Engagement
PROBLEM-BASED LEARNING
IN SOCIAL STUDIES OR LANGUAGE ARTS
A Final Appeal
Inquiry
and
Investigation
Definition
The First Amendment
and To Kill a Mockingbird
April 2013
TEACHER MANUAL
Shelagh A. Gallagher
Dana L. Plowden
Resolution
Debriefing
Royal Fireworks Press
Unionville, New York
A Final Appeal is one of a series of Problem-Based Learning (PBL) units written for
the Fairfax County Public Schools (FCPS) Advanced Academics Program in Fairfax,
Virginia. Curriculum for the FCPS Advanced Academic Program is developed under
the supervision of the K-12 Advanced Academics Program Coordinator, Dr. Carol Horn.
The Advanced Academics Program Specialist, Anne Horak, served as the project manager for this initiative. The FCPS PBL curriculum project is the result of a collaborative effort among classroom teachers, administrators, and curriculum experts. We would
especially like to thank Christopher Summers for his participation in the early development and pilot test of A Final Appeal.
Dedicated to two great lawyers:
Kevin and James C. Gallagher
~ SG
Copyright © 2013, Royal Fireworks Publishing Co., Inc.
All rights reserved.
Royal Fireworks Press
First Avenue, PO Box 399
Unionville, NY 10988-0399
(845) 726-4444
fax: (845) 726-3824
email: [email protected]
website: rfwp.com
ISBN: 978-0-89824-730-5
Printed and bound in the United States of America using vegetable-based inks on acid-free, recycled paper and environmentally
friendly cover coatings by the Royal Fireworks Printing Co. of Unionville, New York.
Table of Contents
Engagement
Inquiry
and
Investigation
Definition
Resolution
Debriefing
Part I: Introduction to A Final Appeal.................................................2
Elements of Problem-Based Learning................................................3
Assessment: The Problem Log and Performance Rubrics..................4
Summary of Unit Activities, Assessments, and Generalizations........6
Alignment of A Final Appeal with National Curriculum Standards..7
Sample Schedules...............................................................................7
Part II: Preparing for A Final Appeal..................................................9
The Flow of the Problem..................................................................10
Content Background for Teachers....................................................11
Problem Narrative: The Storyline for A Final Appeal......................15
Preparing to Teach the Unit..............................................................19
Classroom Engagement Rubric........................................................21
Part III: Lesson Plans for A Final Appeal.........................................22
Problem Engagement........................................................................23
Tara Benson’s Case...................................................................24
Inquiry and Investigation..................................................................35
Evidentiary Packet....................................................................38
Precedents and Continuity........................................................43
Free Speech...............................................................................54
Problem Definition...........................................................................60
What Is Our Job?......................................................................61
Problem Resolution..........................................................................64
Analyzing Precedents................................................................65
Drawing Conclusions................................................................79
Writing the Decision.................................................................88
Problem Debriefing........................................................................103
Reflecting on the Judicial Process...........................................104
.
Appendix A: Kicker...........................................................................108
What’s in To Kill a Mockingbird?...........................................109
Appendix B: Internet Resources......................................................118
Appendix C: Classroom Guides for Problem-Based Learning.....122
Section 1: How to be an Effective PBL Teacher.....................123
Section 2: How to Manage the PBL Classroom.....................125
Section 3: How to Model and Coach for Deep Questioning..130
Section 4: How to Connect Problem Definition
and Problem Resolution.....................................................134
Appendix D: Alignment with National Curriculum Standards....136
Part I:
Introduction to
A Final Appeal
A Final Appeal Teacher Manual
2
Elements of Problem-Based Learning
The Ill-Structured Problem
Problem-Based Learning (PBL) is an inquiry-based model of curriculum and instruction that initiates
learning with an ill-structured problem that has been carefully constructed to guide students to a specific
topic in the core curriculum. The ill-structured problem engages students’ natural curiosity by drawing on
the power of storytelling. Intrigued by the problem, students ask questions that lead them into the study
of the core content area. Because the ill-structured problem is designed to encourage students to ask questions about important curricular content, teachers can focus on helping students acquire skills of gathering
and analyzing information. When used in a social studies curriculum, the ill-structured problem presents
a pivotal event, allowing students to experience the story that makes social studies fascinating.
The opening scenario introduces the ill-structured problem and sets the initial agenda for research.
