National Parks Research Project By Karen List Fifth Grade Classroom

Common Core Standards: The standards that will be addressed in this lesson plan are as follows: Grade 5: Grade Band: K-5 Content Area: Writing Standard: Research to Build and Present Knowledge 7. Conduct short research projects that use several sources to build knowledge through investigation of different aspects of a topic. 8. Recall relevant information from experiences or gather relevant information from print and digital sources; summarize or paraphrase information in notes and finished work, and provide a list of sources.

Grade: Grade Band: Content Area: Standard:

Grade 5 Grade 3 - 5 Technology Technology and Information Literacy

Standard 4: Technology and Communication Applications Students use an array of technologies and apply design concepts to communicate with multiple audiences, acquire and disseminate information and enhance learning. Students acquire and publish information in a variety of media formats. They incorporate communication design principles in their work. They use technology to disseminate information to multiple audiences. Students use telecommunication tools to interact with others. They collaborate in real time with individuals and groups who are located in different schools, communities, states and countries. Students participate in distance education opportunities which expand academic offerings and enhance learning. Benchmarks: B. Develop, publish and present information in print and digital formats

Standard 5: Technology and Information Literacy Students engage in information literacy strategies, use the Internet, technology tools and resources, and apply informationmanagement skills to answer questions and expand knowledge. Students become information-literate learners by utilizing a research process model. They recognize the need for information and define the problem, need or task. Students understand the structure of information systems and apply these concepts in acquiring and managing information. Using technology tools, a variety of resources are identified, accessed and evaluated. Relevant information is selected, analyzed and synthesized to generate a finished product. Students evaluate their information process and product.

Benchmarks:A. Describe types of information: facts, opinions, primary/secondary sources; and formats of information: number, text, sound, visual, multimedia; and use information for a purpose. B. Use technology to find information by applying a research process to decide what information is needed, to find sources, use information and to check work. C. Use the Internet to find, use and evaluate information. D. Identify, access and use electronic resources from both free and fee-based Internet sources.

Lesson Summary: In this lesson, students will select one of 58 National Parks in the U.S. to research. They will create a Prezi that will make use of relevant information they gather on their selected National Park from a variety of media, reference and technological sources. The purpose of this lesson is to have students use information literacy by applying a research process to decide what information is needed, to find sources and use information. Students will be able to develop, publish and present information in a digital format. Estimated Duration: The estimated amount of time needed for instruction of this lesson is approximately five 50 minute class periods. Commentary: I plan to approach the lesson and get my students hooked by showing them a 2 minute video on my SMARTboard at http://wilderness.nps.gov/features/wildernessact/popup.html. I would discuss the Wilderness Act of 1964 and what it meant. I would ask if any of the students have ever been to a National Park and what their experience was. I think the biggest challenge will be getting the kids acclimated to using Prezi. For student who have difficulty with writing, I would have them first write out the information they need to find on the rubric to help with their learning curve in using Prezi. Instructional Procedures: (This will be one of the most detailed sections of this assignment). Day 1: Introduction (10 minutes): To begin our lesson, I will ask the students if any of them have been to a National Park in the United States. I will also ask if anyone knows how many there are in the U.S. Next, I will show students a video on the classroom SMARTboard at http://wilderness.nps.gov/features/wildernessact/popup.html. The video is 2 minutes long. After the video is over, I will briefly discuss the Wilderness Act of 1964 and its implications for the National Parks Service. Additional information can be found at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wilderness_Act. Procedure: (30 minutes): Next, from the SMARTboard, I will take students on a tutorial of Prezi. I will show them examples of completed Prezis. Conclusion: (10 minutes): I will tell students that we will be making our own Prezi and that they are to choose one National Park to research. I will walk them through opening/accessing their account.

Day 2: Introduction (10 minutes): Ask students to share which park they chose for their research project. Procedure: (15 minutes): Go over rubric for Prezi with students. Ask if anyone has questions or needs clarification. Give students time to begin working on their Prezi. (see below)

Rubric for National Park Research Project Name_____________________________________________ You will choose one National Park for your research project and create a Prezi from the information you gather. Follow the rubric below for what to include in each of your slides. You will earn 1 point for each bulleted item that you complete.

