Newscast
Late Westward Expansion
1877-1900
What is this?
In place of a traditional multiple choice test, the Late Westward Expansion unit will be evaluated through a collaborative effort that will result in a 10-12 minute news broadcast or documentary about the West. Your group is expected to cover Native Americans, farmers, women settlers, and cowboy. The specific terms, concepts and ideas are the objectives for the unit listed below and handed out to you yesterday.
How am I supposed to do this?
In the past, groups have chosen specific roles like that of a newscaster who narrates and helps transition the stories along. Other group members take turns being interviewers and interviewees. For example, one group member interviews Sitting Bull about how the US government is treating Native Americans and Sitting Bull explains Sand Creek Massacre and Little Big Horn etc. Scripts should be memorized. A note card reminder is allowed but there is no reading line for line off a script.
Where can I get information for this?
Information is for the video is to come from in-class notes and materials, the textbook, and reliable OUTSIDE information like the DHS Library Databases.
Do I have to dress up?
Dressing up is required. An interviewer should like he/she is at a job and dress like a professional. A farmer who is being interviewed may be chewing on a piece of grass and have a straw hat. Props are highly welcomed as well.
Can this be comedic?
A short blooper reel at the end of your video is acceptable, but as for the project itself these are to be serious interviews. You are allowed to creative and adlib, however, groups in the past that choose to focus more on comedy and less on the material found the quality of their information and therefore their grade suffered.
When is this due?
Tuesday-Friday of this week will be a combination of teacher directed lesson plans, ie.) guided notes, and some in-class time to research and meet with your group. It is expected that you will meet outside class time for this project to help create a more finished, well polished product. The news broadcast is to be preformed for the class on Monday May 4th or a completed video is to be shown to the class on the 4th.
What needs to be explained in the broadcast?
Late Westward Expansion Objectives
- Analyze the causes of the continuing westward expansion of the American people after the Civil War and the impact of this migration on the Indians
- Native Americans: Sand Creek Massacre, Sitting Bull, Little Big Horn, Assimilation, Dawes Act, Wounded Knee, Great Die Up
- Farmers: Homestead Act, Buffalo Bill, Soddies, Bonanza Farms, the Grange, Populists.
- Describe the culture of the Plains Indians
- Describe the daily life of cowboys
- Describe the role women played in the settlement of the West.
- List the problems farmers faced in settling the plains and the western United States.
How will I be graded?
This will count as a 100 point test grade. You will be individually given a grade, despite working in a group. You will be evaluated by the teacher as well as evaluated by the peers in your group on the following rubric:
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Warning:
While videos are fun, technology can sometimes fail us. You are welcome to present off of my laptop and use the infocus projector, however, I may not have the most updated media players. If your group chooses to do a video, I highly recommend that you first test whether your technology is compatible with my computer. Don’t assume because I have Windows Media Player that it will automatically work. Test it first! I would also recommend bringing in the laptop you edited on as a backup to show your work. You will work too hard and too long on this project to have technology fail you the day of the presentations. You will lose 10 points for each day that you do not present, regardless of whether it is human or computer error.
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