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* This project is a 2008 Teachers Network Award Winner! * Click Here
Check Out The Original Website - Click Here
About: Students will use the Gotham Gazette website (click here), participate in a classroom campaign and debate change. Using Gotham Gazette, students will become aware of the current events and issues NYC, and determine the best policies to address them. Students will be broken into small "campaign teams". The roles to be assigned are : Candidate, Speech Writer, Press Secretary and Research Coordinator.
Groups will identify two issues that they deem most important in our city and society. During the course of their research, campaign teams will identify these issues using the Gotham Gazette, will research them on a variety of news sources provided on the Gotham Gazette website, write public speeches and documents, and debate each these issues with the other campaign teams. At the end of the unit, each team's 'candidate' will address the class on both issues and will take questions from the other groups.
Handouts:
Group Role Cards.doc
Sample-Job-Application.doc
Social Issues.doc
Speech Worksheet.doc
| To have students learn the characteristics of a political speech. |
| Students use lists and outlines to prepare notes for debates. |
| Students will work cooperatively in small groups to formulate arguments and speeches on social issues. |
| Students will think critically about different social and political issues. |
| Students will take notes from audio and video speeches and read-alouds from other groups. |
| Students will conduct interviews of teachers, parents, etc. to gain viewpoints on issues. |
| Students will prepare rebuttal arguments. |
| Groups will publish their issue stances on a blog, and respond to questions and comments posted by staff and other groups. |
| Students will deliver and critique speeches and presentations. |
| To reinforce writing, research skills, and reading comprehension strategies. |
| Website offers students the chance to read, research and respond to the civic and political issues that face New York City. |
| http://www.gothamgazette.com |
| This link allows teachers and students to view pictures, text and listen to the audio of FDR's address to the nation following the attack on Pearl Harbor. |
| http://americanrhetoric.com/speeches/fdrpearlharbor.htm |
| This link allows teachers and students to view pictures, text and listen to the audio of MLK's delivery of his famous "I Have a Dream" speech. |
| http://americanrhetoric.com/speeches/mlkihaveadream.htm |
| This link allows teachers and students to watch the video of JFK's Inaugural Speech. You can also view pictures, text and just listen to the audio. |
| http://americanrhetoric.com/speeches/jfkinaugural.htm |
| This website is published by Scholastic, Inc. The site is an "A-Z" of political speech writing. Scholastic offers step by step instructions from professional speech writers and interactive options allow the process of preparing, writing and giving your speech interesting, clear and fun! This site can also be used by teachers to generate lessons and handouts. |
| http://teacher.scholastic.com/writewit/speech/index.htm |
| Audacity allows teachers and students to download a free, easy to recording software onto computers. This will allow the candidates in each group to record their speeches and later post them on the blog site. This is a Windows program. Apple computers come with Garagebnd already installed. |
| http://audacity.sourceforge.net/ |
| Blogger.com is a good site to use if your teaching district does not offer a teacher blog site like the one we used. All you need is an email address to get started, and this site allows you to upload images and hyperlinks if you wish to posy student work or recordings on the blog. |
| www.blogger.com |
| The Speech Tips website offers students a lot of useful information in writing and delivering speeches. Also, teachers can generate handouts for small groups and candidates. |
| http://speechtips.com/ |
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| E2c - Writing a Produce a report of information. b Produce a response to literature. |
| 8 |
| ELA |
| E3 - Speaking, Listening & Viewing a Participate in one-to-one conferences with the teacher. b Participate in group meetings. c Prepare and deliver an individual presentation. |
| 8 |
| ELA |
| E4 - Conventions, Grammar, and Usage of the English Language a Demonstrate an understanding of the rules of the English language in written and oral work. b Analyze and subsequently revise work to improve its clarity and effectiveness. |
| 8 |
| ELA |
| Standard 5 - Civics, Citizenship, and Government |
| Intermediate |
| Social Studies |
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| Day 1: Introduction & Reinforcement |
| Students will identify and discuss the characteristics of a strong political speech. |
| Students will discuss the similarities of three political speeches given by different leaders, at different times, addressing different issues. |
| Students will join small groups and be assigned group roles. |
| Students will be informed of curriculum purpose, objectives and assessments. |
| Students will be introduced to Gotham Gazette |
