Collaboration Research Project

Title: What is The Right Stuff to Make an American Hero?Subject/Grade Level: 11th Grade US History II

Length of lesson: 2 week span

Will meet with teacher for several days beforehand for planning.

One day will be spent on laying out background knowledge. 6 days will be spent reading the text and working through the guided-discussion questions.

3 days will be spent building the essay (assessment).

Will meet with teacher after the lesson to reflect on changes that need to be made for the future and to evaluate the assessments.

Materials needed:

1. A classroom book set of The Right Stuff by Tom Wolfe

2. DVD mini-series set of From Earth to the Moon3. Guiding-reading question copies

4. Rubric for essay

5. Background knowledge PowerPoint

6. America in Space book

7. Theatrical trailer links for The Right Stuff and From Earth to the MoonType of Instruction:

The class will mostly be responsible for reading and will be guided in small guided-reading discussion groups. This will be enhanced with some formal lecture by the classroom teacher. The library media specialist will be available to display a showcase essay, as well as provide support for essay construction.Standards:

2010 Alabama Course of Study

12. Describe major initiatives of the John F. Kennedy and Lyndon B. Johnson Administrations. Describing Alabama's role in the space program under the New Frontier (Alabama)

Examples: National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), space race, satellites

15. Describe changing social and cultural conditions in the United States during the 1950s, 1960s, and 1970s.Before Lesson

Library media specialist will:

read and familiarize self with The Right Stuff by Tom Wolfe Pull relevant books and other resources from the librarys catalog

Secure a complete classroom set of The Right Stuff Assist the classroom teacher in constructing guided reading questions for the small groups to answer as they read.

Assist the teacher in the creation of an essay question that allows the students to be assessed on the standards covered.

Make copies of the guided reading questions.

Create an example essay that gives students a quality model.

Help create a rubric to assess the essay question.

The classroom teacher will:

read and familiarize self with The Right Stuff by Tom Wolfe

Construct guided reading questions for the small groups to answer as they read.

Create an essay question that allows the students to be assessed on the standards covered. Create a rubric to assess the essay question.

Make sure audio-visual equipment is functioning properly.

Create a PowerPoint or other digital media project that showcases the backdrop for the beginning of the space race. This should include concepts from the Cold War (should tie-in with already covered standards). It should also highlight Americas great need for a new generation of heroes during this time. Gather theatrical trailers for The Right Stuff and From Earth to the Moon.

Create small groups that will work most productively together.

During Lesson

The library media specialist will:

Provide additional supplemental resources that connect with the Space Race.

Provide mini-lessons as needed on research strategies like using Boolean operators.

Assist students in the use of the chosen research format.

Help guide discussion during small group times.

The classroom teacher will:

Display clips of media that will enrich the reading of students, including sections of HBOs miniseries From the Earth to the Moon.

Help guide discussion during small group times.

Facilitate classroom (large-group) discussion about the readings (some classroom reading and some homework) before students more specifically discuss and answer in small groups. Guide the students to important segments of the book that will help them as they answer the big question about what makes a hero?

After lesson

The library media specialist will:

Help guide students to resources that will help them as they produce their essays.

Help students with the construction of in-text citations and reference pages.

Assist the teacher in assessing the students essays.

Provide additional resources to enrich learning for students still interested in the topic.

Reflect on the experience.

The classroom teacher will:

Assess the students through graded essays based on the rubric previously created.

Reflect on the experience.

Make changes as necessary to the lesson/unit plan.

Lesson Activity List

Introduction

Classroom teacher presents background knowledge PowerPoint relating to the Cold War, the arms race and the need for heroism.

Class discussion about what a hero is.

Class turns in their personal definition of hero.

Main Body

Students work their way through The Right Stuff, answering guided-reading questions in small groups.

Classroom teacher provides some lecture at different big, climatic points.

Library media specialist provides essay-building suggestions as students create thesis statements.

Closing

Students build an essay around the theme of American Heroism. LMS and classroom teacher provide support for formatting. LMS provides example essay.Assessment

Students will be assessed on their learning by answering guided-reading questions in small groups. Each group member will be responsible for being a productive member of the group and participation will be a percentage of the grade. The teacher and media specialist will ensure that the group stays on task and that everyone participates by prompting the students during guided-discussion times. Finally, students will individually build an essay around the characteristics of a hero. They will choose a man from The Right Stuff and will build a case for him as an American hero in a time when the country was in need of heroes. The essay will be assessed via a rubric created by the library media specialist and the classroom teacher. References

Baker, W. (1987). NASA: America in space. New York: Crescent Books.

This book will be an eye-opening addition to the materials of the lesson. It uses a plethora of images from the events surrounding the astronauts, which will enrich the students understanding of what these events looked like in real life. Sometimes history can seem irrelevant to students because it seems so long ago, but these colorful pictures and detailed caption will help bring the story to life.

Hanks, T., Searcy, N., Smith, L., Andrews, D., & Kelly, D. H. (1998). From Earth to Moon [DVD] [2005] [Region 1] [US Import] [NTSC]. Hbo Home Video.

This HBO mini-series details the whole process of the Space Race and Space Age. The DVD can bring to life many of the elements of Wolfes The Right Stuff. The DVD is full of suspenseful situations around the space program that are so wild that they seem fictional, which will further help to help the students understand how heroic the astronauts were.

Hedeen, J. (2010). Why teach with biographies? Indiana Historical Society. Retrieved from http://www.indianahistory.org/teachers-students/teacher-resources/classroom-tools/Why%20Teach%20with%20Biographies.pdfThis article helped me and could help the teacher understand the importance of using biographies to enrich the history classroom. Biographies help students to explore the big picture through the lens of individual. They give historical events a human element as well, allowing students to relate more closely to these real life events.Wolfe, T. (1980). The right stuff. New York: Bantam Doubleday Dell Publishing Group.

This book gives some fascinating biographical accounts of several different men and their plights as danger-filled test pilots and Mercury 7 astronauts. The book will help students look at the different characteristics of the men that Wolfe says had the right stuff. It will help the students gain this understanding as they prepare to write an essay.