TECHNOLOGY UNIT

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Please submit your Technology Unit using the following template. Hyperlink all
resources to this page. Please do not replace or move any of the content except my
detailed instructions. Leave all main headings & tables. You will need to submit
your Technology Unit via Canvas as a Google Doc. You will have one opportunity for
a redo. After I have submitted your grade, please post your technology unit on your
Weebly page.

TECHNOLOGY UNIT TEMPLATE

NAME

SCHOOL

GRADE LEVEL /
SUBJECT

Bobbi Keinsley

Corydon Central
Elementary School

First

UNIT TITLE: Animal Inquiry

Objectives:
Indiana State Standards:
1.3.4 Describe how animals habitats, including plants, meet their needs for food, water,
shelter and an environment in which they can live.
1.RN.2.1 Ask and answer questions about key details to clarify and confirm understanding of
a text.
1. RN.3.1 Know and use various text features (e.g., table of contents, glossary, illustrations)
to locate and describe key facts or information in a text.
1.W.5 With support, conduct simple research on a topic.
Identify several sources of information and indicate the sources.
Organize information, using graphic organizers or other aids.
Make informal presentations on information gathered.

NETS-S Standard:
3. Research and information fluency Students apply digital tools to gather, evaluate, and use
information. a. Plan strategies to guide inquiry b. Locate, organize, analyze, evaluate,
synthesize, and ethically use information from a variety of sources and media c. Evaluate
and select information sources and digital tools based on the appropriateness to specific
tasks d. Process data and report results

Unit Overview (description)

Each year, most of the grades at our school complete inquiry/research projects and
we invite parents in to see their products. In K, 1st and 2nd grades we do animal
projects. Their products are usually books, modules or posters. These are great but I
feel like we, as a school we should be far past these kinds of products. Therefore, I
will be trying to find ways that I can use technology effectively as my first graders
go through the inquiry process. They will pick a topic (animal), conduct research and
share their learning. We will invite parents into the see their finished products and
reach out to get feedback.

Technology Incorporation
Which of the 21st Century Skills are incorporated in your unit?

Creativity/Innovation
Critical Thinking
Problem-Solving
Decision-Making
Communication
Collaboration/Social Networking
Information Literacy/Research
Reflection

How will the 21st century skills be taught and assessed?

Skill
Explanation
Creativity/Innovati
on
Information
Literacy/Research

My students will be able to decide which tool they would like

to use to create their final products. They will decide how to
share their learning and ideas.
My students will write their own questions about animals and
research to find their answers using different sources.

What technology did you incorporate in your lesson and why?

Technology
How
Why
Kidrex

Students will use it to

research their topics.

Its a kid friendly search

engine with filtered
results.

Symbaloo

Students will also use the

resources I have found on
symbaloo.

I can find websites that

are good sources and
compile them into a easy
to use group.

Thinglink

Students will use

Thinglink to create an
interactive digital image
sharing information about
their animal.

I want my students to
create products we can
share digitally.

Weebly

We will post our projects

on our class website to
share with families.

I want my students to get

feedback on their pieces.

Google Earth

We will use Google Earth

to go to the habitats
using the Voyager layer.

Students will get a first

hand look at the animals
in their habitats.

What distance learning tool did you use? Weebly, My Big Campus, Edmodo,
Wordpress, etc
Distance Learning Tool

How did you use it?

Weebly

We will post our thinglinks and popplets

on our site to share. We will be asking
other first grade classrooms to provide
us feedback when they get to their
habitat projects.

What level of SAMR is your Unit at?

For more information about SAMR, click here
Redefinition- We will be using technology to create and share our learning in ways
that were not available in the past. We will post our projects on our classroom
website and ask for feedback. I will ask for other classrooms in our school to
review and I will be putting a notice in our classroom newsletter asking parents
and family members to get on and provide feedback. We will then go through the
comments and make a list of pros and cons before beginning our next inquiry
project. We will refer to this several times to make sure we are growing as
researchers.
How will your students gain access to an authentic audience? Through our weebly
class site.