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| Laptop with Internet access |
| Projector with overhead |
| Speakers |
| Handout 3 copies per student of organizer titled "Speech Worksheet" |
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| Students will answer the "Do Now" Question - What characteristics make a good political leader. This is introduced to analogies of qualities of a good entertainer, athlete and moved into why certain animals were strong leaders in the novel Animal Farm that the class just completed. |
| Discuss Responses. Have a student serve as "reporter" to write responses on the board. Student response will vary, but teacher will want to focus on abilities/characteristics that can center around things like "good speaker", "opinionated", "good ideas", etc. |
| Students will watch/listen to 2-3 selected political speeches (dependent on time). Our class will listen to Martin Luther King's "I have a Dream", John F. Kennedy's Inaugural address and FDR's Pearl Harbor Address to the Nation. |
| Students will use the handout "speech worksheet" to take notes during the speeches. |
| Review and collect Handouts. |
| Introduce the unit to the class, explaining main points, group assignments, assessments and final project. |
| Create small groups (no more then 5), assign roles: candidate, press secretary, speech writer(s) & researcher(s). Distribute handout "Role Card" that explains the tasks, expectations and evaluations of each group member. |
| Assign each group a political party : Democrat, Republican, Reform, Green, Libertarian and Constitution & Independent Parties. (7 parties ensures that each group will have no more then 5 members). *Note: **Students are to be reminded that these are just the names of their groups. They do not have to take a "Democrat" stance on issue** |
| Students will be introduced to the Gotham Gazette website via teacher laptop/projector. They will takes notes on important sections, i.e, "Topics", "Issues", "News Sites", etc. |
| Assign Homework - Teacher should leave about five minutes for groups to discuss homework assignment with each other. |
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| Teams will be responsible for bringing in artwork for their parties logo. Groups have the option of assigning someone to be responsible, or all may contribute. |
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| Review class worksheets to ensure understanding of characteristics of strong speeches. |
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| Day 2: Building The Platform |
| Students will research current civic, social and political issues using Gotham Gazette. |
| Groups will choose two issues that will be the foundation of their campaign. |
| Students will complete research worksheets on the issues they have chosen. |
| Selected students will deliver a short speech to the class. |
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| Teacher laptop and projector. At least one computer with internet access per group. |
| Index cards and poster paper |
| Research worksheets |
| Egg timer |
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| Teacher will display the Gotham Gazette website on the class overhead. Review "Acceptable Policies for Internet Use" contract that students signed. |
| During small group instruction, review the sections of the Gotham Gazette website that allow students to read about their issues, review the current topics and research these issues on various news sources. |
| Review the agenda, objectives and exit assessment with class. Give groups time allotted for each portion of class. |
| Distribute the research worksheet an allow students to begin working within their group. Walk around room to ensure groups are on task. |
| As groups finish worksheets in the allotted time, speech writers and candidates should be working on "intent to run" speech. They should follow the guidelines on the "Speech Breakdown" worksheet. Candidate will take notes on index cards. |
| Candidates will deliver their speeches. Speech time can not exceed 2 minutes. Candidates will deliver their "intent to run" speech at the teacher station (this will allow for the optional recording of speeches portion of the unit. These speeches can be posted on the blog site later.) Their will be no Q & A session to follow first speech. |
| Member of all groups not delivering speeches will take notes to be used during Q & A sessions. Remind students that these notes are to be included in final binder and are a major portion of their grade. |
| After candidates deliver their intent speeches, Groups my post their Political Party logos and slogans by their work area. |
| Review objectives again and reinforce seriousness of the issues with the class. Remind students that only "accountable talk" will be accepted during speeches. |
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| Each member of the group is to interview at least two adults on the issues they have chosen. They should use the "Man on the Street" handout for guided questions. |
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| Teacher will review the research worksheets to ensure that each group has viable issues to work with, and that they are on track for quality research. Also, teacher will take notes during the speeches to assist the candidates in developing stronger public speaking skills. Instructor will meet with the candidates as a small group later when the final speech is closer to review strategies and tips for delivering speeches. |
