Jake Wermerskirchen

Unit Plan

Teaching Language Arts

Linda Miller Cleary

November 6, 1997

Unit Plan

The I-Search Paper

Prefatory Statement-- This unit will be centered around the development of individual I-Search papers for each student in the class. The idea of the I-Search paper is taken from the book The I-Search Paper by Ken Macrorie. Students will write a paper based on research regarding a topic that is important to them. The rationale behind the development of this type of paper is that students will become interested in researching and writing about a topic because it will deal with an important and exciting part of their lives. Students will get the sense that their topic has chosen them rather than the more classic style of choosing a topic that sounds appealing only to find that it may not be. Not only will students learn organizational skills, interviewing skills, correct documentation, and overall better expression in a written format, they will be concentrating on a topic that they feel will help them change the world, or at least their own lives. Every group of people, and every individual in the world regardless of color or socio-economic status, has passion. This unit will bring to the paper a passion of each individual in the class. Students will express themselves effectively through writing in the English language. They will also learn to organize their thoughts before interviewing, organize the results of the interview as well as the results of other research, and implement these findings into a paper that explores their topic. The goal of the unit is to effectively put into writing the four steps that are developed by Macrorie. 1. What I knew before I started my research. 2. Why I am writing about this topic. 3. The Search (told as a story of my investigation). 4. What I learned as a result of my investigation (possibly what I failed to learn). By the end of the unit the students will have gained the ability to express in writing what they learn.

Class Specification-- The I-Search paper will be appropriate for juniors and seniors of any ability because it will create an exciting method of research, and will be written in the first person story format. It could also be appropriate for younger students as an introduction to research before writing more formal papers.

Significant Assumptions-- Most of all, I am assuming that students will appreciate, and become excited about the fact that what they are researching can have an impact on the world. I assume that students will enjoy this writing because they own it more than they would own a standard type of research paper or essay. I also assume that while they are in the process of their research, students will learn inductively organizational skills, interviewing skills, documentation and overall better expression in writing.

Minnesota Standard-- The Minnesota Graduation Standards #5. Gather and Use Information.

Applying methods of inquiry needed to conduct research, draw conclusions and communicate and apply findings.

Whole Class Activities-- Generate lists people who have impacted the world, what they did to achieve that impact, and how they possibly got to the position that they did. Brainstorm good interviewing strategies. Discuss the process of writing the paper in a strong voice (i.e. write in the first person).

Small Group Activities-- Practice interviewing. Proofread the papers of at least three other students. Debrief about what happened in their interviews. Discuss what could have been done differently.

Individual Activities-- Primary research including at least three primary sources (interviews). Process journal entries documenting the steps taken in the process of researching and writing the I-Search paper.

Ongoing Activities-- Journal entries regarding the process that the students are following while working on this project. Read short stories and poetry that are written in the first person in order to get the students in that frame of mind.

Resources-- Short stories that are written in the first person will be read. Some of these will include works by Poe, Joyce, Henry James, and Zora Neale Hurston. Also poetry by Emily Dickinson as well as Langston Hughes will be used because of their first person perspective. Autobiographies of people will also gear students toward making an impact on the world, as well as writing in a strong style. Students will also benefit from an example of an I-Search paper that was a success in helping a person search for something important to them. Also access to the wed and library resources will be important areas of secondary research. A reading list could include:

Books:

Joseph Conrad Heart of Darkness

Harper Lee To Kill a Mockingbird

James Joyce A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man

Fanny Fern Ruth Hall

Charlotte Bronte Jane Eyre

Zora Neale Hurston The Complete Stories

Herman Melville Moby Dick

William Faulkner As I Lay Dying

Stories:

Edgar Allen Poe The Telltale Heart, The Pit and the Pendulum, The Fall of the House of Usher

Henry James The Last of the Valerii

James Baldwin Sonny's Blues

Poetry:

Walt Whitman Song of Myself

Emily Dickinson Collected Poems

Langston Hughes Good Morning Revolution

Maya Angelou Collected Poems

Pablo Neruda el Mar y las Campanas

Unit Launch-- Since the I-Search papers need to choose students rather than the opposite, it is important that the first day of the unit gets them involved and excited. Therefore students need to be chosen by a topic that they see can change the world. An example would be a topic like "Should I go into politics in college?" Politicians are constantly in the public eye and would make a visible topic example. Another topic could be "Should I be a musician?" Music is everywhere and impacts the world in many ways, so this would be an exciting topic for a prospective musician. On the first day, students will brainstorm people and events that have changed the world. We will discuss what these people have done to impact the world and how they achieved what they did. (see the first detailed lesson plan).

