Grade: 4th Grade Social Studies

Instructor: Olivia Foy

School: Andrews Elementary

Topic: Factors Leading to the American Revolution

Part 1: Characteristics of Ms. Foy’s Fourth Grade Class

The class is consisted of 18 students, 10 males and 8 females. The age range of the group is 9-10 years
old. There is one student who is also in the Gifted and Talented class as well as two students who receive
support from a Resource Teacher for math and reading. The ability levels for the group are diverse,
extending from first grade level up to fourth grade level. As the years before have been different
academically due to the pandemic, this class has different backgrounds of prior knowledge due to
varying levels of instruction. All students receive their science and social studies instruction in my
classroom which most of the time is paired up with the second half of the reading block through
integration. This allows more time for students at the end of the day to receive detailed teaching with
time for feedback. All of the students have prior experience with technology and attend library sessions
on regular basis to check out books and materials. Most of the students are weaker in reading skills,
including in some cases, phonics instruction. These students are also receiving support during
intervention blocks for reading to build their phonics and vocabulary foundation and stamina. The
students enjoy working together for assignments and are very competitive. They enjoy discussions and
have no problems explaining and sharing their ideas. Some of my students are more involved in group
work than others and so I usually make it a rule that everyone has to participate with a key role in the
group in order for the group to receive all the points for the projects and group work.

Prior Knowledge and Routines: Most students have prior knowledge of research from conducting
biographies in my class individually. Students worked with the library to select biographies as well as
conducted online research to create an informational report about their person to present to the class.
Students were given time during independent work to work on their papers at their own pace. The
papers were typed online so students already have knowledge of basic computer skills and typing in
Google Docs as well as navigating Google Classroom for instruction. This was built into numerous
assignments throughout the school year for students to practice computer skills and accessing content
assigned by the teacher. This allows them to become more independent with their work. Since majority
of students are below grade level in terms of reading, most teaching instruction is given in different
formats such as through videos and online sites that reads to them. The students can monitor their own
pace to access the instruction. Students also reviewed the content with the teacher so that it ensured
successful understanding of the information in the unit. Most Social Studies content has been taught in
chronological order up to the American Revolution by this unit so students will have prior knowledge of
all the conditions leading up to this war. The students have no prior knowledge of the American
Revolution before this unit.

Learning Styles: Most of the students are hands-on and visual learners. They enjoy working in small
groups and projects that allow them to be creative. They work best when provided step-by-step
procedures as well as examples of the expected results. They also like projects where they have freedom
to design projects and models in their own way. Videos and demonstrations are very beneficial for this
group as well as completing assignments in sections. They also like immediate feedback to increase their
confidence in their performance of the task at hand.

Grade: 4th Grade Social Studies

Instructor: Olivia Foy

School: Andrews Elementary

Topic: Factors Leading to the American Revolution

Part 2: Standards and Objectives

Unit: Factors Leading up to the American Revolution

Subjects: Literacy, Research, Social Studies

Standards:

Social Studies: 4-3.1: Explain the major political and economic factors leading to the American
Revolution, including the French and Indian War, the Stamp Act, the Tea Act, and Intolerable Acts as well
as American resistance to these acts through boycotts, petitions, and congresses.
Literacy: 3.1 Develop a plan of action for collecting relevant information from primary and secondary
sources.
3.2 Organize and categorize important information; collaborate to validate or revise thinking; report
relevant findings.
4.3 Determine appropriate tools and develop plan to communicate findings and/or take informed action.
6.1 Summarize multi-paragraph texts using key details to support the central idea.
Standard 7: Research events, topics, ideas, or concepts through multiple media, formats, and in visual,
auditory, and kinesthetic modalities.
Standard 2: Write informative/explanatory texts to examine and convey complex ideas and information
clearly and accurately through the effective selection, organization, and analysis of content.

Objective: Students will create an informational poster in groups accurately describing assigned topic
associated with the American Revolution by conducting research aligned to a rubric and presenting the
information displayed on a class timeline.

