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Creative Problem Solving


Lesson Plan
ELA
7
150+
Gina Ceely

Instructional Unit Content


Standard(s)/Element(s)
Content Area Standard
ELACC7RI3: Analyze the interactions between individuals, events, and ideas in a text (e.g.,
how ideas influence individuals or events, or how individuals influence ideas or events).
ELACC7W1: Write arguments to support claims with clear reasons and relevant evidence.
a. Introduce claim(s), acknowledge alternate or opposing claims, and organize the reasons
and evidence logically.
b. Support claim(s) with logical reasoning and relevant evidence, using accurate, credible
sources and demonstrating an understanding of the topic or text.
SS7H2 The student will analyze continuity and change in Southwest Asia (Middle East)
leading to the 21st century.
a. Explain how European partitioning in the Middle East after the breakup of the Ottoman
Empire led to regional conflict.
b. Explain the historical reasons for the establishment of the modern State of Israel in 1948;
include the Jewish religious connection to the land, the Holocaust, anti-Semitism, and
Zionism in Europe.
c. Describe how land and religion are reasons for continuing conflicts in the Middle East.

TAG Standards
Advanced Communication Skills:
3. The student creates products and/or presentations that synthesize information from diverse
sources and communicate expertise to a variety of authentic audiences.
Advanced Research Skills

2. The student formulates original and appropriate questions to test the limits of an existing
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body of knowledge.
3. The student uses concepts within and across disciplines to develop valid hypotheses,
thesis statements, or alternative interpretations of data.
6. The student develops and uses systematic procedures for recording and organizing
information.
Creative Thinking and Creative Problem-Solving
5. The student develops original ideas, presentations, or products through synthesis
and evaluation.
Higher Order Critical Thinking Skills
1. The student asks probing, insightful, and relevant questions.
2. The student responds to questions with supporting information that reflects in-depth
knowledge of a topic.
3. The student conducts comparisons using criteria.
4. The student makes and evaluates decisions using criteria.
5. The student predicts probable consequences of decisions.
Summary/Overview: During this lesson, students will be learning the history behind the current
tensions in the Middle East with regards to the land surrounding Palestine. Students will
investigate the various problems facing citizens and policy makers for the region, propose
solutions, evaluate the probably effectiveness of these solutions using criteria, and then be able to
strongly support one proposed solution based upon his or her analysis.
Enduring Understanding(s):
nationalism
political tensions
problem solving using criteria
Essential Question(s):
In what ways do our words impact others? With this lesson students will address our EQ
and standards by investigating multiple problems that face the citizens of the Middle East. He or
she will be analyzing the impact that words/claims/promises have had on creating the current
situation, as well as using his or her own words to propose and support a solution. When
proposing this solution, he or she will be asked to analyze the impact that words have, can, and
will have on policies made in the region.
Concepts to Maintain:
nationalism
political tensions
problem solving using criteria
impact of word choice-whether reading or writing
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Evidence of Learning:
What the students should know:
how European partitioning in the Middle East after the breakup of the Ottoman
Empire led to regional conflict.
the historical reasons for the establishment of the modern State of Israel in 1948, including
the Jewish religious connection to the land
how land and religion are reasons for continuing conflicts in the Middle East
words play an important role in both creating and solving problems
What the students should be able to do:
read and analyze a text (identifying the problems)
create a problem statement
brainstorm possible solutions for this problem
establish logical and sound criteria for evaluating possible solutions
develop an action plan for implementing the strongest solution
write persuasively using strong verbiage to support claims
Procedure(s):
Phase 1: Hook-Guided Imagery
1. Students will be asked to be quiet and close their eyes. The teacher will read the Guided
Imagery passage. Students will be asked to visualize themselves in Hyaats (narrators)
situation. The Guided Imagery is a summary and passage from a book that we will be reading
in class. This activity serves as a hook for both the decision making lesson and the book.
2. After reading the passage, conduct a brief discussion of the essential question: In what ways
do our words impact others? Invite students to share their supported opinions with the class
regarding the impact the words of the Guided Imagery passage had on them. Students may
touch on the imagery itself, or they may bring up the feelings the passage evokessympathy/empathy for Hyaat and her grandmother
Phase 2: Acquiring Content
1. Hand out the mess worksheet entitled, Israeli and Arab Conflict. Ask students to read
through this piece, which will give them a detailed outline of the problems facing the Jewish and
Arabian citizens living in and around Palestine. For differentiation, the teacher should sit with a
group of struggling readers and read the passage together and engage in checks for
comprehension through discussion and questioning.
2. When students are finished reading, they should recopy the facts onto the worksheet entitled,
CPS Step 1: Fact Finding. Next, the teacher will model and work with the students to create the
questions at the bottom of the page.
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3. Next, students will be placed into groups. For differentiation, the teacher will group based on
creativity vs. practicality, placing a combination of creative thinkers and more practical thinkers
within the same group. The reasoning behind this being that the creative thinkers may be more
willing and/or able to spit out a combination of ideas, and the practical thinkers may be able to
fine-tune some of the more elaborate or outrageous ideas that they would not have come up with
themselves. However, first students must work as a group to brainstorm all of the possible
problems that are presented in the mess. Students should do this brainstorming on the worksheet
entitled, CPS Step 2: Problem finding. At the bottom, students are asked to work together as a
group to come up with a problem statement. Talk students through this process, as well as
writing this template on the board:
How might______(noun-Who?) _____(verb action) so that ____________________.
4. Once students have created and shared their problem statements with the class, students will
be asked to come with as many ideas for solving the problem as possible within ten minutes.
They are to write down every idea, no matter how ludicrous. Students will complete this
brainstorming on the worksheet entitled, CPS Step 3: Idea Finding. Teacher should emphasize
that this is not a time to praise or condemn ideas; they should merely copy every idea down.
5. Next, groups must narrow their ideas to five. After students have narrowed down their choices
to what they believe is their best five, they will write these choices into the worksheet entitled,
CPS Step 4: Solution Finding. The teacher should model this process for the student the first
time.
6. The teacher should then hold a discussion about choosing criteria that is important to
achieving your goal. The teacher will use an analogy here to demonstrate which criteria are
more essential and useful and which is not.
7. After modeling this process and filling in the organizer with our mock criteria, students will
work within their groups to come up with a set of their own criteria. They should fill in their
graphic organizers with these criteria.
8. Next, model the process of evaluating choices based upon criteria for students. Demonstrate
for the students the process of looking at each individual choice again one criterion at a time and
assigning it a point value on whether it is the best, worst, or somewhere-in-between choice.
Students will complete this for each of their criteria and then subtotal the categories. This will
give a numerical total to the students, which should support one of the choices being a more
valid and logical solution. This also allows students to better support their arguments for which
of the solutions would be a good idea and why other choices werent quite as solid.
Phase 3:
1. As a group, students should work to complete the worksheet entitled, CPS Step 5: Acceptance
Finding. This worksheet asks the group to develop an action plan for implementing the solution
they found to be most valid or strong. Students will be asked to include the following: who

