Lesson Plan for Implementing

NETS•S—Template I
(More Directed Learning Activities)
Template with guiding questions
Teacher(s)
Name Marcus J.W. Borders

Position Education Technology Specialist

School/District Hamilton E. Holmes ES / Liberty Point ES | Fulton County Schools

E-mail marcus.borders@kennesaw.edu

Phone 678.294.8556

Grade Level(s) Third Grade

Content Area Science & ELA

Timeline Eight Weeks

STANDARDS

S3L1​: ​Obtain, evaluate, and communicate information about the similarities and
differences between plants, animals, and habitats found within geographic regions
(Blue Ridge Mountains, Piedmont, Coastal Plains, Valley and Ridge, and
Appalachian Plateau) of Georgia.
a. Ask questions to differentiate between plants, animals, and habitats found
within Georgia’s geographic regions.
Science
b. Construct an explanation of how external features and adaptations
(camouflage, hibernation, migration, mimicry) of animals allow them to survive
in their habitat.
c. Use evidence to construct an explanation of why some organisms can thrive
in one habitat and not in another.

ELAGSE3W1:​ ​Write opinion pieces on topics or texts; supporting a point of view

with these reasons.​

Page 1 of 11
 a. introduce the topic or book they are writing about, state an opinion, and
create an organizational structure that lists reasons.
b. Provide reasons that support the opinion.
c. Use linking words and phrases (e.g., because, therefore, since, for example)
to connect opinion and reasons.
d. Provide a concluding statement or section

ELA/Writing ELAGSE3W9:​ ​Recall information from experience or gather information from

print and digital sources; take brief notes on sources and sort evidence into
provided categories.

ELAGSE5SL4: ​Report on a topic or text, tell a story, or recount an experience

with appropriate facts and relevant, descriptive details, speaking clearly at an
understandable pace

● 1c-​ Students use technology to seek feedback that informs and improves
their practice and to demonstrate their learning in a variety of ways.
ISTE ● 6b​- Students create original works or responsibly repurpose or remix digital
Technology
Standards resources into new creations.
● 7a​- Students use digital tools to connect with learners from a variety of
backgrounds and cultures, engaging with them in ways that broaden mutual
understanding and learning.

Overview
This Lesson Plan entitled “Georgia on my Mind” is designed for third grade students to

creatively show mastery of being able to compare and contrast Georgia's natural habitats. Students will

explore the similarities and differences between plants, animals, and habitats found within Georgia's 5

geographic regions. Students will engage in collaborative discussions with other students who live in

various areas of Georgia to gain real-world information. Students will also connect with the Georgia

Page 2 of 11
Wildlife Federation to support their need for promotional materials for Georgia’s regions. Students will

use their knowledge to develop and substantiate an opinion piece on the geographic region they would

prefer to inhabit. The teacher and school's instructional technology coach will guide the students in

communicating with other classrooms across Georgia and the Georgia Wildlife Federation, developing

their collaborative skills/structures, conducting research, developing their opinion piece, and using a

variety of tools for creating a digital project to show their understanding of Georgia's habitats. Students

will use digital resources to explore various concepts of Georgia's habitats. Students will also act as

guides/teachers by sharing their digital project via Flipgrid/Padlet with other third grade classes and

community members (parents) where they will seek feedback. Once students have made adjustments to

their products, they will showcase their work in an exhibit where the Georgia Wildlife Federation will

make final selections for their facilities.

ESSENTIAL QUESTIONS
1. What is a habitat?
2. How are regions in Georgia different?
3. How do the characteristics of the habitat determine the organisms that live there?
4. How are Georgia habitats different from other habitats?
5. How do changes in a habitat affect the organisms living there?
6. Why is it important to protect the habitats of plants and animals?

Assessment​ (What will students do or produce to illustrate their learning? What can students do to generate new knowledge?
How will you assess how students are progressing (​formative assessment)​ ? How will you assess what they produce or do?
How will you differentiate products?) You must attach copies of your assessment and/or rubrics. Include these in your
presentation as well.

FORMATIVE ASSESSMENT TOOLS

Teacher observation and monitoring will be provided during designated classroom times.

● Content review​:

Note: This project occurs after major content has already been taught and assessed

○ Georgia Habitats Kahoot! Game for review: ​https://goo.gl/qJsD9e​.

Page 3 of 11
 ○ Nearpod Georgia Habitats Lesson for Review/Notes: ​https://goo.gl/sh5qFa​.

○ Georgia Habitats EdPuzzle Video: ​https://goo.gl/Mu5StA​.

○ Georgia Habitats Vocabulary Acquisition (Quizlet): ​https://goo.gl/oBCwuk​.

RUBRICS & CHECKLISTS

● Opinion Writing Rubric: ​https://goo.gl/uDpo1G​.

