Words Have Power A week long language arts/current events module for students in a middle school language arts class

WORDS HAVE POWER! This is a week long module in which we will be studying words and how they can be used to hurt, heal, inspire, incite, etc. During this week, we will be studying some speeches, current and historical events and using our words to describe them. We will also use multimedia and audio tools to create powerful images and stories and we will connect to the world by sharing our words using blogs wikis or podcasts.

STANDARDS  Standards: 21st Century Standards:  -Articulate thoughts and ideas effectively using oral, written and nonverbal communication skills in a variety of forms and contexts  -Listen effectively to decipher meaning, including knowledge, values, attitudes and intentions  - Use communication for a range of purposes (e.g. to inform, instruct, motivate and persuade) -Utilize multiple media and technologies, and know how to judge their effectiveness a priori as well as assess their impact D. C. Language Arts Standards:  -Produce clear and coherent writing in which the development, organization, and style are appropriate to task, purpose, and audience.  -With some guidance and support from peers and adults, develop and strengthen writing as needed by planning, revising, editing, rewriting, or trying a new approach, focusing on how well purpose and audience have been addressed.  ISTE Standards  Communicate and collaborate using descriptive words, correct grammar and punctuation  Think critically, solve problems, and make decisions regarding appropriate use of language  Demonstrate creativity and innovation in designing a presentation

OBJECTIVES At the end of this module students will be able to : 1.Use communication for a range of purposes (e.g. to inform, instruct, motivate and persuade) 2.Use a dictionary (print or electronic) to determine the meaning, part of speech, and pronunciation of the selected words 3.Use a thesaurus to list alternative words that could have been used and rewrite the sentences using those alternative words 4.Use selected words to write sentences geared toward different audiences 5.Use selected words to communicate with different audiences 6.Strengthen their understanding of terminology used in famous works and acquire new words they can introduce into their own writing assignments

COURSE OUTLINE Monday: Introduction to Words Have Power: Students will view videos of a speech by President John Kennedy. They will be given a list of words from the speech and asked to find alternate words for them. Tuesday: Students will use write sentences using word list, making sure the sentences are complete and grammatically correct. Students will create a wiki using the words they found. Wednesday: see lesson following Thursday: Students will find images to represent the words from the speech. Using mixbox.com, students will create a multimedia presentation that features the images they found. Friday: Students will view the video about Montgomery Bus boycott and post to the classroom blog using words that create images from the video.

WORDS HAVE POWER~THE LESSON OBJECTIVES At the end of this lesson, students will be able to: 1. Communicate the different meaning of situations by varying the word choices 2. Articulate thoughts and ideas effectively using oral, written and nonverbal communication skills in a variety of forms and contexts View the video below:

ACTIVITIES PAGE In the video on the previous page, we saw how a change in words, made a change in how the blind man message was received! 1. On the next page is a video of the Montgomery Bus March, Watch the video, then using the following words, describe the images that you see: (Use a dictionary & thesaurus to look up the words) 1. HardshipCompromise 2. BrotherhoodDeadlock 3. OppressionUnconstitutional 4. OasisDecision 5. CharacterVictory 6. Discrimination 7. Freedom 8. Justice 9. Character

The Long Walk Home Using the words from the previous page, now pretend you were marching in the boycott, write how you feel in the classroom blog which is located at: editor.g?blogID= editor.g?blogID=

EXTENSION ACTIVITIES 1.Using Google.com images, find an image that represents each of the words on our list for this week. 2.Create a power point presentation entitled: My words are powerful using the images you found 3.Using audacity.com, add audio to your presentation and present to the class. 4.We will also be presenting our slide shows to the other classes and to parents at PTA night

Unit Assessment Formative Assessment : Students will be observed daily on their writing and using technology to communicate their ideas with others. Daily feedback will be provided informally, so that students can gain immediate feedback. Summative Assessment : Students will be asked to write a few sentences and/or create audio clips about the videos that they view. They will discuss how the meaning and impact of the video can change depending on the words they use and how they use them.

Rubric ProficientMaking progressNeeds ImprovementScore Content Student writes clearly and with accurate information about the video 3 Most of the information is written clearly and accurately but some is not 2 Information is not consistent with blog thread, does not respond adequately previous posts or was not written 1 Punctuation Student punctuates each sentence appropriately and uses punctuation to convey emotion and meaning in writings 3 Students uses punctuation property in most instances and uses it to convey meaning and emotion in some writings 2 Student does not punctuate sentences properly and does not use punctuation to adequately convey meaning or emotion 1 Spelling Students posts is error free or almost error free and uses words in context in the Students post contains some spelling errors or some words are used out of context Students writing has 5 or more spelling errors or words used out of context Grammar Students uses the correct grammar to convey meaning 3 Student generally uses correct grammar to convey meaning 2 Students work has grammatical errors or words do not adequately convey meaning 1

REFERENCES 21st Century Skills (2007). Learning and Innovation Skills. November 2, 2011 from District of Columbia Standards of Learning (2009) Retrieved November 1, 2011 from M f0201RCRD&vgnextchannel=22aba12cbf242210VgnVCM f0201RCRD ISTE. (2007). NETS for students Retrieved November 2, 2011 from Videos: The Power of Words (2011), Retrieved November 1, 2011 from Eyes on the Prize (2009) Retrieved November 1, 2011 from Images: Slide 2: I am Powerful, Retrieved November 1, 2011 from economically.html economically.html Slide 4: Words have power, Retrieved November 3, 2011 from have-power.jpg?w=223&h=167http://jeremiahleblanc.files.wordpress.com/2010/11/words- have-power.jpg?w=223&h=167 Slide 6: Objectives, Retrieved November 6, 2011 from