Instructional Tools

Integrative Lesson Plan:

     Of all of the assignments that I had all semester long, this one was the most challenging for me. The idea behind the assignment was essentially to go onto the web and locate a pre-existing lesson plan (to which there are multitudes) and change it in a way that injects a fair amount of technology into the plan. The alternative to this assignment was that I could avoid finding a lesson plan, and I could just simply write my own. 

     The reason that I found this project to be so complicated was because I had never written a lesson plan before, nor had I really had any experience with lesson plans to be able to sift through and isolate one that allowed me to make the changes necessary to be able to complete the assignment. The way I ended up remedying this little problem was with a whole lot of research. I did a plethora of reading about lesson plans in order to discover exactly how they work, and once that was done, I was able to find the style of plan that I wanted.

     Considering that I had never written a lesson plan before, I decided that it would be best to choose the first option and take a lesson plan off of the web and try to inject it with some technology. The plan that I found was geared toward history, specifically oriented around a book about the Revolutionary War (both my favorite subject and my one of my favorite areas of history). The original plan had the class read a short novel about the divide caused amongst the inhabitants of the country trying to choose between loyalty to the crown, and the pursuit of freedom, specifically following the story of a young boy who finds his family divided as he is forced to choose sides. The plan expands on this later and has the students move on to create a small dialogue about what they think they may say, as well as recording how they think they may look and act, in a similar situation

     What ended up occurring to me in this lesson plan is that the students could use quite a bit of newer technologies to really raise the stakes. Instead of simply writing a small dialogue about what they think they may say, they could actually use iPads, laptops or PC's and get on the internet to create their own colonial avatar with the use of voki. Students could not only decide how they were going to look, but how they would sound and what they would say. After working together to generate ideas, students could then present their avatars in front of the entire class on a smart-board, allowing all of the students the opportunity to see the varying perspectives that such a cataclysmic event could cause, which was the original purpose of the plan anyhow.

     What I learned the most about this project is that almost any lesson plan has the capability to both change, as well as be beefed up and made better. Since technology is constantly changing teaching, it would make sense for teachers to learn to adapt to that world and adapt existing lesson plans, rather than just throwing them out and discarding their original intention just because it is not modern. In this way, teachers can still bring about new ways to teach older ideas and really unify the old with the new to create an amazing learning environment for students. Although I found lesson plans to initially be challenging, I now look forward to creating the next one from my own ideas, and using as much technology as I can into its creation.

The original Lesson Plan that I located may be found here

Lorain County Community College

EDCT Lesson Plan

(Teacher Education Program)

Teacher Education Student’s name:  Larry Morris

CONTEXT/SETTING                                 Whole group ___x___                                                                           Small group ______                                                                           One-on-one  _______

TITLE OF UNIT:                                        LESSON TITLE:  American History                                      Revolutionary War Colonist

GRADE LEVEL: 6-8

INTRODUCTION: This project is designed to help students see that in every war there are many viewpoints to consider; the issues involved are seldom cut and dried. Background The value of assessing information from books is critical to a student’s development, as well as drawing useful conclusions on how they personally see events unfolding. Lesson Purpose Students should learn that they can gain valuable perspective from written text and use that to develop their own ideas about what they think happened and how they think they would view it. With the integration of technology into the plan, students should be able to integrate new ways of learning with the old ways

LEARNING GOALS:  The students will… One way to learn about the past is to read historical novels. Some people take one side or another in a war or other conflict; some people find themselves caught in the middle.

OBJECTIVES:  The students will… 1. Students will be able to read and interpret critically from a text 2. Draw out relevant information to develop their own opinion and put it into a contextual         form to express how they would feel about what they have read. 3. Proficiently use Voki to display their image of what it means to be a colonist and what         the student got out of the text.

VOCABULARY: ·         Tyrannical ·         Stifle ·         Debt ·         Boycott ·         Allies ·         Chaos siege ·         Rebellion ·         Redoubt ·         Alliances ·         Resolution ·         Voki ·         Avatar ·         Dialogue

MATERIALS/SUPPLIES: ·         Copies of the young adult novel My Brother Sam Is Dead by James Lincoln Collier and Christopher Collier ·         A free voki account. ·         An iPad, tablet or PC. ·         Smartboard or Promethean Board

RESOURCES: -

TIME/DURATION:  2 class periods.

ACADEMIC CONTENT STANDARD(s): Enduring( Understanding): Understands the causes of the American Revolution, the ideas and interests involved in shaping the revolutionary movement, and reasons for the American victory.

MOTIVATIONAL TECHNIQUES (Anticipatory Set): Students can draw from the ideas of their peers and allow the ideas of others to help them develop their own ideas. Students may work together on their projects or not, but must allow for other students ideas to be respected as their own work will be judge by the others as well.

