This week's lesson centers on writing an argument, but also involves analyzing point of view, selecting relevant evidence, and using contextual information.  The lesson makes use of an external web site called Zoom In! (not to be confused with the videoconferencing site we use for virtual class meetings).

After reading primary and secondary source documents that discuss both the hardships and opportunities provided by employment in textile mills, you will take a position on whether or not working in textile factories was worth it for young women. In a five-paragraph argumentative essay, you will defend your position using evidence from the documents.

Although there is a rubric embedded in the writing portion of this lesson, about half of your grade for this exercise consists of the completeness of and critical thinking reflected in your notes and responses to questions in the lesson. 

DIRECTIONS:

Go to zoomin.edc.org

Sign up as a Student.

Use the following Student Code: CrimsonNorway963

This will take you to our class to our only lesson: The Lowell Mill Girls and America's First Factories

LESSON ORGANIZATION

The landing page for the lesson provides an overview of the whole lesson.  Please read it.

The lesson should take the equivalent of a couple of class periods to complete the whole thing.  The lesson web pages will walk you through five parts of the lesson, prompting you to answer questions, record notes, and draft an essay (which can be seen in a navigable menu bar that spans the top of your screen):

1. Hook
2. Context
3. Documents
4. Connect
5. Writing

1. HOOK

The Hook is a little like one of our F2F warm-up exercise questions.  Even though it raises a question that you are not required to record (there is no text entry box on screen):

• please consider the question and how you would articulate a response.
  • I encourage you to jot your response on your own note paper or type it into a separate Word document.
    • Your thoughts at the beginning of the lesson may help later in the writing phase.

2. CONTEXT

Each of the first five pages in the Context section raises “Think About It” questions.

• As with the Hook, you are not required to record answers to any of these questions (there are no text entry boxes on screen), but:
  • please consider the questions and how you would articulate responses.
    • And again, I strongly encourage you to jot your responses on paper or type them into a separate document.
      • These will help you later in the writing phase.

The final page in this section, Review Context: Lowell Mill Girls, poses two questions that you apply the prior Context pages.

• On this page you should record notes using the feature provided by the web site.
  • First, you must select one of the thumbnail pictures of the Context pages that appear vertically about mid-screen.
    • A thumbnail picture for the Context page on Young Women's Life on the Family Farm does not appear, however.
  • Then go to the right side of screen and locate the green “Add note” button.
    • That takes you to a little text box to enter your responses to the two Review Context questions in relation to that Context.
    • Click on the green “Save note” button.
  • Repeat for each thumbnail pictured Context page.
  • Even though the Young Women's Life on the Family Farm page does not have a notes box, I encourage you to jot your own notes of how you would answer the two questions for this page.
• When done with note taking, click the brown “Next section” button.

3.  DOCUMENTS

There are four documents in the Documents pages: there are two secondary sources and two primary sources.

For each document, there are several pages of questions for you to answer and tasks for you to complete on the web site itself related to:

• Sourcing – on these pages, don’t forget to use scroll bar along right margin of “Source It” questions!
  • There are a couple more questions that you cannot see unless you scroll down!
• Close Reading—you are always prompted to answer using your own words.
• Evidence Gathering – on these pages you highlight portions of the documents themselves in response to posted question(s) and record notes.

1. 1. Locate a phrase or sentence in the document itself that serves to answer the question posed in the upper right of the screen.
   2. Highlight the phrase or sentence—the web site uses green to highlight.
   3. When the green “Add note” button appears near your highlighted text, click on that.
   4. In the text box that appears, you will see:
      • your highlighted text in quotation marks
      • a form of question posted in upper right of main screen
      • a text box for your answer
        • • Use your own words to explain how the quotation serves to answer the question.
      • another question: Which side does this support?
        • • Click which side your quotation supports—you can only choose one at a time.
            • • If you think the same quotation can be used to support each side, then you will have to go through these steps twice and just select the other side; the web site will save both notes and will not overwrite the first with the second.

• Identifying the Big Idea– on this page, you may need to use scroll bar along right margin to see all the prompts that you must answer.

The last page for each document raises “Think About It” questions.

• As before with the Hook and Context sections, you are not required to record answers to these questions (there are no text entry boxes on screen).  However:
• please consider the questions and how you would articulate responses.
• And again, I still encourage you to jot your responses on paper or type them into a separate document.
• These will help you later in the writing phase.

4. CONNECT

This page first prompts you to discuss with your class, but I am not requiring that.  If you want to discuss the questions and lesson, you can:

• reach out to each other individually if you have a classmate’s contact information.
• use the Student-to-Student Discussion board (you can find this HIST1301.MK2 with Professor Cathleen Akers module or Discussions in the menu on left side of page).
• request a virtual meeting with me (and we can invite other students to join if you're okay with that).
• email me in Canvas or cakers@collin.edu

Or you can just ponder all this on your own.  It’s up to you.

This page also displays what you wrote for your Big Idea answers for each document.  It also links you back to the document pages and the other answers you wrote on those.

When you are ready to move on to the next section, you must use the horizontal menu bar at the top of the screen to get to the Writing section.

5. WRITING

The landing page for the Writing section provides an outline for you to fill in; the outline frames the lesson’s writing task (i.e.,  Write a four-paragraph explanatory essay in which you describe how farmers joined together and used direct action to try to improve their conditions during the Great Depression.)

To complete the outline, type what you want to say and/or copy/paste bits from the notes you have taken throughout the lesson (accessed by clicking green “My Notes” button in upper right of screen).

• Although you cannot change the order of the outline, you can work on parts of it in whatever order you want. Just click on the portion you want to call up that text box.
• Don’t forget to click green “Save and next” buttons as you go.

When you finish your outline, scroll to bottom of screen to click on the green “Read and Revise” button.

On the Read and Revise page, the main screen displays what you have completed so far; using the mini graphics button menu below the lesson question and above the graph paper, you can toggle between outline view and paragraph view; you can also download your work as text.

On that same page on the right side of the screen is the “Essay Rubric” in the first of a two-part self-assessment.  The first part asks you in checkbox format to identify what you think you did well so far; use the scroll bar along right margin of rubric elements to see them all. There is a total of six elements in the rubric. 

When you click the green “Next” button for the second part, you identify what you think you need to improve on.  There are green buttons for “Back”—to return to revisions—and “Done Revising”—to take you to submission page called Draft Complete.

On the Draft Complete page, you can again review your draft or your outline.  But when you are ready to submit, click the green “Submit to Teacher” button.  That deposits your draft and your notes in my spot for our class on the web site.

SUBMIT IN CANVAS

But you are not quite done yet!  To signal to me in Canvas that you submitted your draft on the other web site, return to this Canvas assignment and copy and paste the URL of your Draft Complete page as your submission for this assignment. (At this writing, I don’t know if this is going to work, but we’ll try it!)