Unit+1+-+Modern+Issues+Project

= **Living in a Global Society: Modern Issues* Project** = **(*Issues regarding: Identity, Belonging/Exclusion, Perspective and Community)**

Living in a constantly changing and expanding society, we are more interconnected with others than ever in Human History. How we define ourselves and our place within this constantly expanding and overlapping world culture is a hard task. Millions of people today are dealing with important issues that are happening on a large scale, and as global citizens, we need to be aware and reflective with in these issues.
 * "So what???" **

__Objective__: Understand, explore and thoughtfully examine a modern-day global problem (regarding identity) that is happening in the world today and contextualize it for themselves.

__Instructions__: Basic Steps in this Project:
 * 1) Brainstorm ideas of good inquiry questions regarding modern issues of identity.
 * 2) Select one topic, begin collecting data and background information in a research document.
 * 3) Design a literary nonfiction piece that describes creatively "A Day in the Life of..", peer-evaluate and create several drafts.

__ RESEARCH (PHASE 1) __
__ **Day 1 - Think: Model / Brainstorming** __ : What's a good topic? 1. We will need to do some pre-investigative work by looking into various categories within the larger one of identity. Step 1. See this Folder in Google Docs to look at my examples of different characteristics of identity. Step 2. As a class, we will put all our ideas on small posters of issues we found at home. Step 3. In pairs, choose one (or two posters, if you have time) of these categories and go look for more information in order to formulate three possible questions/ideas that others had. Step 4. Then in pairs, place these questions directly into the class doc, and embed at least one online resource into the text for each example. (Be sure that your link can give you an informed perspective and more in-depth look of this issue.. but it's not too narrow/general!)

__ **Day 2 - Peer-revise class topics** __ Step 5. Evaluate other peoples' questions. Are they too general or too specific? Let's review as a class and edit, if necessary. Be sure that your question isn't TOO broad or too narrow, .. make sure that the group of people is SPECIFIC and the issue is SPECIFIC, too!

(Use these comparisons to understand...)

"What's it like being a woman in China?" vs. "How is life fundamentally different for Chinese women from the city versus from the country?"

"How is disease hurting people?" vs. "How is HIV affecting Asian-Pacific transgenders?")

"How is social media changing relationships?" vs. "How is the FB 'status' tool affecting teen relationships?"

__ **Prepare: Decide on MY OWN Topic** __ Step 6. Now, it's time for you to create your __ own __ question to explore for this project! Once you've chosen a particular identity topic, put your name in the box on the [|7A list] and [|7B list].

__ **Day 3 - Research: Understanding the problem** __ Step 1. The teacher will model her [|example] of note-taking, explaining how she collected information for her inquiry question, and why she chose that information. Step 2. You begin your own deep research, and show what you're discovering (and where!) in this note-taking ! ** (re-name as: Lastname.MInotes.doc) **

// TIPS: Look for DIVERSE types of resources that you can investigate with. (This means: CAPOW!!! ---documentaries, news articles, interviews, academic studies/polls, etc.) //

// You will want to be gearing your search towards questions like: // // *Where does this issue come from? (What bigger, outside factors are contributing to this issue?) // // *Why is this happening now? Are there varying opinions about why this happens? // // *Who is involved in this issue? Is there a specific case/example I want to focus on? // // *Where is this problem being discussed? How to different people react to this in different places? Why? // // *Which aspects of identity are being challenged or changed in this issue? Give examples from different sources. // // *How does this reflect growing trends or changes in the world, in general? // // *What does this have to do with us? Why is this important for us to know about and understand? What can it teach us? //

Step 3. __ Regroup __ : Present your notes to your teacher, talk what you've learned so far with your peers, and get new ideas and suggestions about what you're still missing so you can find more info to answer more questions.

// (Keep in mind, if you have/haven't already gotten __5__ MLA sources, you __ still __ need to find: 1) a first-hand account of being a part of this issue, (quotes, interviews, documentaries/movie, or case-study) and 2) some statistics that support your research.)  //

__ LITERARY NON-FICTION STORY: A DAY IN THE LIFE OF.. (PHASE 2) __
**Task**: To creative a narrative that incorporates at least one of the __themes__ from Unit 1 (//identity, community, belonging and perspective//) and also addresses two or three essential unit questions. This must be presented through a digital format that lasts from 3-5 minutes. The **Final Product** is a __series__ of smaller steps:
 * 1) Create a Visual Portrait of Story (VPS) to map out the story plot.
 * 2) Write a first draft of the written narrative of the story.
 * 3) Record an audio reading of the narrative.
 * 4) Listen to narrative, share with peers for final revision and wiki publication.
 * 5) [[file:sis7humanities/CitingSources.doc|Cite]] __all__ sources used.
 * 6) Compose a 3-paragraph reflection for the students blog.