Lesson Plan for Implementing

NETSSTemplate I
(More Directed Learning Activities)
Template with guiding questions
Teacher(s)
Name
Adam Keith
Position

Teacher

School/District

Ashworth Middle School

E-mail

bkeith@gcbe.org; abkeith85@gmail.com

Phone

***-***-****

Grade Level(s)

Content Area

Social Studies

Time line

April 14 April 26

Standards (What do you want students to know and be able to do? What knowledge, skills, and strategies do you
expect students to gain? Are there connections to other curriculum areas and subject area benchmarks? ) Please
put a summary of the standards you will be addressing rather than abbreviations and numbers that indicate which
standards were addressed.

Content Standards

The following 6th grade Social Studies standards will be addressed: SS6G1, SS6G5,
SS6G8, SS6G12 geography: the use of latitude and longitude, identifying countries of
Europe, Latin America, Canada, and Australia, identifying physical features in these same
regions. SS6G1, SS6CG4, SSCG6 government; how citizens participate in government,
how power is distributed in government, types of governments. SS6E1(a & b),SS6E5 (a &
b), SS6E8 (a & b) economics; economic systems, placing economies on a continuum,
types of trade barriers. You may view the full text of the standards here

NETS*S Standards:

A portion of all NETS*S standards were addressed. Clearly standards 1 (creativity and
innovation) and 2 (communication and collaboration) will be key elements in the
assignment as they are the soul of the assignment. Students will also be gathering and
evaluating web tools (standard 3) as well as exercising good decision making and problem
solving skills(standard 4). The CRCT Survival Guide will provide students with an
opportunity to become acquainted with new internet tools through which they can relate
their learning (standard 6) as well as have an opportunity to become better digital citizens
by learning about technological responsibility and good use practices (standard 5).You
may view the full text of the standards here

Overview (a short summary of the lesson or unit including assignment or expected or possible products)

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Students will be tasked with creating a CRCT Survival Guide for future students. Due to the time constraints of
the school year, students will only be tackling the three content areas they struggled with throughout the year
(based on several data sources); Geography skills, Government (how power is distributed and how citizens
participate), and Economics. Students will be assigned a standards based on their level of mastery as determined
by data from throughout the year. Students will then select a technology to use to complete their chosen review
topic. Students will be provided with detailed instructions as well as a rubric for the CRCT review.
To complete this review, students choose from any of the following web tools to create review materials to be
featured in the Survival Guide: Glogster, text2mindmap (or another approved mindmap site), Voki (text to
language avatar), Google Docs (presentation creator) Youtube (for students to evaluate videos), and Wordle. All
groups will also be required to create a Quizlet activity for their chosen standard or strand. Students will be using
a combination of our schools computer lab, classroom computers, our school tablet carts, and their own personal
devices to create their contributions to the CRCT Survival Guide. They will complete the project in class as well
as outside the classroom.
Students will compile their finished products on a Weebly for use not only within their own class, but also as a tool
for other students (possibly other schools) to utilize in their review.
Essential Questions (What essential question or learning are you addressing? What would students care or
want to know about the topic? What are some questions to get students thinking about the topic or generate
interest about the topic? Additionally, what questions can you ask students to help them focus on important
aspects of the topic? (Guiding questions) What background or prior knowledge will you expect students to bring
to this topic and build on?) Remember, essential questions are meant to guide the lesson by provoking inquiry.
They should not be answered with a simple yes or no and should have many acceptable answers.
As this project covers a number of standards, there are a number of wide ranging essential questions:
Geography
1. What are the major physical features of Latin America that we have learned?
2. What are the major physical features of Canada?
3. What are the major physical features of Europe that we have learned?
4. What are the major physical features of Australia that we have learned?
5. How do these features affect the population in these areas?
6. 6. How can latitude and longitude help me locate places on a map?
Government
7. Describe how governments distribute power?
8. Explain how governments determine citizens participation.
9. Compare and contrast a parliamentary and a presidential democracy.
10. What is the major purpose of the European Union?
11. Compare and contrast; democracy, republic, parliament, confederation, monarchy, and constitutional
monarchy.
Economics
12. Compare and contrast the following economic systems: traditional, command, market, and mixed.
13. Compare and contrast: socialism, communism, and capitalism
14. What are trade barriers? Provide examples.

