Lesson Plan for Implementing

NETSSTemplate I
(More Directed Learning Activities)
Grade Level(s) Third Grade

Content Area Social Studies/Writing/Reading

Time line 2 weeks

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? )

SS3H2 Describe European exploration in North America.

a. Describe the reasons for and obstacles to the exploration of North America.
b. Describe the accomplishments of: John Cabot (England), Vasco Nez de Balboa (Spain),
Hernando de Soto (Spain), Christopher Columbus (Spain), Henry Hudson (The Netherlands),
and Jacques Cartier (France).
c. Describe examples of cooperation and conflict between European explorers and American
Indians.

ELACC3RI10: By the end of the year, read and comprehend informational texts, including
history/social studies, science, and technical texts, at the high end of the grades 2-3 text
complexity band independently and proficiently.

ELACC3RI5: Use text features and search tools (e.g., key words, sidebars, hyperlinks) to
locate information relevant to a given topic quickly and efficiently.

ELACC3W2: Write informative/explanatory texts to examine a topic and convey ideas and
information clearly.

2b. Digital Citizen: Students engage in positive, safe, legal and ethical behavior when using
technology including social interactions online or when using networked devices

3c. Knowledge Constructor: Students curate information from digital resources using a
variety of tools and methods to create collections of artifacts that demonstrate meaningful
connections or conclusions.

6a. Creative Communicator: Students choose the appropriate platforms and tools for
meeting the desired objectives of their creation or communication.

7c. Global Collaborator: Students contribute constructively to project teams, assuming

various roles and responsibilities to work effectively toward a common goal.

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Overview (a short summary of the lesson or unit including assignment or expected or possible products)

I have created a project that allows students to further research facts and accomplishments of
European Explorers and their impact on North America. The students will have the opportunity to
explain the triumphs and set-backs that the explorers had while exploring North America. The
students have already been introduced to the explorers: John Cabot (England), Vasco Nez de
Balboa (Spain), Hernando de Soto (Spain), Christopher Columbus (Spain), Henry Hudson (The
Netherlands), and Jacques Cartier (France). Now the students will work in partners to write an
informational writing piece and then create a presentation on one of the European Explorers. The
students can choose to create a Sway, Powerpoint, or a stop-motion video.
Students will have access to a variety of resources to complete the research portion of this
project. They will have access to Discovery Education, Google, Brainpop, websites on each
explorer provided by myself, books from the library and class notes from their social studies book.
The students will have to share their final project and informational writing through the students
Office 365 accounts.

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? What questions can you ask students to help them focus on important aspects of the
topic? What background or prior knowledge will you expect students to bring to this topic and build on?)

The students are already familiar with the basic information about the explorer they chose.
The students have had experience with Sway, Powerpoint, and some with stop motion
animation. They have been introduced to informational writing and anchor charts have been
provided so the students can reference the correct format.

What are the reasons the European Explorers traveled to and explored North America?
What obstacles did the European Explorers face?
What accomplishments did the European Explorers have?
How can I organize information into an informational writing piece?

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?)

The students will write an informational writing piece and create a presentation using a digital
tool to demonstrate their knowledge of their explorer. Students will be provided the essential
questions to guide their learning throughout the process. The document they will use will be

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 shared via Office 365 so I can collaborate with them and keep them on pace. The final project
will be assessed with a rubric. Students can choose their partner and they may use which
ever digital tool they are most comfortable with for their final presentation. The students have
access to different leveled texts, websites, and videos for support with their research efforts.

Resources (How does technology support student learning? What digital tools, and resourcesonline student
tools, research sites, student handouts, tools, tutorials, templates, assessment rubrics, etc.help 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 increases student engagement and makes their learning more authentic and
meaningful. Students need to learn how to use technology in the classroom as a tool for their
learning. By using these tools now, it better prepares them for the real world. Websites and
videos have been provided as a starting point for their research. I have provided questions
the students must answer in their informational writing piece and presentation. Using Word
and Office 365 provides the students with more practice with real world web 2.0 tools.
Anchor charts and graphic organizers are available to organize their information. A rubric
will be provided for the presentation piece and the writing piece. The students have already
made presentations using Sway, Powerpoint. Stop motion video is a newer tool they have
been introduced to so they will pick which tool they are most comfortable with. Weve also
used Office 365 for other projects so the students understand how to navigate and share
their documents.

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?)

Students have had mini lessons over the basic facts of each explorer. After each lesson a
ticket out the door was issued to ensure they understood what each explorer did. Based
on what they learned through those mini lessons, they chose which explorer they would
like to further learn about. The students have also started informational writing. Weve
written one complete piece so far. The students are familiar with the process and how to
fill out the graphic organizer. The students have completed web quests during their small
group time so they are familiar with finding information online. The students may have
trouble focusing their information and staying on topic. I have provided the essential
questions that they must answer to help focus their research.

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
troubleshoot them?

