Carli Dais

http://daisinstructionatech.weebly.com
EDU-225
June 2, 2015

Raft Task Card

5th Grade Science: Solar System
ROLE (student)

AUDIENCE
TV news watchers

FORMAT
Video

TOPIC
You traveled

News broadcaster that

through space and

is reporting about

finally found a

their favorite planet

planet that you fell

in love with. What

Row 1
are some things
you like about the
planet, and what
would you so if
Astronaut

Fellow astronauts

A speech

you lived there ?

What does it feel

that are planning

like to spin around

on going

in outer space with

Row 2

the planets?
Discuss how the
planets move in

Row 3

A poetry club
Poet

A poem created on

their orbit.
Create a poem

a Prezi with voice

about the Planets

over

to remember what
order they are go

in.

RAFT Row 1
Objective: You will describe a planet (your favorite planet) and what some characteristics of it
are of it. What would you do if you lived on that planet? AZ STATE STANDARD GRADE 5:
Concept 3 point 1 (Identify the known planets of the solar system)
Student Role: News broadcaster
Audience: TV channel News listeners/watchers
Format: Informative news broadcast
Topic: Solar system

Directions:
1. Research planets and their characteristics at https://solarsystem.nasa.gov/planets/
2. Choose a Planet that is your FAVORITE
3. Make a video new cast about the planet (characteristics, why it is your favorite and what
you would do if you lived there
4. Make sure to submit the video to dropbox.
5. Video will be shown in class to classmates
Resources:
http://www.sciencekids.co.nz/sciencefacts/space/solarsystem.html
http://www.makemegenius.com/cool-facts/solar-system-planets-space-100-interesting-facts
Assessment:

Create a 2 minute video about the planet that you have learned about along with a
written script

You will receive 30 points for this assignment which includes (written script) 2
minute video about the shape, submitted to drop box

RAFT Row 2
Objective: Explain how the planets orbit within the solar system. ARIZONA STATE
STANDARDS GRADE 5: Concept 3 point 4 &5 ( Describe the change in motion and position
of the following objects in the sky overtime( moon, planets).
Student Role: Astronaut spinning through space with the planets
Audience: Future astronauts
Format: A speech
Topic: Orbit of the planets in the solar system

Directions:
1.
2.
3.
4.

Research how the planets oribit in space

Write a speech as if you were an astronaut in space moving with the planets
Speech can be written in 1st person if needed
Print out speech and plan on presenting it in front of the class

Resources:
http://www.kidsastronomy.com/solar_system.htm
http://www.kidsastronomy.com/solar_system.htm
Assessment:

Create a speech as if you are an astronaut in space. How do you feel while you are
floating in space? Explain the way that the planets orbit in space.

This will be worth 20 points (speech that is ready to be presented into class). This should
be at least 250-500 words long

RAFT Row 3
Objective: Create a poem to remember easily what order the planets go in. ARIZONA STATE
STANDARD GRADE 5: Concept 3
Student Role: Student is a poet
Audience: Book club
Format: Write a poem
Topic: Order of the planets

Directions:
1.
2.
3.
4.

Write a poem about the planets to remember what order they go in

Create a Prezi or PowerPoint for the speech to go on (at least 5 slide)
Read the poem and make a voice over for the presentation
Be ready to show your presentation in class

Resources:
http://www.kathimitchell.com/poemtypes.html
http://www.canteach.ca/elementary/songspoems34.html
Assessment:

This is worth 25 points (poem, presentation, voice over)

Differentiating Instruction through Technology

Introduction
Technology covers such a vast amount of tools that can be used for many different things.
Having many different options of technology in the classroom will create a way for the students
to learn and stay engaged in what they are learning. On of the major benefits of using technology
in the classroom is the ability to differentiated instruction to meet the needs of every student in
every lesson. As each and every student grows in different ways they also learn in different ways
and as a teacher it is our job to meet these different learning needs. Some great technology tools
that provide differentiated instruction in the classroom are
Technology to Differentiate Instruction
Brain pop:
This is an animated educational site for kids. It allows students to interact with new
concepts in a different way than classroom instruction. This website impacts the way that the

students are able to learn information on their own. Sometimes in the classroom ordinary
instruction can become boring, and this helps them be have a better understanding and become
more involved. This is student center because it has been made specifically for kids to use and
covers many subjects such as; science, social studies, English and math. (BrainPOP, 2015). This
links to the ISTE standards as it helps the students to use knowledge they have already learned
and learn in it a new creative way (ISTE, 2015). The task cards can also help for this type of
differentiated instruction as this can be used for many different subjects in many different ways.
Educreation:
A teacher or students in the classroom can use this. This website/app is a great way for
students to be able to learn and visualize the lessons inside and outside of the classroom. This
allows the students or teachers thoughts to be captured in a way that is new and different. Using
this, you can use your voice and the Ipad screen to create dynamic video tutorials that students
can use and access at any time. This was build for the digital classroom so that video lessons
could be shared with students in a safe a private classroom. (Simple, 2015). Students are able to
share what they have learned by creating their videos. This connects with the ISTE standard of
communication and collaboration. This is a great way to collaborate with the peers in the class
and using technology
IXlMATH:
This website has many subject areas to study and use within the classroom. Specifically,
this is helpful for students in the classroom who may be struggling with one particular area
within a subject. This tool is centered on what the students have learned and what they are
needed help with. This helps students who are dynamic adaptive learners (IXL, 2015). This could
be used with the Task Cards as a way to learn more about a specific subject and present on it.

This connects with the ISTE standards and the research and information fluency. This helps the
student to be able to connect with the information they are learning in a new way using
technology.
Pros and Cons
There are different aspects of differentiated instruction using technology, some negatives
and some positives. Some pros of this are that the students are able to keep a pace that best suits
them and their learning ability. This also allows the students to want to be engaged more and
they learn to understand it more through technology. For special needs students, technology is
very helpful in the way that it has visual and interactive aids. Some cons this are that the students
may become easily distracted and may have to wait to be able to use a computer. Also, preparing
a differentiated instruction lesson using technology can be very lengthy and time consuming
(Doherty, 2014). Overall, using technology to differentiate instruction is a great way to help
teach student different ways in the classroom.
Concluding Paragraph
Through all of this it is easy to see that providing differentiated ways of learning for your
students can be very beneficial. It may take more time to plan out different types of technology
to use for this but it will help the students in the classroom. It is important as a teacher to pay
attention to the different ways that the students in the classroom learn and using BrainPOP,
Educreation and IXLmath.

References
ISTE Standards for Students. (2015). Retrieved June 3, 2015
BrainPOP - Animated Educational Site for Kids - Science, Social Studies, English, Math, Arts.
(2015). Retrieved June 3, 2015
Simple & Intuitive. (2015). Retrieved June 3, 2015
Doherty, D. (2014, October 1). Differentiating Instruction through Technology. Retrieved June 4,
2015
IXL | Online math and language arts practice. (2015).