LessonPlanforImplementingNETSSTemplateI

(MoreDirectedLearningActivities)

Templatewithguidingquestions
Teacher(s)Name

PeggyMarleneHarris

Position

DistrictInstructionalTechnologyCoach

School/District

ScrevenCountySchools

Email

mharris@screven.k12.ga.us

Phone

(912)4512200

GradeLevel(s)

7thgrade

ContentArea

SocialStudies

Timeline
(3)75minuteclassperiods

GSEStandards
:
SS7G1:
ThestudentwilllocateselectedfeaturesofAfrica.
L68WHST7:
Conductshortresearchprojectstoansweraquestion(includingaselfgenerated
question),drawingonseveralsourcesandgeneratingadditionalrelated,focusedquestionsthatallowfor
multipleavenuesofexploration.
L68RHSS7:
Integratevisualinformation(e.g.,incharts,graphs,photographs,videos,ormaps)with
otherinformationinprintanddigitaltexts.

Inseventhgradesocialstudies,thegeographydomainincludesthestudyofthephysicalandhuman
geographyofAfricaandAsia.ThislessonwillfocusonthephysicalgeographyofselectedAfrican
features.Anunderstandingofthephysicalgeographyandhowitaffectshumangeographywillhelp
studentsgrasptheimportancethatgeographyplaysintheirlives.

StudentswillbeabletouseEncyclopediaBritannicaonlinetoresearchimportantinformation
aboutselectedAfricancountries,landformationsandbiomes.
StudentswillbeabletouseGoogleSlidestocollaborateandshareresearch.
StudentswillbeabletouseaGoogleMapsapplicationtolocateselectedAfricancountries,land
formationsandbiomesonaninteractiveworldmap.
StudentswillchooseanareaofpersonalinterestinoneoftheselectedAfricancountriestotake
anonlinevirtualtour.
Studentswilldescribetheirvirtualtourtoclassmatesanddiscussthephysicalandhuman
geographythattheyobserved.
StudentswillpracticelocatingselectedAfricancountries,landformationsandbiomesusing
interactiveflashcards.
Studentswillworkasateamtocompeteagainsttheotherteamsintheclasstolocatetheselected
Africancountries,landformationsandbiomesusinganinteractiveflashcardgame.

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NETSS
1.CreativityandInnovation
Studentsdemonstratecreativethinking,constructknowledge,anddevelopinnovativeproductsand
processes
usingtechnology.Students:
a.applyexistingknowledgetogeneratenewideas,products,orprocesses
c.usemodelsandsimulationstoexplorecomplexsystemsandissues
2.CommunicationandCollaboration
Studentsusedigitalmediaandenvironmentstocommunicateandworkcollaboratively,includingata
distance,
tosupportindividuallearningandcontributetothelearningofothers.Students:
a.interact,collaborate,andpublishwithpeers,experts,orothersemployingavarietyofdigital
environments
andmedia
b.communicateinformationandideaseffectivelytomultipleaudiencesusingavarietyofmedia
andformats
d.contributetoprojectteamstoproduceoriginalworksorsolveproblems
3.ResearchandInformationFluency
Studentsapplydigitaltoolstogather,evaluate,anduseinformation.Students:
b.locate,organize,analyze,evaluate,synthesize,andethicallyuseinformationfromavarietyof
sourcesandmedia
c.evaluateandselectinformationsources

Overview
(ashortsummaryofthelessonorunitincludingassignmentorexpectedorpossibleproducts)
Using
BritannicaSchool
,studentswillresearchAfricancountries,landformsandbiomesthathavebeen
assignedtotheirgroup.BritannicaSchoolallowsstudentstodifferentiatethecontentbychoosingthe
appropriatereadinglevelorusinganoptionalscreenreaderorlanguagetranslator.Theywill
collaborateusingGoogleSlidestogatherresearch.Eachgroupwillcontributeresearchtotheir
assignedslide.ThestudentswillindividuallycreateaninteractivemaptouroftheAfricancountries,
landformsandbiomesthatarestatedinthestandard.Using
GoogleTourBuilder
theywillmarkthe
locationsonthemap,incorporatethecollaborativeresearchanduploadatleastfiveimagespertinentto
thelocation.TheGoogleMaptourswillthenbesubmittedtoasharedGoogleSheetforevaluationand
sharing.Afterselectingalocationofinterestfromthestandard,thestudentswilltakea360interactive
virtualtourusing
AirPano.com
toexperienceapartofourworldthattheywilllikelyneverexperience
firsthand.Thisexperiencewillallowthemtodevelopabetterunderstandingofhowphysical
geographyandhumangeographyaffecteachother.UsingtheAskaquestionoptioninGoogle
Classroom,Studentswilldescribetheirvirtualtourtoclassmatesanddiscussthephysicalandhuman
geographythattheyobserved.Skillspracticewillbeincorporatedintothelessonusing
Quizlet.com
interactivestudycards.Thecardsincludebothverbaldescriptions,mapsandimagesofthelocationsto
beidentified.Asaculminatingactivity,studentswillcompeteinteamsusing
QuizletLive
,ateam
building,wholeclassgame.Allassignments,instructionsandresourceswillbesharedandcollected
usingGoogleClassroom.ScrevenCountyMiddleSchoolisa1:1Chromebookenvironmentsoall
studentshaveequitableaccesstodevicesandinternetservices.

