English Grades 9 - 10

Common Core Standards Addressed

Key Ideas and Details
Cite strong and thorough textual evidence to
support analysis of what the text says explicitly as
well as inferences drawn from the text.

Gather relevant information from multiple

authoritative print and digital sources, using
advanced searches effectively; assess the usefulness
of each source in answering the research question;
integrate information into the text selectively to
maintain the flow of ideas, avoiding plagiarism and
following a standard format for citation.

Text types and purposes

Write
texts to examine and convey complex ideas,
concepts, and information clearly and accurately
through the effective selection, organization, and
analysis of content.

Draw evidence from literary or informational texts to

support analysis, reflection, and research.

Production and Distribution of Writing

Produce clear and coherent writing in which the
development, organization, and style are
appropriate to task, purpose, and audience.

Inquiry
Students make sense of the world around them
through asking focused, probing, and significant
questions that encourage inquiry around an issue of
personal, community, or global relevance.

Develop and strengthen writing as needed by

planning, revising, editing, rewriting, or trying a new
approach, focusing on addressing what is most
significant for a specific purpose and audience.
Use technology, including the Internet, to produce,
publish, and update individual or shared writing
products, taking advantage of technologys capacity
to link to other information and to display
information flexibly and dynamically.
Draw evidence from literary or informational texts to
support analysis, reflection, and research.
Conduct short as well as more sustained research
projects to answer a question (including a selfgenerated question) or solve a problem; narrow or
broaden the inquiry when appropriate; synthesize
multiple sources on the subject, demonstrating
understanding of the subject under investigation.

Vermont Global Citizenship

Graduation Proficiencies

Students analyze information to develop reasonable

explanations that support inquiry. In order to do
so, students will:
-Determine the validity and reliability of the
document or information.
-Propose solutions to problems based on
findings, and asking additional
questions.
Students communicate in ways that foster the
exchange of ideas in a democratic society by
soliciting and responding to feedback, and
examining issues from more than one perspective
to define and defend the rights and needs of others
in the community, nation, and world.
History
Students use historical inquiry, including the use of
primary and secondary sources, to gather
information about the past that will help them make
sense of the present and decisions about the
future.

An American Studies Project

Cabot School, 2015

PROJECT OVERVIEW

What are the effects of instances of persecution on individuals & groups, and how can we act against injustice today?

Sequence of Events

Project at a Glance
After studying the Salem witch trials, you
will work in a small group to research
another instance of persecution in U.S.
history. Topics include the internment of
Japanese Americans in World War II; the
Ku Klux Klan and other hate groups;
McCarthyism; cultural assimilation of
Native Americans; Islamophobia; the
child and family migrant crisis in United
States today.

CULMINATING PROJECT

EARLY ARTIFACTS OF LEARNING

Research notes using EasyBib

Create a documentary film that

Timeline of events relating to the instance of persecution

presents the essentials of the witch hunt

Writing to summarize the instance of persecution

speculates on the causes of the persecution: why

What happened?
Who was involved? (Oppressors, defenders,
targets)
Why did it happen?
What happened as a result? (The effects)
Writing to interpret the instance of persecution
What is the message for us in this instance of
persecution? (Example: The Salem witch trials
reveal the dangers of mob mentality.)

did this happen? What social, political and

psychological forces led to this?

examines the effects of the persecution

spotlights individuals who opposed the persecution

Documentary films will include

Narration
Still images
Interviews with community members and experts

You will use your knowledge to create a

short documentary film that relates the
causes for and effects of the instance of
persecution, spotlights those who
opposed it, and inspires viewers to take
action in their own lives.

MIDDLE ARTIFACTS OF LEARNING

Posters for a gallery exhibit about those who opposed
injustice relating
Interior and exterior monologues for people involved in
the focus topic

who have memories or knowledge of these topics

Together we will determine the best venue for an evening
event in which we display or work and show our films.