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| Students will create rebuttal responses to questions and comments. |
| Students will publish their "candidate blog". |
| Students will continue research on the issues and topics they have chosen. |
| Students will address the class on the progress their group has made on legislation. |
| Small groups will participate in a Q & A session amongst themselves. |
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| Computer with Internet access for each group. |
| Poster boards or large flip cards. |
| Research Worksheet handout |
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| Groups will answer the "Do Now" - "Base on the interviews performed for homework, what are the common feelings on the issues amongst the people you spoke with? What would they like to see done? What opinions stood out?" |
| Teacher will model appropriate responses by reviewing examples of blogs on Gotham Gazette. |
| Each team will have fifteen minutes to continue to organize their research and work with Gotham Gazette. They will continue to fill in the research handouts. |
| With five minutes left, teacher will announce that speech writers and press secretaries should be working on the press secretary address that will be delivered. |
| Teacher will meet in small group with the individual candidates. Introduce the candidates to the speech delivery website, and distribute small packet on speech delivery tips and strategies. |
| At the close of the fifteen minutes (you could add five if groups need), press secretaries will begin to address the class on what their group has found. It is encouraged that the press secretary point out the differences among each candidate. They will deliver their address from the teacher station, an can use the video to point out the work they found on the Gotham Gazette website. |
| While these two minute addresses are being given, researchers and speech writers can publish their group viewpoint, beliefs and candidate speech recording onto our class blog site. |
| After each press secretary has delivered their address, class will engage in a Q&A session. Remind class that notes are to be taken, and all notes and questions will be included in their group binder. |
| As Q&A session closes, teacher should bring the attention of the class to the blog site. We can see the work that each group has posted, including sound clips. Begin to introduce homework. |
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| Over the weekend, students will engage in an online debate via the blog site. All members can contribute. Questions should be raised, comments should be made. Remind students that all opinions must be based on facts. Speech Writers and candidates begin to prepare final speeches. Students who can not access computers are to perform two more "man on the street" interviews. |
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| Review group binders to see the research that each group is performing. Teacher will comment on the work, and issue a partial grade. teacher should lead groups to forming questions to other groups, point them to area they may find useful information for research, etc. Monitor comments over blog site. |
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| Students will form rebuttal arguments to various viewpoints and opinions. |
| Students will participate in a verbal debate and open forum centering around the standpoints each group has taken on the issues they chose. |
| Students will utilize the internet to report back to questions and comments posted on blog site to reinforce arguments, raise questions and form rebuttal arguments. |
| Students will take notes during speeches and debate to gather information. |
| Students will highlight key points made by their political party during speech for classroom resource. |
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| Computer with Internet access for each group |
| Chart paper, or white boards and markers |
| Egg Timer |
| Teacher laptop with microphone |
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| Students will enter their small groups and will be given time to organize their presentations. |
| During round robin debates, press secretaries will begin to write the final speech to be presented tomorrow. |
| Candidates will deliver their current message in one minute speeches. These speeches should include their recent findings, ideas and plans to deal with the issues. |
| During these speeches, other groups will take notes and formulate rebuttals, and questions they will ask. |
| After candidate updates, round robin debates begin. Teacher will moderate and keep time. Each group will get to ask one question to a group of their choice. That group gets to respond to the question and make one counter argument to any group. This counter argument will be based on any point made by that group during speeches, press release or blog posting. |
| Candidates are the only students who get to answer questions or comment on rebuttals, but time is to be allowed for group to discuss their responses. |