Name of National Park you chose: ____________________________________________ Slide #1: Title that includes the name of the National Park you chose. Name of National Park Your name Slide #2: Description of the National Park you chose Tell what city and state it is located in What major U.S. cities are close to this park? When was this park founded? Include a photo of the park that you import from your computer/internet Slide #3: Wildlife that you would find in this park Include a photo of the wildlife that you import from your computer/internet Name the any predators to this animal What does this animal eat? Describe an interesting fact about this animal (ex. About its habitat, what it preys on, locations it is found, etc.) Slide #4: History of the National Park you chose Tell one fact about the history of the National Park you chose Tell another fact that includes the people who played a role in it becoming a park Import a picture that complements the history of the park. Slide #5 What is the Junior Ranger Program? Write 2-3 sentences that summarize what its goal is in relation to the National Park Service. Embed a link to access more information about the Junior Ranger Program Slide #6 Write a fact that people should know about the National Park you chose. Include a photo that you import from your computer/internet Conclusion: (25 minutes): Give students time in class to work on their Prezis. Day 3: Introduction (10 minutes): Ask students if they have any questions before they begin working on their Prezi. Encourage students to help classmates with troubleshooting. Procedure: (35 minutes): Show students how to embed a video into their Prezi. Have students continue to work on P rezis. Remind them to follow the rubric. Conclusion: (5minutes): Tell students they will have one more day in class to work on their Prezi before they will post them to the classroom blog. Day 4: Procedure: (50 minutes): Provide time in class for students to work on their Prezi. Meet with students to discuss progress. Tell students that unfinished work must be completed by class time the following school day.

Day 5: Introduction (10 minutes): Ask students to post their Prezi to the classroom blog (this is a skill they already know).

Procedure: (30 minutes): Give students time in class to look at one anothers Prezis. Conclusion: (10 minutes): For homework, ask students to write a reflection paper on what they enjoyed most about this activity. Promote classroom discussion on whether it made them want to visit a National Park if they have not already.

Pre-Assessment: On Day 1, I will pre-assess students background knowledge when I discuss with them their experiences with visiting a National Park and how it differs from a community park. I would also ask the students if theyve had experience using Prezi. I will determine what my students already know by what is shared in our conversation. I will also know who has experience with Prezi by a show of hands. I will specifically ask students if theyve ever developed, published and presented information in print and digital formats. Scoring Guidelines: The scoring guidelines for the pre-assessment, will be informal, as I will be basing my student understanding off of my judgement as a teacher. I will have a checklist, comprised of student names. I will check off those students who have developed, published and presented information in print and digital formats. Throughout the independent work time in class, I will be conducting ongoing formative assessment where I will meet with students to see how they are progressing. Post-Assessment: To assess what students have learned AFTER the lesson is finished, I will have them write a 1 page reflection paper on what they enjoyed most about this activity. Scoring Guidelines: The reflection paper that students turn in at the completion of this technology assignment will be graded as pass/fail as long as students provide a meaningful discussion in their paper as to what specifically they enjoyed about this activity. Differentiated Instructional Support Accelerated students can add additional slides to their Prezi and explore other forms of technology to present their understanding of the information they researched on their National Park. Students that are especially struggling could be paired with an accelerated student to help give them support throughout this assignment. Depending on the pre-assessment, students could work in pairs to help facilitate learning.

Extension Here is a link to a website where the parents of my students could go to learn more about the standards I am addressing in my lesson: http://education.ohio.gov/Topics/Academic-Content-Standards/New-Learning-Standards and http://ims.ode.state.oh.us/ODE/IMS/ACS/. This will help parents understand what I am required to teach their child and what they can be doing at home to help support their childs education. This is a tutorial for how to use Prezi that students can use to help them hone their skills in this online software: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ypjyicsy7LI.

Homework Options and Home Connections Students that do not finish in class on the fourth day, will need to complete their Prezi at home, so it can be turned in the following day. I would give my students ideas on how they could create Prezis for other purposes. This would help increase parent involvement.

Interdisciplinary Connections This lesson can be integrated with at least two other content areas to strengthen student learning. The first is public speaking (English Language Arts). Students can present their Prezis to the class through the use of the SMARTboard. This lesson can also be integrated into Social Studies. Students can chart latitude and longitude lines for the National Parks in the U.S. Additionally, there are several ways to integrate Mathematics into this assignment as well. Students can graph or chart animal populations and their decline or reemergence. Students can also graph the number of visitors to the most visited National Parks.

Materials and Resources:

For teachers

The materials I will need are a SMARTboard, laptop, internet access.

For students

Students will need a laptop, access to a SMARTboard and internet access.

Key Vocabulary National Park Service, Junior Ranger, habitat, predator/prey, Prezi, embed, import.

Additional Notes

None.