Simulation Materials Enlarged country maps. Internet resources for visuals when students doing illustrated maps?

Make copies! Simulation Timeline Introduction to your Country: PSSA afternoons, before my takeover starts 1. Class (10 mins): Introduce the idea of a country study. Two-sentence survey. M Follow up with students who do not have family resources make a plan to interview a friends family or use the library or I-Pad resources to research another country. (Encourage all students to do this as well.) 2. Class (20 minutes): T Introduce family survey and model using it. Send home the survey form for students to use with families to gather articles and information. (See Appendix.) Set deadline. 3. Class (10 minutes): W Collect completed interviews. Brief student sharing. Remind students about deadline. 4. Class (10 minutes) Th Collect completed interviews. Brief student sharing. Tell students they can get partial credit for completing assignment for the next day. Prep: Give students complete/incomplete grades Make poster-sized country maps Charts of facts on each country (make these more or less ambitious) Download songs on laptop Arrange students in groups (country or region). In grouping, take into consideration their special knowledge of countries (Moll), a balance of more and less assertive personalities (Joyce and Weil), racial/ethnic demographics, and sociogram results. I will look for students who know a lot about the country who do not often get the chance to play expert in the class and assign them to their country of expertise. Most students, however, will be scrambled. The groups will make the country maps and act out the simulation as members of that country. 5. Class (1 hour) M With ceremony (and a prep to head off griping), regroup students into country groups that will act out the countries in the simulation. Give them the surveys and books other students have gathered. Let them know they will make an illustrated map of their country (see attached worksheet). Assign each group a facilitator and give them a list of jobs. Model how not to do this. Pay attention to group dynamics. Intervene as needed (ie. new facilitator). When they have a plan and bring it to me, they get their poster-sized map and materials. As groups work, play their songs.

6. Class (45 minutes) T Groups finish maps. 7. Class: W Group Work Formative Assessment As a class, make a rubric for group work. Consider: respectful talk, shared work, everyone having a voice, getting things done. 8. Class: Th Grade your group based on the rubric. What could you do to move up in the next assignment? (This was just practice, but the next group grade will count as part of your grade.) Prep: Assign a leader for the simulation based on the analysis 9. Class: F Fun Friday in your country (snacks from your country) Anticipating student response and my possible responses 1. Students do not complete interviews. 2. Students do not have enough material. 3. G. often refuses to work in groups. J. and M. often create conflict in groups.