| Moderator will ask one policy question per group to which any member can answer. |
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| Homework is divided among group members. Candidates will practice speeches and have key points on index cards. Researchers are to prepare statements as to why their candidate should be elected - "On The Street". These will be read tomorrow. Press Secretaries are to prepare a statement that explains why their party ran the strongest campaign. |
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| Summary: Students will respond to the question/answer session. We will break out of groups to have a whole group discussion. Students will recall key points, comment on other group's ideas. Teacher will lead class discussion asking questions about the policies of each group. Students will be asked to recall each group's main ideas and standpoints. |
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| Students will deliver speeches to the class. |
| Students will participate in a voting process. |
| Students will organize culmination of work into group binder. |
| Students will write reflection pieces on the unit curriculum on blog site, or on paper to be submitted. |
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| Three ring binders and hole punchers. |
| Egg Timer, digital camera |
| Teacher laptop with internet access |
| Computer microphone (optional) |
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| Students will immediately break into small groups. |
| Groups will review final speeches and make last minute changes. |
| Researchers will speak as "On The Street" citizens report from last night's homework. |
| Press Secretaries will deliver their final statement on their group work and campaign effort. |
| Candidates will deliver their final speeches at the teacher podium. (These can be recorded to be published on class website). |
| At the conclusion of speeches, teacher will review what was said at today's debate and highlight the memorable moments from each group - this can include exceptional posts to blog, key points made in class, or notes that were in the binder. |
| Groups will reorganize and discuss the speeches of the other candidates. They will complete the worksheet titled "My Vote". |
| Class will participate in vote for "Mayor of Gotham". (Group members can not vote for their own candidate) |
| Teacher will tally votes. |
| Announce "Gotham Mayor". |
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| Students will write a guided reflection piece. These can be typed, written or posted to blog. Recently voted "Gotham Mayor" will write a short inaugural address that will be read at start of next class. |
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| Student reflection papers to check comprehension and learning. Review group binders. |
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STUDENT SAMPLES - COMING SOON!!!!!
Roles:
#1: Group Role Assigned Homework - building a platform
Candidate
- Write what your "vision of NYC" is. In other words, if elected, what
do you see NYC being under your administration? What should the voters
imagine NYC as under your policies, laws and initiatives?
Press Secretary - You
will write a list of 10 questions that he/she will want to ask during
the first debate. Listen to the speeches again, and view the postings
on our blog site to see where the other parties stand, what ideas and
beliefs they have. This is your chance to attack!
Speech Writer-
You are to write the introduction paragraph of your candidates speech -
remember this is a persuasive essay! Follow the format that was given
in your notes. Have a good hook!
Research Coordinator - You
are to perform a "face in the crowd" interview. You are to interview
citizens of NYC and ask them questions that relate to the issues and
topics your group is working on. You want to find their feelings, ideas
and thoughts on these issues. These are to be used in your speeches.
Due Monday, March 3, 2008
#2: Group Role Assigned Homework - building a platform
1) Research, Press, Speech Writer -
you will find two news stories (either events or editorials) that focus
on the topics they have chosen (1 article for each topic). These
stories may come from any newspaper, magazine or internet site but the
story must be based in NYC.
Candidate - you are two interview at least
three people (18 or over). The focus on your interview should be if
they feel your topics are important, what experiences they have had
(connections-text, self, world) and what they think should be done.
2) Each student will complete a "Fact vs. Opinion" T-Chart for their assignment.
STEP 1: 1st Round of Speeches
Introducing Candidates and Political Parties
Click on this link to the CLASS BLOG PAGE to read the platforms and mission statements for each political party.
Below, you will also find candidate speeches. Just click on the sound file!
Candidate Sound Files
Independence Party.wav Constitution Party.wav
Libertarian Party.wav Republican Party.wav
Democratic Party.wav Green Party.wav
Labor Party.wav
Step 2: Addressing the Issues of NYC
Crime - New Policies
Health - FIGHTING OBESITY
Environment - New Laws, Policies - Green Carts & Ecophones
Technology - No Credit Card? No Email!
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