Grant Proposal Writing

Author: Steve Weaver

Grade Level: 8

Timeframe: The lesson will consist of two block class periods (90 minutes per block).

Lesson Description or Explanation

As part of a unit on persuasive writing, students will explore the idea of community involvement by coordinating a grant-writing proposal with a science class. The study will be based on an environmental assessment of an urban ecosystem in Marion County. The lesson outlined here will occur during the second week of the unit, and will involve students in the activities of creating preliminary reports based on collected data that will need to be categorized and analyzed, and then making a recommend proposal for a grant.

Indiana Curricular Standards

8.4.6 Use a computer to create documents by using word-processing skills and publishing programs, and develop simple databases and spreadsheets to manage information and prepare reports.
8.4.11 Identify topics, ask and evaluate questions, and develop ideas leading to inquiry, investigation and research.


ISTE Standards

Research and Information Fluency—Students apply digital tools to gather, evaluate, and use information. Students:

a. plan strategies to guide inquiry.
b. locate, organize, analyze, evaluate, synthesize, and ethically use information from a variety of sources and media.
c. evaluate and select information sources and digital tools based on the appropriateness to specific tasks.
d. process data and report results.

Critical Thinking, Problem Solving, and Decision Making—Students use critical thinking skills to plan and conduct research, manage projects, solve problems, and make informed decisions using appropriate digital tools and resources. Students:

a. identify and define authentic problems and significant questions for investigation.
b. plan and manage activities to develop a solution or complete a project.
c. collect and analyze data to identify solutions and/or make informed decisions.
d. use multiple processes and diverse perspectives to explore alternative solutions.

Assessments

Formative: Students will be assessed on their active participation in class, their contribution to the group as a whole, and through their ability to be self-critical of the data they collect and re-evaluate assumptions made at the beginning of the lesson, and draw conclusions based on what they find during their research.

Summative: Grades will be based on the end product that the class produces in the forms of spreadsheets and analytical reports based on the data they collect.

Prior Knowledge

Students will be expected to know the basic concepts of the scientific method, the differences between developing hypotheses and theories, and basic word-processing knowledge. They will also be expected to know how to perform basic computer-based inquiries and searches.

Technology

Students will need access to computers (either desktop or laptop models) with Internet access, as well as word-processing and data-processing software such as Microsoft Word and Microsoft Excel.

Internet resources:
http://www.epa.gov/ogd/recipient/tips.htm
http://www.jmu.edu/sponsprog/writingtips.html


Procedure
Day one:
• Students will begin class by dividing into small groups, each of which will be assigned to answer one of the following questions:
1. What overall conditions were remarkable about the ecosystem you studied?
2. What did you learn about the water quality?
3. What kind of wildlife do you think would use this habitat—and what kind of wildlife did you observe in this habitat?
4. What did you learn about the air quality?
5. What were the surrounding areas of the ecosystem like?
6. In what ways could the ecosystem be improved?
• Each group will enter their findings in an Excel spreadsheet.
• Each group will provide a short presentation to the class about how they answered their respective questions.
• Students will debate the merits of each group’s findings.
• The whole class will vote on what information to use in a preliminary report that will be the basis of their grant proposal.
• The information in the Excel spreadsheets will be amended, based on what information the whole class decided to add, delete or revise. The end product will form the basis of scientific information that the students will use in their grant proposal.

Day two:
• Students will be split into three groups. Each of the groups will be responsible for one of three in-class assignments:
1. Group one will perform online research to determine potential targets for the grant proposal.
2. Group two will perform online research to determine the best practices for writing a grant proposal.
3. Group three will perform online research to find examples of previously written grant proposals that are relevant to the lesson’s topic.
• Each group will provide a short presentation to the class to share their findings. As they are making their presentations, the instructor will compile a list of relevant data taken from the presentations.
• The instructor will provide a handout to each of the students at the end of class, summarizing the findings of each group.
• Students will engage in a whole-class discussion to create a rubric to help them judge what a successful grant proposal should contain.
• For a take-home assignment, students will be divided into groups of three. Each group will be responsible for writing a two-page mini grant proposal, using the both the information accumulated in the Excel spreadsheet from day one’s lesson and the information compiled in the handout they received. They will be informed that the rubric they created will be what the instructor uses to evaluate their proposals.
• Groups will be required to turn their papers in the following week to receive credit.
• Student names will be removed from each of the mini grant proposals, and the whole class will vote on which proposal they would like to use to represent the entire class for submission to a list of grant-providing entities.

Differentiated Instruction

ESL
ESL students could use any online translation tool they feel comfortable with. In addition, they could use a free 30-day trial version of a software program like Read Write Gold, which contains a “one-click online translator” that translates words into multiple languages and reads them out loud. I would also be willing to allow ESL students to write the deliverable portion of the assignment in their native tongue, and then use Read Write Gold on my own computer to translate what the students write into English so that I could grade what they submit.

Challenge/Extend
Any student who feels like he or she would like to take on the challenge of writing a grant proposal for a project or subject that’s important to them may do so. This proposal would be for extra credit—and it would be in addition to the proposal each student would turn in as part of his or her group. The proposal would be limited to a mini grant of no more than $500, and the student would be responsible for locating appropriate (and authentic) grant-providing sources that he or she could submit his or her grant proposal to.

Special Needs
Programs like Read Write Gold could also be used to help special needs students by providing them with the opportunity to have written documents read back to them (useful for any student who has a reading disability). Students with vision disabilities could use screen-magnification software such as ZoomText, Zoomware or any of several other software packages to increase the size of text and manipulate it in other ways to accommodate them.