Lesson Plan for Implementing

NETSSTemplate I
(More Directed Learning Activities)
Template with guiding questions
Teacher(s)
Name
Brandy Donahue
Position

Special Education Co-teacher

School/District

Newton County Theme School/ Newton County

E-mail

Bdonahue6907@gmail.com

Phone

770-861-2947

Grade Level(s)

7th

Content Area

English/ Language Arts

Time line

March 14-March 18 (1 week)

Standards (What do you want students to know and be able to do? What knowledge, skills, and strategies do you
expect students to gain? Are there connections to other curriculum areas and subject area benchmarks? ) Please
put a summary of the standards you will be addressing rather than abbreviations and numbers that indicate which
standards were addressed.
Students will be able to:
Develop a multimedia presentation.
Conduct research and synthesize findings.
Summarize the main points of a leaders positive changes.
Select relevant examples and visual aids to support presentation.
Work productively in groups to create and present the project.
Evaluate sources of information.
Generate an annotated bibliography.
Content Standards:
RI.7.1: Students will cite several pieces of textual evidence to support analysis of what the text says explicitly as
well as inferences drawn from the text.
W.7.7: Students will conduct short research projects to answer a question, drawing on several sources and
generating additional related, focused questions for further research and investigation.
W.7.6: Use technology, including the internet, to produce and publish writing and to link to and cite sources as well
as to interact and collaborate with others including linking to and citing sources.
W.7.8: Gather relevant information from multiple print and digital sources, using search terms effectively; assess
the credibility and accuracy of each source; and quote or paraphrase the data and conclusions of others while
avoiding plagiarism and following a standard format for citations.
SL.7.1b: Students will follow rules for collegial discussions, track progress towards specific goals and deadlines,
and define individual roles as defined.
SL.7.4: Students will present claims and findings, emphasizing salient points in a focused , coherent manner with
pertinent descriptions, facts, details, and examples; use appropriate eye contact, adequate volume, and clear
pronunciation.
SL.7.5: Students will include multimedia components (eg. Graphics, images, music, sound) and visual displays in
presentations to clarify information.
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NETS*S Standards:
1. Creativity and innovation Students demonstrate creative thinking, construct knowledge, and develop
innovative products and processes using technology
2. Communication and collaboration 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.
a. Interact, collaborate, and publish with peers, experts, or others employing a variety of digital
environments and media
b. Communicate information and ideas effectively to multiple audiences using a variety of media and
formats
c. Develop cultural understanding and global awareness by engaging with learners of other cultures
d. Contribute to project teams to produce original works or solve problems.
3. Research and information fluency Students apply digital tools to gather, evaluate, and use information.
4. Critical thinking, problem solving, and decision making Students use critical thinking skills to plan and
conduct research, manage projects, solve problems, and make informed decisions using appropriate
digital tools and resources.
5. Digital citizenship Students understand human, cultural, and societal issues related to technology and
practice legal and ethical behavior.
6. Technology operations and concepts Students demonstrate a sound understanding of technology
concepts, systems, and operations.
Overview (a short summary of the lesson or unit including assignment or expected or possible products)
This lesson is a culminating task for the end of a Unit in English/Language Arts about What Influences My
Choices? Students have learned the critical role of research, the impact of visual media, and the value of
evaluating sources. Students will work collaboratively, in groups of four, to create and deliver a biographical
multimedia presentation about Nelson Mandela. Nelson Mandela is considered to be a great leader. Students will
research and compare various genres (e.g., poetry, nonfiction, speech, and film) to gain insight into the
significance of Mandelas leadership and his impact on society. The students will analyze the information, infer
meaning, and understand its relevance by creating a multimedia presentation. The students will choose from
different internet tools that can be utilized for the presentation. As a group, they will also create a Diigo account in
order to save website information to create an annotated bibliography. Students will present the project to the
class. The class will take notes on each presentation. Reflections and questions will be collected and given to the
group as feedback.

Essential Questions (What essential question or learning are you addressing? What would students care or
want to know about the topic? What are some questions to get students thinking about the topic or generate
interest about the topic? Additionally, what questions can you ask students to help them focus on important
aspects of the topic? (Guiding questions) What background or prior knowledge will you expect students to bring to
this topic and build on?) Remember, essential questions are meant to guide the lesson by provoking inquiry. They
should not be answered with a simple yes or no and should have many acceptable answers.

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What made Nelson Mandela a great leader?

How will you gather a variety of useful sources, and what criteria will you use to determine reliability?
How will you create an annotated list with a citation, summary, and evaluation of each source?
How will you collaborate with your group to use all members effectively?
What internet tools will be utilized to create your presentation?
Assessment (What will students do or produce to illustrate their learning? What can students do to generate new
knowledge? How will you assess how students are progressing (formative assessment)? How will you assess
what they produce or do? How will you differentiate products?) You must attach copies of your assessment and/or
rubrics. Include these in your presentation as well.
The students will present a multimedia biographical presentation about Nelson Mandela. Each group leader will
create a Diigo.com account and share the username and password with each member and the teacher. Each group
member must record three resources into Diigo, and write a summary of each as a part of the annotated
bibliography. The teacher will check each Diigo account to ensure that every group member is finding appropriate
resources. This can be done as a formative assessment. Also, the teacher will observe the students during
collaboration and while creating the final product. Each group will be able to help those that may have difficulties.
Also, if needed, a website that is valid and creditable can be printed. Important information can be highlighted for
struggling students to include in the presentation. Low vision aids will be utilized over computer screen during
research. ELL students will have access to Google Translate where info can be copied and pasted to translate into
Spanish from English to aid in reading comprehension. A rubric will be utilized to assess the presentation based on
ideas, structure, and use of language.
Resources (How does technology support student learning? What digital tools, and resourcesonline student
tools, research sites, student handouts, tools, tutorials, templates, assessment rubrics, etchelp elucidate or
explain the content or allow students to interact with the content? What previous technology skills should students
have to complete this project?)
Technology supports student learning in that we are allowing students to complete authentic and meaningful tasks
using twenty-first century tools to enhance their learning and understanding. In this lesson, students are becoming
more familiar with various ways to present information using various online tools such as Sway, YouTube, iMovie,
or Movie Maker. Students will also learn how to generate an annotated bibliography using Diigo.com. Students
should know how to locate information on the Internet using chosen search engines, as well as some experience
using the tools required of the presentation format they are choosing.

