Paul+Bach

Today’s world is awash in news of the oil spill in the Gulf, escalating gas prices, emissions problems and more. Our dependence or “addiction” to oil, to use the current catchphrase, is a major issue facing the world today. This issue will be examined in the context of alternative energy, pollution and the fact that there is a finite supply of oil on the planet.Through a variety of activities and information gathering, students will become familiar with this issue, its history and past attempts to address this ever growing problem. Students in a 9th-12th grade level of an economically mixed district will be introduced to methods of research, both current and historical, while developing their own proposed solutions as well as examine past proposed solutions and what happened to them.Students will learn about the oil crisis in the 1970s through the lens of asking why we are still dealing with this today.Engaging students in the legislative process, they will be asked to draft a letter to members of the Senate and House of Representatives.A variety of reading as well as film will be utilized to examine the issue from many angles.Students will then immerse in the current oil spill, looking at the ecological damage. Students will be asked to address the issue in four writing assignments.The first will be an essay written after the 1970s oil crisis has been examined.Students will be asked to give their opinion on just why this issue was not resolved then using the information studied and comparing today with the 1970s.The second class writing will be letters to the legislature addressing the issue.Students can choose any angle they wish, asking the representatives to support initiatives, asking why the auto industry is not addressing oil dependence, etc.The third is an opinion piece responding to the film. The final writing assignment will be to draft a narrative of life 50 years after the student’s proposed solution has gone into effect.
 * Writing for Change-Save the World from Oil Dependency **

Student Objectives: Gain familiarity with using researched information in context of its time. Develop larger, stronger vocabulary. Determine how actions in the past affect current events. Become accustomed to online research. Become familiar with online dictionaries. Promote students becoming engaged citizens. Demonstrate to students underlying bias in opinion writing or news. Promote discussion and proper discussion etiquette, encouraging respect for all opinions. Students able to effectively convey ideas and viewpoints as well as opinions in a variety of writing styles.

