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Lesson 1

We will select our research teams, decide a pathway to research, preview the culminating writing task prompt, develop our initial inquiry questions, and plan for our research. We will also closely read a seed text for our pathway from the Foundation Unit Pathway Texts.

Lesson Goals

  • Can I formulate inquiry questions that will deepen my understanding of my pathway topic?

  • Can I work productively with my research team to identify task expectations, create a work plan, and organize materials to effectively conduct research?

Texts

Core

  • Digital Access
    • “The Real Birth of American Democracy,” Joseph Stromberg, The Smithsonian, September 20, 2011
    • “To Understand How Religion Shapes America, Look to Its Early Days,” Tom Gjelten, National Public Radio, June 28, 2017

Optional

  • Unit Reader
    • “American Culture: Traditions and Customs of the United States,” Kim Ann Zimmermann, LiveScience, 2017
    • Excerpt from “America’s Changing Religious Identity,” Robert P. Jones and Daniel Cox, Public Religion Research Institute, 2017
    • “Inaugural Address by President Barack Obama,” 2013, Barack Obama, Public Domain, 2013
    • “Race, American Identity and the Census,” William H. Frey, The Brookings Institution, May 24, 2017
    • “World War I Changed America and Transformed Its Role in International Relations,” Meredith Hindley, Public Domain, 2017
  • Digital Access
    • Excerpts from “Immigration & Civics: What Every American Should Know,” The Aspen Institute, The Aspen Institute Citizenship and American Identity Program, 2018
    • “Most Americans Express Positive Views of Country’s Growing Racial and Ethnic Diversity,” Hannah Fingerhut, Pew Research Center, June 14, 2018
    • “The American Road Trip Tradition,” Farah Al Qasimi and Liana Aghajanian, The New York Times, November 2, 2019
    • “The Cost of War for the U.S. Taxpayer since 9/11 Is Actually Three Times the Pentagon’s Estimate,” Jack Moore, Newsweek, November 8, 2017
    • “The Way North,” Damien Cave and Todd Heisler, The New York Times, May 17, 2014

Materials

Tools

Reference Guides

Question Sets

Editable Google Docs

Activity 1: Present

We will select our research teams and determine the best ways to work in a group.

Step 1

Follow your teacher’s directions on selecting research teams and research pathways.

You can select from the following pathways:

  • Culture and American Identity

  • Democracy, Civic Engagement, and American Identity

  • Immigration and American Identity

  • Religion and American Identity

  • Race, Ethnicity, and American Identity

Once in your research team, create three to five group norms. Choose a member to write them down. After finalizing your norms, place them in the center of the group for review.

Step 2

Reviewing the Culminating Task Checklist and suggested questions, generate additional questions to research, and discuss how your team is going to present your findings in a 10-minute presentation.

Determine how you will take notes and keep track of your notes in your teams, and respond to the following questions:

  1. What does your group need to do to succeed on the Culminating Task?

  2. What do you, specifically, need to do to succeed on the Culminating Task?

  3. What will you need help with?

  4. What will your biggest contribution be?

Activity 2: Discuss

We will explore presentation structures.

During the next several lessons, your research groups will explore what it means to be an American. You will develop and answer your inquiry questions. Each group will design a 5-7 minute presentation to share what you discovered with the class. Groups can choose from the provided list of presentation options.

Discuss how you will conduct the research: What sources will you need to find and use? What will be your process to conduct your research?

Develop a timeline for your project: How will you make sure you finish on time? What are some major goals you need to accomplish along the way?

Activity 3: Read

We will learn about the Foundation Unit research and Presentation Guide and how it will aid us in our research.

As you begin the research process in pathway teams, you will start using the Foundation Unit Research and Presentation Guide. The guide provides an outline of processes and activities, and associated Reference Guides, to help your team research your chosen pathway in preparation for the Culminating Task presentation.

Individually, read through and familiarize yourselves with the guide. You will be working with it from now on. Note that it has three sections:

  1. Initiating Inquiry

  2. Collecting and Analyzing Sources

  3. Creating and Delivering Your Presentation

Each section has a variety of tasks from which each member of the team completes depending on what the team needs to do to be successful leading up to the Culminating Task.

Consider the guiding questions as you review the Foundation Unit Research and Presentation Guide:

  1. What information do the guides provide that can help you conduct research?

  2. What processes and questions can you use to commence your research?

Activity 4: Read

We will read and analyze a common seed text found in the Foundation Unit Pathway Texts with our research team.

Step 1

Read a common seed text about your team’s chosen pathway from the Foundation Unit Pathway Texts in your research team.

Make sure all group members select the same text to read.

Use the Attending to Details Tool with the following guiding question to establish and deepen your understanding of the text:

  1. What are the text’s central ideas?

Step 2

Locate the Generate Inquiry Questions for Research section in the Foundation Unit Research and Presentation Guide and read about inquiry questions. More information can be found in the Questioning Reference Guide.

Find the inquiry questions on the Foundation Unit Pathway Texts associated with your pathway. Brainstorm one to two additional inquiry questions with your teammates based on the details and understanding you have gained from reading the seed text.

Activity 5: Read

For homework, we will continue annotating the text, using an inquiry question to guide our reading.

For homework, continue annotating the text. Using one of the inquiry questions your team has formed, complete a copy of the Attending Details Tool to see what new details surface.

Make sure to write down new or interesting words you encounter in your Vocabulary Journal. Reference your Vocabulary in Context Tool if you encounter difficult words or phrases as you read independently.