Lesson Plan for Implementing

NETSSTemplate I
(More Directed Learning Activities)
Template with guiding questions
Teacher(s)
Name
Jill Lyn Rooks
Position

4th Grade English Language Arts Teacher

School/District

Carrollton Middle School/Carrollton City Schools

E-mail

Jillrooks@aol.com

Phone

770-262-5030

Grade Level(s)

4th grade

Content Area

English Language Arts

Time line

3 week unit

Standards (What do you want students to know and be able to do? What knowledge, skills, and strategies do you
expect students to gain? Are there connections to other curriculum areas and subject area benchmarks? ) Please
put a summary of the standards you will be addressing rather than abbreviations and numbers that indicate which
standards were addressed.

Content Standards

Reading, Language Arts, Writing, Speaking/Listening, Social Studies

ELACCRL1-3: Using details and examples in a text, students will determine the theme of a story and will be able
to describe the character, setting, and events (plot) of the story.
Vocabulary: ELACC4RL4, ELACC4L6, ELACC4L4: Students will determine the meaning of words and phrases,
and unknown and multiple meaning words as they are used in a text using strategies.
ELACC4L 1-2: Demonstrate command of the conventions of standard English grammar and usage, capitalization,
and spelling when writing or speaking
ELACC4SL1, 4: Students will engage effectively in collaborative discussions with diverse partners, building on
others ideas and expressing their own clearly. They will pose and respond to specific questions to clarify or follow
up on information, and make comments that contribute to the discussion and link to the remarks of others.
Students will report on a topic or text, recount an experience in an organized manner, using appropriate facts and
relevant, descriptive details to support main ideas or themes
ELACC4SL5:Students will add audio recordings and visual displays to presentations when appropriate to enhance
the development of main ideas or themes
ELACC4W4-6: Using the Writing Process, students will produce clear and coherent writing in which the
development and organization are appropriate to task, purpose, and audience. With guidance the students will
use technology, including the Internet, to produce and publish writing as well as to interact and collaborate with
others;
Social Studies
SS4H1 The student will describe how early Native American cultures developed in North America. They will
understand the geography of where they live and describe how Native Americans used their environment to obtain
food, clothing, and shelter.

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NETS*S Standards: Communication and collaboration, Critical Thinking, Problem Solving and Decision Making,
Digital Citizenship, & Technology Operations and Concepts
.
Communication and Collaboration: Students use digital media and environments to collaborate, communicate
and interact with other students, teachers and professionals. They also engage in a cultural and global awareness
and contribute to project teams to produce original works or solve problems
Critical Thinking, Problem Solving and Decision Making: Students use critical thinking skills to plan and
conduct research, manage projects, solve problems, and make informed decisions using appropriate digital tools
and resources.
Digital Citizenship: Students demonstrate personal development to be lifelong learners because they are aware
of the human, cultural and social issues related to technology and they practice ethical and legal digital behavior.
Technology Operations and Concepts: Students demonstrate a sound understanding of technology concepts,
systems, and operations so they are able to select, transfer, understand and troubleshoot various systems and
applications productively and effectively.
Overview (a short summary of the lesson or unit including assignment or expected or possible products)
This lesson is a novel study using the book Sign of the Beaver by Elizabeth George Speare. Students will
complete a two part project. One part will be the Literature Group aspect and the second part is a Collaborative
Multimedia presentation which will include specified elements based on the Common Core Georgia Performance
Standards. The final product can be any form of electronic presentation such as PowerPoint or Prezi.
Students will be assessed on their individual contribution on the Literature Group component, and also a group
grade will be assigned on the final product using the rubric.

Essential Questions (What essential question or learning are you addressing? What would students care or
want to know about the topic? What are some questions to get students thinking about the topic or generate
interest about the topic? Additionally, what questions can you ask students to help them focus on important
aspects of the topic? (Guiding questions) What background or prior knowledge will you expect students to bring
to this topic and build on?) Remember, essential questions are meant to guide the lesson by provoking inquiry.
They should not be answered with a simple yes or no and should have many acceptable answers.
How can understanding literary elements of a story help us connect to historical events, and help us understand
the affects the actions could have on the future?

Assessment (What will students do or produce to illustrate their learning? What can students do to generate new
knowledge? How will you assess how students are progressing (formative assessment)? How will you assess
what they produce or do? How will you differentiate products?) You must attach copies of your assessment and/or
rubrics. Include these in your presentation as well.
Assessment will be assessed in the following ways:
Weekly progress check (checklist)
Teacher observation
Final Product
Peer feedback/survey at completion of project.
Students will be provided with graphic organizers as needed to help facilitate the working process.

