Becoming Engaged with a Topic

Units of Study Information Writing Session 1

Connection

• Informational writing is writing to teach — you are teaching others about a topic on which you have expertise.
• In this unit, you will:
• use writing to become activists — teach people about your topic and recruit/rally them to join you in making a difference
• make a website to house a multimedia product you’ve created to teach others about your topic

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Learning Target

• When studying a topic as a writer, I can take in information AND put out responses (the process is like breathing — breathe in/out, study and write).

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Teaching

• In the real world, when you go to learn about a topic, you can’t always find a published summary of the whole topic. Instead, you end up being like an archaeologist, piecing together shards to reconstruct an ancient civilization.
• When you start to learn about a topic, it helps to start with what you already know.

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Teaching

• What is activism? In what ways was Martin Luther King, Jr. an activist? Jot down your thinking fast and furiously.

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Teaching

• Activists see problems in the world and, instead of sitting on the sidelines, they take action.
• Some, like Martin Luther King, Jr., inspire followers.
• Here is another activist, Malala Yousafzai — take as much notes as you can about her as you watch the video

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Teaching

Malala

• Pakistani 16-year-old targeted by the Taliban — shot — but still alive
• “Became symbol”
• 2 gunmen shot her when she was on way home from school (in an open-air bus that looks like a truck, w/benches)
• bullet into her head, missed her brain
• father is a teacher
• she has started a movement — people chanting, writing, marching
• from hospital in England, “I want to serve the people. I want every girl, every child to be educated.”

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Teaching

notes continued...

• setting up Malala Fund to help educate girls — 32 million girls not in school

The important thing about this is that even after Malala was targeted and shot for speaking out about girls’ education, she kept right on doing that. She has even set up a fund to help girls. Also, she is only 16 but people throughout the world are listening to her.

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Active Engagement

• Thinking about the note-taking process, come up with some tips you can share with others.
• Compare yours with your group’s and consolidate a list.

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Chart — Power-Learning and Note-Taking

• Write fast!
• Record important facts (exact names, places, numbers).
• Capture quotes and, if possible, the context in which they were said.
• Note what is said and what you see.
• Record your ideas as well as information.
• Use thought prompts:
• “The important thing about this is…”
• “This makes me think…”

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Chart — Power-Learning and Note-Taking

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• “The extraordinary thing about this is...”
• “The message I learn from this (story/topic/person) is…”

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Link

• Use everything you just learned about power-learning and try note-taking on this video about the teen activist Alex Lin.
• Swap information you took in your notes with your partner. Maybe you caught some information that your partner didn’t!
• As you continue to research a topic of interest the next few days, think, “What is it I want to teach others about this topic? What do others need most to know?”

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Link

• Remember the rhythm as you continue collecting information — study, write, study, write.

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Conferring and Small-Group Work

• Helpful pointers as you take notes while you research:
• Use annotation strategies
• Use graphic organizers to help chunk the information into easily-processed chunks

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Mid-Workshop Teaching

• Lists are usually best if they contain no more than five bits of information. If you are listing information and your list becomes really long, it helps to chunk the list into subsections and categories.
• Sometimes people make venn diagrams or charts of information. A boxes-and-bullets structure works well for the information on Malala.

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Mid-Workshop Teaching

• Pakistani 16-year-old targeted by the Taliban — shot — but still alive
• 2 gunmen shot her when she was on way home from school (in an open-air bus that looks like a truck, w/benches)
• bullet into her head, missed her brain
• refused to die

• from hospital in England, “I want to serve the people. I want every girl, every child to be educated.”
• setting up Malala Fund to help educate girls — 32 million girls not in school
• fighting for the rights of others all over the world

• “Became symbol”
• She has started a movement — people chanting, writing, marching
• Even after she was targeted for advocating for girls’ education, she continues to do it

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What Happened to Malala

What Malala is Fighting For

What Makes Malala Special

Chart — Power-Learning and Note-Taking

• Write fast!
• Record important facts (exact names, places, numbers).
• Capture quotes and, if possible, the context in which they were said.
• Note what is said and what you see.
• Record your ideas as well as information.
• Use thought prompts:
• “The important thing about this is…”
• “This makes me think…”

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Chart — Power-Learning and Note-Taking

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• “The extraordinary thing about this is...”
• “The message I learn from this (story/topic/person) is…”
• Pause early to organize information (use boxes-and-bullets, charts).

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Share

• Sometimes paying attention to the interviewer or anyone learning about an important person can help add layers of learning to your research.
• Studying the reaction of others and the impact someone has on another person helps add more information to your note-taking and understanding.
• What was Jon Stewart’s reaction to Malala during his interview?

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Session 1 Homework

• Continue your research and decide on a topic for your My Place in This Changing World Project

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