Using AI, it’s remarkably easy to perform tasks that would have seemed impossible just a few years ago. This assignment tries to help you see ways that you can effectively leverage AI tools while still keeping the advantages of a meat-based writer.
Submit your Modified Story at the end of each Unit in Google Classroom.
Once your AI co-writer generates a new year of the story based on your research submissions, your primary role shifts to that of a Lead Editor. While the AI is great at drafting a narrative, it often misses the "human" side of history: the subtle ways that the world stays the same or the personal ways it falls apart. To make your story feel authentic and meet the success criteria for this assignment, you should look at every AI-generated draft through two specific lenses: Continuity and Change, and Cause and Consequence. Your goal is to "anchor" the AI’s imagination in the historical reality you’ve been researching in your Media Logs.
When looking for Continuity and Change, remember that history isn't just a series of explosions and new inventions. Even during massive shifts like a World War or a pandemic, people still have to do the dishes, care for their pets, and maintain family traditions. Read through your AI draft: did the AI make everything different? If so, your job is to add a detail about something that stayed the same. Perhaps your character uses the same worn-out family recipe for Sunday dinner that their grandmother used twenty years prior, or they still walk the same route to school even as the buildings around them change. Using details from your research to show these small moments of "continuity" make your character’s world feel lived-in and real.
When it comes to Cause and Consequence, you want to look for the "ripple effects" of the historical events you've researched. The AI might write that "times were tough," but as the historian, you need to show how they were tough. If your research showed that a specific factory closed in your character's town (the Cause), don't just let the AI say they were poor. Instead, use your research to show the specific Consequence: maybe your character now has to walk three miles to save a nickel on bus fare, or perhaps they’ve noticed their parents whispering behind closed doors about the rent. By connecting these dots, you show a deeper understanding of how global events actually landed on the doorsteps of everyday people.
Before you submit, please complete the Pre-Submission Self-Assessment.
a copy of your Modified Story (at the end of each Unit)
We are learning to:
Understand what life was like during the period in question
Make connections between different events and see the interconnectedness of the world
Use modern tools to communicate efficiently and effectively
I can:
Identify the most important trends and events from the period being studied in the story
Ensure events occurring to the character are reasonable and help readers understand the “essence” of the period
| Category | Level 4 | Level 3 | Level 2 | Level 1 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Thinking / Inquiring | Student has formulated and investigated excellent questions that effectively combine their story and their historical interests | Student has formulated and investigated questions that effectively combine their story and their historical interests | Student has often formulated and investigated questions that effectively combine their story and their historical interests | Student has sometimes formulated and investigated questions that effectively combine their story and their historical interests |
| Application | Student has interpreted and analyzed information using a variety of strategies and tools with exceptional effectiveness | Student has effectively interpreted and analyzed information using a variety of strategies and tools | Student has often interpreted and analyzed information effectively using a variety of strategies and tools | Student has sometimes interpreted and analyzed information effectively using a variety of strategies and tools |
| Application (Concepts) | Student has carefully considered cause & consequence, and continuity & change when crafting their narrative | Student has effectively considered cause and consequence, and continuity and change when crafting their narrative | Student has often considered cause and consequence, and continuity and change when crafting their narrative | Student has sometimes considered cause and consequence, and continuity and change when crafting their narrative |
| Communication | Student has very effectively communitcated their ideas, arguments, and conclusions | Student has effectively communitcated their ideas, arguments, and conclusions | Student has often communitcated their ideas, arguments, and conclusions | Student has sometimes communitcated their ideas, arguments, and conclusions |
Student has formulated and investigated excellent questions that effectively combine their story and their historical interests
Student has formulated and investigated questions that effectively combine their story and their historical interests
Student has often formulated and investigated questions that effectively combine their story and their historical interests
Student has sometimes formulated and investigated questions that effectively combine their story and their historical interests
Student has interpreted and analyzed information using a variety of strategies and tools with exceptional effectiveness
Student has effectively interpreted and analyzed information using a variety of strategies and tools
Student has often interpreted and analyzed information effectively using a variety of strategies and tools
Student has sometimes interpreted and analyzed information effectively using a variety of strategies and tools
Student has carefully considered cause & consequence, and continuity & change when crafting their narrative
Student has effectively considered cause and consequence, and continuity and change when crafting their narrative
Student has often considered cause and consequence, and continuity and change when crafting their narrative
Student has sometimes considered cause and consequence, and continuity and change when crafting their narrative
Student has very effectively communitcated their ideas, arguments, and conclusions
Student has effectively communitcated their ideas, arguments, and conclusions
Student has often communitcated their ideas, arguments, and conclusions
Student has sometimes communitcated their ideas, arguments, and conclusions