Basic Productivity Tools (BPT)

Lesson Idea Name: Taking a Trip Across Georgia

Content Area/Grade(s): Science/ 3rd grade
Content Standard Summarized: Students will be able to obtain, evaluate, and communicate information
about the similarities and differences between plants, animals, and habitats found within geographic regions
of Georgia.

Technology Standard Addressed: Students demonstrate creative thinking, construct knowledge, and develop
innovative products and processes using technology

Selected Technology Tool: Microsoft PowerPoint

URL(s) to support the lesson (if applicable):

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. All products of learning are unique and
personalized. The teacher becomes more of a facilitator walking around monitoring the student-led
activity.
☐ 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):

The activity is designed to meet the needs of all of my students through differentiation and a choice of
options for how students would like to work and learn. When teaching the material, I will present information
in multiple ways to support the different types of learners. For example, I would use videos with voiceovers to
support both visual and auditory learners as well as hands-on activities throughout the lesson to support
kinesthetic learners. There will be closed captions on all videos and presentations in other languages, like
Spanish, to ensure that all learners understand the information completely in the best way for them. When
students are working on their own project, they will be able to choose between using Microsoft PowerPoint
or Microsoft Sway as a presentation tool to create their e-books. This gives them the choice to use the
software that they work best with and understand how to use the features better. Through integrating
technology and providing the opportunity for students to create their own product, this gives students the
chance to be engaged in the material. When designing their own e-book, students will have the choice to
choose which of the five geographic regions they want to focus on and create their story about. They will also
be able to collaborate with their peers to get feedback and help on designing their books. In their e-books,
students have full artistic freedom to pick their own characters, region, design tools, images, and transitions.
This allows students to personalize their book as they wish and decide for themselves what is the best way to
represent their learning. This lesson was designed with UDL requirements in mind.

TFrazier, 2021
 Basic Productivity Tools (BPT)

Lesson idea implementation:

As I begin the lesson, I will review the standards and what the students will be expected to learn for the day. I
would ask a student to read the standards out loud from the board before we began reviewing the
information that we have already learned about. As far as reviewing, we will work together as a class to
create a virtual anchor chart of the habitats, animals, and plants found in each region on the Smartboard and
ask students to copy the chart into their own notes. After doing this, I will show my example of an e-book
created with PowerPoint as an example of what I want the students to create on their own. I would show it
on the Smartboard and allow the voiceover to read the book to the class. Then, I would ask students to get on
their computers and open either PowerPoint or Sway depending on which tool they choose to use. I will go
over the features and how to use each tool using a detailed, step-by-step instruction list. Then, I would ask
students to create their own e-book focusing on one of the five geographic regions of Georgia. They have full
freedom of what region they want to focus on, what their story will include and be about, and all of the
images and information they want to include. I will provide students a rubric to guide them and make sure
that they meet all of the requirements for the project. To extend the student learning, I will also ask students
to find one online source that they used as a reference and to cite that source at the end of their book. This
will help them with finding information and putting information into their own words.
Then, I will give students time to work on their e-books. They are allowed to consult with their peers to ask
for feedback on ideas and design as well as use their notes and reputable websites, like BrainPOP or PBS, to
gather more information on their specific region. They will have around 45-50 minutes to work on and create
a final product. In total, this lesson will take a little over an hour. This lesson is student-led because students
must pick their own topic and create their own story, and it also gives students voice and choice. I would
conclude the lesson the next day after all students have finished their e-books, and they will have the chance
to share them with the class on the Smartboard. Depending on what they are comfortable with, they can
either read them aloud or play a pre-recorded audio of the book. After they present, I will give them feedback
on what they did well and show them their score on a rubric. They will also have the chance to fix any errors
to make their project stronger and more professional.
Reflective Practice:
I feel like the lesson and activity that I have planned will impact student learning by allowing them to be
creative and create their own e-book which encourages higher-order thinking and a high level of technology
integration. It also provides an authentic experience for students since PowerPoint is used daily in many fields
of work and it gives them a chance to be an author. By giving them choices, students will be more motivated
to create a final product that they love and be more engaged with the content. To extend this lesson, I would
allow students to participate in peer feedback where they will read over each other’s books and provide them
with a list of strengths and areas to work on before turning the projects in. After students present, we could
discuss how the different regions compare to each other and talk about how stories could fit together if
students focused on the same regions. Another idea is to post these to whatever blog or website the teacher
uses to communicate with parents to allow parents to see their children’s hard work and be a part of the
classroom community.

TFrazier, 2021