ENGLISH LANGUAGE ARTS RESOURCES

LANGUAGE ARTS :: SECONDARY RESOURCES :: RIGHT DIRECTION 2 :: SURVIVAL GUIDE

SURVIVAL GUIDE

Planning Points

Approximate Time Needed: 3 days, not including presentations
Correlation to English I SCS: 2.01, 2.03, 4.01, 6.01
Correlation to NC High School Exit Exam Competencies: C1, C3, C6, C7, PI11, PI12, PI13, PI14, PS15, PS16

Lesson Objectives

- The primary objectives of this lesson are to:

Have students learn basic survival skills for a harsh environment
Develop student research skills and ability to complete research within a team
Develop student speaking/presenting skills
Allow students to express artistic creativity through Survival Guide
Have students understand expectations as laid out in grading rubric

Materials Needed:

List of Internet and print resources focusing on survival in extreme conditions
Names of outfitting companies that focus on extreme adventure
Internet access
Encyclopedia of plants found in wilderness (not mandatory, but helpful)
A model of a student survival guide for display (not mandatory,but helpful)

Description:

After reading Lord of the Flies by William Golding, students read the assignment sheet outlining the project for groups of 3-4 people (see attached). Discuss the assignment and expectations with students.
After 2 days in the Media Center for research, students have 4-5 days to put the project together. On the due date groups present their project to the class, with a speech of 2-3.5 minutes. Each person in the group needs to present.
Following the presentation, the group submits the project.

Assessment:

See attached rubric

Additional Notes:

Students of different ability levels all have loved this project. Students this year (2000) seemed more excited than normal due to the success of the television show "Survivor"! Students may be restricted environments similar to the island found in Lord of the Flies or allowed to select others, such as the North Pole or a desert.

A few websites are listed below. Due to the changing nature and content of webpages, teachers should review these websites before sharing them with students.

http://www.equipped.org(equipped to survive gear)
http://www.cpcbsa.org/volunteerservice/guidetosafescoutingvs/index.php(Guide to Safe Scouting)
http://boss-inc.com (Boulder Outdoor Survival School)
http://www.survivalinstinct.com(Outdoor Survival Gear)
http://www.hikercentral.com/survival (Survival Links)
http://www.safetystore.com/survival.asp

Teacher's Notes:

Survival Guide Project

In a group of 3-4, you are going to develop a manual that describes the essentials needed for survival in a foreign or hostile environment. It should give suggestions for and explanations of strategies, equipment, and supplies based on your research.

Your research should include both print and internet exploration of your region's environment and of equipment, supplies and strategies needed to survive. Your group should create a manual with a creative cover, table of contents, illustrations, and text describing the elements of survival. As a technical document, the manual will report and/or convey information logically and correctly, offer detailed and accurate specifications, include examples to aid comprehension (e.g., troubleshooting guide) and anticipate readers' problems, mistakes, and misunderstandings. The final guide does not have to be any specific size or number of pages; however it must include all the information listed above. The names of the group members should appear on the inside of the back cover of the manual.

Survival Guide Grading Rubric

	Use of Sources	Content	Appearance	Presentation	Presentation Writing Conventions
4	Shows use of information from at least 4 sources. Group must use at least 1 print and 1 media related source.	All questions regarding survival are clearly answered with examples given and the process of how to survive is explained.	Survival manual includes both hand drawn and/or media driven graphics. Front and back cover are laminated. All topics covered is clearly separated from others.	Each member presents an equal amount of information, speaks clearly with a strong vocal level. Group elaborates on graphics and info in guide. Few audible pauses, smooth pacing, good eye contact.	Manual shows excellent writing conventions. All sources are properly cited on inside of back cover. Fewer than 4 grammar or spelling mistakes.
3	Shows use of information from at least 3 sources. Group must use at least 1 print and 1 media related source.	All questions regarding survival are answered with examples given and the process of how to survive is explained.	Survival manual includes hand drawn and/or media driven graphics. Front and back cover are laminated. All topics covered are separated from others.	Each group member presents information and speaks with a strong vocal level. Some elaboration on graphics and content is apparent. Few audible pauses, adequate pacing, eye contact.	Manual shows good writing conventions. All sources are properly cited on inside of back cover. Fewer than 6 grammar or spelling mistakes.
2	Shows use of information from at least 2 sources. Group must use at least 1 print and 1 media related source.	Most questions regarding survival are answered. Some examples are given and the process of how to survive is explained.	Survival manual includes either hand drawn or media driven graphics. No lamination. All topics covered are separated from others	Each group member presents information and speaks with a fairly strong vocal level. Little or no elaboration on graphics and content. Audible pauses are frequent, eye contact is minimal.	Manual shows adequate writing conventions. Citations of sources shown on inside of back cover, but have minor errors in format. Fewer than 10 grammar or spelling mistakes.
1	Shows use of at least 1 source, either print or media related.	Few questions regarding survival answered. Few examples given and the process of how to survive not adequately explained.	Survival manual includes graphics that add nothing to overall manual. No lamination. Topics are not separated from others.	Each group member may present information. Vocal levels vary among members. Members give little or no elaboration on content. Audible pauses are frequent. Little or no eye contact.	Manual shows inadequate writing conventions. Sources appear on inside of back cover but are not properly cited. 10 or more grammar or spelling mistakes.
0	Does not show use of any source.	None of the survival questions are answered. No examples are given, and the process of how to survive is not explained.	Survival manual does not include graphics. No lamination. Topics are not separated.	Each group member may present information. Vocal levels are predominantly quiet. No elaboration on content. Several audible pauses. Little or no eye contact.	Manual shows no awareness of writing conventions. No sources are listed. Frequent grammar and spelling mistakes.

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