Step One Questioning and Planning

TEACHER TIPS & TOOLS

1. Introducing the Question, Choice or Problem

	The Killer Angels is a novel about the battle that occurred in Gettysburg, Pennsylvania during the Civil War. Much has been written about the Battle of Gettysburg, and many people find it the most important battle of the Civil War. What happened at that battle? Who was involved? What were they fighting about anyway? Remember to click on your back button in your browser when finished reading to return to this page. Click here to read about "The Battle of Gettysburg" The Battle of Gettysburg and other topics related to the Civil War are still of great interest today.  The Task Your teacher has asked you to design a project on a topic related to The Killer Angels and to present that project to your classmates. First, you will have to research primary and secondary sources in order to locate information that will enhance your classmates' understanding of the novel. Then you will choose the product you will create to present that information to your classmates. Finally, you will plan your presentation for your classmates. Your presentation must demonstrate your ability to plan, organize, and present a study project that generates interest among your classmates. In planning your presentation, condsider the following: the information you will present to enhance understanding of the novel the type of product that would be the best way to present the information the way in which you will organize your information the plan of action you will follow in crafting your presentation.

The Product You will need to research your topic, then prepare an oral presentation to inform your classmates about your findings. Other Possible Products Discuss with your teacher and library media specialist the possiblity of creating a product other than the one suggested above. Click on any of the product groups below to see some amazing possibilities. Be creative!  Written  Community Service  Oral  Visual

2. Brainstorming Questions

	As you look at the task above, list as many questions as you can that will help you to understand and investigate this topic. What do you already know about the problem? What do you need to know to begin your investigation? What do you need to know in order to enhance your classmates' understanding of The Killer Angels?
	Examples of questions: What is/Who is _________________? How is this topic related to The Killer Angels? Why is this person/event/topic significant? For additional ideas for forming questions: The Question is the Answer Essential Questions Asking Questions, Structuring Tasks

3. Creating Graphic Organizers

	Think about how you want to organize your list of questions and how you will record your answers.
	If available, you can use the Make It Happen! software program to enter your questions in the "Pose I-Search Question" section of the program. You may also organize the related questions into groups using a cluster diagram using Inspiration software program. Click here to see an example of a cluster diagram created using Inspiration software. This cluster diagram example is based on the research question : Which city should we move to? The main research question is shaded gray, and the related questions are shaded blue and yellow. The related questions are supporting questions you would ask about your main research topic. You can think of them as subtopics.  If you choose to do a cluster diagram rather than using the I-Search software, you may use Microsoft Works Draw module to do so. Be sure to save all of your work, and give it a file name so that you can use it again. Click here to see other examples of graphic organizers.

4. Assessment

You will be graded on your daily work on the research process as well as on your final project and presentation. Click here to see a rubric by which YOU can assess your research process. Click here to see a rubric by which YOUR TEACHER may assess your research process.

The scoring tool which will be used to assess your project and presentation is shown below.

Analytic Scoring Tool

This response shows the ability to plan, organize, and creatively present information from
primary and secondary sources.

Scale	Plan of Action	Organization of information	Presentation
weights >>>
3	Thorough and complete	Clearly and accurately organizes information from a variety of sources in a logical manner.	Highly effective in generating interest among classmates and enhancing understanding of the novel.
2	Complete	Organizes information from more than one source in a logical manner.	Effective in generating interest among classmates and enhancing understanding of the novel.
1	Incomplete	Does not organize information in a logical manner or use multiple sources.	Ineffective in generating interest among classmates or enhancing understanding of the novel.