1. Topic-
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| The "Nifty Fifty States" US Geography, Demography, and History |
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2. Content-
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| Basic information about the fifty states and their capitals, population
information, geography, cultural/historical facts. This content will
serve as the foundation for a comprehensive Social Studies project
and presentation the students will complete at the end of this unit. |
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3. Goals: Aims/Outcomes-
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Students will be able to use Google SMS as a tool to answer a series
of provided questions about their chosen state's geographic, demographic,
and historical information.
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4. Objectives-
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| At the end of this lesson, students will understand the appropriate
application of Google SMS for a basic research project and will demonstrate
this knowledge later in the unit through a research project and oral
presentation. |
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5. Materials and Aids-
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| Personal cellphones, notebooks, projector/smartboard, computer (for
the instructor demonstration). |
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6. Procedures/Methods-
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A. Introduction-
1.Brief lecture/guided discussion introducing the Fifty States unit
and Google SMS as a information obtaining tool.
2. Focusing event: collaborative group work. Students will be split
into pairs and will research two different states of their choice
to complete the provided handout. |
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B. Development-
| Lesson will begin with an instructor-guided explanation of Google
SMS using the Google SMS Simulator. The instructor will practice asking
and answering questions via Google SMS, displaying the necessary steps
and results on a projector/smartboard. |
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C. Practice-
1. Before being split into groups, students will first as a class
answer two instructor generated questions about the geography and
population of New York State.This will address any last minute questions/troubles
with the tool.
2.Students will write their top three choices for a state to research,
instructor will collect these choices to assign states later.
3.Students will continue to obtain information about New York state
in assigned pairs. |
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D. Independent Practice-
1.The instructor will go through the student's state choices and
assign individual states for the comprehensive research project.
2.Students will be expected to bring in information daily about their
specific states. This information must be obtained using only SMS. |
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E. Accommodations (Differentiated Instruction)-
1.Instructor will touch base during each lesson to make sure there
is minimal confusion and schedule weekly chats with individuals to
monitor progress.
2. Group work rather than a lecture based or even a guided discussion
type of lesson may work better with this age group given the attention
limits. They have something to do, information to report, and a chance
to collaborate with one another while they do it.
3. The instructor will need to monitor the pace of this lesson to
guarantee that it is not too slow for particularly bright students
and should modify the depth of the questions accordingly if that is
the case.
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F. Checking for understanding-
1.Quick feedback will be requested at the end of each lesson to
touch base with the students.(Informal "assessment" but really more
of a step to check in and see how research is going)
2. Their information and answers to provided questions about their
state (in addition to any other pertinent information) will be reviewed
during each class period by the instructor, and ultimately, will be
uploaded to a blackboard discussion board so that they can look at
one another's progress.
3. The formal assessment will occur at the end of this unit, when
student's will give an oral presentation to the class as a famous/celebrated
individual from their state and will include all information collected
by their cell phones. |
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G. Closure-
This initial lesson plan should address a 45 minute time slot. Factoring
in time for questions and group work, the lesson will end with a quick
review of the Google SMS tool and a quick discussion of what this
information is to be used for.
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7. Evaluation-
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| I am hoping that kids will be fairly comfortable texting to obtain
information and will not use SMS for social purposes during the lesson.
I think the novelty of sending a text may inspire interest with this
age group, many of whom may be just getting phones for the first time.
Additionally, the promise of a final "Fifty State Feast" complete
with presentations should motivate the kids to really get engaged. |
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