● Flipgrid/Skype Collaboration Checklist:​https://goo.gl/136N7k​.

SUMMATIVE ASSESSMENT

● Digital Product Rubric (example rubric, as students will collaborate to design their own):

https://goo.gl/seJhEL​.

● Quizziz: ​https://goo.gl/S9FF7H​.

Students will conclude this project by creating either an Adobe Spark Video or a Microsoft Sway

presentation. Students will also create a written/typed opinion piece that expresses their thoughts on

their favorite habitat (see differentiation and additional supports mentioned in instructional plan, below).

Student presentations will be shared collaboratively with the Georgia Wildlife Federation. Outside of

the digital products, students will also conclude this unit with an assessment using Quizziz.

Resources​ (How does technology support student learning? What digital tools, and resources—online student tools, research
sites, student handouts, tools, tutorials, templates, assessment rubrics, etc—help elucidate or explain the content or allow
students to interact with the content? What previous technology skills should students have to complete this project?)

RESOURCES
● Georgia Habitats Padlet: ​https://padlet.com/borders/S3L1

● Resource for Georgia Habitats notes extension: ​http://bit.ly/2y4HL2i

● Digital Project Guide Slide: ​https://goo.gl/CjA7eE

● Opinion Writing Graphic Organizer Template: ​https://goo.gl/F7JWgy

● Opinion Writing Graphic Organizer Creation Tool: ​https://coggle.it/

Page 4 of 11
 Students will have access to the teacher created digital tools mentioned above. These tools will act as

a repository for content and project resources for students to reference throughout the implementation of

this project. Similar to how the content will have been previously introduced to students, they will have

already had experience on how to navigate these tools using digital devices.

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

INSTRUCTIONAL PLAN
Since students will have already been introduced to the science concepts within this activity, they

will have prior knowledge for continuing their work. At the start of the unit, a pre-assessment on

Kahoot! (shared in the assessments section) will aid the teacher in establishing their foundational

knowledge. Student interest will be ignited through the “hook” of this lesson. The “hook” will introduce

an email sent from the Georgia Wildlife Federation indicating their need for digital media to build

clientele. Students will learn that they will be collaborating with GWF to support their endeavors.

Students will need a large amount of support with gathering notes from their Georgia Habitats resources

(see resources section), creating their graphic organizers, and transferring its content into written prose.

This process, along with ensuring students know how to appropriately collaborate with other classes,

provide feedback to one another and the Georgia Wildlife Federation may prove to be a challenge.

Rubrics will be used to assess collaborative aspects, opinion writing, and digital products. There are

many areas of student choice in this activity:

● Students select the habitat of their interest.

● Students can select if they would like to use Coggle for their graphic organizer to collaborate or

a paper graphic organizer.

Page 5 of 11
 ● Some students will be able to create their own rubric for the culmination of this project (see

differentiation section).

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

MANAGEMENT
Throughout “Georgia on my Mind” students will have a variety of flexibilities in how they work.

● Other classroom/GWF Collaboration via Skype/Flipgrid: ​individually.​

● All digital assessments: ​individually.​

● Drafting graphic organizers (digitally): ​collaboratively or individually.

● Drafting opinion paper:​ collaboratively or individually.

● Creating digital product:​ collaboratively or individually.

The classroom environment is 1:1 with Dell Latitude Laptops, desktops, and iPads so equity is not an

issue for this project. Students are self-sufficient as it relates to using devices due to expectations

established in the beginning of the school year. Students are aware of how to troubleshoot any technical

issues between asking 3 other students for support prior to labeling it as a hindrance to completing their

tasks. Although unfathomable, the only major foreseeable issue involves internet access. Since a great

deal of this project requires its usage (digital writing, assessments, collaborative meetings), adjusting the

timeline of the implementation would be the only solution.

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 Bloom’s
Taxonomy​? How can the technology support your teaching? What authentic, relevant, and meaningful learning activities

Page 6 of 11
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 collaboration?

INSTRUCTIONAL STRATEGIES & LEARNING ACTIVITIES

The learners will:

a. Differentiate ​between habitats of Georgia in various regions (mountains, marsh/swamp, coast,

Piedmont, Atlantic Ocean) and the organisms that live there.

b. Identify ​features of grass plants that allow them to live and thrive in different regions of

Georgia.

c. Identify ​features of animals that allow them to live and thrive in different regions of Georgia.

d. Explain ​what will happen to an organism if the habitat is changed.

e. Synthesize ​information from their research, prior content knowledge, and first-hand accounts

(Flipgrid/Skype sessions) to ​develop ​an opinion piece on their favorite region.

f. Create ​a digital product showcasing their understanding of key concepts of Georgia’s regions.