Instructional Plan
Preparation (What student needs, interests, and prior learning provide a foundation for this lesson? How can
you find out if students have this foundation? What difficulties might students have?)
The students perform well with their peers. Allowing them to work in collaborative groups allows for a more
students-cantered classroom. The students are very familiar with various forms of technology. In previous
lessons, students have had discussions about the characteristics needed to make a positive impact on society.
They have brain stormed a list of various people. The students may have difficulty narrowing information down to
3 resources per person. They also may become distracted in finding what they need due to looking at other
information.
Management Describe the classroom management strategies will you use to manage your students and the use
of digital tools and resources. How and where will your students work? (Small groups, whole group, individuals,
classroom, lab, etc.) What strategies will you use to achieve equitable access to the Internet while completing this
lesson? Describe what technical issues might arise during the Internet lesson and explain how you will resolve or
trouble-shoot them? Please note: Trouble-shooting should occur prior to implementing the lesson as well as
throughout the process. Be sure to indicate how you prepared for problems and work through the issues that
occurred as you implemented and even after the lesson was completed.

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Classroom will be structured into five groups of four. Students will work collaboratively in small groups. The
students will have access to the laptop cart during class. They will utilize the laptops to find the information that is
needed. OneDrive will also be utilized for each group. Each person will type the information needed from their
sources onto an OneDrive document. Each document will be named by group. The group leader will share with
the group members and teacher. Each group member will add the needed information to the OneDrive document
in preparation for the annotated bibliography. In the event that a problem arises, errors will be troubleshot to
ensure errors are fixed.
Instructional Strategies and Learning Activities Describe the research-based instructional strategies you will
use with this lesson. How will your learning environment support these activities? What is your role? What are the
students' roles in the lesson? How can you ensure higher order thinking at the analysis, evaluation, or
creativity levels of Blooms Taxonomy? How can the technology support your teaching? What authentic,
relevant, and meaningful learning activities and tasks will your students complete? How will they build knowledge
and skills? How will students use digital tools and resources to communicate and collaborate with each other
and others? How will you facilitate the collaboration?
In small, collaborative groups, students will:
o
o
o
o
o
o
o

Develop a multimedia presentation.

Conduct research and synthesize findings.
Summarize the main points of a leaders positive changes.
Select relevant examples and visual aids to support presentation.
Work productively in groups to create and present the project.
Evaluate sources of information.
Generate an annotated bibliography.

Activity will be student-led and teacher will be utilized as a facilitator.

The classroom will be structured so that all groups receive a copy of the rubric, and a checklist of what to do. The
groups are to work together to complete the assignment. Talking is allowed. Students will utilize their creativity by
choosing what presentation tool they will utilize and how they will create the presentation. Technology will allow for
students to create an authentic, relevant, and meaningful learning activity. They will be able to research the
information, collaborate and communicate through OneDrive and in their group, and learn various Web 2.0 tools.
Groups will share their presentations with the class and the class will provide written feedback for each
presentation.

Differentiation (How will you differentiate content and process to accommodate various learning styles and
abilities? How will you help students learn independently and with others? How will you provide extensions and
opportunities for enrichment? What assistive technologies will you need to provide?)
While in groups, the teacher will ask the class to discuss the character traits, that they found, made Mandela a
great leader. Each group will take turns discussing with the whole class. This may help groups hear something
new and be able to add some information to what they already have. This will also help students that usually do
not speak up to hear what other groups have discussed. For the student that requires vision aids, student will
have access to the same activity by utilizing the Visio machine over the computer monitor. ELL students will have
access to Google translate and word wall with vocabulary word cards with pictures.

Reflection (Will there be a closing event? Will students be asked to reflect upon their work? Will students be
asked to provide feedback on the assignment itself? What will be your process for answering the following
questions?
Did students find the lesson meaningful and worth completing?
In what ways was this lesson effective?
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What went well and why?

What did not go well and why?
How would you teach this lesson differently?)

Students will be asked to submit a reflection about the assignment by answering the following:
What were the challenges of creating a collaborative multimedia presentation?
How did you and your group confront these challenges?
What did you like most about the assignment?
What is something that you would want to change about the assignment if it was done again?
Closure: Anything else you would like to reflect upon regarding lessons learned and/or your experience with
implementing this lesson. What advice would you give others if they were to implement the lesson? Please
provide a quality reflection on your experience with this lesson and its implementation.
This lesson went very well. The students were actively engaged. They all were excited about the multimedia
project. They also enjoyed having the choice of what to create. The presentations were absolutely amazing. I was
extremely impressed with the outcome. The one thing that a few students said that they would change would be
timing. They felt that the week was not long enough to work on the project. Many of them were not very familiar
with Nelson Mandela. This is the reason why I chose him for the entire class. I knew that if the students were able
to choose, they would have chosen someone that was familiar to them. The students were very familiar with Web
tools. They were able to show me how to use some of the features in iMovie. They helped one another. They
listened to each other and collaborated very well to complete the task. I will definitely do this activity again. It is a
lot of planning up front, but then the students do the rest.

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