The students will work with a partner of their choice. All students will have access to the
internet. The school offers Surface Devices for each classroom (10 per room). I also have
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 four desktop computers in my classroom. I will check out additional laptops to ensure that
each student has access to a device so the partners can work simultaneously. I will block out
a time frame each day for the students to work on their research and projects (30-45 mins). I
will monitor the students progress by walking around and checking in with each pair. Each
student must write an informational writing piece and contribute to their presentation piece.
In the event of an internet outage or if the devices need to be used for testing, I have
materials that the students can use (library books, leveled texts, social studies books). If there
are any other issues I will troubleshoot the problems first, if we need further assistance I will
have the schools IT come and assist.

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?

Technology integration and peer collaboration increases student engagement. The students
will be able to collaborate with their peers for their research and writing time and use the
tech tools that they are more comfortable with to create a presentation that they can show
their peers and family. This creates a learning environment where the students will be able
to help each other and build from one another. Also, the students will be able to sit
anywhere in the classroom while they are working on their project. I will monitor and help
with the research, tech tools, and writing. The students are taking control of their learning
and becoming historians to find out more information on a European Explorer. The students
will use their creativity to create a presentation that will be used as review for our unit test
and possibly for next years class. This project allows the students to collaborate with their
peers to research information beyond the classroom and present their information using a
digital tool.

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?)

I have mostly on and above level readers in my class. Some students are stronger than
others when it comes to using technology tools. When the students picked their partners, I
was able to see which pairs would need more or less support. I have leveled books, videos,
and different kid-friendly websites to start off their research. By allowing them to choose their
partner and presentation tool, it allows for the students learning styles to shine through.
Since they have done group projects in class before, the students are mostly familiar with
each others strengths and weaknesses. Each student is responsible for their individual
writing piece but they are able to research together. For enrichment, students will be able to
research beyond the classroom resources given, create a stop motion video (not every
student has created one before, only about half of my class), and be able to share their
project with our ITeach teacher Ms. Lawson, who the kids love to work it. For my on level
readers I have provided leveled books and videos to assist with their research.

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

For the closing event, the students will present their presentations to the class. Towards the
end of the unit, closer to our unit test, we will use these projects as a resource for review.
Students will be able to give a glow and a grow using a sticky note while viewing the final
projects. The glows/grows will be anonymous and I will review example comments for glows
and grows.
The students found the lesson more meaningful that I thought they would! I expected there to
be moans and groans because they did need to complete a writing piece and research but I
was pleasantly surprised! They were very excited that they could work together and create a
project. Many students found interesting information about their explorer and even taught me
something!
I believe the lesson was effective because the students effectively researched and created a
product that they could share with their peers and others outside of the classroom. This
project allowed my students to become more comfortable with using technology as a learning
tool.
I believe that because they could choose their own partners, the collaborative piece of the
project went well. There were not many arguments or disagreements, which tends to happen
when one or more strong-willed students are together. Also, because they could choose the
presentation tool they were most comfortable with, I did not have to help as much because
each student used their personal strengths.
The students were more focused on the presentation piece than the writing piece so they
started to get off topic. I had to re-structure the class time and explicitly state that the first few
days were devoted to working on their writing. Once they focused on that it made their
presentation piece easier because they already had all the information they needed. Because
of this, I would start off the project by structuring the writing and research time so the students
can stay on topic.

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?

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 Overall the project went great, the students were engaged and they learned so much more
information about the European Explorers than if we would have read it from the social
studies book. I did end up spending more time on this project that I originally thought I would
but that was because I didnt structure it properly in the beginning, which I will in the future.
The students were very proud of their projects. I was a little disappointed that no one chose
to create a stop motion animation, however, that is a newly introduced tool so I understand
that they are more comfortable with Sways and Powerpoints.

Informational Writing Rubric:

Yes- 2 points No- 1 point
The writer introduces the topic with a main idea or
statement.
The writer grouped related facts and information into
paragraphs.
The writer used linking words or phrases to connect
ideas effectively.
The writer wrote a conclusion related to the
information presented.
The writer reviewed grammar, capitalization,
punctuation, and spelling.

Presentation Rubric:

3 points 2 points 1 point

Content required: Presentation Presentation only Presentation only
What are the reasons answered each answered 2 answered 1
the European question. questions. question.
Explorers traveled to
and explored North
America?
What obstacles did
the European
Explorers face?
What
accomplishments did
the European
Explorers have?

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Visual Makes excellent use Makes good use of Graphics or effects
Presentation of graphics and graphics or effects to distract from the
effects, to enhance enhance the presentation content
the presentation. presentation. or are unrelated.
Auditory Students spoke with Students spoke with Students did not
presentation appropriate tone, appropriate tone but engage the
* Speaking and inflection, and at an not at an appropriate audience and/or
Listening standards:,
ELAGSE3SL5 appropriate pace. pace. was unclear.
ELAGSE3SL6
Collaboration My partner and I My partner and I had My partner and I did
*This will be graded worked together, some discrepancies not work well
via teacher compromised, and but were resolved together and had to
observations
throughout the
both of our ideas with teacher complete the project
development of the were represented. assistance. independently.
project.

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