Lindsay Lander

MEDT 7490
Fall 2016
Comprehensive Instructional Design Plan
Client
Allison McKinley, 3rd Grade Teacher
ramckinley@atlanta.k12.ga.us
Ms. McKinley has been teaching third grade for five years. One of the standards that her
students struggle the most with year-to-year is standard SS3CG. This standard states:
Describe the elements of representative democracy/republic in the United States.
a. Describe the three branches of national government: executive (president), legislative
(Congress), and judicial (Supreme Court of the United States).
c. State the main responsibility of each branch: executive (enforcing laws),
legislative (making laws), judicial (determining if laws are fair).
She further explained that her students struggle mostly with understanding the idea of a
check and balance system. She uses the social studies textbook and a picture book titled, House
Mouse, Senate Mouse that I specifically purchased for the media center with third grades
government unit in mind.
After reviewing the lesson currently in place, I proposed adding two unique visuals for
her students. I created an infographic to hang in the classroom and to reference when discussing
the three branches of government. It further breaks down the meaning of the check and balance
system and allows for students to visually see how each branch can check each other. I also
created a powtoon to introduce a bit of very basic animation to peak their interest and further
engage them.

Artifact 1
Infographic on Checks and Balances
https://magic.piktochart.com/output/18602720-new-piktochart-conflict-copy

Artifact 2:
Powtoon about the 3 branches of government and the checks and balance system.
https://youtu.be/FjozKA9htVE

Instructional Problem
Using just the textbook and a discussion to explain the check and balance system does
not work well for this more complicated topic. Certain topics, especially in the subject of social
studies, are more difficult to explain to young students. Ms. McKinley found that there was an
information overload when it came to her lesson. An infographic breaks down complex content
using visuals and blocks. This tool allows the students to actually see the information they are
learning. The different colored blocks of information coupled with the graphics offer a perfect
visual to hang in a classroom.
Instructional Design
I used the Kemp Design model for this project. The model uses nine core elements.

Specific Goals/Instructional issues: The specific goal of this plan is to help students
grasp the concept of the check and balance system covered in standard SS3CG. The
teacher only uses lecture and static visuals including pictures from a textbook as well as a

picture book.
Identify characteristics of learners: The students are in third grade ranging from age 89 years of age. This particular class is an EIP class, meaning students that are identified

as EIP students are all grouped in one class along with non-EIP students.
Clarify course content and analyze proposed task components: The course content
addressed in this instructional plan is on the three branches of government and the checks
and balance system. The proposed visual aids (the infographic and powtoon) will help
the teacher further explain the content and help the students visualize the content being
taught to them.

Define instructional objectives and desired learning outcomes: SS3CG-

Describe the elements of representative democracy/republic in the United States. The

students will specifically be able to differentiate between the three branches of
government and explain how there is separation of powers using the checks and
balancing system currently in place.

Ensure that content for each instructional unit is structured sequentially: The
powtoon was created to use near the end of their initial discussion about the three
branches of government. The infographic is intended to be used as a visual aid throughout

the lesson and will be posted in the classroom for students to reference as they need it.
Design instructional strategies to achieve desired learning outcomes: The powtoon
reviews the three branches of government and also introduces the concept of checks and
balances. It should be showed to the class after they have already discussed the standard.
The infographic will help the students break down the concept visually and be able to
explain in detail the branches of government, as well as the meaning of checks and
balances. These strategies combined with continuing to use the book, House Mouse,
Senate Mouse, and the student textbook will help students grasp the information

presented.
Plan the instructional message and mode of delivery: The teacher will discuss the
government breakdown with students starting with the branches of government and
ending with checks and balances. The students first must understand the purpose of the
branches before they can understand the check and balance concept. She will use the
powtoon and infographic in the middle and end of the lesson, as well as an ongoing aid

when discussing government.

Develop evaluation instruments: After the unit, the students will create a comic using
storyboardthat.com in order to assess their knowledge of the standard. The students will

specifically illustrate the check and balance system by using examples of how it works in

their comic.
Choose instructional tools to support instruction: The teacher will use the textbook,
the picture book House Mouse, Senate Mouse, a KWL chart, the infographic and the
powtoon.