Michigan Content Standards addressed: STANDARD 1.1 Understand and practice writing as a recursive process. CE 1.1.1 Demonstrate ﬂexibility in using independent and collaborative strategies for planning, drafting, revising, and editing complex texts. CE 1.1.3Select and use language that is appropriate (e.g., formal, informal, literary, or technical) for the purpose, audience, and context of the text, speech, or visual representation (e.g., letter to editor, proposal, poem, or digital story). CE 1.1.4Compose drafts that convey an impression, express an opinion, raise a question, argue a position, explore a topic, tell a story, or serve another purpose, while simultaneously considering the constraints and possibilities (e.g., structure, language, use of conventions of grammar, usage, and mechanics) of the selected form or genre. CE 1.1.5Revise drafts to more fully and/or precisely convey meaning—drawing on response from others, self-reﬂection, and reading one’s own work with the eye of a reader; then reﬁne the text— deleting and/or reorganizing ideas, and addressing potential readers’ questions. CE 1.1.7Edit for style, tone, and word choice (speciﬁcity, variety, accuracy, appropriateness, conciseness) and for conventions of grammar, usage and mechanics that are appropriate for audience. CE 1.1.8Proofread to check spelling, layout, and font; and prepare selected pieces for a public audience. STANDARD 1.2 Use writing, speaking, and visual expression for personal understanding and growth. CE 1.2.1Write, speak, and use images and graphs to understand and discover complex ideas. CE 1.2.3Write, speak, and create artistic representations to express personal experience and perspective (e.g., personal narrative, poetry, imaginative writing, slam poetry, blogs, webpages). STANDARD 1.3 Communicate in speech, writing, and multimedia using content, form, voice, and style appropriate to the audience and purpose (e.g., to reﬂect, persuade, inform, analyze, entertain, inspire). CE 1.3.1Compose written, spoken, and/or multimedia compositions in a range of genres (e.g., personal narrative, biography, poem, ﬁction, drama, creative nonﬁction, summary, literary analysis essay, research report, or work-related text): pieces that serve a variety of purposes (e.g., expressive, informative, creative, and persuasive) and that use a variety of organizational patterns (e.g., autobiography, free verse, dialogue, comparison/contrast, deﬁnition, or cause and effect). CE 1.3.2Compose written and spoken essays or work-related text that demonstrate logical thinking and the development of ideas for academic, creative, and personal purposes: essays that convey the author’s message by using an engaging introduction (with a clear thesis as appropriate), well-constructed paragraphs, transition sentences, and a powerful conclusion. CE 1.3.6Use speaking, writing, and visual presentations to appeal to audiences of different social, economic, and cultural backgrounds and experiences (e.g., include explanations and deﬁnitions according to the audience’s background, age, or knowledge of the topic; adjust formality of style; consider interests of potential readers). CE 1.3.7Participate collaboratively and productively in groups (e.g., response groups, work teams, discussion groups, and committees)—fulﬁllingroles and responsibilities, posing relevant questions, giving and following instructions, acknowledging and building on ideas and contributions of others to answer questions or to solve problems, and offering dissent courteously. CE 1.3.8Evaluate own and others’ effectiveness in group discussions and formal presentations (e.g., considering accuracy, relevance, clarity, and delivery; types of arguments used; and relationships among purpose, audience, and content). CE 1.3.9Use the formal, stylistic, content, and mechanical conventions of a variety of genres in speaking, writing, and multimedia presentations. STANDARD 1.4 Develop and use the tools and practices of inquiry and research—generating, exploring, and reﬁning important questions; creating a hypothesis or thesis; gathering and studying evidence; drawing conclusions; and composing a report. CE 1.4.1Identify, explore, and reﬁne topics and questions appropriate for research. CE 1.4.3Develop and reﬁne a position, claim, thesis, or hypothesis that will be explored and supported by analyzing different perspectives, resolving inconsistencies, and writing about those differences in a structure appropriate for the audience (e.g., argumentative essay that avoids inconsistencies in logic and develops a single thesis; exploratory essay that explains differences and similarities and raises additional questions). CE 1.4.4Interpret, synthesize, and evaluate information/ﬁndings in various print sources and media (e.g., fact and opinion, comprehensiveness of the evidence, bias, varied perspectives, motives and credibility of the author, date of publication) to draw conclusions and implications. CE 1.4.7Recognize the role of research, including student research, as a contribution to collective knowledge, selecting an appropriate method or genre through which research ﬁndings will be shared and evaluated, keeping in mind the needs of the prospective audience. (e.g., presentations, online sharing, written products such as a research report, a research brief, a multi-genre report, I-Search, literary analysis, news article). STANDARD 1.5Produce a variety of written, spoken, multigenre, and multimedia works, making conscious choices about language, form, style, and/or visual representation for each work (e.g., poetry, ﬁction and creative nonﬁction stories, academic and literary essays, proposals, memos, manifestos, business letters, advertisements, prepared speeches, group and dramatic performances, poetry slams, and digital stories). CE 1.5.5Respond to and use feedback to strengthen written and multimedia presentations (e.g., clarify and defend ideas, expand on a topic, use logical arguments, modify organization, evaluate effectiveness of images, set goals for future presentations). STANDARD 2.1 Develop critical reading, listening, and viewing strategies. CE 2.1.3Determine the meaning of unfamiliar words, specialized vocabulary, ﬁgurative language, idiomatic expressions, and technical meanings of terms through context clues, word roots and afﬁxes, and the use of appropriate resource materials such as print and electronic dictionaries. CE 2.1.5Analyze and evaluate the components of multiple organizational patterns (e.g., compare/contrast, cause/effect, problem/solution, fact/opinion, theory/evidence). CE 2.1.7Demonstrate understanding of written, spoken, or visual information by restating, paraphrasing, summarizing, critiquing, or composing a personal response; distinguish between a summary and a critique. CE 2.1.8Recognize the conventions of visual and multimedia presentations (e.g., lighting, camera angle, special effects, color, and soundtrack) and how they carry or inﬂuence messages. CE 2.1.11Demonstrate appropriate social skills of audience, group discussion, or work team behavior by listening attentively and with civility to the ideas of others, gaining the ﬂoor in respectful ways, posing appropriate questions,and tolerating ambiguity and lack of consensus. STANDARD 2.2 Use a variety of reading, listening, and viewing strategies to construct meaning beyond the literal level (e.g., drawing inferences ; conﬁrming and correcting; making comparisons, connections, and generalizations ; and drawing conclusions). CE 2.2.3Interpret the meaning of written, spoken, and visual texts by drawing on different cultural, theoretical, and critical perspectives. STANDARD 2.3 Develop as a reader, listener, and viewer for personal, social, and political purposes, through independent and collaborative reading. CE 2.3.1Read, listen to, and view diverse texts for multiple purposes such as learning complex procedures, making work-place decisions, or pursuing in-depth studies. CE 2.3.4Critically interpret primary and secondary research-related documents (e.g., historical and government documents, newspapers, critical and technical articles, and subject-speciﬁc books). STANDARD 3.4 Examine mass media, ﬁlm, series ﬁction, and other texts from popular culture. CE 3.4.1Use methods of close and contextualized reading and viewing to examine, interpret, and evaluate print and visual media and other works from popular culture. CE 3.4.2Understand that media and popular texts are produced within a social context and have economic, political, social, and aesthetic purposes. CE 3.4.3Understand the ways people use media in their personal and public lives. CE 3.4.4Understand how the commercial and political purposes of producers and publishers inﬂuence not only the nature of advertisements and the selection of media content, but the slant of news articles in newspapers, magazines, and the visual media. STANDARD 4.1Understand and use the English language effectively in a variety of contexts and settings. CE 4.1.1Use sentence structures and vocabulary effectively within different modes (oral and written, formal and informal) and for various rhetorical purposes. CE 4.1.2Use resources to determine word meanings, pronunciations, and word etymologies (e.g., context, print and electronic dictionaries, thesauruses, glossaries, and others). CE 4.1.3Use a range of linguistic applications and styles for accomplishing different rhetorical purposes (e.g., persuading others to change opinions, conducting business transactions, speaking in a public forum, discussing issues informally with peers). CE 4.1.5Demonstrate use of conventions of grammar, usage, and mechanics in written texts, including parts of speech, sentence structure and variety, spelling, capitalization, and punctuation. STANDARD 4.2 Understand how language variety reﬂects and shapes experience. CE 4.2.1Understand how languages and dialects are used to communicate effectively in different roles, under different circumstances, and among speakers of different speech communities (e.g., ethnic communities, social groups, professional organizations). CE 4.2.4Understand the appropriate uses and implications of casual or informal versus professional language; understand, as well, the implications of language designed to control others and the detrimental effects of its use on targeted individuals or groups (e.g., propaganda, homophobic language, and racial, ethnic, or gender epithets).

