points-Student participated on the day of the guest-soldier lecture.

20 points-Student submitted a compare and contrast chart for a Civil War soldier and a modern soldier.

60 points-Student composed a grammatically sound, well organized 3-5 page double spaced comparison essay that was cited properly. 

President's Day: Creating a Trifold Brochure

Learning Objectives:
1. Evaluate examples of historical trifold brochures.
2. List qualities of a good trifold brochure.
3. Locate pictures and research facts about a museum /historical location to include in the brochure.
4. Create an attractive, well written, historically accurate brochure to attract visitors to a historical location/ museum.

Summative Assignment

Outcome: Students will create a historically accurate, well written trifold brochure to attract visitors to a historical location or museum and share that brochure with classmates.

Assignment Description: There are many purposes for historical writing in addition to a research paper. Historians who curate museums and historical sites may be asked to create a trifold brochure to attract visitors to their site. Our students can model this process of sharing historically interesting information that also markets a location to visitors to increase visitation. First, students should become familiar with trifold brochures by examining and evaluating qualities of some brochures that they think effectively convey information and draw visitors to their site. Instructors should select a theme from a certain period to compliment the current unit of study and assign each student a different location. For the purposes of this post, we will use historic homes of U.S. presidents. Students should then research their location and collect interesting facts, images, and other information that would be appropriate for the brochure. Finally, the student will create the brochure and share it with classmates.

Steps and Instructor Notes:
1. The instructor and students collect examples of historical site brochures and examine commonalities and effectiveness. (Students and instructors can collect these at the airport, restaurants, tourism centers, etc.)
2. The class will visit resources on how to create an effective trifold brochure such as the website at the University of Florida.
3. Students will meet in small groups examining the brochures they collected and discussing what they learned about creating effective trifold brochures. They will create a list of qualities they think should be included in a good brochure. (A collective list created by the class and instructor could be used as an evaluation/rubric tool at the end of the project to grade the trifolds.)
4. The student will research and collect facts and images to include in his/her own brochure about one President’s home.
5. The student will create a visually appealing, grammatically sound and organized trifold brochure that contains accurate historical information about the President’s home.
6. The class will share their brochures with one another. Some assignment options are to have the class evaluate each other’s brochures based on a rubric generated from the discussion the class had about the qualities of a good brochure. The class could also rank the top three brochures based on those qualities. Regardless of how you decide to evaluate the brochures, this sharing part is essential as students will learn about Presidential history and get ideas for later assignments by seeing each other’s work.

Rubric is based on 100 points total but it is likely this assignment would take several days and is very dependent on participation which could be evaluated many different ways. For the purposes of this post, the rubric only evaluates the trifold brochure:
20 points-Student created a trifold brochure that is visually appealing and provides enough content to interest the reader.
10 points- The back panel includes credits and additional contact information.
20 points- The inside three panels contain historically accurate information that informs the reader about the historic home and President.
30 points-Student included at least 1 image and 10 facts regarding the location.
20 points-Overall the student composed a grammatically sound and well organized document.

The WOW Factor assignment

The posts so far this year have been very “serious” assignments leading to a big project. However, students need lower stakes assignments to practice and experiment with their writing skills. Also when learning new topics, students need time and encouragement to reflect on what they’ve learned.

The WOW Factor assignment encourages students to share with their class and instructor something that really surprised them in their reading, research or study of the topics for that unit or had them say “I didn’t know that” or “WOW! That’s cool!” The topic may also encourage them to ask questions or say “I would like to know more”.

Title: The WOW Factor
Objective/s: Learner will develop an internal dialogue while reading, studying, and researching history. Learner will build note taking skills. Learner will reflect on the content they are studying.
Assignment type: Formative
Assignment Details:
1. Students are assigned reading from texts and other sources, but many students view this as a passive process and often fall asleep on the book hoping for some sort of learning osmosis to occur. To be more effective readers and efficient students, learners should carry on an internal dialogue while reading. Check out this resource for some great lessons to implement in your courses about talking to the author and building critical thinking skills. If you can not conduct an activity to teach this skill, at least with adult learners share some resources about Question-Answer Relationships while reading. Be sure to share with your adult learners that this skill is expected but often not taught, and that a study skill like this can be more effective and efficient.

