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Wikipedia: Fantastic Places in the USA Assignment and Using AI for Student Revision
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Activity Description
In this activity, students will use the Internet to select or are assigned to find information about a fantastic place in the USA, such as a national park or monument, take notes, and create a visual aide (a Word document or PowerPoint with images). Students will then copy/paste their assignment into an AI application for revision and edit suggestions. As a class the revisions are weighed, discussed, examined and determined it they are useful or not. Discuss the value of AI.
Preparation
- Make sure that the Example Web Site (above) or other Web sites you have students use for the project, are not blocked at your school site. Become familiar with how to use the search and browse functions so you can assist students.
- Teach present and past passive (it was formed by, built by, discovered in, etc.).
- Include an introductory reading about interesting monuments, parks, or landmarks in the USA.
- Download and be prepared to show the example of a completed assignment (Example Document - Fantastic Places USA Sample Completed Assignment). You could also prepare a PowerPoint as an alternate example presentation.
- Use an LLM (AI such as ChatGPT) in revising a document. You can practice with the FantasticPlacesUSAExample document. Each time you submit the document, you will get different revisions. Also be aware that the reading level may change. You can ask for a fourth/fifth grade reading level if that is better for your class. Demonstarte this. It can be quite useful if students are asked to read something that is above their own reading level.
How-To
- Tell students that they are going to use the Internet to gather information about a "fantastic place" in the USA and to practice reading and speaking using present and past passive, including the following:
- What the place or site is named?
- Where it is located?
- How and when it was formed? or How and when it was built and by whom? or How and when it was discovered and by whom?
- Interesting facts
- How or what it is used for or by how many people it is visited today?
- Assign students (individually or in pairs) a place, or show a list of potential places and let them choose.
- Show students a sample of what is expected of them (see sample of "Fantastic Places in the USA").
- In a computer lab, have students use Wikipedia (see Example Web Site, above) (or Google and other sites). Go to the Wikipedia site and in the Search box, enter the place name.
- Demonstrate how to locate the needed information. Students can take notes.
- Have students open MS Word or other word-processing program and enter a heading and title. Tell students to type in the information they found and insert two or three images (including a map showing the location of the place). Students save their files and share with the teacher.
- Use AI to assist in the revision/edit of student assignments.
- Print (color preferably) and/or project students' work. or Have students present their "fantastic places" in small groups or in front of the whole class.
Teacher Tips
- Wikipedia may be used, but students can also be assigned to use Simple English Wikipedia if the language level is too high at Wikipedia. Also, a general search for the place on Google will take them to the main Web page for well-known locations in the USA.
- In order get students to the Web site, you can make it a Favorite or Bookmark the site on each computer browser, e-mail them the link, e-mail a word processing document with the link in it, or post the link on your class Web page.
Program Areas
- ESL: English as a Second Language
- ABE: Adult Basic Education
- ASE: High School Diploma
Levels
- Intermediate High
- Advanced
- Intermediate
- High
Lesson Plan
Pose the question: Where do you go for vacations? As partners discuss favorite vacation spots. Share as a class.
One favorite spot to vacation is national parks. Share with you partner if you have gone to a national or state park. Which ones? (you can have slides of the parks or bookmark them to show the students)
There are eleven in California including, Joshua Tree National Park, Pinnacles National Park, Yosemite National Park, Sequoia National Park, Channel Islands National Park, Redwood National and State Parks, Death Valley National Park, Kings Canyon National Park, Lassen Volcanic National Park, Ansel Adams Wilderness, and Prairie Creek Redwoods State Park. Which ones have you been to?
What types of things would you enjoy doing at these parks? As partners, join another pair (making four) and discuss what you might do on a family or friends outing to a national park. Share with the class
For this assignment as pairs, students will make a fact sheet of a national park. (show the example created by Kristi Reyes of Devil's Tower in northeaster Wyoming. Include
- What the place or site is named?
- Where it is located?
- How and when it was formed? or HOw and when it was built and by whom? or How and when it was discovered and by whom?
- Interesting facts
- How or what is is used for or by homw many people is it visited today?
Demonstrate the Widipedia List of areas in the United States Ntional Park System. Scroll down the list. Let students select one and shw the various sections of the article which may include, History, Designation as a National Park, Geography, Climate, Flora and fauna, Human History, Recreation etc.
Get with your partner and decide which park you would like to learn about. Mark on the board which parks are chosen so there will be no duplicates
In pairs, students go to the Wikipedia List of areas in the United States National Park System. Each park is linked to a webarticle. Take notes on the needed information for your assignment.
Create a Googe Doc or Microsoft Word Document. Type in the information about the park and include two or three images including a map showing the location of the place. Be sure to include a title and your names. Share your file with another pair and peer review each other's document. Look for places you were confused, wanted to know more information. Go back to your own document and consider revisions. Turn this assignment digitally by sharing the document with your teacher: Fantastic Places in the USA assignment.
Part 2 of the Assignment: Using an LLM (Large Language Model) to suggest revisions and edits for student work.
Decide which LLM to use based on ease of access for students: As of 2024 the list includes: ChatGPT, Perplexity, Microsoft CoPilot, Google Gemini, Claude, Pi. Practice using it to be able to model to students effectively.
Demonstrate using the LLM by copy/pasting the example assignment into the LLM. As a class take a look at the suggestions. If possible split the screen so students can see the example assignment along side the LLM suggestions. Discuss, as a class the suggestions strengths, weaknesses, likes, dislikes, improvements or not. This is a great opportunity for students to experience an AI program and discover its strengths and limitations.
Student pairs copy/past their assignment into an LLM. Draw a line at the end of the assignment. Copy/paste the LLM's suggested edits at below the line at the end of the assignment sheet.
Together, pairs evaluate the suggestions. Do they want to include the suggestions? Why or why not? Draw another line at the bottom of the assignment. Below the line copy/paste your newly revised assignment. (include whatever edits you decided to use, or not use) At the very end of the assignment draw another line, together write a paragraph about your experience using AI as an editor of your assignment. Share the assignment with the teacher.
Gather the class. Share the final assignments. Have each pair explain the revisions they made and why.
As a class, discuss the newly revised assignments. What are the strengths and weaknesses of using AI?
Two applications:
Use the information from the class to plan a family vacation to a state or national park.
Discussion: What are ways AI is used? (translations, answering questions, coding, virtual assistant, market research, search and recommendations, education etc) How will you be able to use AI ?
Documents
- FantasticPlacesUSAExample.docx - Fantastic Places USA Sample Completed Assignment
- FantasticPlacesUSAExample.pdf - Accessible PDF
Subjects
- English Language Arts
- English 1-4
- Journalism
- Language Arts - Writing
- Organization of Ideas
- Writing Conventions
Standards
- Reading Foundational Skills
- RF.4 - Read with sufficient accuracy and fluency to support comprehension. (Fluency)
- Reading
- CCR Anchor 1 - Read closely to determine what the text says explicitly and to make logical inferences from it; cite specific textual evidence when writing or speaking to support conclusions drawn from the text.
- CCR Anchor 4 - Interpret words and phrases as they are used in a text, including determining technical, connotative, and figurative meanings, and analyze how specific word choices shape meaning or tone.
- 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 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 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.
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