Resources: Letter to Editor: []

[|A Drive for Fuel Efficiency.pdf]

[|Physics and the Electric Car.pdf]

[|www.whokilledtheelectriccar.com]

[|www.revengeoftheelectriccar.com]

[|Electric Car Teacher's Guide.pdf]

[|1970s Energy Transportation]

Week 1:

Monday-Read “Physics and the Electric Car”. Discuss. Tuesday-Vocab mini lesson-unfamiliar words from reading. Discuss features of electric car. Wednesday-70s Education Transportation reading. Discuss. Thursday-Give historical context of 1970s oil crisis.Compare to today. Friday-Discuss why no change since 1970s in oil policy, etc.

Week 2: Monday-Watch “Who Killed the Electric Car”-Part 1-Students to take notes. Tuesday-Watch Part 2. Wednesday-Discuss film from notes students took during viewing. Thursday-What complications/changes/would electric car bring to society and infrastructure? Read “The Electric Vehicle Challenge”. Discuss. Unfamiliar Vocab-students to look up definitions online. Friday-Read “Drive for Fuel Efficiency” and discuss.

Week 3- Monday-Discuss legislature. Small groups to find examples of letters to legislature-on line. Read letter to editor. Tuesday-Students write their own letter. Wednesday-Letter read- around. Thursday-Revise from comments.Discuss in small groups. Friday-Discuss what students hope to accomplish with letters. What changes?

Week 4: Monday-Discuss Gulf oil spill. How likely to occur if not so dependent on oil? Discuss alternative fuels and unforeseen consequences of oil dependency. Tuesday-Student groups to find relevant articles on oil spill using online sources. Wednesday-Discuss new material students found: effects of spill, any solutions? Thursday-Discuss visions of future transportation-Jetsons, jetpack, Star Trek Transporter. Friday-Write narrative of life 50 years after energy goals accomplished.How has everyday life changed? For the better or worse?