Lois Lane: Interviewing Alter Egos

Lois Lane: Interviewing Alter-Egos

Author: Lauren Howey
Grade Level: 6th grade Language Arts
Timeframe: Four 50 minute class periods (this can be adapted to two or three 90 minute block periods as well)

Lesson Description or Explanation:

Students need to be able to create appropriate and useable questions in an interview and responses to questions. This unit is intended to inspire creativity while also teaching students the basics of interviewing. Students will create an alter-ego character and a visual representation of that character. They will get the chance to act like that character as their classmates interview them. Students will then use technology to publish newspaper articles about each other’s alter-egos.

Indiana Curricular Standards:
6.4.1 Discuss ideas for writing, keep a list of ideas or notebook of ideas, and use graphic organizers to plan writing.
6.4.10 Revise writing to improve the organization and consistency of ideas within and between paragraphs
6.5.7 Write for different purposes (information, persuasion, description) and to specific audience or person, adjusting tone and style as necessary.

ISTE Standards:
I. Basic Operations and Concepts
A. Students demonstrate a sound understanding of the nature and operation of technology systems.
B. Students are proficient in the use of technology.
III. Technology Productivity Tools
A. Students use technology tools to enhance learning, increase productivity, and promote creativity.
IV. Technology Communications Tools
A. Students use telecommunications to collaborate, publish, and interact with peers, experts, and other audiences.
VI. Technology Problem-solving and Decision-making Tools
A. Students use technology resources for solving problems and making informed decisions.

Assessments
Formative/Summative:

The teacher will assess from class discussions and observations how much prior knowledge that students possess about interviewing. The teacher will use that to scaffold students.
The teacher will also observe throughout all activities to assess student understanding.
The summative assessment is based on 1) the alter-ego that students create 2) participation and 3) the final product or story that students produce.

Prior Knowledge:

Curricular Knowledge or Skills: Students must be able to construct a paragraph or more of biographical information. They must be able to understand what makes a paragraph.
Technology Knowledge: Students will have to be able to use and operate a word processing software and the publishing software. Students must know how to type.

Technology:

Internet Resources: (please list URLs) http://www.highschooljournalism.org/Students/
http://www.englishcompanion.com/assignments/thinking/askingquestions.htm
http://www.questioning.org/Q7/toolkit.html

Hardware: worksheets, notebooks, pens, pencils, drawing paper, markers, colored pencils, Computers, Scanner

Software: Word processing software, publishing software like Microsoft Publisher or (preferably) Adobe InDesign

Procedure:

Day One:
Introduction/Anticipatory Set: Class will open with a video on YouTube of Clark Kent turning into Superman. The teacher asks every student to get into the role of a journalist.

Procedures:
Part 1: (5 minutes) Students are asked to define alter-ego. The class and teacher work together to define this term. Then, the class collects a list of famous alter-egos. The class works to compile a list of characteristics that alter-egos have.

Part 2: (10 minutes) The teacher plays a short slide show from Windows Movie Maker of alter-egos that students may or may not be familiar with like Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde.

Part 3: (30 minutes) Students work in their groups to create and draw their alter-egos. They write a paragraph describing their alter-ego in detail.


Day Two:
Introduction/Anticipatory Set: Students will enter the room as usual and see a “do now” writing assignment instead of their “daily fix-it”. This activity asks the class to describe in writing how their alter-egos deal with a conflict. Is it any different than how they would deal with it? How so? After 5 minutes, the teacher asks for students to share.

Procedures:
Part 1 (15 minutes) The teacher asks for students to share the alter-egos that they created on Friday. Then teacher presents her final alter-ego to the class.

Part 2 (20 minutes)
She then tells the students to take out their notebooks and make two columns on a blank piece of paper. The teacher asks students for questions that they would like to ask the teacher’s alter-ego. The leads the class in brainstorming questions for interviews. The students are asked to write questions in the first column of their notebooks. Students then research good interviewing skills online.

Day Three:
Part 1 (10 minutes) Students begin the class by reviewing good interviewing skills and the questions that they would like to ask.

Part 2 (15 minutes) The teacher divides students into pair groups. Students interview their partner’s alter-egos, taking turns and writing the responses in the second column of their notebooks.

Part 3 (25 minutes) Students continue to work in pairs but join another pair group to help each other write their paragraph stories on the alter-egos that they interviewed. The last 10 – 15 minutes will be dedicated to peer editing.

Day Four:
Part 1: Students will work in the computer lab to finish their story about their friend’s alter-ego and publish their story with software that achieves a newspaper layout look. Students will be asked to illustrate the page with their friend’s drawing that has been scanned into the computer by the teacher.

Differentiated Instruction:

ESL: English Language Learners can work together to interview each other in Spanish or their native language. A bilingual aide can work to guide a student’s understanding of the questioning process if an ELL must be paired with a fluent English speaker. Peer work and peer editing will work to help scaffold these students.

Challenge/Extend: Students can illustrate political cartoons or create other newspaper elements to accompany their stories. Students can also write as much as they want. If students finish early, the teacher can pose other questions like, “How would your alter-ego and the alter-ego you interviewed interact with each other in the same world if they had to be friends?” These students will also help their peers with peer editing and during the publishing step.

Special Needs: Students with special needs can expand on their drawings and create lists instead of writing paragraphs. These students can also create in-depth photo captions instead of a full story. Peer work and peer editing will work to help scaffold these students.