Title: Opelika, Home Sweet Home

Emily Sherrod
June 24, 2015

Grade Level
2nd grade

Purpose

Students will
Students will
Students will
in Opelika.
Students will

recognize historic and famous places in Opelika.

compose and ask questions about citizenship.
research to obtain information about historic and famous places
present information to the class using video tools.

ISTE Technology Standards

Standard 2: Students use digital media and environments to communicate

and work collaboratively, including at a distance, to support individual
learning and contribute to the learning of others.
Standard 3: Students apply digital tools to gather, evaluate, and use
information.
Standard 6: Students demonstrate a sound understanding of technology
concepts, systems, and operations.

Alabama Technology Standards

Standard
Standard
Standard
groups.
Standard

5: Practice responsible use of technology systems and applications.

7: Use digital tools to access and retrieve information.
8: Use digital environments to exchange ideas with individuals or
10: Design original works using digital tools.

Common Core ELA Standards

SL.2.1: Participate in collaborative conversations with diverse partners

about grade 2 topics and texts with peers and adults in small and larger
groups.
SL.2.3: Ask and answer questions about what a speaker says in order to
clarify comprehension, gather additional information, or deepen
understanding of a topic or issue.

SL.2.5: Create audio recordings of stories or poems; add drawings or other

visual displays to stories or recounts of experiences when appropriate to
clarify ideas, thoughts, and feelings.
RI.2.10: By the end of year, read and comprehend informational texts,
including history/social studies, science, and technical texts, in the grades 2-3
text complexity band proficiently, with scaffolding as needed at the high end
of the range.

Alabama Social Studies Standards

Standard 3: Use various primary sources, including calendars and timelines,

for reconstructing the past.

Description
This lesson is designed to be a concluding lesson in unit 5 of the reading program.
The unit is entitled Lets Make a Difference and discusses topics such as
citizenship and cooperation. The goal is for the students to bring together
everything theyve learned in the unit and apply it to our community, Opelika. They
will learn more about their city in order to become better citizens of it. It will
culminate in a field trip tour of historic places in Opelika.

Activity Preparation

Create Prezi on Opelikas history, including significant people and places.

Arrange a Skype meeting time with Mr. Temple Anderson. Check all
connections.
Prepare a list of websites students can use to research Opelika. Have website
addresses as QR codes on cards to be scanned by the Google Chromebooks.
Check out class set of Google Chromebooks.
Ensure all tablets are charged and in working order.
Prepare quiz on Google Forms with desktop icon access.
Students will have learned about citizenship and cooperation over the
previous six weeks in the reading unit.
Make necessary field trip preparations, including bus arrangements,
coordinating with city employees, permission slips, and chaperones.

Activity Procedure
These lessons are to take place during the afternoon block each day from 1:45-2:45.
Monday

Share my Prezi on Opelika to introduce some of our citys history and famous
places. https://prezi.com/w_j34e2tgflf/opelika-a-quick-tour/

Think-pair-share with a partner to come up with a question to ask about

Opelika (past or present). Write question down on a note card.
Connect to Mr. Temple Anderson (former city councilman, local business
owner, church elder) through Skype. Partners will ask him approved
questions to learn more about the city. Students will write down the answers
to their questions on the note cards. If he has time left after all questions
have been answered, Mr. Anderson will share some of his favorite stories
about Opelika.

Tuesday

Randomly assign students to groups of three using name sticks. Have each
group draw the name of a famous place in Opelika out of a bag.
Groups will use Google Chromebooks to research their place. QR codes for
websites to use will be placed on note cards (http://www.qr-codegenerator.com/start-b/#).
o National Register of Historic Places
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/National_Register_of_Historic_Places_listin
gs_in_Lee_County,_Alabama
o Auburn and Opelika Tourism Bureau http://www.aotourism.com/Arts/
o City of Opelika website http://www.opelika-al.gov/Default.asp?
ID=31&pg=Home
Students will be answering questions provided on a worksheet. Sample
questions:
o Where is this place located?
o When was it built?
o What is special about this place?

Wednesday

Students will use tablet devices (either the Lenovo ThinkPads in the room or
the school set of iPad minis) to film informational videos about the places
they researched. Videos will be in an interview style. One student will film,
one student will ask questions, one student will answer questions.
Groups will also draw a backdrop for their interviews on a sheet of butcher
paper. It should look as if they are filming on location. Printing out photos
is allowed. I will hang their backdrops around the room for filming.

Thursday

Friday

Group videos will be shared on the Promethean ActivBoard. (I will transfer all
video files to my laptop before the start of Thursdays lesson.)
After each presentation the audience members will share three compliments
and one critique/question.

Beginning at 9:30, the grade level will take a walking tour field trip of
Opelikas historic places. We will split up into four groups and follow this
Google Maps path (https://www.google.com/maps/d/edit?
mid=zvJFGpUQdkcI.kPnPgLucEa6s). Each group will begin at an assigned
starting point. There will be a city employee at each point on the map to
guide the group and answer questions.
We will meet up at the Train Depot at 11:00. Buses will take us to Monkey
Park for sack lunches and recess.
Return to school by 12:30. Students will go to specials and P.E.
To debrief the weeks learning, students will complete two assessments
during the afternoon block from 1:45-2:45.
o Using desktop computers, students will complete a short six question
quiz on Opelikas historic places through a Google Form. I will have the
link to the Google Form as a desktop icon.
https://docs.google.com/a/opelikaschools.org/forms/d/1eDKTLVH_cpdZZ
rp-T-7k68KocvDNalqeUmAijLfvwns/viewform?c=0&w=1
Note: This method of assessment will not tell me WHO
submitted each response. The purpose of this is to determine
which topics were understood and which topics still need further
clarification. We do not take grades in social studies.
o In addition (and while waiting to take turns on the desktop computers),
students will write a one paragraph summary of their learning. The
prompt is Write about three new things you learned about Opelika this
week. How will these things help you become a better citizen of
Opelika? They may illustrate their writing if they have time.

Tools and Resources

Hardware: desktop computers, tablets, Google Chromebooks, projector, laptop,
speakers, printer, possibly iPad minis
Software: Skype, video recording app
Websites:

Prezi on Opelika, https://prezi.com/w_j34e2tgflf/opelika-a-quick-tour/

QR code generator, http://www.qr-code-generator.com/start-b/#
National Register of Historic Places,
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/National_Register_of_Historic_Places_listings_in_L
ee_County,_Alabama
Auburn and Opelika Tourism Bureau, http://www.aotourism.com/Arts/
City of Opelika website, http://www.opelika-al.gov/Default.asp?
ID=31&pg=Home
Google Maps tour, https://www.google.com/maps/d/edit?
mid=zvJFGpUQdkcI.kPnPgLucEa6s

Google Forms Opelika quiz,

https://docs.google.com/a/opelikaschools.org/forms/d/1eDKTLVH_cpdZZrp-T7k68KocvDNalqeUmAijLfvwns/viewform?c=0&w=1

Other materials: name sticks, names of famous Opelika Places, note cards, QR
codes, research worksheet, butcher paper, markers, glue/tape, writing paper

Assessment
This rubric is to assess the quality of the written assignment. It was created using
http://rubistar.4teachers.org/index.php.

Comment
s

Comments
Unit 5 is completed in the spring, allowing for good weather for a walking tour. This
field trip has been done previously, so connections with city employees have
already been formed. The purpose of this lesson is to improve the effectiveness of
the field trip by making it part of a longer learning event instead of an isolated field
trip.