EssentialQuestions
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EQ1:Whyisitimportanttostudyworldgeography?
EQ2:Whatarethedifferenttypesofgeographyandhowdotheyaffecteachother?
EQ3:HowcantheinteractivefeaturesofGoogleMapsbeusedtoexaminephysicalgeography?
EQ4:HowcantheinteractivefeaturesofGoogleMapsbeusedtodeterminethegeographicallocation
ofAfricancountries,landformsandbiomesinrelationtoeachotherandtomylocation?

Assessment
Studentswillcreateaninteractivemapwiththelocationsspecifiedbythestandardmarked.Each
locationwillalsoincludedthreefactsaboutthelocationsphysicalgeography,twothingsthatinterests
thestudentsandoneuniquefact.Thestudentswillincludeatleastfiveimagesthatpertaintothe
location,oneofwhichisanimagewiththelocationmarkedonmapofAfrica.Studentswillalsomark
thelocationofScrevenCountyMiddleSchoolsothattheycanrelatetheirlocationtotheAfrican
locations.
Achecklist

willbeprovidedandexplainedbeforetheactivitybegins.

Studentswillbeformativelyassessed,before,duringandafterthelesson,usingthe
Quizletcardsetfor
standardSS7G1
.

Resources
Thisstudentcenteredlessonutilizesthefollowinginteractivewebsitestoaddresstheabovementioned
standards:
BritannicaSchool
,
GoogleTourBuilder
,
AirPano.com
,
Quizlet.com
and
QuizletLive
.The
interactivequalitiesofthesesitesgivestudentsownershipofthelearningbyallowingthemtoexplore,
investigateandpracticethenecessaryskills.GoogleTourBuilderisintegratedwithGoogleDriveand
studentswillbeabletologinwithoneclickusingtheirGoogleschoolaccounts.Studentscanaccess
BritannicaSchoolthoughGalileo.GoogleClassroom,SlidesandDocswillbeutilizedtocollaborate
andcommunicatewithclassmatesandteachers.Allhandouts,tutorials,andchecklistswillbe
distributedthroughGoogleClassroom.

InstructionalPlan
Preparation
Thestudentsworldgeographystudiesbeganintheirsixthgradeyear,focusingonLatinAmerica,the
Caribbean,Canada,EuropeandAustralia.Studentsshouldbefamiliarwithlocatingdifferentcountries
ontheworldmap.Individualstudentsgeographyknowledgeandunderstandingcanevaluatedby
analyzingtheirscoresonthepreviousyearsGeorgiaMilestonesassessment,whichareavailableinthe
StudentLongitudinalDataSysteminourStudentInformationSystem.Studentswithdisabilitiesmay
needassistancewiththezoomingfeaturesofGoogleTourBuilderandAirPano.Inwhichcase,an
externalmousemaybehelpful.Also,headphoneswillbeprovidedforthosewhodesiretouseascreen
reader.Somestudents,especiallythosewhowerenotinourschoolsystemlastyear,mayneed
assistancewithcollaboratingandcommentingwhileusingGoogleAppsforEducation.Ifso,their
groupmatescanassistthemortheteachercanhelp.QuizletLiveisanewfeatureofthewebsiteso
studentswillneedgameplayinstructionsandapossibledemonstrationbeforetheactualgamebegins.
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Management
Beforeimplementingthelesson,theteacherwilllogintoastudentChromebookusingateststudent
accounttoensurethatallwebsitesarefullyfunctionalandavailableforstudentuse.Theteacherwill
contacttechnologysupportifanysitesarenonfunctionalorblockedforstudents.Thedaybeforethe
lesson,theteacherwillcheckthatallChromebooksarefullycharged.Studentswillretrievetheir
Chromebooksinhomeroomandcarrythemwiththemthroughouttheday,asusual.Studentswillbe
pairedwiththeirelbowpartnersforthecollaborativeresearch.TheQuizletLiveteamswillbe
automaticallyassignedwithinthegameandstudentswillsitinsmallgroupsfortheteamgame.They
willworkindividuallytocreatetheGoogleTourofAfrica.EachstudenthasanassignedChromebook
andtheinternetaccessisverycapableofsupportingtheinternetactivityofthelesson.