Grade: 4th Grade Social Studies

Instructor: Olivia Foy

School: Andrews Elementary

Topic: Factors Leading to the American Revolution

Part 3: Select Strategies and Resources

Based on my current students’ learning styles, a rotation model would be best for this unit as it allows
the students to participate in a variety of activities that will keep them engaged while allowing me to
meet with each student in a small group to determine their understanding in the content. This is
beneficial since my students are in different academic levels and some can work faster than others. By
allowing the rotations where they can choose between a selection of formats, they can work on tasks in
which they feel more comfortable. The students will be given content to read and listen to
independently. The content will be created by the teacher using a PowerPoint for the students to read as
well as an shorten copy using narration. The students can choose which of the two formats to use for
class instruction. In addition, the students will research on their topic using the rubric and guidelines
provided by the teacher. Links to acceptable sites will be posted on Google Classroom and students will
record any information they see in their notebook. Students have already been taught how to
paraphrase important information in their own words and have learned about copyright works from
previous lessons. The students will record the sites that they use and the teacher will work with them on
providing proper citations. The third group, teacher group, will be meeting with the teacher to discuss
citations and summarizing information about the topics given to the group for their presentations. After
researching the first two days, the students will rotate between meeting with the teacher to discuss
progress on the project and meeting in groups to create the poster. They will work in their groups until
called to small groups with the teacher. This will last for two days. On the fifth day, groups will present
their posters to the class. The flexibility in the rotations allow students to change between rotation
activities at their own pace unless meeting with the teacher. The research and poster preparation will be
completed independently and in groups. The teacher will act more as a guide in the process and meet
with students to determine progress and assist in issues that may arise with technology or confusion
with the content.

Tools and Resources:

● Symbaloo: This program will be access though Google Classroom and will contain links available
for the students to use for research for their topics. Students will be able to access the links from
the matrix and record the information in their composition notebook. This is easier since
students will just have to click on links and search for their topic among the apps and programs.
● Prezi: The PowerPoint for each group’s topic detailing information from the teacher will be
completed on Prezi. The students can access the Prezi file on their Google Classroom by clicking
on their group’s topic under the American Revolution Project heading. Since Prezi only shows
one content at a time, it is easier to understand and students can control the pace of viewing.
● Google Slides: Their poster will be created using Google Slides once the group decides on what
information they will be using from the members’ notes. Slides can include pictures from the
Prezi presentation as well as ones they find online. Students have experience with Google
software such as slides and Classroom before so it is familiar to them to use for this project.
● Delivr: Once students have created their poster, the teacher will record the students presenting
the content to the rest of the class using Loom. The posters will be placed on a timeline on the
class wall in chronological order. The teacher will create a barcode using Delivr that will be added
to the heading of the timeline so that others can scan the code to view the video of the
presentations.
● Camtasia: In addition to Loom being used to record the presentations, the teacher will be using
the Camtasia program to record the Prezi presentations for the groups to view if they do not
 wish to read through the Prezi presentation on their own. Camtasia will allow the teacher to
signal and use other features to make the content stand out and help the students to retain the
information. Camtasia can also be downloaded and use in multiple means so it is easier to
access.
● Google Classroom: Google Classroom will be used to view presentations as well as post the
group’s poster projects when completed. The teacher will gather the posters off of Google
Classroom that the students create and make it into one slideshow for the presentation.

Routine:

Day 1 and 2: Groups:

● Research Group: Research using link off Symbaloo of topic.

● Instruction Group: View presentation from teacher about topic based on state standards
either using video or Prezi.
● Teacher Group: Discuss which sites to use and how to set up presentations.

Day 3 and 4: Groups:

● Teacher Group: Discuss ideas for presentation and progress.

● Small Groups: Determine layout for presentation and create project.

Day 5: Present Presentations based on chronological timeline.

