TPE 4: Making Content Accessible

In order to effectively engage students with the subject matter, it is highly important to put their content in their hands. Students must be accessed through a variation of means: visually, auditory, tactile, and kinesthetically. By making the content accessible through using these various entries will serve to be conducive to their academic reading and writing of the subjects. Once the students gain access to the vocabulary in area of content , they are able to use it effectively through their reading and writing. The attached lesson is an example in which I had aimed to engage the students with content through an expereince that would reflect in their writing. Since the students were going to study primary source documents by Christopher Colombus, and Bartolome de las Casas, and secondary sources by Howard Zinn, I wanted to give the students a variation from the text-heavy focus of the lesson. I decided that a debate would foster the the academic skills that I am working toward developing in them while appealing to their need of cooperative learning, kinesthetic activities, and visual aids. At the end of the last Unit, the students created presentations on pre-colombian civilizations, which led to focus of study in this particular lesson plan, which investigates the various view points of what happened during the "First Encounter" between Colombus and the Tainos. The group who presented the Taino civilization presented last as a segwey for this lesson, which is attached. The students presentations served as vital piece that built the prior-knowledge for this section, thus positioning the students as teachers as well as students. By co-teaching with the students, they communicate the content in a distinctive way that builds interest with their peers.

The debate between the student groups encourages the students to come up with the a best rationale that is well-articulated and concise. This activity appeals to the students competitive nature, and motivates them to apply their knowledge in a creative and imaginative way through the art of discourse. The students are must be able to anticipate their peers arguments to rebutte them effectively, which entails them to listen actively.