Lesson Plan for Implementing

NETSS
(More Directed Learning Activities)

Teacher(s) Name Ms. Donica Daniels

Position 3rd grade teacher

School/District Atlanta Public Schools

E-mail ddaniels@atlanta.k12.ga.us

Phone 404-802-7250

Grade Level(s) 3rd

Content Area Social Studies

Time line 6 weeks

Standards:
Students will express their opinions and respect those of others, by developing a commercial persuading
colonists to move and settle in their colony. Students will take responsibility for self and respect others
materials. Students will develop a deep understanding of colonial times to create product(s) that demon-
strate in depth understanding.

Content Standards:

SS3H3 Explain the factors that shaped British Colonial America.

1. Identify key reasons why the New England, Mid-Atlantic, and Southern colonies were founded
(religious freedom and profit).
2. Compare and contrast colonial life in the New England, Mid-Atlantic, and Southern colonies
(education, economy, and religion).
3. Describe colonial life in America from the perspectives of various people: large landowners,
farmers, artisans, women, children, indentured servants, slaves, and American Indians

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NET*S Standards:

1. Technology Productivity Tools

use technology tools to enhance learning, increase productivity, and promote creativity.
use productivity tools to collaborate in constructing technology-enhanced models, preparing pub-
lications, and producing other creative works.

2. Technology Research Tools

use technology to locate, evaluate, and collect information from a variety of sources.
use technology tools to process data and report results.

3. Technology Communications Tools

use telecommunications to collaborate, publish, and interact with peers, experts, and other audi-
ences.
use a variety of media and formats to communicate information and ideas effectively to multiple
audiences.

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

This lesson presents a culminating task to assess all the skills taught in our unit on Colonial America.
Students will work in cooperative groups to create a brochure
(individually) and a commercial presentation. Students will use advertising
tactics to try and convince Colonists to settle in their colony.

Purpose:
Students will learn about different colonies, communities and why people chose to live in
certain colonies over another.
Students will learn about the hardships of people when they came to America as well as
the positives and negatives of their locations.
Students will be able to describe the adaptations and changes the colonists made to the
environment.

Essential Questions:

How did religion affect colonial life?

How did the geography of each region impact the types of work each region developed?
How does location affect economic activity?
How did the colonists provide for their needs?
How did physical geography in the each of the colonies determine the economic activities?

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Assessment:

Students will create a presentation that includes creating a brochure and commercial trying to persuade
colonist to settle in their colony. Students presentations will be assessed using a teacher created rubric
to determine if students have a firm understanding of the needs and wants of colonists and why they
would choose to settle colonies as well as to assess their ability to create a commercial demonstrating
advertising tactics. Students will see how the use of the previously taught Social Studies standards on
Colonial America can be applied to an authentic and meaning task.

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 by allowing students to complete authentic and meaningful tasks using
twenty-first century tools and applications to enhance their learning and understanding. In this project,
students are becoming more familiar with various ways to present information using various online tools
such as iMovie, Animoto, and Diigo. Students will also learn how to locate and view see several com-
mercials persuading individuals to come visit a state or area. Students should know how to locate infor-
mation on the Internet using chosen search engines, as well as some experience using the tools required
for their commercial.

Instructional Plan Preparation (What student needs, interests, and prior learning provide a founda-
tion for this lesson ? How can you find out if students have this foundation? What difficulties might stu-
dents have?)

Students have been working on the Colonial unit in Social Studies for the six weeks prior to this lesson
being implemented. Students should have a firm grasp on the thirteen colonies before attempting this
culminating activity. Students are very interested in learning about various Web 2.0 tools that they can
use. Time has been dedicated in their computer class for several weeks to learning how to use the tools
they are choosing from in this lesson. Students may need extra support with the technology tools but
less with the social studies standards that are being assessed.

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 les-
son and explain how you will resolve or trouble-shoot them? Please note: Trouble-shooting should oc-
cur prior to implementing the lesson as well as throughout the process. Be sure to indicate how you pre-
pared for problems and work through the issues that occurred as you implemented and even after the les-
son was completed.

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 Students will be working in cooperative groups. Students will complete the project in the classroom as
well as in the school computer lab. Each group will have computer access during each school day. Dur-
ing the days that students are required to research various websites on the thirteen colonies the only
technical issue I can foresee would be the Internet service being unavailable. If this were to become an
issue and students could not research online, I will have multiple hard-copy of Studies Weekly newspa-
pers available in the classroom that students can use. On project days, should Internet service become
an issue, I would allow students extended time to complete their projects. Depending on the severity of
the Internet service issue, I would possible have to change the project requirements to a PowerPoint
presentation alone or allow students to record their presentations using internet tools at home. Allowing
students to record their presentations using student phones iPads would also be an option.

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 collabora-
tion?

Through this project students will be collaborating and communicating in cooperative learning groups.
They will receive peer feedback as well as teacher feedback. I will be the facilitator of student learning
by aiding with the use of the digital tools that are still very new to the students. Students will create a 2-
5-minute commercial to advertise their colony. Students will use rubric to meet and exceed goals for
their project. Gallery will be created where students, administration, and other personnel can view fin-
ished products. Students will be creative in how they choose to present their learning and in how they
will make their presentation persuasive in nature. Students will use digital tools and resources to com-
municate their understanding through the creation of a commercial that will also show why colonist
need to move to their colony. Each group member must collaborate so that he or she is taking an active
role in the commercial.

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 pro-
vide extensions and opportunities for enrichment? What assistive technologies will you need to pro-
vide?)

Student groups will be assigned by looking at formative assessment data regarding colonial America to
include members who have met or exceeded the social studies content expectations as well as those who
may benefit from peer tutoring. Enrichment opportunities will be provided by allowing students to create
their own iMovie using PowerPoint, Animoto, and Diigo

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Reflection (Will there be a closing event? Will students be asked to reflect upon their work? Will stu-
dents 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?)

Students will complete a reflection sheet on the following:

what is the most important
thing you learned?

What do you wish you had

spent more time on?

What do you wish you had

done differently?

What was the most

enjoyable part of this
project?

What was the least

enjoyable part of this
project?]

How could your teacher

change this project to
make it better next time?

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.
The knowledge that I have obtained from taking the internet tools in the classroom class has allowed me to use
more Web 2.0 tools in my teaching. I feel that the more I implement and integrate technology tools into my daily
lessons, the more my students will know about how to use the tools prior to lesson experiences such as this one.
This culminating project is not one that I would recommend to students that have not had multiple experiences
using the tools they are chosen for this project.

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