Beyond-the-Basic Productivity Tools (BBPT)

Lesson Idea Name: The War for Independence: How We Became a Nation
Content Area/Grade Level(s): 4th grade Social Studies: SS4H1
Content Standard Addressed: Explain the causes, events, and results of the American Revolution.

Technology Standard Addressed: 1C: Students use technology to seek feedback that informs and
improves their practice and to demonstrate their learning in a variety of ways.

Guiding Question(s): What events caused the American Revolution? Who were some important
characters who fought to make the colonies an independent nation?

Selected Technology Tool: For my technology tool, I am using Wakelet. This tool is student-centered
in that students will be able to access the content on their own time and the tool is easily accessible.

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 and student-led. Students should 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.
Your student’s projects must be shared locally or globally to meet this level.

Universal Design for Learning (UDL):

This tool supports and enhances student learning in the classroom in that is a web-based tool that
they may not have used before. Students will be able to interact with the material through the use
of fun, informative videos that have captions enabled, for students who need that extra visual aid.
Lesson idea implementation:
For this lesson, students will be focusing on parts A and B of the standard, which deal with the
causes of the civil war, as well as some of the key figures involved. The teacher will be using the
wakelet as a teaching tool in order to help the students answer the guiding questions: What events
caused the American Revolution? Who were some important characters who fought to make the

TFrazier, 2021
 Beyond-the-Basic Productivity Tools (BBPT)

colonies an independent nation? Student learning will be assessed through oral or written response
if this is in-person. In the event that the class is online, students would simply record video
responses to the prompts in the video and submit them. The final product would take place once we
have covered the entire standard. I would conclude the lesson by asking the students to recite or
record what they have learned and why it is important.
Reflective Practice: I feel that the activity will impact student learning in a positive way because the
videos and questions will be available for students to engage in at their own pace. One way I could
expand on the standard that the students are studying is doing something like a period project,
where students would create an effigy of King George III, or write a newspaper piece that would be
accurate for the period. I could implement instructional software to further enhance this lesson, as
well as videos like the “Liberty’s Kids” series.

TFrazier, 2021