The Research Paper with a Purpose
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Gold level
Published on 1/30/2014
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Learning objectives
- to write informative texts that examine complex concepts clearly and accurately through effective selection, organization, and analysis
- to create a compelling media campaign that has a call to action for their community
- how their choices impact their environment and their community
Created for
Ages 14 - 18
Subject
Biology
Citizenship
Digital/Media Literacy
Environment
Language arts and literacy
Social Studies
Twenty-first century skills
21st Century Skills
Collaboration
Communication
Knowledge building & critical thinking
Global awareness & civic literacy
ICT for learning
Problem solving & innovation (creativity)
Student self-assessment
Featured tools
Community Clips
Microsoft Lync
Microsoft Offi...Microsoft OneD...
Microsoft OneNote
Microsoft Powe...
Microsoft Tag
Microsoft WordWindows 7
Windows Movie ...
Bing
Microsoft Digi...
Required hardware
Tablet
Phone
Instructional approach
Project based learning (PBL)
Personalized learning
Direct instruction
Independent study
Learning activity details
At my school, every grade level has a philanthropy focus, and the 10th grade focus is the environment. I revised our informative research paper assignment to focus on environmental issues. Students chose an environmental topic that interested them and researched it. In the research stage, I challenged students to examine their topic with a local lens. How, for example, does water pollution impact our community? Once the research was gathered, they wrote the first draft. I held coaching sessions with each student, discussing methods to improve their paper. I held 3 coaching sessions with students, & they also had peer feedback. When the pieces reached publishable quality, I asked them to find copyright free/friendly pictures they could use as visuals to compliment the information. We created online magazines with their finalized essays.
After finalizing the essays, students shared their findings, conclusions, & concerns with the class. I asked them "How can we make our community better with the information you have?" We explored how they could take the information & create a media campaign. The classes decided (1) focus area(s), (2) team members, & (3) execution. One class had 4 groups with 4 different focus areas (water pollution, littering, wildlife, & global warming); the other class decided to work on one large project - the pollution in one of our local rivers - Dog River. Once they began planning, I invited a graphic artist & an advertising professional who specializes in non-profit media campaigns to visit class. Unable to attend, the graphic artist emailed invaluable tips & tricks on creating logos for campaigns. The advertising professional visited, showing samples of videos & various print media that his teams created over the years. He also provided tips on how to write print materials, create slogans, etc. for creating their media campaign & provided feedback on the students’ work to date. As the campaign progressed, he offered additional feedback via email. Additionally, the Dog River class invited the President of the Dog River Clearwater Revival to discuss their project & to find out how they could help the non-profit with its cause. In addition to her role with the non-profit, she is also a marketing manager at a local business & she provided additional information for the group on how she designs media campaigns for her company as well as for the Dog River Clearwater Revival.
Both classes divided the work (print ads, video, logo, flyers, educational materials, etc.) amongst its members. Each group decided the products to create & who would design each product. The larger team approved products before publication. The 4 group class created more items together because they had fewer students in each group (most had 4 or 3). The Dog River class, however, became more specialized with their group work (i.e., social media committee, fundraising committee, education committee, etc.) & reported back to the larger group at specific intervals. They used OneNote & SkyDrive to share their work. They made logos & slogans. (The 4 group class created a class logo & created logos for their individual groups.) Both created a wiki, but the Dog River class decided to focus more on Facebook &Twitter for sharing their information. Because of their labor division, the Dog River group also reached out to local companies. Through their efforts, they received ad space in a local magazine - Mobile Bay Monthly - for June & August for free (a saved cost of $3,400) & a TV spot on a local news station - WALA Fox 10 TV. They also worked with the local coffee house - Carpe Diem - to create a special coffee blend that the coffee house sold the month of June & from August 1st to September 15th as a fundraiser. Finally, they organized a clean-up day at one of the boat slips along Dog River. Although class ended in May of 2013, some students are still working on this project!
After finalizing the essays, students shared their findings, conclusions, & concerns with the class. I asked them "How can we make our community better with the information you have?" We explored how they could take the information & create a media campaign. The classes decided (1) focus area(s), (2) team members, & (3) execution. One class had 4 groups with 4 different focus areas (water pollution, littering, wildlife, & global warming); the other class decided to work on one large project - the pollution in one of our local rivers - Dog River. Once they began planning, I invited a graphic artist & an advertising professional who specializes in non-profit media campaigns to visit class. Unable to attend, the graphic artist emailed invaluable tips & tricks on creating logos for campaigns. The advertising professional visited, showing samples of videos & various print media that his teams created over the years. He also provided tips on how to write print materials, create slogans, etc. for creating their media campaign & provided feedback on the students’ work to date. As the campaign progressed, he offered additional feedback via email. Additionally, the Dog River class invited the President of the Dog River Clearwater Revival to discuss their project & to find out how they could help the non-profit with its cause. In addition to her role with the non-profit, she is also a marketing manager at a local business & she provided additional information for the group on how she designs media campaigns for her company as well as for the Dog River Clearwater Revival.
Both classes divided the work (print ads, video, logo, flyers, educational materials, etc.) amongst its members. Each group decided the products to create & who would design each product. The larger team approved products before publication. The 4 group class created more items together because they had fewer students in each group (most had 4 or 3). The Dog River class, however, became more specialized with their group work (i.e., social media committee, fundraising committee, education committee, etc.) & reported back to the larger group at specific intervals. They used OneNote & SkyDrive to share their work. They made logos & slogans. (The 4 group class created a class logo & created logos for their individual groups.) Both created a wiki, but the Dog River class decided to focus more on Facebook &Twitter for sharing their information. Because of their labor division, the Dog River group also reached out to local companies. Through their efforts, they received ad space in a local magazine - Mobile Bay Monthly - for June & August for free (a saved cost of $3,400) & a TV spot on a local news station - WALA Fox 10 TV. They also worked with the local coffee house - Carpe Diem - to create a special coffee blend that the coffee house sold the month of June & from August 1st to September 15th as a fundraiser. Finally, they organized a clean-up day at one of the boat slips along Dog River. Although class ended in May of 2013, some students are still working on this project!