Teen Issues: Multigenre Research Project

This unit is designed to appeal to adolescents' inquiry into the social issues amongst them. Students select a relevant teen issue and create a five-piece research-based multigenre project. I include a structures unit plan with objectives; project requirements, ideas, and rubrics; handouts to guide them through the process of Internet-based research; and a post-assignment self-assessment for students to complete at the end of the unit. This was one of the most successful units at my diverse, low-achieving school--students felt like they were in charge of their learning, and I felt that indeed they WERE learning necessary information literacy and social awareness skills for their twenty-first century lives. (Teacher-author: Stephanie Gronholz)