how do we analyze issues?

Trump had his chance, now it's your turn. This week's Construct module will be an exploration of topics relevant to the country. Students will research issues they think matter most in our country and, based on that research, present findings that highlight what we're doing well and what we need to work on as a country.

Module summary:

• discuss and explore national issues
• review research databases with academic sources
• research and take notes
• write up findings in a report, a PowToon, a poster, a blog post, speech, or a video

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essential questions

• What kinds of sources add depth to research?
• How do we synthesize multiple sources to present an argument?

goals

• Students will understand that strong research includes a variety of sources - websites, magazine articles, books, documentaries, academic articles, etc.
• Students will understand that intentional note-taking allows us to organize and make connections between information to structure an effective argument.

activities

INTRODUCE

• Warm-up: read "State of the Union 2019: How Americans See Major Issues" article
  • note: because post-speech commentary is generally quite biased, I've chosen a short article from before the speech was given
  • annotate for understanding - be ready to discuss
• Review syllabus and expectations for the week

EXPOSE

• Discuss purpose for State of the Union address
• Brainstorm national issues
  • Take notes
• Review research process
  • Smart searching
  • Reading/skimming
  • Taking and organizing notes
• Develop a list of 3 key issues you believe define the current state of the union (the USA)

PRACTICE

• Research key issues, take notes, collect sources independently
• • Create a Google Doc for storing your notes, then share it with Christine
  • Organize notes by issue
  • Save all websites you are pulling info from
• Share findings with the group

CREATE

• Write a separate persuasive paragraph for each of your three issues
  • Topic: what is the current status of this issue?
  • Support: back up with facts from your research
  • Conclusion: what does this status say about the state of our nation? (what is the larger impact of this issue?)
• Cite your sources in MLA format (Works Cited list, in-text citations)

REFLECT

• Complete survey on thinking strategies applied this week
• Check in with Christine about survey responses

c-tachs

Writing

• Conduct short and more sustained research projects to answer a question or solve a problem

Reading

• Draw evidence from literary or informational texts to support analysis, reflection, and research
• Cite strong textual evidence to support analysis of explicit and implicit meaning of text 

documents

State of the Union syllabus

Refer to your Reading and Writing Handbook for research resources (p. 34) and PowerPoint expectations (p. 42)

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