Assessment (What will students do or produce to illustrate their learning? What can students do to generate new
knowledge? How will you assess how students are progressing (formative assessment)? How will you assess
what they produce or do? How will you differentiate products?) You must attach copies of your assessment and/or
rubrics. Include these in your presentation as well.

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For the assignment, students will contribute to a CRCT Survival Guide through a variety of Web 2.0 tools
(evaluating videos, creating graphics, uploading photos, etc). Assessment will occur on both the formative
(observations, discussions with students) as well as the summative level (a rubric will be used to assess the final
products). I have left the assignment open as to allow maximum choice and allow for maximum differentiation.

Resources (How does technology support student learning? What digital tools, and resourcesonline student
tools, research sites, student handouts, tools, tutorials, templates, assessment rubrics, etchelp elucidate or
explain the content or allow students to interact with the content? What previous technology skills should students
have to complete this project?)
Technology supports student learning by providing a vehicle for review and tapping into prior knowledge. By
creating and evaluating web tools, students are required to synthesize information they have previously learned
into a product for further review.
Students in my classroom should be well equipped to manage these online tools as we have used them in class
previously throughout the year. Most students possess basic computer and typing skills to create a quality project.
Instructional Plan
Preparation (What student needs, interests, and prior learning provide a foundation for this lesson? How can
you find out if students have this foundation? What difficulties might students have?)
My students are always keenly interested in anything involving the use of technology (especially tablets) in the
classroom. This particular activity relies heavily on students prior knowledge as it is a review activity. The chosen
topics for the project have been selected based on; initial test/quizzes from original instruction, results of
benchmark testing questions, formative assessments (daily map review, warm-ups, etc), and a result of topics I
am asked to review most often in tutoring sessions.
Clearly, if students are still struggling with a particular topic, it may be difficult for them to create a solid summary
or activity to correspond with that topic. I expect there to be more difficulty with the government and economics
portions than with geography topics as this was the trend during the school year.

Management Describe the classroom management strategies will you use to manage your students and the use
of digital tools and resources. How and where will your students work? (Small groups, whole group, individuals,
classroom, lab, etc.) What strategies will you use to achieve equitable access to the Internet while completing this
lesson? Describe what technical issues might arise during the Internet lesson and explain how you will resolve or
trouble-shoot them? Please note: Trouble-shooting should occur prior to implementing the lesson as well as
throughout the process. Be sure to indicate how you prepared for problems and work through the issues that
occurred as you implemented and even after the lesson was completed.
Classroom management for this assignment will consist mainly of proximity control as I work with and monitor
students. This activity will take place in my classroom (via student computers and mobile tablet cart), the library
(via student computers), and at the students home. If they do not have a home computer, one will be available
before, during, and after school.
Technical issues that may arise: notoriously slow internet (wireless and hard wired) and the possibility of outdated
plug-ins for graphics. To account for these issues, I checked the plug-ins for the library and my student computers
as well as the websites for compatibility. Regarding the internet issues, I have requested a wireless router to use
with the tablet carts and have recently requested that our tech department install the latest internet versions on my
student computers.
For this particular lesson plan, I tend to act as more of a facilitator (help desk) than delivering direct instruction.
Students will be working as the instructor in this instance, working in small groups to dissect the standards
addressed within the activity as well as working individually to complete task as assigned by their group.
Trouble shooting will be handled in a variety of ways. I, being the facilitator, will provide technical support to the
best of my ability. Each of the required websites has a help section and I have included a help section
containing links and videos on how to use the various types of technology required.
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Instructional Strategies and Learning Activities Describe the research-based instructional strategies you will
use with this lesson. How will your learning environment support these activities? What is your role? What are the
students' roles in the lesson? How can you ensure higher order thinking at the analysis, evaluation, or
creativity levels of Blooms Taxonomy? How can the technology support your teaching? What authentic,
relevant, and meaningful learning activities and tasks will your students complete? How will they build knowledge
and skills? How will students use digital tools and resources to communicate and collaborate with each other
and others? How will you facilitate the collaboration?
Cooperative learning will be the main instructional strategy implemented in this lesson. Students will be allowed to
choose their own groupings; however, standards are distributed based upon data from the school year. Students
will be reliant on group members to pull their weight. Through this project, students will assume the role of
educator as they tap into their prior knowledge and synthesize the material learned into concise review materials.
Through synthesis, they will increase their Blooms level. Additionally, they will become more tech savvy by
familiarizing themselves with Web 2.0 tools and various forms of technology (computers, tablets, smart phones)
students will be practicing the 21st century skills necessary in modern work places. By allowing students to be the
educator in this situation, they will be gaining a sense of ownership for their education.
Students will gain practical and meaningful experience through the impetus being placed upon them. As with
many jobs, students were essentially given a load of information (through prior learning) and asked to create a
unique demonstration for their peers. Learning occurs not only through the activity, but because of the activity
students are able to gain a better understanding of what their potential future careers could look like.