Teachers who want to add to the story, refocus students, or introduce a new line of questioning can introduce a “kicker,” or twist in the plot, as the unit progresses.
The Stakeholder Role
During PBL, students are asked to consider the problem, as a class, from the perspective of a central
stakeholder. When properly handled, the stakeholder role helps students experience the habits of mind
used by people in different professions or living in different circumstances. In A Final Appeal, students
are required to think like appellate court justices whose job is to ensure that prior decisions have been
made in accordance with the law and to make a final decision. Seeking a solution that will work, they are
compelled to consider the problem from many different perspectives, seeing it from the point of view of
both the plaintiff and the defendant and in light of the Constitution. Teachers play an instrumental role in
making the problem come alive by encouraging students to stay in their role and requiring them to treat the
role more seriously than surface play acting. Evidence suggests that this immersion into learning experiences can enhance academic performance (Langer, 1990).
Teacher as Coach
Becoming an effective PBL coach takes time, support, and practice. This unit has been designed to
provide enough structure for novice PBL teachers to feel comfortable experimenting with PBL and to provide experienced PBL teachers with tools to use according to their classroom needs. Teachers are given a
legal background for the problem, which describes the structure of the court system and legal issues associated with the problem. A Problem Narrative is included to help teachers understand the storyline of the
problem from the first day to the final discussion. Lesson plans are included that will ensure that students
think analytically and reflectively. A specific emphasis is placed on conceptual reasoning. Teachers new
to PBL can use these resources as a way to create a scope and sequence of events and can take comfort
knowing that students will have a rich learning experience while engaging with core content. Teachers
who are comfortable with PBL are encouraged to use the resources as flexible tools rather than as a prescribed course of instruction.
Embedded Instruction in A Final Appeal
Critical Thinking. The unit incorporates not only traditional critical thinking activities, but also the
standards of good critical thinking and the dispositions of a good reasoner. Key question sets are included
as templates to encourage depth in classroom discussion; both the lessons and the Problem Log exercises
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A Final Appeal Teacher Manual
require students to use data to make reasonable inferences, discriminate between important and unimportant information, and ask specific, researchable questions. As always, students synthesize the information
they learn in order to create a specific problem definition.
Conceptual Reasoning. The National Council for the Social Studies (NCSS) has identified a set of 10
underlying themes that are crucial to understanding social studies. A Final Appeal provides materials and
experiences that allow teachers to follow NCSS standards for best practice in teaching about time, change,
and continuity, with a special emphasis on continuity. During the course of the unit, students are asked to
look at the interpretation of the First Amendment and how that interpretation is affected by precedent court
cases. They then determine whether and how those precedent cases apply to their current case.
Generalizations:
1. The Constitution and American system of justice are designed to support a predictable, equitable
social landscape.
2. American justice is built on precedent, a form of continuity.
3. Continuity does not suggest an absence of change; it suggests incremental, logical change.
4. Each new legal decision creates a shift in the chain of continuity.
Assessment:
The Problem Log and Performance Rubrics
A number of assessments are used to gather evidence of students’ understanding, analysis, and reflection about the problem. These are gathered in the Problem Log, a portfolio that shows students’ progress
through the problem. Assignments in the Problem Log take a variety of forms, including:
✦ S
ummaries. Summaries are used to gather knowledge about what students have learned or value
most about the information they are learning. The simple questions “What do you know about the
problem right now?” or “Summarize what we have learned in the problem today” give students a
chance to put diverse pieces of information together and provide a quick impression of whether or
not they are attending to important information.
✦ C
ritical Thinking Activities in Context. Students make inferences based on court cases, form
timelines, analyze existing evidence, distinguish between relevant and irrelevant information, and
build logical arguments.
✦ G
raphic Organizers. Graphic organizers are provided to help students put information together
and make it meaningful. Each of the graphic organizers achieves a slightly different goal: some
focus on identifying critical issues in the problem, others look at cause-and-effect relationships,
and still others are designed to have students consider different sides of the same issue.
✦ Conceptual Icon. Students use a paperclip chain as a symbol of continuity. Each precedent case
adds a link to the chain, building causal relationships between the current case and past decisions.
The chain, representing not only continuity but also strength, stability (mooring), and occasionally
restriction, casts a new light on the conversation about the role continuity plays in maintaining a set
of expectations for behavior among Americans.
