Instructional Software Lesson Idea

Kaitlyn Hovda
Lesson Idea Name: Officials in the Executive Branch
Grade Level/Content Area: 2nd Grade Social Studies Lesson

Georgia Content Standard(s) or GELDS Addressed:

SS2CG2 Identify the following elected officials of the executive branch and where they work:

ISTE Technology Standard Addressed:  What would you like students to know and be
Creative Communicator
1.6.b Students create original works or
responsibly repurpose or remix digital resources
into new creations
Empowered Learner
1.1.c Students use technology to seek feedback
that informs and improves their practice and to
demonstrate their learning in a variety of ways
What is the student learning goal for this lesson idea?
able to do by the end of this lesson:
I can identify the officials in the executive
branch.
I can identify where the governor and president
work.
I can explain the role of the executive branch.
I can create a video to demonstrate my
knowledge.

The students will gain a good understanding of the different roles within the executive branch. They
will understand the role of the president and the governor and be able to state where these officers
work. They will also be able to create a video to display their knowledge. They will understand the
value of technology and how to use Adobe Express to create an education video.
Selected Instructional Software Tool: Adobe Express

Description of Software: This tool allows teachers and students to create a slideshow with text,
images, and videos that will be transformed into a video. The video may contain audio and music to
make it more engaging for the viewers.

URL(s) to support the lesson (if applicable): https://express.adobe.com/sp

Link to video to show the students: https://express.adobe.com/video/9Kx08ZKnflDT4

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
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 Instructional Software Lesson Idea
Kaitlyn Hovda
☐ Safety, security and/or privacy features

Bloom’s Taxonomy Level(s):

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

How do you plan to implement this lesson and integrate the technology? Check all that apply:

☐ Teacher-led: There is no student voice and choice in the activities. Students are guided by the teacher's
direction and expectations. Learning activities are assigned to the student and mostly practice based.

☐ Student-Led: Students are given voice and choice in the activities. They may select the topic of learning
and/or determine the tool they will use to meet the learning goal. The teacher facilitates the learning as
the students direct their own learning processes.

☒ Problem-based and/or Publishable: Students are solving problems and completing authentic/real-world
projects to demonstrate their learning and publish results outside of the classroom. (Note: This
objective could be reached by displaying the project on the school’s morning newscast, posting the project
to the classroom blog, presenting it to another class, or publishing it via an outside source.)
How will you connect this topic to students’ prior knowledge as you teach?
The students will have previously seen different videos and have learned about the content
presented in the video that I will be showing. The students are familiar with the governor, so my
video will be a review for them. Also, students have been shown videos throughout their educational
experience so they are familiar with what videos are like. This will assist them as they create their
videos.
Managing the technology:
Students will use the technology to demonstrate their knowledge on the topic. They will view my
example video that explains the role of the governor and then they will be able to explore the
website Adobe Express to create their own video. The students will be given the freedom to discover
the different parts of the Adobe Express tool and will be given advice on different things they may
add to their videos. This will include audio and music. They are actively involved as they are given
the chance to create something based on the learning goal. They will be asked to create a video
about the role of the president, as this is another official in the executive branch.

Lesson idea implementation:

The students will first be introduced to the learning topics and learning goals. The teacher will write
these on the board and review them with the students. This will prepare them for what they are
going to be learning about. Then, the teacher will show the video about the role of the governor.
This video was created using Adobe Express. The students will have previously talked about the role
of the governor and this video will serve as a review. After the video, the students will be asked to
engage in a discussion with a partner and talk about three different things that they learned from
the video. Each pairing will be asked to share what they learned with the class. The teacher will write
down what the students say on the board to allow the students to visually see the information.
Next, the students will be asked if they can name any other officials from the executive branch. The
teacher will highlight the president and will ask the students to turn to their groups and talk about

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 Instructional Software Lesson Idea
Kaitlyn Hovda
everything they know about the president. Each group will write out as many facts as they can about
the president. The students will turn in what they wrote down to the teacher to receive feedback.
The teacher will meet with every group to check their knowledge. Then, the teacher will write out
different correct facts that the groups wrote down on the board for everyone to see.
Then, the students will be asked to create a video on the President of the United States. They will
need to include images and audio in their videos. They can use the information provided on the
board and will be permitted to do research on their computers to find more information.
The students will need to address the following questions in their video:
Who is the current President of the United States?
How old is the current President? Describe his family.
What building does the President currently live in?
What city is this building located in?
Which branch of government does the President work with?
Does the President lead the nation or the state?
This assessment will be graded based on the students’ ability to answer these questions. The teacher
will provide written feedback for the students explaining which questions they answered correctly
and which questions they did not address.
The lesson will be concluded with the students getting into groups of three and sharing their videos
with one another. They will be asked to share one thing they liked about each person’s video.

Universal Design for Learning (UDL) Reflection:

Adobe Express supports all students by providing multiple means of engagement and
representation. It allows teachers to create a video that can contain images, text, and other videos
within it. This allows them to present information in a variety of ways that can meet the needs of
different learning styles that students may have. It also allows the students to represent their
knowledge in a fun and engaging way. Students can include images and text to explain what they
know. They can also include audio to explain what they know. This allows students that struggle to
take tests or write paragraphs to show their knowledge. It differentiates assessments in the
classroom and provides the chance for students to complete a project. It is universal as the teacher
can customize a video to make it applicable to the students or to address their specific needs. The
teacher can incorporate exactly what they need to in order to support their students. It also can be
used by students in a variety of ways and they are given the chance to be creative in the classroom,
which makes the lesson more engaging. This lesson provides multiple means of engagement by
giving students the chance to engage in discussions, watch a video, and create their own video.

I believe that this lesson ideas impacts student learning by differentiating instruction. The video
provides a different way of sharing content than the teacher just lecturing. It is also engaging as it
allows the students to be creative as they create their own videos. I look forward to giving students
the chance to access their creative minds to demonstrate their knowledge and to be assessed in a
way that is different from a test or a quiz. I also like that the platform Adobe Express can be used
both to instruct students through a teacher created video or can allow students to demonstrate
their knowledge by creating their own video.

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 Instructional Software Lesson Idea
Kaitlyn Hovda

TFrazier, 2022