LESSON STEPS

Step #	Specific strategies?	Specific questions?	Anticipated Issues?
1 This project is designed to help students see that in every war there are many viewpoints to consider; the issues involved are seldom cut and dried. Tell students they are going to read a novel that underscores the preceding statement.	Allow plenty of time for the students to get through the text.	Questions related to the author and the publication of the novel.	Some students will get through the text quicker than others.
2 Introduce the young adult historical novel “My Brother Sam Is Dead” by James Lincoln Collier and Christopher Collier. It tells the story of young Tim Meeker, the brother of a Revolutionary War soldier. Tim is caught between his sibling's rebel beliefs and his father's attempts to stay neutral in a Tory town.	Allow students to work together and read in groups if they desire in order to develop different ideas and perspectives.	What would your beliefs be? What is Tim faced with?	Some students might not relate to the conflict of loyalties and opinions, and may need it explained further.
3 While they are reading the novel, suggest that students keep individual lists of reasons that both men, the brother and the father, give for the positions they take.	List to help separate the different arguments presented in the novel.	How are the two family members attempting to sway young Tim?	Students could miss some of the points of their arguments.
4 After reading and discussing the novel, ask your students to imagine themselves in Tim's place or as someone else who has a good vantage point for assessing the conflict—for example, a soldier's spouse or parent, a doctor or nurse, or a munitions maker's apprentice. Would they feel and act as Tim does—or differently?	Imagine you are Tim or in his position.	What would you do?
5 Challenge your students to write a monologue in the persona of the colonist they have imagined. In the monologue, each student must explain his or her unique perspective on the complex events unfolding. Each monologue should show that the sibling, spouse, parent, or other observer is noticing the details about a war that those caught up in the fighting or in supporting the king might overlook or not see objectively.	Pretend you see what is going on and interpret it.	What do you think about what is going on? What do you think should be done? How does your colonist behave and what do they look like? What is the important thing your colonist is trying to express?	Some may be naturally better at imagining themselves in the past then others.
6 Students should go to Voki and create an avatar in the image of their conceptual colonist. They should input his monologue into a dialogue and allow other students to listen to their perspectives on how they viewed the events in the book, and more importantly, the differing perspectives in the revolution.	Take something in your mind and turn it into something physical that the world can see		Many technical difficulty possibilities
7 Involve the audience in critiquing each presentation and display each student’s voki colonist on a Smartboard or Promethium Board.	Present your ideas publically.	What was StudentX’s main view? What do you think about their view? How did all the events tie together?	Some students may be shy and some may be too harsh as judges. Interaction with the technology may go poorly.
ADAPTATIONS for DIVERSE LEARNERS: Students can read more sophisticated historical novels or short stories set in the Revolutionary War period.
ASSESSMENT/EVALUATION:   You can evaluate your students' presentations using the following three-point rubric: Three points: coherent and unified monologue with clear thesis statement; excellent speaking and nonverbal techniques (gesturing, eye contact, and so on) Two points: mostly coherent and unified monologue with adequate thesis statement; good speaking and nonverbal techniques (gesturing, eye contact, and so on) One point: monologue weak in coherence, unity, and thesis statement; poor speaking and nonverbal techniques (gesturing, eye contact, and so on) You can ask students to contribute to the assessment rubric by identifying nonverbal techniques. Display:. Students will have to take something imagined and turn it into something physical, which would allow them to show it off for all to see.
EXTENSION and/or TRANSITION: A Second Declaration of Independence If your students have had a chance to study the Declaration of Independence, now give them an opportunity to read or reread Lincoln's Gettysburg Address in light of the declaration. Ask students to comment on how the later document reflects the earlier one. What does Garry Wills, the historian and writer, mean when he says the address marks a refounding of America? Historical Marker Ask students to choose a battle between the British and the Americans. Direct them to create a historical marker for the battle site so that others may learn about what happened there. The minimum information that students should include on the plaque is name of the place, number of dead, names of leaders, and results of the battle.
REFLECTIVE SELF-ASSESSMENT (what particular strengths do you possess that will promote your teaching of this lesson; are there challenges that you have to address in terms of your knowledge or skills prior to teaching the lesson?) Good cheerleader Very approachable and down to Earth Very knowledgeable about the events and the people of the time.

