Global Classroom Module:

The Impact of Environment on Your

Health

Thomas Shull
Integrating Technology: Global Perspectives
Professor: Dr. Tamara Blesh
EDTC 645
Spring 2014

The impact of ones environment can change depending on where you

are from. In this collaborative project, 6th graders in health class at Rocky Hill
Middles School in Clarksburg Maryland, will be communicating with students
from another nation. They will be required to create some interview
questions along with communicate using blogs/discussions with their
partners. The culminating project will be a power point in which students will
take all the information they learned and put together a presentation that
includes videos/photos and important facts.
Summary: The way students at Rocky Hill Middle School perceive their
environment as it pertains to their health may be very different than
students around the world. The goal of this unit it to provide my students
with the ability to communicate with other middle school children from a
foreign country about their environment.
Background concerning the school and the group you are working with:
6th grade health class at Rocky Hill Middle School in Clarksburg Maryland.
My school is very diverse economically as well as by race.

% Total

% Gender
Female Male

All Students

20132014
Enrollment

% Racial/Ethnic Composition

Enrollment by Grade

AM

AS

BL

HI

PI

WH

MU

Number

Percent

52.4

47.6

5.0

24.4

21.1

16.8

5.0

31.4

5.9

Grade 6

40
1

36.8

ESOL

5.0

5.0

5.0

5.0

5.0

5.0

5.0

5.0

5.0

5.0

Grade 7

33
4

30.6

FARMS

21.7

10.0

11.7

5.0

5.0

7.6

5.9

5.0

5.0

5.0

Grade 8

35
6

32.6

SPED

8.4

5.0

5.8

5.0

5.0

5.0

5.0

5.0

5.0

5.0

Total

1,091

Time frame: Over a six week period divided into two units of three weeks
each. (You can propose a different timeframe if you prefer)
Within the first 3 weeks students will begin to create interview questions and
start communicating via ePals with their partners.
The second 3 weeks students will be putting together a slide show
(PowerPoint) of meaningful information they received from their partner.
Once the slide show is complete the student will give a short presentation.
Subject And Grade level: 6th grade

Proposed Topic and Rationale: Include a specific rationale for the project. This
rationale must reflect positive global outcomes and authentic global collaboration for
both your students and those of the partner classroom.
Environment: How does the environment you live in impact your health?
Communicating first hand with students who live in a different area and see
the differences. Students will get to see the world in a different lens.
Global Network You Plan to Use:
Key Challenges: State what you feel might the key challenges with regard to this unit.
How will you overcome them?
I am concerned about being able to track what the students are
communicating. Security is what I am most worried about. I do not want
students sending or receiving violent pictures or inappropriate material.
Prior Knowledge: What knowledge does this work build on? How will you assess
whether students have the required knowledge?
The students will have had a discussion giving them background knowledge
of how environment impacts health. I will then set up a rubric to see if they
have met the standards.

Standards and Key Concepts

Content Standards: Relevant state standard for the grade level you are intending this
module for.
1.6.A.1. Recognize and apply effective communication skills.
Demonstrate effective listening skills.
Demonstrate effective speaking skills.
Demonstrate ways to communicate respect for diversity. Mental &
physical disabilities Culture Race/ethnicity
1.6.A.3. Identify components to promote personal well-being.

Define and give examples of the components of personal well-being.

Spiritual Physical Intellectual Emotional/mental Social
Environmental
Investigate the components of personal well-being to assess areas of
personal need

