Picture by: Pixabay
During week 5, we were asked to create a lesson plan that utilizes a 21st century tool. I will be teaching 3rd grade next year, so I chose to write a lesson plan that I could implement next year in Social Studies. In Social Studies, 3rd grade learns about Michigan history starting with the American Indians that first populated our state. Therefore, the lesson I wrote asks 3rd students to learn about the different American Indian tribes that first lived in Michigan and use Google to research their different customs, traditions, houses, foods, and tools. The students will chose one American Indian group to research with a partner and present their information using a 21st century tool. The reason I chose to have students work in partners is due to the idea that students are able to understand and create more with shared knowledge than by learning on their own (O’Donnell, 2012). I chose to allow my students to choose between 3 different presentation tools: Prezi, Google Slides, or Powtoon. Each tool is a great way to present information in an engaging way. The three tools I chose progress a bit in difficulty to allow for differentiation.
Google slides is the easiest way to present the material. It follows the same structure of creating a Powerpoint with minor differences. If a student chose to use Google slides, they would choose different backgrounds, transitions, layouts, and fonts. Then, they would select images to put on their slides and add text to describe their topics. This is a great beginner presentation tool.
The next tool is Prezi, this is similar to a powerpoint, but with added features and difficulty. You can choose basic templates on Prezi or complete one from scratch. Prezis can range from very basic presentations to complex and creative presentations. Even though Prezi has a few new tools that need to be learned, there are tons of videos online to walk anyone through the steps to create a powerful presentation.
The final tool students can choose from is Powtoon. I recently discovered just how easy to use and this tool is for making professional looking presentations. Powtoon has great instructional videos to learn this tool in easy steps. I chose this tool as a variation to typical presentations. Powtoon is a way of presenting information that can look like a typical slide, but is animated with characters and transitions into a video format. Students would add pictures and information as they would in a typical Powerpoint, but then they could add animated characters, transitions, and music to create their final video.
All three tools allow students to present their material in engaging ways, but each is simple enough for students to learn quickly with the help of instructional videos.
Here is the link to my lesson plan. I hope it inspires you to utilize 21st century tools in your classroom.
References:
O’Donnell, A. (2012). Constructivism. In APA Educational Psychology Handbook: Vol. 1. Theories, Constructs, and Critical Issues. K. R. Harris, S. Graham, and T. Urdan (Editors-in-Chief). Washgington, DC: American Psychological Association. DOI: 10.1037/13273-003.
Hobbs, R. (2011). Digital and media literacy: connecting culture and classroom. Thousand Oaks, CA: Corwin Press.
Pixabay (n.d.). Free stock photo of business, computer, device. Retrieved June 18, 2017, from https://www.pexels.com/photo/laptop-technology-ipad-tablet-35550/
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