Name: Anna Morisani

Title of lesson: Contractor vs. Community Debate

Date of lesson:

Length of lesson: 1 week for research and debate organization, 2 days for the debate itself

Description of the class: Students are working towards an understanding of aquifers and their relevance to society, through the development of a neighborhood to preserve aquifer purity.

Name of course: Project Based Instruction: Aquifers

Grade level: High school 9-12

Honors or regular: Regular

Source of the lesson:

TEKS addressed:

(This does not really apply to the proposed lesson.)

I. Overview:

The students will be divided into two groups. One half will be acting as a construction company wanting to build a shopping center near a recharge zone for the Edwards Aquifer. The other group will be a group from the community who opposes this construction.

II. Performance or learner outcomes

The students will have experience in understanding the policy behind construction of a small shopping center. This will aide them in the completion of their final project, a proposal for a neighborhood near an aquifer.

III. Resources, materials and supplies needed:

The students will be looking up the material they need on the internet (they will be given a list of helpful websites), as well as looking at articles provided for them by the teacher.

IV. Supplementary materials, handouts. There will be a handout of helpful websites given to the students to lead them to the information they will need.

Five-E Organization

Teacher Does Probing Questions Student Does

Engage:  Show a magazine or newspaper article from a case in which a community and contracting company are battling over a piece of land. The students will have a town hall style meeting in which each group will present their information in a pseudo-debate.

How important is it that each group (community/construction company) has their say?

Explore: Group 1: Contractor This group must provide proof as to how they are constructing this in the safest way possible. Group 2: A community group that opposes the construction. They must show why the contractor should not be allowed to build in this specific site.

Group 1: Students must investigate safe construction practices, and how they are implemented. Group 2: Must investigate the way in which other activist groups have gone about this in similar situations

Students have their lists of internet resources, and will be provided with a “library” of articles to use as well.

Explain: The teacher will give only limited explanation. This is a chance for the students to investigate the beaurocracy/safe construction practices that is an aspect of their final project.

Students will have a week in which they can look up the needed information and prepare their arguments

Extend / Elaborate:

The teacher will check on the student’s progress at the end of their research week. This will assure they have the proper material to present in the debate.

Evaluate: Students will be evaluated on the content of their material as well as their ability to get their point across

Students will be asked to turn a copy of their resources used.