Grade: 4th Grade Social Studies

Instructor: Olivia Foy

School: Andrews Elementary

Topic: Factors Leading to the American Revolution

Part 4: Utilize Resources

1. Prepare Resources: Since apps and programs will be available on Symbaloo, the research has
been previewed before I assigned it to the students. The links are using sites from the district
such as Discus Kids, PebbleGo Next Biographies, DK Eyewitness Books, etc. I typed in the key
words for each group in the search for each of the apps in the matrix and preview the
information available for them to view. Since it is from Discus Kids which is a program provided
by the school, it is monitored by the district as well. The content from the Prezi presentations are
made by me so all information is accurate in correlation to state standards. The students’
chromebooks are also synced to my GoGuardian Teacher account to help me monitor their
actions during research and creating the poster. I can close any pages and apps that seem to be
suspicious. The information is created on Google Classroom under a heading called American
Revolution Project. All information will be view from this heading as well as submitted under this
heading by the students.
2. Prepare the Environment: The students conducted the project in my fourth-grade classroom. The
desks are arranged in groups and all Chromebook devices are located in the classroom
Chromebook cart for students to have ready at all times. The devices are kept charging daily. All
materials are accessed in Google Classroom which can be viewed at school or at home. Students
were encouraged to continue working on the research at home if they had to the internet. Class
research was conducted during the Literacy Block after lunch as well as during independent time
as students finished their work early. All components of the project were able to be completed
online in the classroom. The only resources they needed were the laptops, notebooks, and
pencils.
3. Prepare the Learners: Learners were introduced to the topic at the beginning of Literacy Block
prior to lunch so that when the students returned to class, they were ready to start the project.
Students were given their groups and topics the day prior. These were picked by the teacher to
ensure a mixture of the groups academically. Learners were introduced to the American
Revolution the day prior by watching a short video on Discovery Education on the American
Revolution. Discovery Education is accessible through the district. I stated the overall objective
of the project and explained to students where to view the resources as well as the rubric for
which they would be graded. I provided an example of the French and Indian War poster for the
students to get an idea of what was expected. This poster was displayed in the classroom for
students to view as they were creating their own. The students already had prior knowledge of
Discuss and how to navigate the apps as well as the presentation and video from previous
lessons. Students were told that they would receive Panda Bucks for the ones who were
following procedures and participating effectively in the project. Panda Bucks could then be used
in the Panda Store of the school the following week. This acted as motivation for the students
and helped to keep them focused. Students are also aware of the GoGuardian Teacher app on
my computer as well.
4. Provide the Learning Experience: Students have completed rotations before and know the
procedures. I have a timer on my board that keeps track of rotations. The students were able to
choose between the two groups that were completed independently. For example, some
students chose to do research first while others wanted to view the presentation first to get a
better idea of the content. I made the decisions of which group came back to me at different
times based on the ones I felt needed more help with the project. As the timer ended, the
students automatically switched to the next rotation while I reset the timer from my small group
table using my computer keyboard synced to the board. This continued through the rotations of
the four days. The timer usually lasted for 15 minutes each.
a. Research Group: Students accessed the Symbaloo app and chosed their programs from
the list provided to them. The students kept their own notes and shared them with the
other students on day 3 and 4 when preparing the poster. On day 3 and 4, after listening
to each member’s notes, the students in the group chose which information was
important and how it would look on the poster.
b. Instruction Group: Students wore headphones from their desk or pencil box to listen to
the presentation provided by the teacher. The students had control over the pace of the
video as well as how many times they stopped the lesson and relistened. They took
notes in the notebook of anything they deemed important from the presentation.
Students then went back and looked over Prezi slides themselves that was linked to the
 video to determine if they missed any crucial information. This information was
discussed when they met with the teacher.
c. Teacher Group: Students met with the teacher each day and discussed the research
information as well as the progress of the poster. I made comments of anything that
needed to be changed or added to the presentation. I also reviewed content from the
presentation to make sure each group understood which components were important
from the information.
d. Small Groups: On day 3 and 4, students met in their small groups and compared notes.
They had to list, in one member’s notebook, the important information from everyone’s
notes that were to be included in the poster. They also drew the format of the poster
and how the layout would be conducted. Finally, each member was assigned a role so
that everyone was involved.
i. Roles:
1. Speaker: Presented the information in the video to the class.
2. Writer: Writes the layout and notes for the poster from group
discussions.
3. Computer Expert: Creates the poster with feedback from group
members so only one person is typing on the poster to avoid issues.
4. Picture and Graphic Leader: Added the pictures and any
graphics/symbols to the poster after the words. Pictures are approved
by group before being added to the poster. Additional graphics include
arrows, banners, shapes, etc.

