Instructional Software

Lesson Idea Name: Civil War Causes

Content Area: Social Studies
Grade Level(s): 4th

Content Standard Addressed: SS4H5 Explain the causes, major events, and consequences of the Civil War.

ISTE Technology Standard Addressed: 3- Knowledge Constructor

Selected Technology Tool: BrainPop

URL(s) to support the lesson (if applicable): BrainPop.com

Type of Instructional Software:

☐ Drill and Practice ☒ Tutorial ☐ Simulation ☐ Instructional Game ☐ e-books/e-references

Features of this software (check all that apply):

☐ Assessment Monitoring/Reporting
☐ Allows teacher to create customized lessons for students
☐ Multi-user or collaborative functions with others in the class
☐ Multi-user or collaborative with others outside the class
☒ Accessible to students beyond the school day
☒ Accessible via mobile devices
☒ Multiple languages
☒ Safety, security and/or privacy features

Bloom’s Taxonomy Level(s):

☐ Remembering ☒ Understanding ☐ Applying ☐ Analyzing ☐ Evaluating ☐ Creating

Levels of Technology Integration

☒ Infusion Level: Students may work at a higher Bloom’s Level, but they do not have any “Voice or Choice”
during the activity and most of the decisions are made by the teacher.

☐ Integration Level: We would like to see ALL lessons/activities reach this level. The project is student-
driven. Students have “Voice and Choice” in the activities, selecting the topic of study and determining the
technology tool to demonstrate mastery of the standard. The teacher becomes more of a facilitator.
☐ Expansion Level: The projects created are shared outside of the classroom, publishing student work and
promoting authorship. This could be reached by showcasing the project on the school’s morning
newscast, posting the project to the classroom blog, or publishing via an outside source.

Universal Design for Learning (UDL): BrainPop videos and lesson tutorials provide extra support to ELL
students. By incorporating audio and visual support demonstrates a differentiated learning environment.
BrainPop gives educators and students easy access to a variety of instructional formats. For example,
BrainPop can be used as an “attention getter” into new content area, additional remediation, and it can be
used for student engagement. BrainPop can be accessed for flip classroom purposes through instructional
videos, it can be assessed from home, and through various mobile devices.
Lesson idea implementation: The teacher will start the lesson by first setting the stage for a learning
environment to take place. She will ask her students to construct a KWL chart. In the first column they will list
what they already know about the Civil War and its causes. Then in the second column they will list what they
SBooker, 2020
 Instructional Software
want to know about the Civil War and its causes, and lastly, they will list what they learned. The teacher will
give her students a few minutes to fill out the first two columns and then play the tutorial video from Brain
Pop. After the video is played, the students can then break into groups and share what they learned. When
the students are given a chance to discuss what they learned from here they can craft together a presentation
as a group such as a PowerPoint, Prezi, or even construct a poster bored. Once, their presentation has been
prepared they will then present it to the class. This entire lesson can range from 30minutes to an hour that
way your students have enough time to craft a presentation and then present it to the class. Throughout the
presentation the teacher can retain one fact each group presents. In the end, the teacher can conclude the
lesson by going through the various facts she gathered and give a brief recap of what was taught. The teacher
can also evaluate the students as they present their findings.
In order for the lesson to extend to students learning at a higher-level thinking is by asking them to apply
their learning through a ticket out the door approach. In order for them to leave the class they will need to
write down five causes of the civil war they learned in class and why its significant during that time. In using
this approach demonstrates your students’ knowledge they retained, and it gives you information to provide
further feedback. As you collect their tickets you can offer encouraging feedback to strengthen their
confidence in their ability to understand the subject, and it gives you a way to clarify any confusion they may
be struggling with.

Reflective Practice: After designing this lesson I believe the activities I created impact my students learning in
a very fun and engaging way. It relieves the student from the routine of lectures and gives the student an
interactive style of learning. This lesson idea incorporates several different types of learners; therefore, it
accommodates many students. In order to further extend my lesson, I could have each student participate in
WebQuest in which they are given additional prompts to research and explore, or I could assign students
learning games on Khan Academy to put into practice what they have learned during class time.

SBooker, 2020