Instructional Software

Lesson Idea Name: America in WWII

Content Area: Social Studies
Grade Level(s): 5th grade

Content Standard Addressed: SS5H4 Explain America’s involvement in World War II.
Here, we will cover the major events from the war as well as many of the famous (or infamous) figures from
the time period.

Selected Technology Tool: Khan Academy

URL(s) to support the lesson (if applicable and goes directly to the lesson):
The Second World War (practice) | Khan Academy
Type of Instructional Software:
X Drill and Practice ☐ Tutorial ☐ Simulation ☐ Instructional Game ☐ e-books/e-references

Features of this software (check all that apply):

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

Bloom’s Digital Taxonomy Level(s):

X Remembering X Understanding X Applying ☐ Analyzing ☐ Evaluating X 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.

X 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): The biggest way that this lesson has an impact with the students and
can encompass the UDL principles in that students will be able to learn at their own pace. This is a technology
tool that students can access on mobile devices and can access at home, on their own time. With the videos
encompassed in the module, students can learn at their own pace, pausing the videos and rewinding them to
recall the necessary information. There is a difference in how the students can see the information, whether
it be through watching the videos or reading the transcripts.

TFrazier, 2021
 Instructional Software

Lesson idea implementation: As we begin the module, we will work our way through the module, with the
teacher (myself) answering any and all questions the students may have. At the end of the module, there will
be a short quiz that students will complete and demonstrate their knowledge of the topic. Once we have
successfully worked our way through the standard and the students have completed the quiz, I will break up
the class into groups for a group project. I will have sign-up sheets posted in the classroom for the students.
On each sign-up sheet will be a list of topics (a famous event from WWII or a historical figure from the time
period) and students will sign-up for the topic that they most want to do. in that way, they are also forming
their own groups.

Once all of the students are in their groups, I will explain the project. Each group will take their topic and
create either a PowerPoint or a Weebly presentation on their topic. There will be time set aside to show the
students how to set up a presentation, and ideally, I will have a teacher from the computer lab in the room to
assist. The students are allowed some freedom in how they design their presentations, but they will have
some guidelines to follow (dates, general overview of event/person, impact of event/person on the war). the
students are allowed to use whatever resources for their research. However, there is a caveat, in that I have
to approve whatever resources they use to build their presentation. The class, and each group, will have one
week to build their presentations before presenting to the class.
Reflective Practice: I feel that the lesson activity could impact student learning in a rather positive way, as
students are being given an opportunity to work together and groups to create a product. As far as lesson
extensions would go, an excellent extension would be to visit a WWII museum. If it were possible, I would try
and get approved for a class trip to New Orleans to visit the WWII museum. If that isn’t possible, then a
virtual tour though the museum website would work just as well. There are certainly plenty of additional
technology tools such as multimedia sites like BrainPOP and YouTube that the students could use for
research.

TFrazier, 2021