2. Now that the students understand what is expected of them while reading, it is time for them to practice the skill. While reading the required text or participating in a content discussion, the student will write down at least 5 WOW “I didn’t know that” or “That’s amazing” facts. Then for each WOW, they are to write at least 3 questions about that topic that come to mind and they would ask the author. Breaking from the traditional note taking techniques, the student is learning to engage with content and if they own the book could write their WOW facts and questions right on the page.
3. Students will then select one WOW fact and questions and build a reflective assignment that they will share in a discussion with their classmates. At the top of the document the student will quote or paraphrase the WOW fact and provide the source of that fact in APA or MLA format. The student will write a brief paragraph about why that information excited them or why they related to that information or found it most interesting. Then below the paragraph they will list each of their internal dialogue questions with an answer for each that may have come from more reading, research, or the answer may be they didn’t find anything definitive but they found out something else interesting related to the fact. Each answer should also include the source in APA or MLA format.
4. Student will post their WOW assignment in a discussion to share with classmates.
5. Student will respond to at least two classmates WOW assignments with 2 additional questions/answers and resources they found to answer their new questions.

Rubric: Based on 100 points
Student selects and posts in a discussion their WOW fact and asks 3 questions. -20 points
Student included a paragraph about why that fact interested them and how they relate to that term. -10 points
Student cites sources for WOW fact and the answers to their 3 questions. -10 points
Student included the answers to their questions in their post or additional information they located about the topic. -30 points (10 points for each question)
Student responded thoughtfully in a supportive and constructive manner to at least 2 classmates’ submissions. The response should include at least 2 more questions, answers, and sources. -30 points (15 points for each response to a classmate)


The WOW moments are now spreading through your class. Students may realize from reading each other’s WOW assignments that they overlooked something interesting in their reading and go back to read it again. Students will encourage each other to think critically about the content they are discussing and find the answers together. History is a broad subject that doesn’t have to bore students. Instead, they can find the areas that most excite them. For example, they might be fascinated with fashion from a certain age or how a weapon or sport became popular. Instead of sitting passively waiting for all the “facts” of history to somehow be absorbed for a test, they can activate their prior knowledge of a subject, engage with new content, and share their excitement with others.

History Research Paper Series--Final Paper

Finally, you and your students have arrived at the due date of the final version of the 3-5 page historical research paper. After all the preparation, the papers should meet your expectations. If not, consider whether there is a step missing in the process or whether you have provided the most helpful feedback to students. For example, would an audio recording of feedback or a phone call have helped students be more successful? Do you need to be more detailed or explanatory?

Title: History Research Paper Series--Final Paper
Objective: Learner will compose a polished 3-5 page historical research paper with a minimum of 5 primary or secondary sources.
Assignment type: Summative
Assignment Details:
-Assignment will contain the following elements: well-crafted thesis statement,
a works cited or bibliography with a minimum of 5 primary or secondary sources properly cited, carefully selected supporting details and examples that relate to the thesis, a strong beginning, middle and end, and have minimal grammar errors.

Rubric: Based on a total of 100 points
Well-crafted Thesis Statement 0-5 points
Works Cited page or bibliography with a minimum of 5 sources properly cited 0-25 points
Paper is well organized and contains a strong beginning, middle, and end 0-25 points
The paper is 3 to 5 pages in length with minimal grammar errors 0-20 points
Page includes substantial supporting details and examples 0-25 points
Plagiarism will result in a zero.

One helpful exercise is to have students submit a graded rubric for themselves to do some self reflection on their project, and you may want to emphasize areas of noticeable improvement in your feedback. Next week we'll explore an example of how to reuse this assignment.

History Research Paper Series--First Draft

I hope everyone had a wonderful holiday season and are ready to start thinking again about scaffolding your research papers.

There are several different approaches that you might take with the next step which is composing the rough draft. You might suggest to students that they have peers, friends, and family read and review their rough draft. You might also suggest that they read the document out loud to themselves or a friend to start catching awkward phrases or mistakes.

I like to use an optional discussion where students post their rough draft for classmates to review and provide feedback. The advantage of this is that students get multiple perspectives from other students who understand the parameters of the assignment. I usually give bonus points (5 points) to the student for just taking the time to put their rough draft in the discussion and additional bonus points (up to 5 points) for taking the time to thoughtfully review a classmates’ paper. It is helpful to reviewing students to provide a rubric or other tools when evaluating the papers so they can provide the most useful feedback to their classmates without sounding overly critical or harsh. I announce to students that I will not read the papers in the discussion, so they feel less risk about showing work that might not be polished. However, I also state I will monitor the discussion for questions and positive, thoughtful correspondence.

Most students seem to understand that the rough draft is a first, second, or even third version of their final paper. They also understand that the rough draft should have citation, quotation, and basic grammar and spelling. However, be sure your students know that the rough draft is to have strong organization and is more than a free writing activity to get thoughts on paper.

