Andrea Cruze, Winter 2000
Woodring College of Education
Western Washington University
IT444C: Quiz Works Lesson Plan
The purpose of this lesson is to create an awareness and understanding that important technological advances within our culture, in a variety of areas, are the result of the work done by a diverse group of people, many of whom are African Americans. In order to accomplish this, students will be actively involved in discussions, research, and sharing sessions. The students will develop questions during the course of their research and then create a trivia game using the QuizWorks program. This lesson is designed to be included as part of a unit of study focusing on economic development and the contributions that various groups of people, including women and minorities, have made in different areas. During the course of the lesson and unit, teachers from History/Social Studies and English classes will work together using a collaborative teaching model. Each teacher will focus on different aspects of the lesson. For example, the English teacher might teach how to write questions and help students with paper writing while the History/Social Studies teacher focuses on the research and effects of technology on historical events and economy.
Lesson Objectives:
1. Students will be able to understand that technological advances are the result of the work done by a diverse group of people.
2. Students will be able to effectively use Internet browsing skills to locate information.
3. Students will be able to identify the impact of technology and inventions on the world today.
4. Students will be able to write good questions and a quality final essay containing all of the necessary components.
5. Students will be able to efficiently and effectively cooperate and work together in groups.
Materials/Preparation:
1. overhead projector
2. transparency list of American inventions from a cross-section of society
3. QuizWorks software
History/Social Studies Activities:
Activity One:
Begin with the following question: If you had to pick one invention as your favorite or one that you could not live without, which would you select and why? Students will be given several minutes to contemplate and then write their response. A period of sharing and discussion will follow; hopefully creating heightened interest.
Activity Two:
This activity sets the stage for research. Begin by using the overhead to present students with a list of inventions representing a very diverse group of Americans. This list could include women inventors, African-American inventors, etc. A possible list could include inventors such as Alexander Graham Bell, Benjamin Franklin, Richard Knerr (invented hula hoop), Stephanie L. Kwolek (invented Kevlar), Garrett Morgan (invented gas mask), etc. The teacher should facilitate a discussion about the inventions themselves and their importance, and also about the diversity of the inventors. After this discussion, explain the research project and activities that they will be doing . Have the students break into groups of three or four, and have the groups choose two inventors that they would like to research. If students have time and they would like to, they can choose more than two African-American inventors to research. The students can choose from this list or they can choose someone else if they know of another inventor.
Some African American Inventors: Benjamin Banneker, Otis Boykin, Charles W.Buggs, George R. Carruthers, John B. Christian, Vance H. Marchbanks Jr., Rufus Stokes, J. Ernest Wilkins Jr., Meredith Gourdine, Theodore K. Lawless, Percy Julian, William A. Hinton, Louis T. Wright, Ernest W. Just, Madame C.J. Walker, Frederick M. Jones, H.C. Webb, Daniel H. Williams, George Washington Carver, Lewis H. Latimer, Garrett A. Morgan, Elijah McCoy, Granville T. Woods, Norbert Rillieux, Jan Ernst Matzeliger, James Forten, Charles H. Turner, Charles R. Drew
Allow time for groups to meet in order to formulate some questions that they would like to find answers to. Later on in English class, they will receive instruction in how to write good questions and polish their questions for the Quizworks game. Provide guidance as needed. The teacher should plan on two class periods in the computer lab and library for the students to do their research. Students should be expected to get started on their own and do their own research, but for students who are having difficulty, the teacher can guide them to the following sites.
http://web.mit.edu/invent/www/archive.html
http://www.uwm.edu/StudentOrg/NSBE/bie.html#1
http://www.si.edu/lemelson/centerpieces/ilives/index.html
http://www.lib.lsu.edu/lib/chem/display/faces.html
http://www.lib.lsu.edu/lib/chem/display/women.html
http://www.users.fast.net/~blc/xhome2.htm
http://library.advanced.org/10320/Curtitle.htm
The students will meet back in the classroom to share their findings with their group and to discuss how they will present their information to the class. This could be in the form of a web page or Power Point presentation. The students will have one to two weeks to work up their presentation. One class period should be spent in the computer lab to help the students get started and for the teacher to answer any questions they may have. The remainder of the presentation should done as an out of class assignment.
After the students have finished their presentations they will share their final product with the class.
English Activities:
During the course of the students research and working on their presentations, the English teacher will be teaching them how to write good questions and they will be refining the questions that they developed initially so that they can put them onto the QuizWorks game. During one of the English periods, students will enter two or three questions into the game.
The lesson culminates in a writing assignment and playing the Quiz Works game. For the writing assignment students will use initial writing that they did about their favorite invention and develop it into a quality essay about how life would be different without that particular invention. The English teacher will go over the process writing approach and strategies for turning their initial writing into a good essay. If students prefer not to write or have trouble with handwriting, they may be allowed to use a word processor to work on their papers.
Playing the QuizWorks game:
This lesson will end in playing the QuizWorks game that the students have developed. After all of the groups have entered their questions, and have presented their final presentations in History class, the class will play the game. Each group will be a team, and whomever wins will get extra points towards their presentation grade.
Evaluation:
Students will be evaluated on their ability to work together in their groups by doing a self-evaluation of how they divided the work and managed their time. They will also be graded on the final presentation and whether it addresses the questions that they developed in the beginning, as well as their use of design principles that they should have previously learned. Another aspect that will be evaluated is the students' final paper and the quality of the questions that they write for the QuizWorks game. The students should be given a scoring rubric for each of these activities so that they have guidelines and criteria for the projects. For any students who have writing difficulty, their papers could be evaluated according to the amount of improvement that they have made from the first draft instead of evaluating it according to the rubric.
