8th Grade: Unit 1 – Content and Ideas

Required Writing Assignment

Estimated Time to Complete: 4-5 Class Periods

Assignment Description:

What is a Primary Source? What can be learned from photographs, songs, interviews and other primary source documents from the Dust Bowl era? If you were in the Dust Bowl era, who would you be, how would you feel, and what would you be doing? Students will write a letter from the point of view of someone involved in the Dust Bowl to demonstrate ideas and content learned from reading about the Dust Bowl Era.

Materials: Paper/Journals/Spiral notebooks for note taking. Handouts of the “The Great Depression” article, “I’d Rather Not be on Relief” song lyrics, “The New Deal” article, and “Dear Mrs. Roosevelt” letter.

Standards: on iPlan

Objectives: The students will be able to use historical information to create accurate representation of a character to convey Content/Ideas learned from primary sources.

Lesson Steps for Teachers:

1.  Review: Primary Sources, Content/Ideas, Point of View, Author’s Purpose, and Text Structure

Model

2.  Apply close reading strategies to “The Great Depression” (Specific attention to: how to Identify and discuss: Main Idea, Point of View, Author’s Purpose, and Text Structure)

3.  Model writing a cited summary of the article; to include: is it a primary source? Why or why not?

With Partner

4.  Apply close reading strategies to “I’d Rather Not be on Relief” (Specific attention to Main Idea, Point of View, Author’s Purpose, and Text Structure. How is this different than the article (Text Structure)? Compare/Contrast).

5.  Write cited summary of the song; to include: is it a primary source? Why or why not? (each student is responsible for writing their own copy of the summary)

6.  Whole class review

On Own

7.  Apply close reading strategies to “The New Deal”

8.  Identify and discuss: Main Idea, Point of View, Author’s Purpose, and Text Structure. How is this different than the article? Compare/Contrast.

9.  Write cited summary of the article; to include: is it a primary source? Why or why not? How is this similar/different in style (Text Structure) to the first two articles? (each student is responsible for writing their own copy of the summary)

10.  Whole class review-Discuss and annotate

11.  Write a 5-7 sentence cited paragraph comparing and contrasting author’s use of Text Structure to convey meaning (Content/Ideas).

Culmination

12.  Read “Dear Mrs. Roosevelt,” a primary source from a 13 year old boy

13.  Identify and discuss: Main Idea, Point of View, Author’s Purpose, and Text Structure

14.  Write a letter from the point of view of someone involved in the Dust Bowl. Choose one of the following:

1.  A farmer in the Dust Bowl region

2.  A government official who has been sent to investigate conditions

3.  A child who just found out his/her family has decided to migrate to California

4.  Someone living in a migrant labor camp in California

5.  Mrs. Roosevelt writing back to the letter writer above

6.  A gas station owner on Route 66, as the migrants stream past

7.  A California citizen living near the places where the migrants are arriving

**Letters should include facts the students have learned about the Dust Bowl from their close reading.

Required Writing Assignment: Written Summary w/citation

1.  Have the students write a 5-7 sentence cited paragraph summarizing the text that was read.

2.  Have the students write a 5-7 sentence paragraph comparing and contrasting the first three texts.

3.  After reading and dissecting/annotating the first three texts: Have each student write a letter from the point of view of someone involved in the Dust Bowl. Writing should be in context of the era and character chosen with appropriate vocabulary and ideas/content.

If technology is available, students may upload their writing into a web-based analysis program at: http://www.sascurriculumpathways.com/portal/#/subscribe

Resources
Close Reading Strategy Guide
“The Great Depression” article
“I’d Rather Not be on Relief”
“The New Deal” article
“Dear Mrs. Roosevelt” letter

Use the Narrative Rubric (below)

Criteria for Evaluation / Points / Notes
1. The student writes multiple paragraph/sentences with a total of at least 18 logically sequenced, complete, and coherent sentences focused on a single topic in the narrative domain.
(3 possible points) Sentence Fluency
2. The student writes an opening paragraph that shows thought, addresses the prompt, identifies characters and setting, and mentions key prompt ideas.
(3 possible points) Organization
3. The student uses detail to provide more relevant information related to the topic sentence or event being described. There is a slowed down step-by-step elaboration of one major event.
(6 possible points) Ideas/Content
4. The student uses deliberate, precise descriptive words and phrases to help the reader more vividly visualize the events, setting, and characters being described.
(6 possible points) Word Choice
5. The student uses varied, subtle, and appropriate transition words and phrases denoting a passage of time or a sequence of words.
(3 possible points) Sentence Fluency
6. The student provides intermittent reflections, either directly or indirectly related to feelings of the character concerning the events being described.
(3 possible points) Voice
7. The student writes a closing paragraph which shows thought and expresses some observation, opinion, reaction, or feeling about the event described and refers directly or indirectly to key words in the opening paragraph or prompt.
(3 possible points) Organization
8. The student uses dialogue or monologue effectively to progress the story. Usage does not cause a loss of focus.
(3 possible points) Voice
9. Capitalization, punctuation, spelling, and sentence structure errors do not inhibit the readability of the piece.
(6 possible points) Conventions
TOTAL SCORE