Classroom Management
Include management strategies and describe how you will provide equitable access
to technology resources in your technology plan. (Suggestions: if using clickers,
when would you pass them out and when would you collect them. If going to a lab,

is there a procedure for logging in? Do the students have assigned seats? How will
they submit work to you? Do you have a system for inspecting the lab for damages?
Do you have a system for managing the students while in the lab to prevent
damages? If students are in the classroom, how are they clustered together? How
will you ensure that students stay on task?)
Management
Strategy

How, when, & why this will be implemented.

Training

I spend a lot of time training my kids how to use technology

properly. I model and then they practice and I provide
feedback as needed. If I notice someone not following the
procedures I remind and have them practice again.

Value

Ipads in my classroom are seen as extremely valuable and

helpful. From the beginning I have called them tools. I
wanted my students to see them as a tool and not a toy. I
use them a lot for students to see what cool things they can
do because we have this amazing tool.

Wander

This is something that I need to get better at when we are

using the iPads in my classroom. Since I only have four and
we usually use them during small group or partner
activities, I am most often with another group or with an
individual student. If I could wander more it would allow me
to keep closer tabs on what my kids are doing.

Student Inquiry and Research:

Students used the following technology
to do research.

Explain how this helped them find

answers and encouraged them to be
problem solvers and make decisions.

KidRex

Kidrex is a great researching tool. My

students will use it and the Symbaloo to
find answers to their inquiry questions.
They will have to determine if a fact
answers their question and if its
important to include in their final
products.

Symbaloo

Thinglink, Book Creator, Popplet

My students will choose which tool they

want to use to share their learning. We
will talk about what each tool is really

good at and what we could use it for.

Then they will decide which ones will
share their learning the best.

Copyright & Digital Citizenship

Include information about summarizing copyright laws related to use of images,
music, video, and other digital resources in varying formats. Explain how you
created the lesson without violating copyright laws. Explain how you encouraged
your students to use the technology while remaining a good digital citizen.

1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.

The biggest challenge for this lesson is maintaining copyright. We have spent time
talking about internet safety and picking reliable resources for other projects we
have completed.
In second grade I have several steps my kids would follow to ensure that they are
not plagiarizing information with a partner then on their own. In first it has been
more of a challenge. They have a hard enough time reading and understanding
the text but then to ask them to say it in their own words. It gets tricky. I am
hoping that I can be a resource in this step for many of my students. They will go
through these modified steps:
find the key word (pulled from their questions)
read the sentences around the key word
turn away from the computer/flip over the iPad
think about what it means
tell Mrs. K
write it down
I am hoping that many of my students will be able to do this more independently
and skip step 5. I am planning on first teaching this skill in small group rotations
during reading time and then pushing them to be more independent as they are
able.

Reaching Diverse Learners

I used the following technology resources to enable and empower learners with
diverse backgrounds, characteristics, and abilities. Explain how you used videos,
screenshots, additional websites, etc. to assist with this. Even if you do not have a
variety of diversity in your school, explain how you could incorporate this in your
lesson to reach diverse learners. (Be sure there are lesson plan assignments and
videos of classroom implementations, collaborative efforts, and diversity
modification issues are addressed in a substantial way. )
Tool or Strategy

Explain how this tool or strategy

was used to empower learners with
diverse backgrounds.

Google Earth Activity Screenshot

Directions

I used snipping tool to place

screenshots on their worksheet to help
trouble shoot some problems with using
the tool. It allowed those students who
have a harder time reading and those
who are not as comfortable with the
tool to still work independently.

Adaptive/Assistive Technology
The following adaptive/assistive hardware and software helped to assist students
with special needs.
Example: Explain how you used magnifying screens, etc. to help assist students.
Adaptive/Assistiv
e Technology

How did you or how could you have used this technology to
assist students

How To Videos

I a show me video of how to create the Thinglinks or Popplets

for my students who need extra reminders and support while
working. These will be saved on our class site so they can
access them as needed. See links below:
https://youtu.be/r0UYpNQigSY
https://youtu.be/kvRAW8FwDXI

Dragon Dictate

Students who need to write down information from text but

struggle with the mechanics or handwriting can use dragon
dictation to help them with taking notes from text.

Genius Scan

PDFs of book pages are made with Genius Scan so that

students who cant read text on their own can have them read
to them.

Screenshots

My students have screenshots of step by step directions on

how to use KidRex to search for information on their animal.