Woodring College of Education
Western Washington University
IT444C: Quiz Works Lesson Plan
The purpose of this lesson is to create an awareness and understanding that important technological advances within our culture, in a variety of areas, are the result of the work done by a diverse group of people, many of whom are African Americans. In order to accomplish this, students will be actively involved in discussions, research, and sharing sessions. The students will develop questions during the course of their research and then create a trivia game using the QuizWorks program. This lesson is designed to be included as part of a unit of study focusing on economic development and the contributions that various groups of people, including women and minorities, have made in different areas. During the course of the lesson and unit, teachers from History/Social Studies and English classes will work together using a collaborative teaching model. Each teacher will focus on different aspects of the lesson. For example, the English teacher might teach how to write questions and help students with paper writing while the History/Social Studies teacher focuses on the research and effects of technology on historical events and economy.
Lesson Objectives:
1. Students will be able to understand that technological advances are the result of the work done by a diverse group of people.
2. Students will be able to effectively use Internet browsing skills to locate information.
3. Students will be able to identify the impact of technology and inventions on the world today.
4. Students will be able to write good questions and a quality final essay containing all of the necessary components.
5. Students will be able to efficiently and effectively cooperate and work together in groups.
Materials/Preparation:
1. overhead projector
2. transparency list of American inventions from a cross-section of society
3. QuizWorks software
History/Social Studies Activities:
Activity One:
Begin with the following question: If you had to pick one invention as your favorite or one that you could not live without, which would you select and why? Students will be given several minutes to contemplate and then write their response. A period of sharing and discussion will follow; hopefully creating heightened interest.
Activity Two:
This activity sets the stage for research. Begin by using the overhead to present students with a list of inventions representing a very diverse group of Americans. This list could include women inventors, African-American inventors, etc. A possible list could include inventors such as Alexander Graham Bell, Benjamin Franklin, Richard Knerr (invented hula hoop), Stephanie L. Kwolek (invented Kevlar), Garrett Morgan (invented gas mask), etc. The teacher should facilitate a discussion about the inventions themselves and their importance, and also about the diversity of the inventors. After this discussion, explain the research project and activities that they will be doing . Have the students break into groups of three or four, and have the groups choose two inventors that they would like to research. If students have time and they would like to, they can choose more than two African-American inventors to research. The students can choose from this list or they can choose someone else if they know of another inventor.
Some African American Inventors: Benjamin Banneker, Otis Boykin, Charles W.Buggs, George R. Carruthers, John B. Christian, Vance H. Marchbanks Jr., Rufus Stokes, J. Ernest Wilkins Jr., Meredith Gourdine, Theodore K. Lawless, Percy Julian, William A. Hinton, Louis T. Wright, Ernest W. Just, Madame C.J. Walker, Frederick M. Jones, H.C. Webb, Daniel H. Williams, George Washington Carver, Lewis H. Latimer, Garrett A. Morgan, Elijah McCoy, Granville T. Woods, Norbert Rillieux, Jan Ernst Matzeliger, James Forten, Charles H. Turner, Charles R. Drew
Allow time for groups to meet in order to formulate some questions that they would like to find answers to. Later on in English class, they will receive instruction in how to write good questions and polish their questions for the Quizworks game. Provide guidance as needed. The teacher should plan on two class periods in the computer lab and library for the students to do their research. Students should be expected to get started on their own and do their own research, but for students who are having difficulty, the teacher can guide them to the following sites.
http://web.mit.edu/invent/www/archive.html
http://www.uwm.edu/StudentOrg/NSBE/bie.html#1
http://www.si.edu/lemelson/centerpieces/ilives/index.html
http://www.lib.lsu.edu/lib/chem/display/faces.html
http://www.lib.lsu.edu/lib/chem/display/women.html
http://www.users.fast.net/~blc/xhome2.htm
http://library.advanced.org/10320/Curtitle.htm
The students will meet back in the classroom to share their findings with their group and to discuss how they will present their information to the class. This could be in the form of a web page or Power Point presentation. The students will have one to two weeks to work up their presentation. One class period should be spent in the computer lab to help the students get started and for the teacher to answer any questions they may have. The remainder of the presentation should done as an out of class assignment.
After the students have finished their presentations they will share their final product with the class.
English Activities:
During the course of the students research and working on their presentations, the English teacher will be teaching them how to write good questions and they will be refining the questions that they developed initially so that they can put them onto the QuizWorks game. During one of the English periods, students will enter two or three questions into the game.
The lesson culminates in a writing assignment and playing the Quiz Works game. For the writing assignment students will use initial writing that they did about their favorite invention and develop it into a quality essay about how life would be different without that particular invention. The English teacher will go over the process writing approach and strategies for turning their initial writing into a good essay. If students prefer not to write or have trouble with handwriting, they may be allowed to use a word processor to work on their papers.
Playing the QuizWorks game:
This lesson will end in playing the QuizWorks game that the students have developed. After all of the groups have entered their questions, and have presented their final presentations in History class, the class will play the game. Each group will be a team, and whomever wins will get extra points towards their presentation grade.
Evaluation:
Students will be evaluated on their ability to work together in their groups by doing a self-evaluation of how they divided the work and managed their time. They will also be graded on the final presentation and whether it addresses the questions that they developed in the beginning, as well as their use of design principles that they should have previously learned. Another aspect that will be evaluated is the students' final paper and the quality of the questions that they write for the QuizWorks game. The students should be given a scoring rubric for each of these activities so that they have guidelines and criteria for the projects. For any students who have writing difficulty, their papers could be evaluated according to the amount of improvement that they have made from the first draft instead of evaluating it according to the rubric.