These past 5 weeks, all of our freshmen have been participating in an exciting learning experience. The World Studies classes teamed up with the English classes to provide our students with an interdisciplinary unit focusing on the Arab-Israeli conflict. Students have been studying the conflict from both a Social Science and English lens. In their English classes, students have been exploring the various perspectives of individuals on either side of the conflict. Examining literature that has come out of the conflict, they have analyzed the perspectives of average citizens, leaders of official governments, members of extremist groups, children, soldiers, etc. In their Social Science class, students have been focusing on the perspectives of groups as a whole and analyzing motives, long-term goals, tactics, and other aspects of group identity and the impact of that identity on the conflict.
The culminating task for this unit has been an independent research project. Students have chosen either an individual or a group that has made a significant impact on the conflict, positive or negative. Students did background research on their broad topic and then created a research question based on their interest to guide the rest of their project. They have been engaging in independent research to answer their research question, create a claim, and support their answer or claim with relevant and sufficient evidence. Our freshmen are now creating projects based on their findings. Students were given choice in how they want to present their projects and they have been quite creative! They have created a variety different ways to communicate their findings; comic books, Prezis, papers, art, short stories, poetry, PowerPoints, musical compositions, pretend news broadcasts, and short plays to name a few!
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