Differentiation (How will you differentiate content and process to accommodate various learning styles and
abilities? How will you help students learn independently and with others? How will you provide extensions and
opportunities for enrichment? What assistive technologies will you need to provide?)
By allowing students to choose a) what standard(s) they will be working with and b) what technologies to use,
process and content are both differentiated. By incorporating an in class group dynamic along with the individual
work outside of the classroom, I hope to instill in my students the importance of distributing the work load in order
to create a more effective product.
Enrichment opportunities will be provided as students fulfill their initial requirements. I will simply provide the
student with new standards as my ultimate goal is to have a student created survival guide for each 6th grade
Social Studies standard. Students may also be asked to present their particular contribution to the other Social
Studies class in 6th grade.
Remediation chances will consist in assigning the student either a easier to use technology or an easier standard
(i.e; replacing a standard concerning the effects of increasing investment in human capital and its effects on GDP
with a standard on geography and locating countries).

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Reflection (Will there be a closing event? Will students be asked to reflect upon their work? Will students be
asked to provide feedback on the assignment itself? What will be your process for answering the following
questions?
Did students find the lesson meaningful and worth completing?
In what ways was this lesson effective?
What went well and why?
What did not go well and why?
How would you teach this lesson differently?)

For a closing, I would like to showcase the best creations as part of the whole class review and share
with my social studies colleagues. Students will also fill out a Google Docs survey on the various
aspects of the project so that I may have some feedback in order to fine tune and expand the project for
future years.
Overall, this project was a great opportunity not only for my students, but for me as well. Having used
very few Web 2.0 tools in my educational career, it was with great anticipation and excitement that I
took on planning the CRCT Survival Guide. It did not take me very long to realize that one must make
absolutely sure of two things when working with any technology. First, one should ensure that one is
well versed in that particular technology. I suffered some growing pains along with my students as we
attempted to troubleshoot some of these technologies. Second, and possibly the most paramount
importance, one must ensure that the technology or technologies in question will indeed work with your
schools current network. Understand some (read most) Web 2.0 technologies involve some sort of
graphics, videos, or animations. Keep this in mind when choosing what medium students will use to
access the Web 2.0 tools. While these programs did indeed run on my classroom computers, the process
was very slow and really detracted from work time early on. I ended up using the best two computers,
allowing students to use my teacher computer, and taking my personal laptop. Even with the use of our
brand new tablets, accessibility was still an issue.
If I had this lesson to teach over again, I would probably extend the time and make it an ongoing project
as opposed to blocking off consecutive days. Due to the time constraints caused by winter weather, I was
forced to really cram a lot of material in to a small amount of time. To reiterate, I would ultimately like
to make a survival guide that was ongoing through the year and covered all 6th grade Social Studies
standards.

Closure: Anything else you would like to reflect upon regarding lessons learned and/or your experience with
implementing this lesson. What advice would you give others if they were to implement the lesson? Please
provide a quality reflection on your experience with this lesson and its implementation.

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Despite a few technical glitches, the project was still a tremendous success. My students really enjoyed
using technology to show off what they had learned and even commented on how much of a challenge it
was to be the teacher. I managed to keep my wry smirk hidden in response to that. Additionally, it
allowed my students to take some pride and ownership in their education, which is seldom allowed in
the data driven, test centered world we live in. In all honesty, this experience allowed my students to be
kids and enjoy learning instead of looking at things in terms of test, notes, homework, and grades. I also
intend to take the Survival Guide we have compiled thus far and expand it to include all the 6th grade
standards to serve as an ongoing project for next years classes.
My advice to others wishing to complete a similar task would be to thoroughly examine your groupings,
possible even removing the option for students to choose their own groups. Instead, I would recommend
creating student groups of mixed ability levels. This would allow them to assist each other more and
avoid having one group monopolize your time in the classroom.

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