The boys and girls are split into small cooperative groups to research topics in which most students have an interest: cars and fashion. Students will research a topic, write individual research papers and present group findings to the class in a PowerPoint presentation. Assess the presentation with a rubric. Criteria for the rubric could be teamwork, creativity, content, organization and neatness.
Place Students in Groups
First, separate the boys from the girls. Then, split them in groups of 50s, 60s, 70s, 80s, 90s and early 2000. For most classes, each small group will have three-to-four students. The boys will be researching cars of the time period selected. The girls will be researching fashion of the time period selected.
Select Leaders
Once the groups are formed, a presentation leader, PowerPoint expert and image expert should be selected. For the presentation, all should have a speaking role, but the PowerPoint is time consuming. So, two people could be in charge of putting it together.
Choose Paper Topics
Each person in the group needs an individual research paper topic. For example, if a group of boys has the topic of cars of the 50s, the group could break the large topic down into companies, such as Chevrolet, Ford, Mopar, Volkswagen or Alfa Romeo. Or, the group could break it into types of cars, such as two-door sedans, four-door sedans, trucks, or sports cars. It really does not matter how they break down the larger topic, as long as the groups works together to make it organized.
Complete Research
There are two types of sources: primary and secondary sources. If a teacher can bring in experts from the local historical society on fashion and/or cars, that would be an excellent primary source. Or, ask students if they have family members who are experts in the area. For secondary sources, a trip to the library and/or computer lab will offer many sources. The Internet offers a wealth of sources, but students should be aware of how to evaluate the credibility of a source.
Write the Paper
Students need to write a 1-3 page research paper using the MLA format or a style chosen by the teacher. Students should make an outline and write a rough draft so that the teacher knows that the students are on the right track for the presentation. The final draft of the paper should be worth a test grade.
Put the Presentation Together
Once the papers are written, the students should put together the PowerPoint presentation. Students should have around 7-15 slides. The groups should work together to place information from their papers. The image expert needs to find the images. Students should make sure to give credit where they found the images as well as to gain permission to use the images.
The presentations should be interesting and enjoyable. This pop culture lesson will allow for discussion of how fashion and car design has changed throughout the decades. In addition, students will learn how to work in cooperative groups.
Kellie Hayden - She is a 19 year veteran teacher with a master's degree in education and NBCT, 2000. Kellie teaches 8th grade language arts, TAG and ...
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