Ideal+Lesson

 My ideal lesson involves one of the darkest days in American history and an investigative approach to learning. It is my opinion that this topic can be useful in a social studies classroom because students can gain the skills, such as investigating and forming an argument, that can be beneficial in other areas of their lives. This lesson will begin in the classroom where students will watch a History Channel production that discusses the Kennedy assassination. This will give students the background knowledge of the subject and preps them for the next stages of the lesson. Next, the students will be put into groups and enabled to discuss and create their argument for solving the case. While they are creating their opinions they will be able to use classroom laptops to further their research. They will use a combination of videos, articles, and scholarly research to support their arguments. Once this stage is complete the student will move on to the field trip portion of the project.  There is no better field trip opportunity when discussing the Kennedy assassination than traveling to Dallas, Texas and putting yourself and your students right where it all happened. In my dream lesson students will be able to survey the landscape and crime scene, enter the book depository, and sit on the grassy knoll to get a feeling of what it was like that day. Physically being in these areas will give the students another advantage when forming their arguments because they can take their research and see the physical dimensions that were being discussed. After this period, the students will be given time to interview people who were actually there the day of the assassination to get first-hand accounts. Finally, students will meet with a local historian that will take them on an official tour of the crime scene and give the students a chance to ask any final questions for their research. After this the students will return home and, during the next couple of days, be given time to finalize their arguments with their group members.  As previously discussed the students will be forming an argument that will solve the Kennedy assassination in their own opinion and based on facts. For a formative assessment the students and their groups will undergo a short interview with the teacher to discuss their progress with the assignment. This assessment is not graded and is used to make sure that the students are on task and headed in the right direction. This assessment will also be a useful teaching tool because it will enable the teacher to create questions for each individual group when it comes time for the summative assessment. To end the unit the students will be creating an Interactive Whiteboard presentation that will support their argument for solving the case. The students will use this presentation to state their case to the rest of the class on how they believe the event took place and who is guilty. The students also have an individual part to this assignment that requires them to write a three page paper that states their own opinion on the case.
 * Solving the John F. Kennedy Assassination **
 * Objective: ** Students will be able to create an argument based on their opinion and the collection of data and facts that will solve the JFK assassination.
 * 1) **Oral Presentation Rubric : The Kennedy Assassination **
 * 2) Teacher Name: **Mr. Newhart**

Student Name: ________________________________________
 * CATEGORY || 4 || 3 || 2 || 1 ||
 * Content || Shows a full understanding of the topic. || <span style="color: #000000; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 15.33px;">Shows a good understanding of the topic. || <span style="color: #000000; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 15.33px;">Shows a good understanding of parts of the topic. || <span style="color: #000000; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 15.33px;">Does not seem to understand the topic very well. ||
 * <span style="color: #000000; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 15.33px;">Comprehension || <span style="color: #000000; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 15.33px;">Student is able to accurately answer almost all questions posed by classmates about the topic. || <span style="color: #000000; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 15.33px;">Student is able to accurately answer most questions posed by classmates about the topic. || <span style="color: #000000; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 15.33px;">Student is able to accurately answer a few questions posed by classmates about the topic. || <span style="color: #000000; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 15.33px;">Student is unable to accurately answer questions posed by classmates about the topic. ||
 * <span style="color: #000000; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 15.33px;">Props || <span style="color: #000000; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 15.33px;">Student uses several props (could include costume) that show considerable work/creativity and which make the presentation better. || <span style="color: #000000; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 15.33px;">Student uses 1 prop that shows considerable work/creativity and which make the presentation better. || <span style="color: #000000; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 15.33px;">Student uses 1 prop which makes the presentation better. || <span style="color: #000000; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 15.33px;">The student uses no props OR the props chosen detract from the presentation. ||
 * <span style="color: #000000; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 15.33px;">Time-Limit || <span style="color: #000000; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 15.33px;">Presentation is 13-15 minutes long. || <span style="color: #000000; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 15.33px;">Presentation is 10-12 minutes long. || <span style="color: #000000; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 15.33px;">Presentation is 7-9 minutes long. || <span style="color: #000000; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 15.33px;">Presentation is less than 7 minutes long. ||