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Resources (How does technology support student learning? What digital tools, and resourcesonline student
tools, research sites, student handouts, tools, tutorials, templates, assessment rubrics, etchelp elucidate or
explain the content or allow students to interact with the content? What previous technology skills should students
have to complete this project?)
Technology will support student learning in a number of ways. The resources students will be using will be
1) Podcast or Screencast (gifted and higher level learners)- Literature Group job results
2) Microsoft Word- Create a table of the vocabulary words and the requirements for each to include in the
presentation.
3) Edmodo- Students will blog their reading responses
4) Prezi, PowerPoint, or another presentation program
5) Youtube- this will be used if students choose to do the video.
Instructional Plan
Preparation (What student needs, interests, and prior learning provide a foundation for this lesson? How can
you find out if students have this foundation? What difficulties might students have?)
Students will need to have instruction on the standards included prior to completing this project.
Students will have needed to have completed the study of Native Americans prior to reading this book.
Difficulty: Students of lower reading abilities might find the text to be complex.
Students might not understand specific item requirements. A student friendly description of the assignment will be
given to each student to alleviate questions.
Management Describe the classroom management strategies will you use to manage your students and the use
of digital tools and resources. How and where will your students work? (Small groups, whole group, individuals,
classroom, lab, etc.) What strategies will you use to achieve equitable access to the Internet while completing this
lesson? Describe what technical issues might arise during the Internet lesson and explain how you will resolve or
trouble-shoot them? Please note: Trouble-shooting should occur prior to implementing the lesson as well as
throughout the process. Be sure to indicate how you prepared for problems and work through the issues that
occurred as you implemented and even after the lesson was completed.
Students will be placed in small groups of 4-5 students. They will sit with their literature group during the length of
the project. Due to the nature of the project, students will be completing the reading and project elements at
different time. This allows for varying computer needs times. Students will also need to have something written
up or voice recorded prior to going to the computer to add to their project.
The media center computers are also available and the laptop cart will be checked out on Tuesdays and
Thursdays for one hour each of the days.
If technical issues arise in regards to computer usage, students can work on other components of the project on
paper and then create the work electronically to include in the project.
Instructional Strategies and Learning Activities Describe the research-based instructional strategies you will
use with this lesson. How will your learning environment support these activities? What is your role? What are the
students' roles in the lesson? How can you ensure higher order thinking at the analysis, evaluation, or
creativity levels of Blooms Taxonomy? How can the technology support your teaching? What authentic,
relevant, and meaningful learning activities and tasks will your students complete? How will they build knowledge
and skills? How will students use digital tools and resources to communicate and collaborate with each other
and others? How will you facilitate the collaboration?

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This is a 3 Week Unit. This project is a student-led project in which the teacher will serve as a facilitator.
Students assume the role as producers.
There are two parts to the project. Both parts are ongoing throughout the two weeks.
Part 1: Literature Circle Groups
A. In each meeting, the group will decide how many pages to read. They will also assign a Literature Circle Job
to each member who will in turn complete the job in paper format or in the form of a podcast or screencast, and
share it at the next group meeting. Individuals will have ongoing grades on their individual work, which will
include correct grammar, capitalization, punctuation, and neatness.
B. Reading Response- Individual students will each record their thoughts, ideas, observation, and questions in a
blog on Edmodo after each group meeting. It should be written using correct grammar, capitalization, and
punctuation. Specific details should be used.

Part 2: Final Project- Collaborative Multimedia Presentation

There are THREE (3) different sections that need to be included.
SECTION 1-In the multimedia project each group presentation must include each of the following information.
A. GenreB. Point of ViewC. PlotD. Character DevelopmentE. Setting
F. Vocabulary
SECTION 2: In the multimedia project each group must include ONE of the following research topics:
Research: Nonfiction
A. Social Studies Connection
B. Science Connection
C. Real World Connection
D. Text-to- Self ConnectionsE. Math ConnectionSECTION 3-In the multimedia project each group may choose TWO of the below items:
A. Problem Solving
B. Cooperative learning
C. Hands On/STEM
D. Community Component

Strategies used throughout the project:

Cooperative grouping
Small group discussions
Student-led discussions
Use of graphic organizers
Making Connections
Use of technology and Web 2.0 tools

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Differentiation (How will you differentiate content and process to accommodate various learning styles and
abilities? How will you help students learn independently and with others? How will you provide extensions and
opportunities for enrichment? What assistive technologies will you need to provide?)
Students will be grouped by differing abilities. Students have individual components of the project they can work
in if they are having difficulty working with others.
Section 2 and 3 of Part 2 allow choice. Groups will be able to choose the component they would like to include in
the project.
Extensions are offered by offering more complex tasks, such as the Literature circle groups can either do the job
on paper using graphic organizers, or as a podcast or screencast for advanced learners.

Reflection (Will there be a closing event? Will students be asked to reflect upon their work? Will students be
asked to provide feedback on the assignment itself? What will be your process for answering the following
questions?
Did students find the lesson meaningful and worth completing?
In what ways was this lesson effective?
What went well and why?
What did not go well and why?
How would you teach this lesson differently?)
I created and used this lesson in partial format last year. The students were highly engaged and even wrote the
administration to thank them for allowing our class to deviate from the Atlas plan so they could do this project.

Closure: Anything else you would like to reflect upon regarding lessons learned and/or your experience with
implementing this lesson. What advice would you give others if they were to implement the lesson? Please
provide a quality reflection on your experience with this lesson and its implementation.
This lesson is a fun studentled activity. It can be used with any novel. It would work well to have several different
novels being read by groups, who could then present the end product to the class.
Id advise to step back and let the students work. It was a learning experience to include the technology
components and actually have them matter.

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