Breaking News!

This lesson will used as a two-week culminating project to review of the entire 7th grade Social Studies curriculum before the end-of-the-year state standardized test.

Day 1: Students will choose their research topic. Students may choose to research any event from the 7th grade Social Studies curriculum (World History: 1600 to the present). Students will begin their research in the school library or they may use one of the laptops from the mobile lab.

Day 2: We will watch local and national news broadcasts. Students will analyze the necessary parts of a news broadcast and what makes a good news report.

Day 3-4: Continue research and begin rough draft of the news broadcast. The news report should be written as though the student were living at the time of the event, focusing on the most important information, and analyze the possible effects of the event.

Day 5: Peer editing of rough drafts. Students will work in collaborative groups to edit and revise rough drafts.

Day 6: I will conference with each student individually, read their drafts, offer suggestions. Students will write their final drafts of the news broadcast.

Day 7: Rehearse presentations.

Day 8: Students will present their news broadcasts. I will record each student's presentation using the FLIP CAMERA. I will upload them to my class website.

Day 9: As a class, we will watch the news broadcasts. Students will write a "praise" and a "polish" where they offer one positive comment and one constructive critique for each presentation.

Day 10: Reflection- Students will complete a writing assignment in which they must state what they learned from the project. They will evaluate their performance using a rubric and/or checklist. I will pass out the "Praise and Polish" critiques and students will reflect on what they could do differently and how they could improve their performance.