For the purposes of this blog, the lesson below is for the student to submit the paper to the instructor to continue the feedback loop presented in other assignments. I do not think that this assignment should be graded except possibly some points for turning it in on time. This is the moment to help students struggling with the writing process and a graded assignment might be too penalizing at this step to encourage improvement.

Objective: Learner will compose a rough draft of their final research paper using the steps prior to this assignment. The rough draft should include a strong thesis statement, demonstrate research on the topic including a Works Cited or Bibliography section, and must be well organized with a concluding statement.

Assignment type: Formative

Assignment Details:
Student will compose a rough draft of their final paper. The rough draft must include the following:
1. Thesis Statement
2. Researched details as examples in the body
3. Works Cited or Bibliography and in-text citation
4. Strong organization of thoughts and ideas

Student will submit the assignment to the instructor for feedback and review. (In my courses the assignments can immediately be run through a plagiarism detector and can be marked up using that tool. Students can see the plagiarism report and this can save many students from accidentally plagiarizing on the graded final version. Additionally, this is a good opportunity to require students to submit some questions about their paper or to have a live session with the instructor to discuss areas for improvement.)

There is no rubric included for this assignment because the focus should be on encouraging your student to improve the assignment for the final version.

History Research Paper Series--Outline

After completing their research, students often struggle with organizing their thoughts and pulling a paper together in a cohesive way. Though many of my adult learners dislike this assignment and "just want to get to the writing," I require an outline as the next step, so that I can quickly scan their upcoming paper to determine if they are on topic and have sufficient supporting details. This is also a good time to provide concrete encouraging statements to help students to progress to their goal of a 3-5 page research paper.


Title: History Research Paper Series--Outline
Objective: Learner will construct a multi-level outline that includes at least the thesis statement, 3 main ideas, 3 supporting details for each main idea, and a concluding statement. (I also require students to use complete sentences for each level as I find that students don’t benefit as much from slapping a few words down in order)
Assignment type: Formative Assessment
Assignment Details:
1. Student will share in a discussion their personal organization techniques besides using an outline for writing a research paper and respond thoughtfully to two classmates ideas.
2. Student will view sample a outline provided by the instructor and ask questions of their instructor or classmates in the discussion about their research assignment to this point. Encourage students to discuss the barriers they are facing with wrting the assignment or other types of questions about how to be successful with constructing the outline and final paper. (This is a good time for the instructor to encourage collaboration and support among students as students often provide very useful tips or sources to each other.)
3. Student will construct an outline that resembles in sturcture the example provided by the instructor.

Rubric-Assignment Based on 100 Points

Student shared at least two organization techniques they use when constructing a research paper in discussion. - 20 points
Student responded thoughtfully in a supportive and constructive manner to at least two classmates in discussion. - 20 points
Student created outline that is in complete sentences. - 10 points
Student submitted a well organized outline with the minimum supporting details, main ideas, thesis statement, and concluding statement. - 50 points

History Research Paper Series--Bibliography

In the previous blog post, your students submitted, and you approved, the thesis statement for our short 3-5 page research paper. The next step is to research the topic more thoroughly as it relates to the thesis. This is a good time for the instructor to coach students to evaluate the types and effectiveness of sources they find and demonstrate how to cite them.

Title: History Research Paper Series--Bibliography
Objective: Students will build a rough draft copy of a bibliography or works cited page.
Assessment type: Formative
Assignment Details:
1. Explain to students that you expect either MLA or APA formatting and citation for the paper.
2. Provide examples of citation for various sources, these may include web resources such as http://owl.english.purdue.edu/
3. Provide some sources to students to help them identify reliable online research sources. http://www.suite101.com/content/online-references-a57651
http://edis.ifas.ufl.edu/fy827
4. Student will post one correctly cited source in a discussion for the instructor to evaluate and classmates to see. Students will include in the post why they think that source is reliable for their paper based on the information provided in the previous step. Students will respond to two classmates after visiting the source provided and add their thoughts or questions about its reliability and effectiveness.
5. Student will locate at least 10 sources. Prior to this assignment the instructor should determine how many sources are to be primary and secondary. (You may want to visit other posts in this blog that have assignments on Primary and Secondary sources. We will also revisit this topic later this year, but assume here your students already know the differences.)
5. Student will construct a traditional bibliography or works cited page but will also include a brief explanation following each source with a description on why the student believes the source is reliable.
6.Student will submit rough draft of bibliography to instructor for feedback.