National Education Technology Standard for Students NETS (S):Relevant Student

Performance standards

http://www.iste.org/docs/pdfs/20-14_ISTE_Standards-S_PDF.pdf
1. Creativity and innovation
Students demonstrate creative thinking, construct knowledge, and
develop innovative products and processes using technology.
a. Apply existing knowledge to generate new ideas, products, or
processes
b. Create original works as a means of personal or group expression
c. Use models and simulations to explore complex systems and issues
d. Identify trends and forecast possibilities
2. Communication and collaboration
Students use digital media and environments to communicate and
work collaboratively, including at a distance, to support individual
learning and contribute to the learning of others.
a. Interact, collaborate, and publish with peers, experts, or others
employing a variety of digital environments and media
b. Communicate information and ideas effectively to multiple
audiences using a variety of media and formats.
c. Develop cultural understanding and global awareness by engaging
with learners of other cultures
d. Contribute to project teams to produce original works or solve
problems
3. Research and information fluency
Students apply digital tools to gather, evaluate, and use information.
a. Plan strategies to guide inquiry
b. Locate, organize, analyze, evaluate, synthesize, and ethically use
information from a variety of sources and media
c. Evaluate and select information sources and digital tools based on
the appropriateness to specific tasks
d. Process data and report results
4. Critical thinking, problem solving, and decision making
Students use critical thinking skills to plan and conduct research,
manage projects, solve
problems, and make informed decisions using appropriate digital tools
and resources.
a. Identify and define authentic problems and significant questions for
investigation
b. Plan and manage activities to develop a solution or complete a
project
c. Collect and analyze data to identify solutions and/or make informed
decisions
d. Use multiple processes and diverse perspectives to explore
alternative solutions
5. Digital citizenship

Students understand human, cultural, and societal issues related to

technology and practice legal and ethical behavior.
a. Advocate and practice safe, legal, and responsible use of information
and technology
b. Exhibit a positive attitude toward using technology that supports
collaboration,
learning, and productivity
c. Demonstrate personal responsibility for lifelong learning
d. Exhibit leadership for digital citizenship
6. Technology operations and concepts

Students demonstrate a sound understanding of technology concepts, systems, and

operations.
a. Understand and use technology systems
b. Select and use applications effectively and productively
c. Troubleshoot systems and applications
d. Transfer current knowledge to learning of new technologies

Global Theme: Review the ten categories developed by the American Forum on
Education http://www.globaled.org/guidelines/page2.php. Write a short statement
connecting your theme to one of the ten categories developed by the above.
After reviewing the ten categories I would say that a students environment
impacts their health by:
Conflict Control: If there is violence or even war in their environment it would
impact their health
Human Right: Focuses on the overall quality of life. It ranges from
malnutrition and HIV/AIDS.
Planet Management: Pollution and environmental degradation would impact
their health.
Race & Ethnicity: If there is racial discrimination a students mental health
would be affected.
Pre-Lesson Steps: What steps are necessary to connect with another classroom and
teacher before introducing the lessons to your students?
I will have to log into ePals and create a classroom. From there I will need to
make a reliable connection with another school from a foreign country that
has the same goals and outcomes as my class.
Technology Use: How will you integrate technology into this unit to assist in the student
learning?

Students will be using discussion boards and emails to communicate to their

partners as well as set up a PowerPoint for their final presentation.
Essential Question (s): What are the key questions you want your students to be able
to answer successfully as a measure of whether the unit was effective or not?
How does environment affects a persons life, culture and well-being?
Starting Activity For Module: Describe the introductory hook for the module. How
will you stimulate global learning and what kinds of experiences will you provide in the
classroom?
I will run a slide show using either active inspire or power point. The pictures
will be of areas of the foreign country that we will be working with. I am
going to have them predict how the cooperating class will answer the
following question? What aspect of your environment do you feel impacts
your health the most?

Lesson Plans:
Summary of Two Lesson Plans: Provide a brief overview of the two lessons.
Lesson Plan #1: Show pictures of the cooperating classrooms country. Have
the students predict some environmental hazards. Then tell the students we
will be working with another class from that country. My class will then copy
and paste photos and answer their partners questions in the ePals
discussion page. They will write on the ePals discussion board about health
hazards that effect their well-being in Maryland. They will also be allowed to
ask 5 questions to their partners.
Lesson Plan #2: Students will gather the information from their partners on
ePals. In groups of 3 they will put together a PowerPoint slideshow describing
the differences between the USA and the other country. They will be asked to
use quotes and pictures from their discussions on ePals.
Please note that one lesson must contain activities related to the use of a global
classroom network and reflect direct collaboration between students in the two
classrooms.
Summative Assessment: Briefly describe the final assessment of the Global
Classroom Module.
I will assess the students using their power point slideshow. There will
be a rubric posted that encompasses all of the standards listed above. I will
also be looking cross curriculum at spelling, grammar, and overall neatness
of the PowerPoint.