In “Georgia on my Mind,” students will act as collaborators (providing feedback and communicating

with other students/groups) communicators, and creators. They will receive peer feedback as well as

teacher feedback. The teacher will act as a facilitator and guide for instructional support and appropriate

usage of digital resources. “Georgia on my Mind” is authentic because students are able to connect with

individuals for first-hand experiences outside of their school. Their products will also receive feedback

and likely be used in a real setting.

Page 7 of 11
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 provide extensions and opportunities for
enrichment? What assistive technologies will you need to provide?)

DIFFERENTIATION
As mentioned, foundational content for this project has already occurred in the classroom

environment. During that time, differentiation with learning styles and assessment data took place.

During the implementation of “Georgia on my Mind,” students will have flexibility in how they develop

the drafts, graphic organizers, and final pieces of their opinion writing. They will also have choices in

the digital product they create. Depending on ability level, students may be able to work collaboratively

or independently on their projects. Students will use a teacher made template on digital product

expectations to create their own rubric. Students who need more support will use the teacher created

digital product rubric. Students who need less support will work in group to create different pieces of a

collective rubric based on the guide (see assessment resources).

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

REFLECTION
Outside of the students developing their final opinion pieces, students will also be creating

digital products/resources illuminating various details of Georgia’s 5 habitats/regions. Their products

will share the organisms, landforms, wildlife, and weather/climate associated within its habitat. These

digital products are being created to share with the Georgia Wildlife Federation. These products will be

meaningful, because students’ work will be reaching an audience outside of their classroom. Their work

will be shared inside of the Georgia Wildlife Federation facilities and on their website. Throughout the

phases of this unit, students will have also developed a greater understanding of the state in which they

Page 8 of 11
live through various first-hand experiences. Technology is being integrated in a variety of ways.

Students will gain their information through a variety of formative assessments Web 2.0 tools such as,

Nearpod, Quizlet, Kahoot!, and Quizziz. Students will collaborate with students across Georgia and

members of the Georgia Wildlife Federation via Flipgrid and Skype. Student opinion pieces will require

the use of Google Docs, Office 365 Word, and Coogle. Students will have the option to create their final

products via Adobe Spark Video or Microsoft Sway. Student mastery will be assessed in a variety of

ways. Students will receive constant feedback between the teacher, their classmates, and their audience

via observation, checklists, conferencing, and Google Forms. Formally, students will complete a digital

assessment via Quizziz. Their writing and digital products will be assessed through teacher/classroom

created rubrics.

As an instructional technology coach, implementing this project presents a challenge. However,

collaboratively working with a classroom teacher would be necessary to gauge its effectiveness/impact.

With consideration to feedback, students may complete a Google/Microsoft Form indicating if they

found the project meaningful and worth completing. One area of concern is ensuring that students are

able to navigate and consistently access the digital tools and resources. While the teaching/facilitation of

the content can ensure students work through each phase, independence is the end goal. If students are

able to gather information, work collaboratively, and autonomously then the lesson will be a success.

Based on the level of completion, success (content wise), and student engagement feedback the project

would be altered or updated for future use.

Page 9 of 11
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.
CLOSURE
With the level of detail and resources placed in this lesson, it is a goal to truly collaborate with a 3rd

grade science teacher to implement this lesson in the future. As mentioned, in my role as an

instructional technology coach, having consistent time with teachers is a challenge. However, I feel that

with support and the information detailed in this plan any teacher could implement this project. When I

was in the classroom, I always struggled with connecting outside stakeholders to events with my

students. This project showed me how feasible it would be to connect with other classrooms and the

Georgia Wildlife Federation to add an immense amount of authenticity to this science standard.

References

Georgia Department of Education. (2015). ​3rd grade English language arts Georgia standards of

excellence.​ Retrieved on November 20, 2017 from

https://www.georgiastandards.org/Georgia-Standards/Frameworks/ELA-Grade-3-Standards.pdf

Georgia Department of Education. (2015). ​Georgia Performance Standards Framework for

Science-Grade 3.​ Retrieved on November 20, 2017 from

https://www.georgiastandards.org/Frameworks/GSO%20Frameworks/3%20Science%20Framew

ork%20Habitats.pdf

Georgia Department of Education. (2016). ​Science grade five standards.​ Retrieved on November 20,

2017 from

https://www.georgiastandards.org/Georgia-Standards/Documents/Science-Third-Grade-Georgia-

Standards.pdf

International Society for Technology in Education. (2016). ​ISTE standards for students​. Retrieved on

November 15, 2017 from

Page 10 of 11
http://www.iste.org/docs/Standards-Resources/iste-standards_students-2016_one-sheet_final.pdf

?sfvrsn=0.23432948779836327

Page 11 of 11