Julius Caesar Assassination Unit

Jo Ann Wahrman, Librarian

Sharon Palmquist, Teacher

Goodland High School

P O Box 509

Goodland, KS  67735

(785) 899-5656

jwahrman@usd352.k12.ks.us

 

 

 

Objectives:

1.      Students will demonstrate information locating, note taking, and bibliographical skills while researching biographical and historical resources in the library.

2.      Students will prepare a class presentation using PowerPoint.

3.      Students will demonstrate understanding of political assassinations in preparation for the reading of JULIUS CAESAR.

 

Outcomes:

            Students located material on people, took notes of information, made a bibliography of all sources used, organized the material and presented the organized information to the rest of the class in an oral presentation using PowerPoint. The assessment of the unit was based on a set of rubrics. This unit was completed in a two week time period. (We are on block schedule with classes meeting every other day.)  The students were grouped in pairs to do the research and presentation.

 

Planning Process:

            The teacher and librarian did collaborative planning and cooperative teaching of this unit based on the Big 6 research format by Eisenberg/Berkowitz.

·        Identify the task--Teacher and librarian involved in choosing the topic and people based on available materials and objectives of the unit. Students were assigned a person and their task was to use the 5 W's and H to learn the person's background, find out why this person was targeted, how the assassination was carried out, and what impact the person's death had on history.

·        Locate the sources--Librarian reviewed the card catalog, magazine databases, proper Internet use and brainstormed with students on the most appropriate materials for the project.

·        Find the information--Teacher asked students to read for details and to build on notetaking skills using information that was acceptable for the presentation.

·        Organize the material--Teacher and librarian helped students use notes; teacher explained a storyboard and oral skills; and the librarian demonstrated how to use PowerPoint.

·        Evaluation--Both were involved in developing the rubrics used to assess the project.  Daily team planning and teaching were a major part of the process. 

 

 

 

 

Assassination Victims

 

Cicero (43 B.C.)

 

Becket, Thomas  (1170)

 

James I, King of Scotland (1437)

 

Becket, Thomas (1170)

 

Lincoln, Abraham  (April 14, 1865)

 

Garfield, James (July 2, 1881    Died Sept 19)

 

Evers, Medgar (June 12, 1963)

 

Archduke Ferdinand (June 28, 1914)

 

Moro, Aldo (May 9, 1978)

 

Rasputin ( December 31, 1916)

 

Palme, Ololf (February 18, 1986)

 

Luxemburg, Rosa (January 15, 1919)

 

Zapata, Emiliano (April 10, 1919)

 

Pancho Villa (June 20, 1923)

 

Kirov, Sergei (December 1, 1934)

 

Long, Huey (1935)

 

Trotsky, Leon (August 20, 1940)

 

Gandhi, Mohandas (January 30, 1948)

 

Trujillo, Rafael (May 30, 1961)

 

Kennedy, John F. (November 22, 1963)

 

Malcolm X or Malcolm Little (February 21, 1965)

 

Verwoerd, Henrik (September, 1966)

 

King, Martin Luther Jr (April 4, 1968)

 

Kennedy, Robert F (June 5, 1968)

 

King Faisal of Saudi Arabia (March 1975)

 

Park Chun Hee  (October 26, 1979)

 

Sadat, Anwar (October 1981)

 

Lennon, John  (December 8, 1980)

 

Gemayel, Bashir (September 14, 1982)

 

Aquino, Benigno (August 21, 1983)

 

Gandhi, Indiria (October 31, 1984)

 

Wazir, Khalil (April 16, 1988)

 

Guevara, Ernesto “Che” (1967)

 

Rabin, Yitzhak (November, 1995)

 

Kahane, Meir (1990)

 

Bibliography Listing        Date: Mon, Apr 12, 1999 

                                              

364.1 ASSa

Assassinations. Richmond, Virginia: Time-Life Books, [1994].

 

CD 300

CD 011. World Encyclopedia of Assassinations. Power CD.

 

 

R 909.82 GRE

Great Events. Pasadena, CA: Salem Press, Inc, [1992].

 

 

943.6 CAS

Cassels, Lavender. The archduke and the assassin : Sarajevo, June 28th 1914. New

   York: Stein and Day, [19851984].  

 

364 CRI

Crimes and punishment, 8 volume set. Marshall Cavendish C, [1985].

 

 

364.1 S

Sifakis, Carl. Encyclopedia of assassinations. New York: Facts on File, [1991].

 

 

Encyclopedia of World Biography, 17 Vol set.  McGraw Hill. 1998

 

Also use US History books; Time-Life This Fabulous Century set; 20th Century Almanacs; Day-by-Day series; Timetables of History, Current Biography; Dictionary of American Biography.

 

 

 

Have another saying up in the computer lab:

 

Although the library’s computers are capable of seeing many wondrous sites in the world, look not upon the lascivious or unscholarly among them, not print endless reams of things of which those who pay your bills would not approve.

 

 

 

Manley’s Law of Photocopying:

 

Two-thirds of all material copied never gets read. The other one-third gets read, but not retained.

 

Moral of the law:

If you can’t photocopy it, you read it and take notes.  The note taking stimulates understanding and retention.

 

 

 

 

 

NOTETAKING WORKSHEET

 

RESEARCH ACTIVITY—VICTIMS OF ASSASSINATION

 

WHAT?                                                                                              Person assassinated

 


WHEN?