Unit Procedure
Pre Assessment: Link or insert a screenshot of your pre-assessment.
I created a quiz on Kahoot over the students knowledge of animals and their
habitats. They were shown a picture and asked what habitat the animals lived in.
We took the assessment using many different devices including my desktop
computers, ipads and iphone while projecting the questions on my smartboard.

Kahoot creates a table of the test results below is a screenshot of their results.

We did do a practice thinglinks and popplets to help them prepare for using these
tools and to allow me to see who needed more practice and who was ready. Please
see links below.
https://www.thinglink.com/scene/697874790521765888
https://www.thinglink.com/scene/705787501414973441
___________________________________________________________________________________

Unit Plan:
Explain your technology unit in detail. Plan at least 3-4 days on instruction. Be sure
to include lots of technology. Use 21st century skills and try to teach above the line,
striving to reach the Modification or substitution level. Link ALL of your resources. If
you said that the students watched a video, link it. If the students explored a certain
site, link it. If the students were given an assignment, link it.
Day One:
Using the promethean board model how to create a mindmap on Foxes using the
textbook story Fox and Kit and the video Natures Amazing Video Red Foxes. Walk
the students through how to add information from sources onto their graphic
organizer using red foxes as my topic.

Introduce the Animal Inquiry Project and have kids pick what animal they want to
research. Pass out the graphic organizers and introduce Symbaloo of resources.
Day Two:
Review how to navigate to and use the Symbaloo of resources. Teach students how
to use KidRex to research their topics. Model this using red foxes and the missing
information from my own mindmap started yesterday. Provide copies of step by step
screenshots for extra support as they are researching. Then explore pages and
discuss how to record information without plagiarizing then go through the steps
using the Gradual Release of Responsibility.
Days Three-Six:
Students will now spend the next several days going through stations to find
information on their animal. They will go to the following stations:
1. Symabloo on computers or ipads.
2. Informational text and articles from library.
3. Animal Mini Book (when finished they will read from their book bags).
Day Seven:
Using the promethean board and my example Thinglink and Popplet on red foxes,
model to the students how to take information from their mindmap and put it into
their Thinglinks. Allow students work time to complete this part of their project.

Day Eight:
Using the Discovery Education video: Habitats, Homes for Living Things we will
discuss and create a teaching chart about the different habitats. Students will then
work with peers to discover what habitat their animal lives in. An assignment will be
sent home to collect supplies for students to create their own habitat shoebox.

Days Nine-Twelve:
Students will be completing their Thinglinks or Popplets using ipads and computers
and creating their habitat shoeboxes in stations.
Day Thirteen:
Model how to use Google Earth to explore the earth and focus on using the
VOYAGER layer. Students will have time to just practice using Google Earth
Days Fourteen-Sixteen:
Students will work in pairs during reading stations to find animals that live in
different habitats using Google Earth and the Voyager layer- Go On A Safari.

Day Seventeen:
Students will have a showcase where they can share their habitat shoeboxes and
their Thinglinks and Popplets will be shared at Parent Teacher conferences. We will
also post them to our classroom site and ask for feedback from the other first grade
classrooms.

Post Assessment:
Suggestions: Google forms, Survey Monkey, Clickers, GradeCam, etc.
What did you give as a post assessment? Their final Thinglink projects were their
assessment.
Include data you gained from your pre assessment. I used these as well as their
graphic organizers, classroom observations and notes to judge whether my students
were successful in going through the research process.
The results from our Post Kahoot Quiz is below.

When comparing the results of my Kahoot Quiz on habitats, I noticed that overall
the % correct increased from 71% to 80% while the percentage incorrect
decreased.
On the Pre assessment I only had one student score a 100% but on the post I had
3. I also had 7 students only miss one question on the post assessment while I
only had 4 miss one question on the pre assessment.
Overall the results show that my class has a better understanding of animal
habitats.

Work Samples
https://www.thinglink.com/scene/705788366125268993
https://www.thinglink.com/scene/713744025944850433

Video of Lesson:
https://youtu.be/nrJ0hzu13CU

I am modeling how to add information

to a Thinglink and Popplet using my
promethean board and apple air. Then
the small group starts on their projects.

https://youtu.be/6bAzh5pxZ2g

I am introducing Google Earth to my

class using the promethean board and
then my students are using Google
Earth-Voyager layer to explore animal
habitats.