Lorain County Community College

EDCT Lesson Plan Evaluation Rubric

(Teacher Education Program)

Components	Rating
CONTEXT/SETTING:  (2-Indicate whether the lesson is planned for whole-group, small-group, or one-on-one instruction, 0-Not provided).	0          2
FOCUS UNIT: (2-State a content-appropriate focus of the lesson, 0-Not provided). LESSON TITLE: (2-The title tells the reader what the lesson plan is about and is creative enough to pique the reader’s interest, 0-The title is too vague to give the reader a reasonable idea of the lesson’s main focus).	0          2
GRADE LEVEL and LESSON DURATION: 2-Grade levels are stated and appropriate, 0-No grade levels are stated or the stated grade levels are inappropriate).	0          2
UNIT INTRODUCTION and  BACKGROUND INFORMATION:     (2-The time allotted for the lesson is clear (ex. 1-50 minute class period rather than 1 class period).  The length is appropriate for the lesson, 0-The units of time are vague and/or the length given is too short or too long).	0          2
PURPOSE, GOALS and OBJECTIVES: (8-Objectives clearly, realistically, AND measurably describe student learning [not the activity] and correspond to one or more of the Ohio Department of Education content standards for the subject and grade-level, 4-Objectives are ambiguous in that the connection to an academic content standard is not clear and/or the stated learner performance is not measurable, 0-The objective is written poorly in that it does not correspond to or address an ODE standard in a comprehensible way). ACADEMIC CONTENT STANDARD(s):  (6-The standard(s) that provide organization and focus for the lesson is/are explicitly written in text and selected grade level indicators align with stated objectives, 3-The standard(s) is/are clearly identified in text; however, there is no indication of the general standard for the grade level, 0-No standard(s)  included in the written plan). STANDARD (IEP, Local or National): optional	0         4           8 0        3            6
RESOURCES AND PREPARATION: (3-There is a thorough explanation about the materials and environmental conditions needed for teaching the lesson, 1- Suggestions for preparation include minimal attention to materials and the learning environment, 0-No explanation  or suggestion is provided in terms of preparing to teach the lesson). MATERIALS/SUPPLIES NEEDED: (3-Lesson includes and explains materials/resources that are safe and appropriate for meeting the lesson objectives, 1- Materials/resources selected are inappropriate for the lesson objectives, 0-Lesson does not include a list of materials/resources for student or teacher use).	0        1            3 0        1            3
LESSON STEPS MOTIVATION TECHNIQUES: (anticipatory set) (2-The context for the lesson is set in a focused manner, connections made to prior knowledge, language for how to present the information to the students is included, 1- Focused, connected to prior knowledge, 0- Not focused, does not connect with students’ prior knowledge, or anticipatory set is missing). Specific Strategies (Technology Connections if Any) Specific Questions Anticipated Issues (8-Instructional and assessment strategies appropriate for learning outcome(s).  Feedback and questions are based on a combination of practical experience, theory, research and documented best practice, with a range of student knowledge and involvement.  Developmental appropriateness is considered.  Management techniques and /or patterns of possible movement are anticipated, 4- Instructional and assessment strategies should promote greater connection to learning objectives and celebrated practice. Descriptive feedback and questions do not encourage higher-order thinking, Limited indications regarding developmental appropriateness.  0-Instructional and assessment strategies, questions and techniques for providing feedback, considerations of appropriateness and anticipation of issues are inappropriate, missing, or not indicated).	0          1        2 0         4           8
ADAPTATIONS for DIVERSE LEARNERS (4-Possible adaptations for students with varying needs are provided, 2-Further consideration is needed of possible adaptations, 0-No adaptations are suggested for students with varying needs).	0         2         4
LESSON ASSESSMENT/EVALUATON (Closure): (2-Lesson is ended by summarizing what was done and the objectives are reviewed for evaluation purposes, 0-neither closure of lesson nor review of objectives occurs before proceeding to extension and transition. EXTENSION and/or TRANSITION: (2-Content-related and creative transition is used, 1-transition is brief and/or boring, 0-no transition is used).	0          1        2 0          1        2
REFLECTIVE SELF-ASSESSMENT: (4-Commentary adequately reflects on teaching practices noted in lesson with an evaluation of possible strengths and weaknesses  in terms of effectiveness , 2-Commentary provides general thoughts about how well the strategies for teaching the lesson highlight possible effectiveness, 0-Little or no personal commentary that would be helpful for determining assessment of  teaching effectiveness.	0         2         4
Level of Accomplishment	Lesson Plan Evaluation Rubric Score
Mastered	50-48
Accomplished	47-44
Developing	43-39
Beginning:	38-below

NETS- Teacher Standards

Design and Develop Digital-Age Learning Experiences and Assessments

a.       Design or adapt relevant learning experiences that incorporate digital tools and resources to promote student learning and creativity.

b.      Develop technology-enriched learning environments that enable all students to pursue their individual curiosities and become active participants in setting their own educational goals, managing their own learning, and assessing their own progress.

c.       Customize and personalize learning activities to address students’ diverse learning styles, working strategies, and abilities using digital tools and resources.

d.      Provide students with multiple and varied formative and summative assessment aligned with content and technology standards and use resulting data to inform learning and teaching.