Re-designed Lesson
The original lesson included a picture book introduction (House Mouse, Senate Mouse).
Then the teacher would take them through the textbook with whole class readings of the text, as
well as a discussion about the branches of government and its process. A KWL chart would be
used throughout the lesson. The redesigned lesson would include these tools, but the powtoon
would be shown after the discussion to increase engagement and learning, while the infographic
would be used to further break down the standard and posted in the classroom for continuous
reference. The KWL chart would be used, as well.
Evaluation Method
To assess student learning, and to end the unit, students will create a short comic using
the website, storyboardthat.com. The comic should include information they learned about
standard SSC3G (branches of government, what they do, etc). The following rubric will be used
to grade the assignment:

1
Comic is missing many of
the following elements:
Name of each
branch
Powers of each
branch
Duties of each
branch

3
Comic is missing some of
the following elements:
Name of each
branch
Powers of each
branch
Duties of each
branch

5
Comic has all required
elements:
Name of each
branch
Powers of each
branch
Duties of each
branch

Example of a check
and balance
Information is not well
displayed in the visuals.
The information presented
does not match the topic.
The comic is incomplete
with grammatical errors.

Example of a check
and balance
Information is presented
clearly and well displayed
in the visuals. Visuals only
somewhat relate to the
topic.
The comic is complete with
a few grammatical errors.

Example of a check
and balance
Information is clearly and
neatly displayed. Visuals
relate to the topic presented.
The comic is complete with
no grammatical errors.

Explanation
The current lesson that Ms. McKinley is using lacked the appropriate visuals for students to stay
engaged and fully grasp the concepts they are learning. The 2012 Cisco Report states that
selecting a short, engaging film will increase student knowledge and memory (p. 18). The
powtoon I created presents the information in a short, but informative movie with text, pictures
and basic animation. In creating both the powtoon and the infographic, I used Mayers spatial
contiguity principle to create two visuals with text and images that appear close together in the
block, or slide. Using these instructional tools will help all students, no matter their cognitive
load level (Mayer, 2005).
ACRL Visual and Literacy Competency Standards
My plan addresses Standard 6 of the ACRL visual and literacy competency standards:
The visually literate student produces visual materials for a range of projects and scholarly uses.
a. Creates images and visual media to represent and communicate concepts, narratives,
and arguments (e.g., concept maps, presentations, storyboards, posters).
Students will use storyboardthat.com to create a visual media presentation to communicate the
concepts they have learned about the three branches of government and the checks and balance
system.

Reflection
One of the main challenges I faced while completing this project was the fact that I was
on maternity leave for the majority of this semester. Luckily, I have a good relationship with
many of the teachers at my school and was able to complete this project through phone calls and
emails. I was also able to visit the school and meet with the teacher on a few occasions. Another
challenge I had was simply learning the material! I definitely gave myself a social studies lesson
in reviewing the branches of government and especially the checks and balances system. I
support these standards in the media center, but rarely go as in depth as I did for this social
studies lesson.
I enjoy creating visual aids for my lessons and was happy to help a classroom teacher
make her lesson more engaging. I liked showing her the tools and was even able to educate her
on web tools to use with her class (piktochart, powtoon and storyboardthat.com). I feel confident
that this redesigned lesson will equip her with the proper tools to help her students engage and
learn.

References

Congress for Kids: [Constitution]: Checks and Balances. (2008)

http://www.congressforkids.net/Constitution_checksandbalances.htm

Greenberg, A. D., & Zanetis, J. (2012). The Impact of Broadcast and

Streaming Video in
Education (Rep.). Retrieved October 12, 2016, from Wainhouse Research,
LLC website:
http://www.cisco.com/c/dam/en_us/solutions/industries/docs/
education/ciscovideowp.pdf

Mayer, R. E. (2005). Cognitive Theory of Multimedia Learning. In The

Cambridge handbook
of multimedia learning. Retrieved from:
https://westga.view.usg.edu/content/enforced/1162500
-CO.540.MEDT7490.81407.20172/cap._3cognitive_theory_of_multimedia_learning
Mayer.pdf