Looking for a project for students to demonstrate their knowledge of and ability to synthesize information surrounding the 5 themes of Geography? Here it is!
This is a project-basedcountry study on the South American country of Paraguay focusing on the 5 Themes of Geography: location, place, regions, movement and human/environment integration! There are a lot of country studies but this one is different.
This study will ask students to ‘think like a geographer‘ in their research and recording. Using this resource, students will…
– Learn about the country of Paraguay
– Demonstrate knowledge of and ability to synthesize information and write about Paraguay through a 5 themes of geography lens.
– Create a wonderful project displaying their learning.
This resource 18 page resource is perfect for any geography classroom and can be used for 5th – 12th grades!
Sample questions include:
– (Location) Describe the relative location of the country.
– (Location) What is the latitude and longitude of the capital city?
– (Place) What major landforms are found in the country?
– (Place) What is/are the climate type(s) of the country?
– (Regions) When considering this country, describe and give examples of at least one type of functional region within it.
– (Movement) Describe any historically important migration patterns of information you have found about past or current migration for this country. You may include internal, external migration, emigration, immigration, return and/or seasonal migration.
– (Human/Environmental Integration) Give examples of how people who have lived in this country changed or modified the environment.
A layered research assignment gives students the opportunity to delve deeply into a topic and give students a variety of tasks from which to choose, all designed to guide and build a meaningful learning experience. Also, when using this layered approach, students will move through Bloom’s Taxonomy of knowledge, comprehension, application, analysis, synthesis and evaluation.
My Teaching Library offers this easy to use resource that will guide students through (step by step) the three layers of research and can be used with any topic. Since this resource can be used for any topic, it can be used again and again!
The three layers of research: * The first (bottom) layer will give students 9 tasks of which they will perform all of them. This layer will help students get a good grasp of the topic and begin to gather the materials they will need to create a great project, (knowledge and comprehension).
* For the second (middle) layer, students are given 6 tasks of which they will choose to complete 4. Here, students will continue to gain knowledge and comprehension as well as begin applying (application), analyzing (analysis) and even some synthesizing (synthesis) of what is being learned.
* For the third (top) layer, students are given 9 tasks of which they will choose to complete 6. This top layer of tasks is truly designed for students to move further into synthesizing and evaluating (evaluation) of the material that has been studied.
As students progress from one layer to the next using this approach, they will move throughout, up and down, Bloom’s Taxonomy of learning and will have been able to not only learn about their chosen topic but will have demonstrated that learning in tangible ways.
Are you preparing to teach High School? Want a list of Language Arts skills covered during 9th-12th grades?
Here are the skills and concepts students should learn during their High School years…
Use agreed-upon rules for formal and informal in small groups.
Pose questions, listen to the ideas of others, and contribute their own information or ideas in group discussions and interviews in order to acquire new knowledge.
Make oral presentations that demonstrate appropriate consideration of audience, purpose, and the information to be conveyed.
Acquire new vocabulary and use it correctly in reading and writing.
Describe and analyze the grammatical structure of the English language and the standard English conventions for sentence structure, usage, punctuation, capitalization, and spelling
Describe and analyze how oral dialects differ from each other in English, how they differ from written standard English, and what role standard American English plays in informal and formal communication.
Describe and analyze how the English language has developed and been influenced by other languages.
Decode accurately and understand new words encountered in their reading materials, drawing on a variety of strategies as needed, and then use these words accurately in speaking and writing.
Identify the basic facts and essential ideas in what they have read, heard, or viewed.
Identify, analyze, and apply knowledge of the characteristics of different genres.
Identify, analyze and apply knowledge of theme, fiction, nonfiction, and poetry and provide evidence from the text to support their understanding.
Identify and analyze how an author’s choice of words appeals to the senses, creates imagery, suggests mood, and sets tone.
Compare and contrast similar myths and narratives from different cultures and geographic regions.
Interpret the meaning of literary works, non-fiction, films and media by using different critical lenses and analytic techniques.
Plan and present effective dramatic readings, recitations and performances that demonstrate appropriate consideration of audience and purpose.
Write compositions with a clear focus, logically related ideas to develop it, and adequate detail.
Select and use appropriate genres, modes of reasoning, and speaking styles when writing for different audiences and rhetorical purposes.
Demonstrate improvement in organization, content, paragraph development, level of detail, style, tone and word choice in their compositions after revising them.
Use knowledge of standard English conventions to edit their writing.
Use self-generated questions, note-taking, summarizing, precise writing, and outlining to enhance learning when reading or writing.
Use open-ended research questions, different sources of information, and appropriate research methods to gather information for their research projects.
Develop and use appropriate rhetorical, logical, and stylistic criteria for assessing final versions of their compositions or research projects before presenting them to varied audiences
Obtain information by using a variety of media and evaluate the quality of material they obtain.
Explain how the techniques used in electronic media modify traditional forms of discourse for aesthetic and rhetorical purposes.
Design and create coherent media productions with a clear controlling idea, adequate detail, and appropriate consideration of audience, purpose, and medium.
Also, students should have times of dedicated focus on library and study skills, British literature, American literature and World literature. Students should build on the tools of reading, writing, speaking, listening, and thinking (skills presented in both the elementary and middle school grades) and be provided with continued opportunities for developing communication skills, while focusing on analysis of the short story, novel, essay, drama, and poetry. Students should explore the major themes that authors have explored and develop higher critical/analytical reading and thinking skills.
My Teaching Library has many products perfectly designed to help high school students learn and master the skills and concepts listed above.