InstructionalStrategiesandLearningActivities
Formativeinstructionalpracticessuchasprovidingclearlearningtargets,collecting,analyzingand
usingevidenceofstudentlearning,providingeffectivefeedbackandpromotingstudentownershipof
learningwillbeusedthroughoutthisstudentcenteredlesson.Thelearningactivitieswillengage
studentsbyallowingstudentstorelategeographiclocationsofAfricanplacestotheirowngeographic
location.Studentswillresearchandchoosefacts,imagesandvirtualtouringdestinationsofinterestto
them.Theteacherwillactasafacilitatoroflearningandprovidegrouporindividualassistanceas
needed.Studentswillbeaskedtoanalyzeandreflectontheinformationgained.Questionpromptswill
beaskedthroughtheGoogleClassroomAskaquestionfeature.Theteacherwillmakesurethat
studentsaremakingprogressandallstudentsarecontributingbymonitoringthecollaborativeGoogle
Slides.Thestudentswillberesponsibleforstayingontaskandmanagingtheirtimewisely.Students
willberesponsibleforeditingtheirassignedslidesonly.Studentswillactivelyengageinskillspractice
usingQuizletflashcardsandcontributetotheteameffortduringthecompetitivegame.Theteacherwill
provideclearwrittenandverbalinstructionsandassessmentrubricsbeforethelearningactivitybegins.

Differentiation

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ResearchinBritannicaSchoolwillbedifferentiatedbyallowingstudentstoadjustthereadinglevelof
thearticlesprovided,providinganoptionalscreenreaderandlanguagetranslator.Briticanniaalso
providesmultimediasourcessuchasimagesandvideostopromoteunderstandingofthecontent.
Quizletalsoprovidesreadaloudaccommodationstohelpwiththepronunciationofvocabularywords
anddefinitions.StudentscanusetheSpeakIt!Chromeextension,whichisalreadyinstalled,toread
informationonanywebsiteoutsideofBritannicaSchoolandQuizlet.Forthosestudentswhoneed
assistancewiththezoomfeatureofGoogleTourBuilderandAirPano,anexternalmousewillbe
provided.Forvisuallyimpairedstudents,GoogleChromeaccessibilityfeaturesallowstudentstouse
ChromeVoxspokenfeedbacktodescribewhatishappeningonscreen,changethedisplaycontrastand
mouseproperties.ABrailledisplaycanbealsobepluggedintotheChromebook.Forenrichment
opportunities,studentsmaycreateandsharetheirownQuizletcardsetsforthelocationthattheytoured
virtually.StudentsmayincludeadditionalimagesandinformationinGoogleTourBuilder.Although
studentsdonothaveaccesstoYouTubeandcannotembedvideos,theymayhyperlinkavideofrom
Britannica.

Reflection
Afterthelessonhasbeencompleted,studentswillbeaskedtocompleteananonymousGoogleForm
surveyandtheresultswillbesharedwiththeclass.Thesurveywillaskthestudentstoratethe
followingonascaleof0to5:
TheGoogleTourBuilderactivitywashelpfulandinteresting.
TheAirPanovirtualtouractivitywashelpfulandinteresting.
TheQuizletLivegamemeaningfulandworthwhile.
CollaborationwithmyclassmatesinGoogleSlideswasmeaningfulandworthwhile.
Thelessonhelpedmeunderstandtheimportanceofstudyinggeography.
Iunderstandhowphysicalandhumangeographyaffecteachother.
IfeelcomfortableusingGoogleMapstoexplorelocationsworldwide.
IcanaccuratelylocatetheAfricancountries,landformsandbiomesonaworldmap.
Doyouhaveanysuggestionsonhowthislessoncouldbeimproved?

Thefeedbackfromthesurveywillbeanalyzedandadjustmentstothelessonwillbemade.

Closure
ThestudentswereexcitedtoworkinGoogleMapsforthetourbuildingactivity.Somestudentshad
difficultiesfollowingthestepbystepdirectionsandworkinginmultiplebrowserstabs.Itwashelpful
tohavethedirectionsprojectedonthewhiteboard.Thebiomeswereeliminatedfromthetoursinceit
wasnotpracticaltopinthemduetothelargeareasofAfricathattheycover.However,thatpartofthe
standardiscoveredintheresearchquestionthatasksthemtoidentifywhatbiomethecountryor
landformliesin.Duringthetroubleshootingphase,IdiscoveredthattheAirPanositewasfilteredfor
ourstudentssincethesitehasacommentingsection.IsubmittedthesitetoourTechnologySpecialists
forareview.TherewasanimageintheEthiopiantourthatshowedagirlwhowasnotcompletely
covered.OurTechnologySpecialistswasabletoblockthatonetourandopentherest.TheSocial
Studiesteacheradvisedmethatitwouldhavebeenacceptablesincethatispartoftheculturethatthey
arelearningabout.Notbeingfamiliarwiththematuritylevelofthisgroupofseventhgraders,Ileftthat
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tourblocked.TheAirPanoimagestakeafewsecondstouploadandmaybedemandingonaweak
wirelesssignal.Ifthisisaconcern,halfoftheclasscanpracticetheQuizletflashcardswhiletheother
halftakesthevirtualtour.TheQuizletLiveteamgameisoneofthosethingsthatyouhavetoseehowit
worksbeforeyouunderstandit.Irecommenddemonstratingthegamethefirsttimewithasetof
flashcardsfromaneasysetofflashcardssothatthestudentscangetafeelforthegameadevelopa
teamstrategy.Sincethislessonutilizesmultipledigitaltools,itisadvisabletointroducesome,ifnotall,
ofthetoolsbeforeimplementingthislesson.Also,makesuretoprovideenoughtimeforstudentsto
exploreatlittleandmonitortheirprogress.

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