Grade: 4th Grade Social Studies

Instructor: Olivia Foy

School: Andrews Elementary

Topic: Factors Leading to the American Revolution

Part 5: Require Learner Participation

▪ Engagement: Students demonstrated engagement through the viewing of the presentation and by
taking notes on the content being shared. Students also demonstrated engagement by participating in
small group based on the guidelines that everyone had to have a role in the project. When the students
came to the small group table for the teacher group, they addressed which role each member had. The
project itself also demonstrated engagement and understanding of the new information as students had
to know enough of the information being taught to create the poster. If all components of the project
were accounted for, which all were, that would express mastery of the standard.
▪ Technology: Technology was integrated throughout the whole unit as students were able to use their
chromebooks and the internet to create a poster presentation that would display content relating to the
factors of the American Revolution.
▪ Practice: Students had prior knowledge of using Google Slides as well as Discus for research. The
creation of the poster allowed the students to decide the format and content that was included in the
project. As each student had a role, each student was able to practice using the software associated
with the project and the research.
▪ Feedback: Feedback was given on a daily basis during the time the groups were called back to the
teacher’s table to discuss the progress of the poster. Students were given comments from the teacher of
what was working and what suggestions could improve the project. This helped the students to keep
track of their mastery of the project and whether they were completing the project correctly. I also sent
messages on GoGuardian to individual students if they had questions that they posted in the comment
box during research and group work. This would immediately appear on their screen.

Grade: 4th Grade Social Studies

Instructor: Olivia Foy

School: Andrews Elementary

Topic: Factors Leading to the American Revolution

Part 6: Evaluate and Revise

Learner’s Achievement: Students followed the guidelines in the rubric and example provided by the
teacher. As each group met with the teacher daily, informal observations were gathered on each group in
determining how well they were doing with the project and if there were any misunderstanding
concerning the information or how they presented it. Any changes were made prior to the presentations
which was their final draft. As the students presented their poster to the class, they were graded
according to the rubric. In regards to the final assessment, the poster, most of the groups scores well. All
groups received mastery on the content and included everything that was on the rubric. Some were
more decorated than others but all were creative with backgrounds and captions. The objective was to
create a poster depicting the information about the topic given, which all the groups did.

Evaluation of Methods and Materials: The project turned out very well. The students retained much of
the information shared during the project. I feel that the resources and assessment were a good fit for
the students since they already had prior experience with the technology and so mainly had to just focus
on the new information being taught. It allowed the students to conduct a project hands-on creatively,
which is a preference for most of the students when completing assignments. The rotation model
allowed them to rotate at their pace and meeting with the teacher each day during rotations allowed the
groups to make sure they were progressing effectively with their project. By the peers presenting the
information to the class, it was easy for the students to understand and very engaging. I also had all the
teacher instruction presentations on the Google Classroom so students could review the teacher
presentations on the other topics that were not in their poster. This allowed everyone to view the
materials. This process was much more meaningful to the students than just a normal teacher-led
discussion on the topics and allowed them to work together and learn from their classmates.
Revision: If I had to revise anything, I would probably include more resources for the students to view
than just the teacher lesson presentation on the topic. For example, instead of just having a Prezi
presentation as the teacher lesson on the Stamp Act, I could also link short video clips for the students to
watch as well to further gain understanding of the topic. Even though the students mastered the
concept, they will be able to retain it longer if there are multiple resources displaying the concept being
addressed in the lesson. Also, instead of just the teacher creating the video presentation of the poster
project by recording with the students, I will next time have the students record the presentations
themselves using FlipGrid and then share the video with their classmates using the QR Code. This will
give them even more ownership of the student presentations.