Complete novel study for Jane Austen’s Pride and Prejudice (196 pages). Includes: – Author’s Biography – Novel Introduction – Characters and Themes – Quotes and Analysis – Teaching Guides dividing the novel into 5 sections w/
Chapter Summaries, Thought Questions and Vocabulary
Student Handouts
Student Worksheets, Assessments & Keys – Final Assessments
Concepts covered: – Using Technology / Navigating the Internet – Reading – Improving a Skill for Life – Writing/ Making Words Speak – Writing / Using Strategies to Fine-Tune Writing – Literature/ Discovering the World, Discovering ourselves.
My Teaching Library also has several Literary Companions that students need throughout high school!
In fact, there are over 120 ready to download resources on My Teaching Library to help your high school students learn many of the skills and concepts listed above!
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Brief story overview: Set in England in the early 19th century, Pride and Prejudice tells the story of Mr and Mrs Bennet’s five unmarried daughters after the arrival of the rich and eligible Mr Bingley, and his status-conscious friend, Mr Darcy, in their village. While Bingley takes an immediate liking to the eldest Bennet daughter, Jane, Darcy has difficulty adapting to local society and repeatedly clashes with the second-eldest Bennet daughter, Elizabeth. It is an 1813 romantic novel of manners written by Jane Austen and follows the character development of Elizabeth Bennet, the dynamic protagonist of the book who learns about the repercussions of hasty judgments and comes to appreciate the difference between superficial goodness and actual goodness. Its humor lies in its honest depiction of manners, education, marriage, and money during the Regency era in Great Britain.
“I am amusing myself with Miss Austen’s [sic] novels. She has great power and discrimination in delineating common-place people; and her writings are a capital picture of real life, with all the little wheels and machinery laid bare like a patent clock.”
—Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, Journal entry, May 23, 1839
So why have students read this 19th century novel?
I could give you several reasons that seem to be ‘literary learning’ in nature such as…
To study the author’s use of satire and irony as well as many other literary devices
The novel has a strong female protagonist and thus a study of her role would lead to rich discussion
The ability to make strong contrasts between characters and how Austen builds our knowledge of each
To find and study the many themes of the novel and how these themes relate to students’ lives today
…and while all of these would be true, that’s not what I’m going to do. Instead I’m simply going to highlight several ‘life lessons’ that can be learned while reading and examining the story and characters.
Lessons which can be learned while reading Pride and Prejudice
1. It’s okay not to be good at everything.
Elizabeth Bennet, the novel’s heroine, is interesting not because she’s good at everything, but precisely because she isn’t. She and her eventual husband, Mr. Darcy, have a conversation early in the novel about what defines an “accomplished” woman. Darcy indicates that such a lady would be able to play music, sing, dance, draw, speak several languages, and read frequently. Rather than pretend she possesses these qualities—or feel ashamed that she doesn’t—Elizabeth accepts who she is.
Elizabeth replaces exhausting exceptionalism with passion. There are certain things that she is passionate about—reading, her family, travel—that make her unique and, in fact, endear her to Mr. Darcy.
As you teach this novel, point out this fact to students to remember that it’s okay not to be good at everything and life is a learning process. Have them take time to reflect on (and try to discover) the passions and qualities that make each of them unique.
2. Don’t make snap judgments.
This is the obvious lesson of the novel—don’t judge the proverbial book by its cover. This lesson is as important as ever in today’s society. Remind students not to let their first impressions dictate how they feel about people, ideas or even activities. Don’t shy away from something because you fear it—try to view it from a different perspective. Ask them to allow others to surprise them! To keep an open mind as they might find that people may contradict the image they first presented to them.
3. The importance of planning.
In this easily-readable novel, Ms. Austen underscores the importance of planning. Pride and Prejudice as perfectly-structured a novel as ever was written: from the initial tension in Elizabeth and Darcy’s meeting to the disastrous anticlimax of the first proposal, the upward trajectory of Elizabeth’s feelings for the man she’d judged poorly, Darcy’s climactic saving of the Bennet family’s reputation, and his subsequent successful proposal of marriage to Elizabeth, the novel moves quickly and deliberately in precisely-plotted chapters. Austen wastes no time with frivolous details: everything ties together; each scene has a purpose.
Ask students to take a page from Austen’s book as they plan both in school and in life. Careful preparation can lead to great success!
4. A little humor goes a long way.
Despite the beliefs of some, Pride and Prejudice is not just Victorian chick book. It’s a romantic tale with a marriage plot, to be sure, but it’s also a comedy. From the sycophantic Mr. Collins to the drily sarcastic Mr. Bennet, the novel is filled with jokes, little nods from Austen to the reader. The book is really funny.
Pride and Prejudice Novel Study Complete novel study for Jane Austen’s Pride and Prejudice (196 pages). Includes: – Author’s Biography – Novel Introduction – Characters and Themes – Quotes and Analysis – Teaching Guides dividing the novel into 5 sections w/ * Chapter Summaries, Thought Questions and Vocabulary * Student Handouts * Student Worksheets, Assessments & Keys – Final Assessments
Pride and Prejudice Vocabulary Study Complete novel study for Jane Austen’s Pride and Prejudice (196 pages). Includes: – Author’s Biography – Novel Introduction – Characters and Themes – Quotes and Analysis – Teaching Guides dividing the novel into 5 sections w/ * Chapter Summaries, Thought Questions and Vocabulary * Student Handouts * Student Worksheets, Assessments & Keys – Final Assessments
Pride and Prejudice | Assessments Looking for only a way to test student reading comprehension and understanding as they read Jane Austen’s Pride and Prejudice? The resource will give you 5 quizzes for students to take while reading the novel and then after they have completed the entire novel, an essay assessment as well as a 20 question, multiple choice test. Answer Keys included!
Library of Learning Resources 