[Democracy to the Rescue] Grade 8/Unit 4

Argument/Opinion Digital Presentation

Overview: (Background, Description) The 8th Grade History course has focused on defining democracy and
citizenship through the lens of the United States citizen. Students have explored themes of gender inequality, racial
inequality, economic inequality, and immigration through the late 19th and early 20th century. As a final,
culminating activity, students will be asked to develop a student friendly digital resource that synthesizes their
learning from the course. This resource will reflect the students interpretation/claim from the time period and
center around the question: Did America make progress? It will combine independent research, in-class content,
both visual and written primary documents, and statistical analysis in order to create a comprehensive guide to the
course for future 8th graders. Additionally, students should consider the supporting question: Is our government
functioning the way it is supposed to? Students will be given a choice of mediums, including developing a web site,
creating a documentary video, and an electronic text book and resource guide.

Objective/Goal: Students will develop a student friendly digital resource for the next years 8th grade class that
synthesizes all of the work that they completed throughout the year. Students must develop an overarching
thesis/claim that defines the time period of the class within their chosen theme (gender inequality, racial
inequality, economic inequality, or immigration) and determine what evidence from class and their own research
to use to prove their thesis.

Directions/Procedure/Responsibilities: Student Tasks outlined by each lesson/stage in the project (without

being overly prescriptive and, thus, eliminating the rigor)

1. In Unit 2, students will select a theme that they are interested in and would like to explore throughout the course. (race
relations, immigration, women, or income inequality)
2. Research their theme in the Progressive era and write an informational paper about the impact (or lack thereof) of a
turning point related to their theme in the Progressive era (Unit 2)
3. Research their theme through the 20s and Great Depression. Write an argumentative paper that answers the question:
Was there Progress during this time period? (Unit 3)
4. Research their theme in WWII and the end of the 1940s. (Unit 4)
5. Synthesize information from all units to form a thesis/claim that answers the compelling question: Did America make
progress towards meeting the standards established by the Declaration of Independence and the US Constitution in the
first half of the 20th century?
6. Write overviews of each era, covering the main themes and ideas from the period that help to support the overall thesis.
7. Students gather primary source evidence, both visual and written, from each era to support the overall thesis
8. Students gather statistical data from at least one era to support the overall thesis
9. Students combine all materials into the medium of their choosing

21st Century Capacities: Using SWBAT, identify what students will be able to do...

Synthesizing: Students will be able to thoughtfully combine information/data/evidence, concepts, texts, and disciplines to draw conclusions,
create solutions, and/or verify generalizations for a given purpose.
Presentation: Students will be able to relay information and ideas to an authentic audience (other than the teacher) to promote collective
understanding.
 [Democracy to the Rescue] Grade 8/Unit 4

Single-Point Rubric for Democracy to the Rescue PBA

Above and Beyond Meets Expectations Needs Improvement

Product Creation
Student shares their interpretation of the progress that
America has made in their chosen theme and presents
it in an interactive, purposeful manner, adjusting style
and tone with consideration to audience. Student
attempts to engage audience and promote exchange of
ideas. The digital product is student friendly.

pts _____ / 8
Synthesizing

Student purposefully and thoughtfully combines

independent research, in-class content, visual and
written primary documents, historical and
contemporary information, and statistics to draw
meaningful conclusions, verify generalizations, and/or
create workable solutions that are well-supported.

The student will develop a thesis/claim which helps to

define democracy in America and answers the
question: Did we make progress?

pts _____ / 8
Elements of Research & Opinion/Argument
Writing

Clearly presented thesis/claim

Well supported argument and clear position, with
recognition/understanding of the larger overall
issue
Research and reference to the arguments
backstory (history, significance)
Effective transitions to link parts of the argument
and analyze evidence
Strong conclusion to reinforce the main point and
support for the claim
Effective organization
Sufficient and effective elaboration
Variety of relevant sources and standard format
for citation
Craft, Spelling, Punctuation, and Sentence
Structure
pts _____ / 8
Final grade and comments:

pts _____ / 20