 


WHO?                                                                        Name/identification of assassins

 


WHERE?

 


HOW? {Details of the assassination itself}

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

WHY?  {Cause(s) Motive(s)}

 

 

 

 

 

BACKGROUND OF VICTIM {His/her importance, country, position}

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

EFFECTS {On others, on history, consequences of victim’s death}

 

 

 

 

 

SOURCES WORKSHEET

 

ASSASSINATION VICTIM                                                                                                           Date of Assassination:

 

Locate several sources of information for your victim’s assassination.  For recent assassinations, Reader’s Guide and some CD-ROMS will help you locate material in magazines.  In the reference section, check the Dictionary of American Biography,  Encyclopedia of World Biography  and Encyclopedia of Assassinations.

 

List the sources you locate. *Star sources located using the computer and identify the software program used.

 

Type of Reference                 Title or Headline                    Date                Pages              Publisher & City            Computer Program

 

1.

 

 

2.

 

 

3.

 

Internet Citations:

            Basic Style: Author’s last name, First name.  “Title of Site”,  Full http address. Date of Visit.

   EXAMPLE: Jones, John. “Effects of Assassination through History.” http://www.history.com/assassinations. November 15, 1999.

 

            Author                         Title                                        http address                                                                Date

 

1. 

 

2. 

 

 

Assassination Project                                                                                                    Group Members _______________________

            English 10                                                                                                                                             ______________________

PREPARATION RUBRIC

 

 

                                    Excellent                                   Satisfactory                              Unsatisfactory                           Evaluation

 

 


Locating Sources       Demonstrates library skills to locate        Demonstrates some library skills, but       Demonstrates minimal library skills.

                                 material independently in time allowed.  may not finish in  time allowed.                               Makes little progress in time allowed.

(20 Points)                               

                Locates more than required number of     Locates required number of sources,         Locates less than required number of

                                                sources from a variety of references.        but some types of references not                              sources from only one or two types of                            

                                                                                explored                                                   references.

 

                All citation information noted.                                Most citation information noted.                            Little or no citation information noted.

 

                                                                15-20                                                       10-14                                                       0-9

 


Notetaking/Script        Includes all relevant facts.                 Includes most of relevant facts.                                Incomplete facts.

   (20 points)    

                 Clear, easily understood.                   Vague, meaning sometimes uncertain.      Difficult to understand.

                       

                 Written in own words.                             Mostly in own words, some copied.          Copied.

                                                15-20                                           10-14                                         0-9

 

 


Storyboard/                Accurate & meets all requirements.            Accurate but only partial requirements met.           Inaccurate and/or incomplete.

Documentation                         (5 W's & H).

(20 Points)                   Logical organization.                                              Acceptable organization.                          Weak organization.

                               

 Effect on history is clear.                        Effect on history partially explained.       Effect on history omitted.

                               

                Documentation always correct                 Documentation mostly correct.                               Documentation incorrect.

                                                                15-20                                                       10-14                                                       0-9

 


Assassination Project                                                                                                    Group Members _______________________

English 10                                                                                                                                                         ______________________

PRESENTATION RUBRIC

 

                                    Excellent                                   Satisfactory                                          Unsatisfactory                           Evaluation

 


Speaking Skills                      Good eye contact; refers to notes                             Limited eye contact. Some material read                  Little or no eye contact.

(10 Points)                   sparingly.                                                from notes.

                                    Speaks loudly, slowly, and distinctly.        Must be asked to speak up or repeat once.                                Speaks softly, mumbles.               

                                                Shows expression in voice.                       Matter-of-fact tone of voice.                                    Voice sounds monotonous.

                                                Very few or no distracting mannerisms.    Some minor distracting mannerisms.                        Obvious distracting mannerisms.

 

                                                8-10                                                       6-7                                            0-5

 

 


Power Point Slides     All computer functions* learned and        Most computer functions* completed                      Computer functions* completed with

   (20 points)                 carried out independently.                        with occasional help from teacher or                       frequent help from teacher or peer.

                                                Font style and size, lines of text are         peer.                                                                        Font style and size, lines of  text are

easy to read and follow.                            Font style and size, lines of text require                   difficult to read and follow.                                     

                                                Information presented in an                     some explanation to read and follow.                       Information poorly arranged; shows

                                                interesting and creative manner.                              Information is interesting and neat;                         little planning.

                                                Graphic(s) clarify the topic.                     shows evidence of planning.                                     Graphic(s) distract from topic.

                                                Text is free of mechanical errors.                            Graphic(s) require explanation to understand.           Text contains more than two noticeable

                                                                                    Text contains one or two minor errors.                   errors.

                                                                15-20                                                       10-14                                                                       0-9

 

 


Collaboration of                     Both  team members share equally in       One team member does most of the                         One team member does little or no

Team                           steps of the process.                                 preparatory work, while the other does less.                             preparatory work or speaking during

(10 points)                        Both share speaking responsibilities         One does most, though not all, of the                      the presentation.

                                                during the presentation.                           speaking during presentation.  

                                    .

                                                                8-10                                                                         6-7                                                           0-5

 

 

 

 


*Computer functions:  slide construction, background colors, text formatting, inserting clip art, scanned pictures, and/or pictures imported from the Internet, slide transitions, etc.