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.

Presidential Trivia Assignment

For fun, bonus, alternative assignment or web search, create a trivia quiz for President’s Day. This is a great way to focus on our nation’s leaders, and bring a little fun to an online or face-to-face classroom. As a web search, I know students will learn more than these basic facts about the Presidents. Here are some questions to get you started.

1. Which President could write both Greek and Latin with either hand at the same time?
2. Which President said, “If you expect people to be ignorant and free, then you expect something that never was nor never will be?”
3. Which President was a prisoner of war and the first to ride on a train?
4. Who made the longest inaugural speech but served the shortest term?
5. Which President said, “It is better to remain silent and be thought a fool than to open one’s mouth and remove all doubt?”
6. Which President was married at the White House?
7. Who served as vice-president and president but was not elected to either?
8. Which President received a patent for lifting vessels over shoals by inflating air chambers near the water line?
9. Which President introduced spaghetti and ice cream to this country?
10. Which President was the shortest at 5ft 4inches?

One alternative would be to have students create the trivia questions and see who can stump their classmates. Visit this use web source for more trivia or this site has some fun ones but beware of the extra ads. A great place to start research is Whitehouse.gov or this fact filled site. One other great resource on the web is the National Archives page on Presidents.

So I know you'ree wondering if I'll give you the answers... here they are:
1. Garfield, 2. Jefferson, 3. Jackson, 4. Harrison, 5. Lincoln, 6. Cleveland, 7. Ford, 8. Lincoln, 9. Jefferson, 10. Madison

Webliography

Very similar to an annotated bibliography, I ask my students to create a short Webliography, on a specific term. There are many ways to do this and one that I would like to explore, but have not tried yet, is for students to research a bigger topic like Black History Month. I would like them to create the Webliography as a team on a wiki. Each semester the class would explore a different topic with access to previous semesters Webliographies for research reference for other assignments. As Learning Management systems offer diverse ways to create and grade wikis and other tools, I believe this format could become a preferred way of student collaboration, and overtake discussions role for building a sense of community.

Since I want to limit access to my students work and keep their work in the course, for now I use this webliography assignment. Learning how to research topics is not only an important skill for history courses but also for future history and college courses students take. Students practice acquiring information, breaking sources of information into parts, using library sources, demonstrating understanding of primary and secondary sources, and using technology. Also since there is a wealth of sources on the internet, some good and some bad, this assignment asks students to go a step further beyond just finding sources to explaining why they chose certain sources to include in their webliography.

Assignment Tasks:
1. Select a term from a list provided by the instructor.
2. Search the internet for web resources on this term.
3. Select the 5 best web sources.
4. Create a bibliography that lists the web sources.
5. Describe each source in a brief paragraph and why choose it as a reliable, informative source on the topic. Does the source include primary and secondary sources?
6. In addition to turning it in to the instructor, students can also post their assignment in an optional Study Hall discussion in the unit so that classmates can see the list of sources and possibly use them in upcoming assignments.

While writing a grammatically correct bibliography is an important skill for college students, I believe it is even more important for them to analyze those sources and be able to explain why they chose to use them.

Topic of the Month: Pearl Harbor

U.S.S. Shaw exploding during the Japanese raid on Pearl Harbor, December 7, 1941(National Archives, Still Picture Branch, 80-G-16871 )

Next weekend on December 7th our nation remembers the devastating attack by Japan on Pearl Harbor, Hawaii in 1941. This attack by a fleet of six Japanese aircraft carriers propelled the United States into World War II. My students enjoy a comparison discussion of this event and the US reaction after 9/11 and the reaction of the nation.

Another assignment to teach research skills and to learn about Pearl Harbor is to have students work together in a Wiki to generate a Webliography of sources about Pearl Harbor. Encourage students to break the sources they find into categories such as Naval History, Eye Witness Accounts, Photographs, Japanese Perspective etc…As they post sources they find, require them to also include a summary of the information at the site and any concerns they may have about the integrity of the content.

To Get students started, this day that would “live in infamy” has many wonderful resources available on the web. Here are a few:

For an eye witness account

Many pictures related to the attack

US Naval History Website including eye witness accounts and key basic logistical information

And another US Naval History Website

U-Tube group of pictures about Pearl Harbor

Cool interactive map from National Geographic and numerous other resources

The National Archives Site also has many primary sources such as audio pieces of the Day of Infamy Speech

For some Critical Thinking you might also check out the Library of Congress “Man on the Street” Interviews

For more Critical Thinking consider the Japanese view of this attack. Check out this site to get started

What assignments and activities do you use to teach about this important event?