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should be involved, a timeline, and a way to evaluate the success or appropriateness. The teacher
may need to guide/facilitate this process with some or all groups.
Summarizing Activity:
1. Individually, students will take what theyve learned and create a persuasive speech, wherein
he or she addresses the U.N. (or other applicable party depending on their solution) offering
and/or defending his or her proposed solution for the ongoing Israeli/Arab conflict.
Ticket out the Door: Shapely Review
1. Give students a copy of the Shapely Review and ask them to complete it as a Ticket out the
Door. I have added one area to the shapely review, wherein I ask the students to discuss our EQ
by addressing the following: How the words of others played a starring role in this conflict?
featured in the star shape.
Differentiation:
Small teacher-assisted group for better understanding during initial reading of passages
Flexible grouping based upon creativity/practicality for more creative/realistic solutions
Resource(s):
Anchor Texts:
Where the Streets had Names by Randa Abdel-Fattah (summary and excerpt Guided Imagery)we will actually be reading this novel in class. It is written by a Palestinian author and makes the
current living conditions of individuals, even those the same age as my students, more relatable,
while still including very factual details.
Technology:
Handouts:
The Mess: Israeli and Arab Conflict
CPS Step 1: Fact Finding
CPS Step 2: Problem Finding
CPS Step 3: Idea Finding
CPS Step 4: Solution Finding
CPS Step 5: Acceptance Finding

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