Nanuet Union Free School District
101 Church Street
Nanuet, New York  10954

PERFORMANCE TASK

Area of Study:  Social Studies

Grade Level/Course:  Grade 8
Reconstruction - Scrapbook

developed by:  A. Gicewicz and C. Langer

Nanuet Learner Standard(s): 

Lifelong Learner

Cooperative Worker

Effective Communicator

Resourceful Reasoner

 

New York State Learning Standard(s): 

Social Studies Standard 1:  History of the United States and New York  (Intermediate)

Students will use a variety of intellectual skills to demonstrate their understanding of major ideas, eras, themes, developments, and turning points in the history of the United States and New York.

Key Idea 2:  Important ideas, social and cultural values, beliefs, and traditions from New York State and United States history illustrate the connections and interactions of people and events across time and from a variety of perspectives.

MST Standard 2:  Information Systems   (Intermediate)

Students will access, generate, process, and transfer information using appropriate technologies.

Key Idea 1:  Information technology is used to retrieve, process, and communicate information and as a tool to enhance learning.

 

Nanuet Content Standard(s): 

Social Studies Standard 5:  Interactions Between Individuals and Cultures  (Middle Level)

Students will demonstrate an understanding and appreciation of interactions that exist between individuals and cultures.

Instructional Technology Standard 2:  Information Access and Processing  (Middle Level)

Students will use technology tools to access, retrieve, interpret and evaluate information.

 

Benchmarks (New York State/Nanuet):      

Social Studies

  • Describe the reasons for periodizing history in different ways
  • Investigate key turning points in New York State and United States history and explain why these events or developments are significant
  • Understand the relationship between the relative importance of United States domestic and foreign policies over time
  • Investigates the roles and contributions of individuals and groups in relation to key social, political, cultural, and religious practices throughout history

Instructional Technology

  • Systematically obtains accurate and relevant information pertaining to a particular topic from a range of sources, including local and national media, libraries, museums, governmental agencies, industries, and individuals.
  • Independently uses search and retrieval strategies to obtain information from electronic and online resources.

Concepts: 

  • Students will understand the roles and contributions of individuals and groups in relation to key social, political, cultural, and religious practices throughout history.
  • Students will understand how to analyze, interpret, synthesize and present information and concepts to fellow classmates
  • Students will understand how technology can be used as a tool to retrieve and access information.
  • Students will understand how to interpret information from online resources.

Skills:

  • Collecting information, organizing data, copying and pasting images

Instructional Technology Skills and Competencies:

  • General
    • Demonstrates basic keyboarding and input skills for increased efficiency and effectiveness
    • Uses hard drive or file server to identify folders or subdirectories
    • Retrieves and saves files to appropriate locations
    • Accesses and uses the network making use of a permanent password
  • Word Processing
    • Copies, cuts, pastes, and moves text, searches and replaces text.
    • Imports and exports data and graphics, merges word processing documents with other applications
  • Desktop/Multimedia Publishing
    • Inputs text and graphics
    • Designs and modifies layouts
    • Imports and exports data, video, and audio
    • Creates multimedia presentations
  • Telecommunications
    • Uses appropriate terminology
    • Accesses and uses resources available from commercial online services
    • Uses gophers and world wide web browsers to search the Internet

Context for the Task:

As part of the 8th grade curriculum, the students study Reconstruction. This project will provide the students with the opportunity to use the Internet as well as other resources to research information.

Task: 

PowerPoint Reconstruction Scrapbook

This project challenges you to create a PowerPoint scrapbook of reconstruction in the United States 1864-1877. Working in pairs, you will create a scrapbook of the positives and negatives of Reconstruction. In addition, you must include the court case, Plessy vs. Ferguson.

The PowerPoint scrapbook must incorporate a variety of elements: maps, timeline, symbols, illustrations or quotes to show what you have learned about Reconstruction.

You will also write a two paragraph summary conclusion in which you answer the question:

Did Reconstruction successfully unify the country?

You will use materials and ideas you have accumulated throughout the unit to complete the project.

The scrapbook should include:

  1. Title slide with name of each student.
  2. Two – three slides on four positive elements of Reconstruction- Plus a written description explaining how each element is a positive aspect of Reconstruction.
  3. Two-three slides on four negative elements of Reconstruction- Plus a written explanation explaining how each element is a negative aspect of Reconstruction.
  4. Plessy vs. Ferguson

Conclusion slide(s) answering the unit question: did Reconstruction successfully unify the United States? Explain your answer using three examples from your previous pages and information learned in social studies class. Answer must be two-paragraphs.

Time and Materials Required to Complete the Task: 

Time: 

  • 6 class sessions

Materials: 

  • Specified Internet sites, Microsoft PowerPoint

 

Teaching Tips: 

Before the project begins, students should have a refresher on how to search with filtered search engines. They should also know how to access information through Nanuet’s District Web site. Students should have a general understanding of Reconstruction.

Possible Solutions:  (Exemplar)

 

Rubrics:

 

3
Excellent

2
Good

1
Poor

0
Incomplete
Content:
Historical Accuracy		 Content accurately represents important ideas from Reconstruction Period. Scrapbook is virtually historically accurate. Scrapbook contains some inaccuracies. Scrapbook is not historically accurate.
Use of Scrapbook Elements -Variety of Scrapbook elements to portray important ideas.
-Visually Strong pictures/ symbols: Attention grabbing

Interesting pictures/ symbols related to Reconstruction.

 Adequate pictures and symbols related to reconstruction.

Pictures and Symbols are not attention grabbing

Pictures are not related to reconstruction.
Clarity of Artist Statement (Positives)

 

 -All four positive elements are clearly explained and connected to important ideas.
-No errors in spelling and grammar.		 -All positive elements are explained and connected to important ideas.
-1-3 errors in spelling and grammar		 Some (2or 3) positive elements are explained or connected to important ideas. Only one element is explained or connected to important events in Reconstruction.
Clarity of Artist Statement (Negatives)

 

 -All four negative elements are clearly explained and connected to important ideas.
-No errors in spelling and grammar		 -All negative elements are explained and connected to important ideas.
-1-3 errors in spelling and grammar.		 Some (2or 3) positive elements are explained or connected to important ideas. Only one element is explained or connected to important events in Reconstruction.
Conclusion/ Summary

 

 

 Two-paragraph, well written with no errors that provide at least three examples to support key question. Two-paragraph, well written with 1-3 errors that provide at least two examples to support key question. Two paragraphs with more than 3 errors that provide one example to support key question. Response is less than two paragraphs that do not answer the key question.
Performance

 

 -Cooperate with each other.
-Correct use of computer.
-Follows directions.

2 of these

1 of these

None
Technology

 

 -Uses PowerPoint correctly to achieve task
-Project shows creative use of technology
-Found correct information in the Internet.

2 of these

1 of these

Improper or inadequate use of technology
Title Page

 

 -Neat
-Title
-Names of each partner

2 of these

1 of these

None of these

Reflections:

 

Updated 07/14/03