✦ R
eflective Moments. Students’ growing awareness of the nature of the problem, their skills as
problem solvers, and their ability to remain flexible as the problem shifts and changes are all assessed through “Reflective Moments,” quick writing exercises that encourage students to contemA Final Appeal Teacher Manual
4
plate the nature of their learning during PBL. Choices are provided in the Reflective Moments to
allow for individualization.
Performance Rubrics
Rubrics are valuable tools, but they are most helpful when used conservatively. Ideally, rubrics introduce students to meaningful criteria for quality work. As students and teachers work with rubrics,
students begin to internalize the criteria, which should ultimately make the rubric obsolete. Overuse of
rubrics makes students dependent rather than independent.
Self-directed learning is integral to PBL. Assessment of written work is not adequate to capture the
development of this essential life skill, yet it is sometimes hard to communicate to students expectations
for behaviors associated with self-directed learning. The Classroom Engagement Rubric (p. 21) is a tool
designed to: (1) communicate expectations to students, (2) help students set their own goals for classroom
performance, and (3) assess students’ progress toward some dimensions of self-directed learning. The
Research Rubric (p. 58) helps define the expectations for making the most of time spent pursuing learning
issues. The Presentation Rubric (p. 101) guides students toward a successful presentation of the solution
to their problem.
Unit Summary
The Summary of Unit Activities, Assessments, and Generalizations on the following page provides
a synthesis of the activities, assessments, and conceptual generalizations in each lesson of the unit. The
Activities column shows whether students are building their knowledge base by actively working with
information, analyzing information using in-context activities or graphic organizers, extending their understanding by drawing conclusions about the situation they are facing, or making inferences about what
might work. The Assessment column indicates the level and type of thinking required for different assessment assignments. The Generalization column indicates which generalization(s) are the focus of each
lesson. Frequently, key questions for the lessons will lead directly to discussion of the generalization(s).
Langer, E. J. (1990). Minfulness. Reading, PA: DaCapo Books.
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A Final Appeal Teacher Manual
Building
Knowledge
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Active
Analysis
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1
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Reflective
Moment
Student Assessments
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Performance
Rubrics
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2
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3
Generalizations
Summary of Unit Activities, Assessments, and Generalizations
Class Activities
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Research/ Thinking
Analysis
Summaries in Context
Problem
Tara Benson’s Case
Engagement
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Extending
Understanding
Evidentiary Packet
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Precedents and Continuity
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Free Speech
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Inquiry and
Investigation
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Kicker: What’s in To Kill a
Mockingbird? (Optional)
What Is Our Job?
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Drawing Conclusions

Analyzing Precedents
Writing the Decision
Reflecting on the Judicial
Process


Problem
Definition
Problem
Resolution
Problem
Debriefing
The Constitution and American system of justice are designed to support a predictable, equitable social landscape.
American justice is built on precedent, a form of continuity.
Continuity does not suggest an absence of change; it suggests incremental, logical change.
Each new legal decision creates a shift in the chain of continuity.
Generalizations:
1.
2.
3.
4.
4


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A Final Appeal Teacher Manual
Alignment of A Final Appeal
with National Curriculum Standards
This PBL unit was designed for middle school and was pilot tested in several eighth-grade classrooms
in Fairfax County, Virginia. The unit was developed to meet regional and national middle school social
studies objectives. Charts in Appendix D show the alignment to the National Standards for Civics and
Government, the National Curriculum Standards for Social Studies from the National Council for Social
Studies, and selected objectives from the Common Core State Standards for Literacy in History/Social
Studies, Science, and Technical Subjects.
A Final Appeal can easily be adapted to meet Common Core standards for middle school language arts
or for high school social studies and language arts. Language arts standards are covered as students read
primary documents, compare differing perspectives on the problem, discuss issues with each other, and
write a final decision. Language arts also enters the problem through a kicker that leads students deeper
into To Kill a Mockingbird by questioning whether the themes presented in the novel are “matters of public
concern.”
Sample Schedules
The sample schedules presented on the following page outline two- and three-week plans for A Final
Appeal. First-time PBL teachers are encouraged to select one of these schedules and use it as a guide.
Teachers who have some experience with PBL should feel free to make modifications according to their
students’ needs or to accommodate further self-direction. While the integrity of the unit should be maintained, specific instructional strategies such as grouping, graphic organizers, or assessments can be substituted as necessary.