Revisions of Proposal: After starting the project I realized I need to change

a couple aspects of the unit plans. I have to change around some of the
structure of the lesson plan. I thought it would be a good idea to have the
students look up pictures using an accredited website instead of me creating
a folder of appropriate pictures. In addition, I used Professor Bleshs
recommendations to have the partnering group on ePals to be doing the
same activities as my class to keep consistency. One last revision I made
was to have students take pictures of their environment and use them in the
discussion board (if applicable).

Each lesson is an hour long. The time of day varies due to the rotating
schedule we have at our school. The length of the unit is 4 school day which is
roughly a week because of schedule. I will plan it so the student will have a
weekend to take pictures.

Lesson
Number
1

Procedures

Activator: Students will watch Natural Disaster

Video and write down if they have been
impacted by one.
Lesson:
1. The students will share their experiences and
efforts to start a discussion.
2. As a class we will come up with the criteria of
what environment means. This criteria will be
the bases of our communication with our
partners.
3. Give the students their log in and passwords
to ePas.com. Since the website can be a bit
confusing I will have the screen up on a
projector and showing them how to post in the
discussions and blogs. In addition, I will show
them how to upload pictures.

Activator: What are some impacts of our

environment?
Lesson:
1. With a partner share your homework

Assignment/Homewo
rk/Material Needed
Homework: Now
that you know what
environment consist
of complete the
worksheet titled My
Environment. (5
points)
If you are able take
pictures of your
environment and
send them to your
email address so you
can share with the
class later in our
unit.

Homework: In your
group number
discussion board
post your questions
to be answered by

assignment and create a venn diagram

comparing your answers.

your partner. (10

points)

2. Write down on a sticky note if you have any

answers from your homework that you are
unsure about fitting in the environment criteria
and place it on the board. I will go through each
sticky note with the class and we will have a
debate on whether or not it fits in the criteria we
created the previous class.
3. Create 5 interview questions to ask our
partner on ePals.
3

Step By Step Instructions: Have the students

come in and sit a computer. They will be asked
to log into using their log in and password. Once
they are logged the activator will begin.
Activator: Predict what you think you partner
will ask you in their interview. (5 minutes)
Lesson: Once the students are finished with
their activator have them log into their ePals
account and open up their discussion menu.
They should have received interview questions
from their partner. Tell them to check their
activator and see if their predictions were
correct. For every correct prediction put a
check mark next to your answer. Let them know
they will have the rest of their class to answer
the interviewers questions. Pass out the
Answering Interview Checklist. As they answer
the questions they should make sure to include
a picture using these sites:
http://quest.eb.com/
http://www.picsearch.com/
https://www.flickr.com/creativecommons/
They may also use the pictures they have taken.
Let them know they must copy and paste the
website underneath each picture for
documentation.
In addition, if a question requires the students

Materials:
Computer Lab
(Internet Access)
Assignment:
Answering interview
questions. Rubric (20
points)

to look up the answer on the internet they can

only use these websites which are listed on the
epals website under resources:
http://www.mde.state.md.us/Pages/Home.aspx
http://www.cardin.senate.gov/issues/
http://www.nps.gov/state/md/index.htm?
program=all
http://www.school.eb.com/elementary/article?
articleId=353650&query=pollution&ct=

They must cite their source by using

http://www.noodletools.com/index.php
Here is a webpage that has images and
information about Pollution in Maryland.

Exit Card:
What was something new that you learned
about your Country?

Activator: Log into epals and say thank you to

your partner for sharing information and how
their environment impacts their well-being?
Lesson: Create a power point using the
information you learned from your partner to
compare how the different environments affect
personal well-being in different ways.

Materials:
Computer Lab
(internet access,
Power Point)
Assignment: Power
Point Rubric (35
points)