Technology Idea

In order to introduce the To Kill A Mockingbird unit, the 9th grade literature students in my second hour class created Power Point presentations on a social-historical aspect of the novel. Topic options included the following:

The Scottsboro Trials

Mockingbirds

The Civil War

Martin Luther King Jr.

The Rosetta Stone

Alabama in the 1930’s

Franklin Delano Roosevelt

The 1930’s

The Great Depression

The Stock Market Crash

Schools/Education in the 1930’s

Harper Lee

The Emancipation Proclamation

Jim Crow Laws

History of the jury system in America

The class spent three full days (1 ½ hours per class period) in our school computer lab designing and building their Power Point Presentations. Other than activating these 9th graders new school accounts, each student was already able to navigate and manipulate the Power Point software. Fortunately, we had three ‘student experts’ as well, who could help trouble-shoot eccentric programming issues. This activity would require at least another day or two if students were not fluently able to use the software program. Also, all topic research had been completed in the two or three days of library time before students started to design their Power Point presentations.

The requirements for the Power Point presentations included the following:

Works Cited Page: 1 slide

Topic info, organized thematically: 6 slides

Creativity, i.e. pictures, banners, sounds, font styles, color

Information: the research must address the main details of the topic. Be thorough and clearly outline the points that will be discussed in the presentation.

Upon completion of the Power Point presentations, portions of three consecutive class days were used for student presentations. All students were to take notes on the presentations in order to prepare for a quiz over the material after the three days of presentations. All in all, this process provided the opportunity to pre-teach issues raised in the novel, introduce the time period, assess students’ computer skills, and practice oral/visual presentations.

Upon reflection, the students really enjoyed this project. Perhaps one aspect of this lesson that I would pre-teach in the future is how to outline information on a Power Point presentation versus writing a virtual ‘script’ on the Power Point slides. Many students put too much narrative information on the slides. Also, teacher needed to pre-test the presenter and laptops provided by the school; many unexpected issues arose with faulty cable wiring, old cables, etc.

POWER POINT RESEARCH RUBRIC

Topic sufficiently covered

Logical Organization_____20 pts.

7 + slides

visuals and information

title page

works cited page_____15 pts.

Works Cited

Proper documentation and punctuation

Minimum of 4 sources

At least 1 internet source

At least 1 book source_____15 pts.

Power Point is an OUTLINE, NOT a SCRIPT!!!!

You’re oral presentation is filling in ‘between the lines’…_____10 pts.

Presentation LOOKS neat, professional, and error-free

Presentation SOUNDS clear, loud, articulate, and rehearsed

(Hint: Don’t chew gum)_____10 pts.

Power Point Presentation is ON-TIME!!!_____5 pts.

TOTAL_____/ 75 pts.

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