The two-week schedule is most practical for social studies teachers who are following a tight pacing
schedule. Two weeks may seem like a long time for many social studies teachers, but experience has
shown that students benefit from the depth provided in units like A Final Appeal. Students learn more
content and have the added benefit of increased engagement. The three-week schedule incorporates a little
more time for research and analysis and integrates To Kill a Mockingbird more thoroughly into the unit.
The three-week schedule may be appealing to language arts teachers, interdisciplinary programs, homeschool instructors, and summer or weekend programs. Language arts teachers may find that they achieve
enough Common Core standards to justify using the three-week schedule (see Appendix D). Social studies and language arts teachers could find time for the three-week schedule by team teaching or sharing
responsibilities across the two subject areas. Homeschool instructors tend to have more flexible schedules
and should follow the three-week schedule. A Final Appeal is an ideal unit for weekend or summer programs, which often can spend more time exploring a single topic in depth.
This unit benefits from many primary resources available on the Internet, including court cases that
act as precedents to the case, articles describing the reasons why To Kill a Mockingbird is sometimes considered controversial, and the rules of judicial procedure. Guest speakers such as lawyers, judges, school
administrators, or teachers could be invited to class to talk about different dimensions of the problem. The
unit could be followed by independent study projects investigating other problems in the interpretation of
the First Amendment, including the use of “fighting words,” investigation of banned books, or the study
of other amendments.
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A Final Appeal Teacher Manual
Sample Two-Week Schedule
Monday
Tuesday
Problem
Engagement
Wednesday
Inquiry and Investigation
Evidentiary Packet
Tara Benson’s
Case
Problem
Resolution
Problem
Resolution
Analyzing
Precedents
Analyzing
Precedents,
Drawing
Conclusions
Thursday
Friday
Inquiry and
Investigation
Problem
Definition
Precedents and
Continuity,
Free Speech
What Is Our Job?
Problem Resolution
Writing the Decision
Problem
Debriefing
Reflecting on the
Judicial Process
Note: Starting the two-week schedule on a Wednesday or Thursday would allow students the weekend to
work on their opinion at the end of the unit.
Sample Three-Week Schedule
Monday
Tuesday
Problem
Engagement
Inquiry and Investigation
Evidentiary Packet
Tara Benson’s
Case
Kicker!
Wednesday
Problem
Definition
What’s in To Kill a
Mockingbird?
What Is Our Job?
Problem Resolution
Writing the Decision
A Final Appeal Teacher Manual
Thursday
Friday
Inquiry and
Investigation
Kicker!
Precedents and
Continuity,
Free Speech
Problem Resolution
Analyzing Precedents
Problem
Resolution
Problem
Debriefing
Presentations
Reflecting on the
Judicial Process
8
What’s in To Kill a
Mockingbird?
Problem
Resolution
Drawing
Conclusions
Part II:
Preparing for
A Final Appeal
9
A Final Appeal Teacher Manual
The Flow of the Problem
Engagement
PBL progresses in phases: Problem Engagement, Inquiry and Investigation (with Problem Definition embedded), Problem Resolution,
and Problem Debriefing.
Problem Engagement. Students “meet” the problem with the presentation of the opening scenario. By the end of their exploration of
the opening scenario, students will have completed the Learning Issues
Board and will be prepared to engage in research.
Inquiry
and
Investigation
Definition
Inquiry and Investigation. Students gather answers to their questions on the Learning Issues Board using a variety of methods and resources. After completing their research, they analyze their data and
make connections between their research and the problem. Most of
the lessons in Inquiry and Investigation have no specific order; use the
materials flexibly based on your students’ readiness.
Problem Definition. Eventually, students will have acquired a
clearer understanding about the real nature of the problem. At this
point, they are ready to prepare a careful definition of their problem,
including both the issues they need to resolve and the constraints that
limit their options.
Resolution
Problem Resolution. Students develop options to solve the problem, or at least improve the situation. Often at this phase, students find
that there are several possible good ideas, but they aren’t all useful.
This helps students make an important transition from seeing solutions
as “right or wrong” to evaluating which are “better or worse” in the
current circumstances.
Problem Debriefing. Once the problem is resolved, students review their pathway through the problem, including the content they
learned and the way they came to think about various issues in the actual historical situation. As students reflect on what happened, they reinforce their content knowledge and also identify what practices helped
or hindered their progress.
Debriefing
A Final Appeal Teacher Manual
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