Essay Writing, Using AI in Editing: Working the Web for Education - Tom March - Critical Thinking

Details

Activity Description

In this activity, students are shown a video called “What in the World… History Compressed” and then later asked to write about it. The emphasis is on critical thinking. The Web site contains videos, political cartoons, and pictures that encourage students to think critically.

Screenshot of Working the Web for Education - Tom March - Critical Thinking

Preparation

1. Make sure that the site is not blocked at your school and that the activity can be viewed.
2. Read through the lesson plan.
3. Preview the video and questions.
4. Decide which LLM to use based on ease of access for students: ChatGPT, Perplexity, Microsoft CoPilot, Google Gemini, Claude, Pi. Practice using it to be able to model to students effectively.

How-To

1. Explain to your students that you will show them a video. For this lesson, use the Our Story in Two Minutes. 
2. Let them know that they will write about it later.
3. You may want to show the movie 2 or 3 times in this activity.
4. After watching for the first time, let students jot down their thoughts.
5. Let students share their thoughts in an open discussion.
6. Make a list of similar thoughts in a white board.
7. Ask student pairs to watch the movie again and then write an essay about it.
8. There is no right or wrong answer here. The important lesson is the critical thinking process created by the movie and the discussion.

More Ways

The Web site contains videos, political cartoons, and pictures that encourage students to think critically. Check out other activities.

Program Areas

• ABE: Adult Basic Education
• ESL: English as a Second Language
• ASE: High School Diploma

Levels

• High
• Intermediate
• Intermediate High
• Advanced

Lesson Plan

Subjects

• Language Arts - Reading
  • Comprehension
  • Inference and Interpretation
• Language Arts - Writing
  • Organization of Ideas
  • Writing Conventions
• Reading
  • Critical Thinking/Decision Making
  • Vocabulary
• Reasoning Through Language Arts
  • Essays
• Writing
  • Basic Sentences
  • Paragraph Skills

Standards

• Reading
  • CCR Anchor 7 - Integrate and evaluate content presented in diverse media and formats, including visually and quantitatively, as well as in words.
• Writing
  • CCR Anchor 2 - Write informative/explanatory texts to examine and convey complex ideas and information clearly and accurately through the effective selection, organization, and analysis of content.
  • CCR Anchor 4 - Produce clear and coherent writing in which the development, organization, and style are appropriate to task, purpose, and audience.
  • CCR Anchor 6 - Use technology, including the Internet, to produce and publish writing and to interact and collaborate with others.
• Speaking and Listening
  • CCR Anchor 1 - Prepare for and participate effectively in a range of conversations and collaborations with diverse partners, building on others’ ideas and expressing their own clearly and persuasively.
  • CCR Anchor 2 - Integrate and evaluate information presented in diverse media and formats, including visually, quantitatively, and orally.
  • CCR Anchor 4 - Present information, findings, and supporting evidence such that listeners can follow the line of reasoning and the organization, development, and style are appropriate to task, purpose, and audience.
• Language
  • CCR Anchor 1 - Demonstrate command of the conventions of English grammar and usage when writing or speaking.
  • CCR Anchor 2 - Demonstrate command of the conventions of English capitalization, punctuation, and spelling when writing.
  • CCR Anchor 3 - Apply knowledge of language to understand how language functions in different contexts, to make effective choices for meaning or style, and to comprehend more fully when reading or listening.

Tags

Tools

Conditions

Standard YouTube terms for watching the video on YouTube

AI Reference

ChatGPT used in brainstorming lesson plan