Organization--

Week One: Introduction to the I-Search Paper. Generate a list of people who have changed the world. Begin letting a topic choose you (something that you think needs to be researched and written). Discuss organization of research findings on notecards. Discuss proper documentation of primary and secondary sources. Make sure a topic has chosen you by the end of the week. Journal about that topic.

Week Two: Discuss the first part of the I-Search Paper, "What I already know about this topic. Discuss interviewing strategies for the primary research. Generate a list of primary sources to be used in research of your topic. Begin a draft of the first part of the paper. Choose a piece of literature written in the first person that you can read throughout the unit. Conference with the teacher about your topic. Process journal writing. Continued reading of first person literature.

Week Three: The "What I already know" part of the paper is due. Discuss the second part of the paper. "Why this topic chose me." Begin writing the second part of the paper. Debrief with small groups your primary research. At least one interview is due by the end of the week. Journal about your primary research. What went well, and what needs to be different for your next interview. Continued reading of first person literature.

Week Four: The "Why this topic chose me" part of the paper is due. Discussion of step three of the I-Search Paper "The Search." Begin changing your primary research to first person writing. Consult your first person literature to find strong first person writing. Make a short (2min) presentation to the class concerning the literature you are reading. Journal about why first person narrative is effective for this author. Debrief in small groups about your primary research. Your remaining primary research is due by the end of the week.

Week Five: Rough drafts of "The Search" part of the paper are due. Discuss the last part of the paper. "What I have learned or failed to learn as a result of my research." Generate in small groups any questions you have concerning your search. Bring them to your conference. Conference with the teacher about the search. Two days of small group editing.

Week Six: Rough drafts of part four is due along with the final versions of parts one, two and three. Meet with peer response groups. Exchange your I-Search papers. Each student will read and critique the papers of at least three other students. Meet with editing groups to finalize revisions that need to be made. Conference as a group with the teacher. The final I-Search is due at the end of the week. Each student will get five minutes of class time to present to the class the results of their search.

Detailed Plan of Three Days-- See attachment

Assessment Package-- Students will continue to work in their interview groups as they evaluate each other's I-Search papers. Each student will be required to obtain three signatures of other students who have read their papers and critiqued them. Students will look for errors in punctuation, grammar, spelling, etc. They will also make sure that the writer has used a strong first-person voice throughout the paper and incorporates the four parts of the search in the paper. Then each student will turn in the revisions that they have made along with the drafts that have their peers' comments on them. On the last day of the Unit students will write for 20 minutes about their experience with the four steps of the process, and how this project will help them change the world. They will also turn in one small paragraph explaining what they could have done differently with their paper.

Grading Rubric-- The students will be graded on a point system. 100 pts. are possible.

The I-Search paper is worth 70 points. It will be assessed its content. Did it include all four steps of the I-Search paper? It will be assessed on sources. Did the student use at least three primary sources? Are the student's sources properly documented? It will also be graded on mechanics. This includes grammar, punctuation, spelling, etc. Also, was it written in the form of a first person narrative?

Journals will be worth 15 points. Did the student keep a weekly process journal based on his/her progress? Are the required entries present (interview questions, entries about the four steps, entries about the reading) to show that time was used effectively?

First person literature presentation will be worth 10 points. Did the student read a work of literature written in the first person? Did the student make a short presentation to the class about that work and show how they will incorporate that style of writing into their paper?

The Final Presentation will be worth 5 points. Basically these are 5 free points. As long as the student uses five minutes to show the class something about their project, they get the points. It is a pat on the back.

Points will be taken off if: Assignments are late. One point per day for anything late. It adds up when there are only 100 points possible. The exception to this rule is the blue pass. It can only be used once.

Teacher Resources-- Macrorie, Ken. The I-Search Paper. Boynton, Cook, Heinemann Press; 1988. <