Rubric: Assignment based on 100 points
Student posted a correctly cited source in discussion and described why it is a reliable source, 0-10 points
Student responded to two classmates about reliability of source provided, 0-10 points
Student submitted at least 10 sources for paper, 0-10 points
Student cited each source correctly using MLA or APA formatting, 0-30 points
Student explained why each source was reliable in a couple of concise well written sentences, 0-30 points
Student submitted assignment on time, 0-10 points

As I mentioned in my previous post, timeliness can be vital to the successful feedback loop between instructor and student with this type of graduated assignment. In this rubric, I am deducting ten points to suggest that you may want to reflect on this more.

History Research Paper Series--Thesis Statement

Following the brainstorming assignment for a 3-5 page history research paper, students will construct a thesis statement. However, even at the college level, I find many students do not know what a thesis statement is, how it differs from the topic they selected in brainstorming, or how to write one. Have you had a student propose a thesis statement that said, “I will write about Thomas Jefferson because he was a famous president” or something similar? I frequently have, and this assignment helps guide students to a well-constructed thesis.

Title: History Research Paper Series--Thesis Statement
Objective: Learner will construct an effective thesis statement for a 3 to 5 page historical research paper.
Assessment type: Formative
Assignment Details:
1. Student will visit the following Web sites to learn about writing a thesis statement.
http://www.bowdoin.edu/writing-guides/thesis.htm
http://www.english.upenn.edu/Grad/Teachweb/scthesis.html
http://www.unc.edu/depts/wcweb/handouts/thesis.html
2. In a discussion, students will reflect on at least three ideas they learned from these web sources about constructing a thesis statement. Students may also ask questions of each other and the instructor regarding the scope of the assignment and expectations that may be unclear.
3. Student will construct a strong thesis statement for their topic.
4. Student will post thesis statement for classmates to review and provide each other thoughtful feedback.
5. Student will submit final version for approval to the instructor.

Rubric: Assignment based on 100 points
Student participated in thesis statement discussion with at least three items, learned and responded to instructor and at least 2 classmates. 0-20 points

Student posted thesis statement in discussion 0-10 points

Respond thoughtfully in a supportive and constructive manner to at least two classmates' proposed thesis statements. 0-20 points

Student submitted a well crafted thesis statement to the instructor. 0-50 points

Though I didn’t include it in this rubric, I would like to pose the question to you about whether your students are graded on timeliness? Sometimes for assignments that are graduated like the ones I am outlining in this blog, I deduct points for not submitting the thesis statement to me on time. I have two reasons for this: 1. Students will be in the workplace and timeliness is an important skill. 2. In order to provide the student the most useful feedback during the ongoing project, the student must follow the expected due dates for the assignments. Imagine a student submitting the thesis statement along with the final essay. How would you handle this situation?
Additionally, I would like to ask how flexible you would be on students changing their thesis after submission. A strong brainstorming session might prevent this, but invariably you will be asked.

History Research Paper Series--Brainstorming

If you are familiar with this blog from previous posts, we are changing the format a bit this year to be practical lessons that you can implement in your online, hybrid or face to face classrooms.

To begin this new series we will focus on research and writing skills with a series of assignments designed to lead students to the overall outcome of writing a history research or term paper.

Title: History Research Paper Series--Brainstorming
Objective: Students will brainstorm ideas and interests to select a topic for a research paper
Assessment type: Formative
Assignment Details:
1. Instructor will introduce what brainstorming is and Student will read a source on Brainstorming for papers, from Scholastic, and discuss with teacher brainstorming.
2. Students will make a list of no less than 20 possible topics of personal interests about history or of current interest such as topics related to their career path, hobbies, etc.
3. Student will identify and eliminate topics that seem too broad or narrow the in scope for a 3-5 page paper
4. Student will share top five topics with classmates in a peer support group
5. Students will collaborate in the group to narrow each classmate’s topic list to two possibilities
6. Student will search the internet or other library sources for at least 10 potentially reliable sources on the two topics
7. Based on reasonable ease of research and interest student will select one topic for paper and submit that to the instructor for approval.

Rubric: Assignment based on 100 points
Student generated list of 20 possible topics-0-20 points

Student reduced list to top five to share with classmates in group discussion 0-5 points

Student posted five topics in discussion with classmates, collaborated with peers accepting feedback openly, and provided reasonable, constructive suggestions to at least two classmates.-0-25 points

Student narrowed choices to top two and searched internet for a minimum of 10 possible reasonable sources on the internet or other library sources.-0-25 points

Student selected and submitted one topic. 0-25 points

How do you encourage students to brainstorm?
Next week, we explore thesis statements.