Process:
Step 1: Mrs. Abbey and I will stand in the front of the room and call each student up into one group or the other. I will call the Roman group, and she will call the Greek group. When each group is formed we will make the announcement that these our the students' new societies and let them know that from this point on they are gathering information on their society for a " War of Words".
Step 2: Prepare for the start of this activity by printing two copies of the following form. This activity will serve as an introduction to each society. Under "topic" on the top of the form, write Rome on one, and Greece on the other. Under the "preview" section record any information you already know about each of the topics. We will start, as a class, by viewing a short video on Rome. Following the video on Rome, we will watch a short video on Greece. I will give more specific directions out loud as we go through the listening-viewing guide, throughout this activity you will be asked to work on your own, with a partner, in a small group, and have whole class discussion.
Step 3: Prepare for our next step in gathering information by printing a copy of the following form. At this point we will place you into groups of 4 or 5 within your societies. Your task here, as a group, will be to follow the directions, on the form you printed, for the chapter in our text that is about your society. During this activity you will review the features of informational text, as well as gather information about your society.
Step 4: You have been assigned a partner, from your society, to do some online research for your brochure. Your brochures have some specific information that is required to be included, these are the basic features of your society. You and your partner should each print and use the following form to record your information. Click on the map below that goes with your society to being researching for your information:
Roman Society Research
Greek Society Research
Step 5: Now that you have completed your research, as a historian, you will create a brochure to show off your society! You will use the information, on the basic features of your society, that you gathered from your collaborative listening-viewing guide, textmapping activity, and your website research. Print a copy of the rubric and I will go over the requirements out loud with the class. Next you will spend a few days creating your own brochures!
Step 6: Today you will show off your wonderful brochures to the class. Each student will come up and put your brochure on the ELMO, you will flip through your brochure and tell us a little about the information that you found on your society. Remember from the rubric that I am looking for good voice tone and eye contact during your presentations.
Step 7: Finally the day has come, today we will be having our "War of Words"! We will start by having a meeting with the other members of your society, I will meet with the Roman group, and Mrs. Abbey will meet with the Greek group. In this meeting we will discuss the information we found in our research to prepare for "war". Everyone off you your meetings!
Step 8: During our battle you will need to print and fill out the Venn Diagram form. I will give one of the sections that you researched as a topic, within your society you will have to discuss the topic and then respond to the other society with the information that makes your society great, regarding each topic. The other society will have a chance to respond with their information, trying to prove that their society is better. As we battle back and forth, you should record on your venn diagram, things that are specific to Rome or Greece, as well as things they have in common. We will go through the first section slowly, I will model some ideas, and help you to understand the process. Good luck to both societies, let the best society win!!!!!
* Even though we discussed the points for each activity, you should click on the arrow below to make sure you have completed and turned in each part.
