W200 Service-Learning Project Lesson Plan

Paige Thomerson (pabathom@umail.iu.edu)

Step I: Project Information:
Mr. Hillenburg is asking me to recreate one of his projects for his students, but he is asking to
incorporate more technology into the final outcome. He wants the students to be able to create
a flowchart then present it through a video once the project is completed. The students will work
in groups and have one 50 minute class to complete this project.
Teachers name and
background (e.g.,
technology comfort
level)

Trent Hillenburg, 9th and 10th grade teacher for World History.
He is very comfortable with technology and is willing to try
more things out.

Grade level

9th and 10th

Subject area

World History

# of students and
student characteristics

28, ages 14-17

Any students with

special needs?
Describe

1 student with ASD (mild)

1 student is an ELL (level 2)

Technology Accessibility Teacher computer, projector, SMART board, student laptops.

Within the school, we have multiple computer labs as well as
(Whats available in
school and classroom?) the library
Barrier(s) to technology
access if any

none

Lesson/Unit topic

Students will be able to create a flowchart analyzing the

causes, events, and results of the Peloponnesian Wars in 9
steps.

Length of the
lesson/unit

1 day i.e. 50 minutes

How the lesson/unit was Students were given a website with information over the
Peloponnesian Wars from Boise State University. Students
taught before?
were instructed to complete a flow chart in 9 steps and explain
how they got from 1 event to the other in 8 words or less.
Students were given 6 steps they had to include and come up

with 3 on their own. The lesson started with a video clip from
the movie, A Christmas Story, and how they would use that to
create a flow chart. They then did a structured partner recall
over the status of the Greek city states following their victory
over Persia following Mycalea.
Common Student
mistakes/struggle

The students often struggle with their engagement in the

project as well as using their time wisely. They get side tract
and lose track of time. Another struggle that the students
face is working with their assigned group, they often have
small disputes which take up a chunk of class time.

Teachers needs/
changes for the
lesson/unit

Wants technology in the final product, not just the research

Reflection Questions:
1. How will the teachers background and technology ability level impact what you
might design or recommend? I am able to create a technology based lesson for him
without their being an worries that he might not be able to use it.

2. How will the students grade level impact what you might design or recommend?
Specifically, think about what the students will be able to do at this age.
The students are around the ages of 14 and 15. They are most definitely capable of using
technology to research facts about a war that they have been studying in class. I know that
using Prezi will be a great way to create a presentation because it will allow the students to
become familiar with the program if they are not already. This will also help them in other
classes as they will be able to use this resource for other projects.

3. Keeping in mind your response to the previous question, what might students at
that grade level would have learned about this topic? Think about (or research) what
students at this grade level have already learned on the topic.
They will be given the information about the project itself for the the first time as well as the
information. This flowchart is an introduction to the lesson that way the students will have
some knowledge about the war prior to the actual class lesson.

4. If there are students with special needs, what accommodations might you need to
make? They might need a simpler task but they would have the help of their group for the
final project.

5. How will the availability of technology impact what you might design or
recommend? For instance, iPads dont allow you to access websites that use Flash. Or
scheduled computer labs may require the teacher to reserve time in advance.
The students have their own laptops so technology will be available to them at all times.
Therefore the design will not be impacted because there is always technology available.

6. Most concepts have typical things that students struggle with (misconceptions).
For example, when talking about the reason for season's, most students describe that
its due to the tilt of the earths axis. Using the information your teacher provided about
the concept in his/her class, as well as googling online to find out common difficulties,
what are some common misconceptions and how might you design your lesson to
overcome them?
Time management is the hardest because they only have 50 minutes to complete the
assignment and working with a group creates more of a struggle when on a time crunch.
Finding the information can be difficult because the students might find different answers and
have conflict when deciding which one is right and which one is wrong.

7. In terms of teachers needs or changes for the unit, what will you need to keep in
mind as you design/recommend your materials? (e.g., Teacher needs a group activity, I
need to think about tools that might help me group students).
The students will need to create either videos or presentations on their completed work in
order to incorporate technology into the final product.

STEP II. Analyze the Learning Objective:

Standards

WH.2.3
Examine the development of Greek civilization including differing
political and social structures as well as
conflicts such as the Persian and Peloponnesian wars.

(Sociology, Economics, Government, Geography)

a.

Learning Objectives

The students will be able to create their own flowchart in a small amount of time. The activity is
a group so the entire group will be highly involved during the whole process.

After this class,

Objective 1: The students will be able to create a flowchart using

the materials given by the constructor and make a presentation to show to the
rest of the class.
Objective 2: Students will be able to utilize their time and the
technology at hand to research the Peloponnesian war while working together to
ensure high quality facts.
Objective 3: Students will be able to showcase their presentation.
STEP III. Outline of Instructional Tasks
Instructional Tasks

Learning

(with estimated class time)

Objectives
addressed

The teacher will introduce the project and assign roles (5

#1

minutes)
2

Students will create flowcharts after each one is given a task

#1, #2

to research on their computers (15 minutes)

3

Students will work together to research more options on the

#2

Peloponnesian War and utilize the technology at hand, while

the teacher is able to monitor their progress ( 20 minutes)
4

Students will take turns presenting their final projects to the

#3

class. Each group will present as each member of their group

is to talk about a certain aspect of the project (5-10 minutes)
Reflection Question:
1. How do these activities meet the learning objectives?
The first objective focuses mainly on the flowchart and group involvement of the students. For
these tasks, the students will distribute tasks among the group there for everyone is

contributing. The will be finding information to use to complete the flowchart. After researching
their specific topic, the students will communicate with each other to list all findings for the
project.
The second objective talks about how the students will use their technology available (laptops)
to research more about the Peloponnesian War while the teacher will be able to monitor through
Google docs. This will keep the information up-to-date so he will know whether or not the
students are on the right track and completing the flowchart properly. Utilizing the technology
will enhance the time management portion of the project because they will not have to leave the
room unlike past years.
The third objective is about the students presenting their final project. Each member of the
group will take turns presenting a part of the project to the class so other students can
understand their take on the project. Students will take the final project to the next level by using
Prezi or Powtoon instead of just speaking about their flowchart in front of the class. This will
make the project more engaging than past years and it will enhance the project for the students.

2. Which learning objective(s) was(were) not strongly addressed by the

instructional tasks?
Learning objective number 2 needs to be more elaborate as it does not specifically state what
needs to be done in the 20 minutes.

STEP IV. Search Options

Task

Technology Option (and

(teachers or students)

specific Link, if available)

Students will create

Ancient History Website:

flowcharts after each

one is given a task to
research on their
computers (Exploring

https://europeanhistory.boi
sestate.edu/westciv/pelop
onn/

Description

This option will allow the students to

access the website from each of their
computers. This would correlate with
the learning objective number 2,
students will work together, looking at

the website to find

the website and talking amongst

facts to create the

themselves about which step goes

flowchart of the War.)

where.

Students will create

flowcharts after each
one is given a task to
research on their
computers

Peloponnesian War Crash

Course:
https://www.youtube.com/
watch?v=Q-mkVSasZIM

This option is a more fun and

interesting way for the students to
learn about the war. They are able to
use this source because they have
their own laptops readily available to
them at all times throughout the class.
This works with objectives 1 and 2
because the students are able to work
on completing the flowchart while
using the technology they have
access to.

Students will create

flowcharts after each
one is given a task to
research on their

Peloponnesian War Video:

https://www.youtube.com/
watch?v=H73AcP-bfmw

computers

This option is another informational

video for the students so they can
have a more interesting lesson to
complete the flowchart with. Again this
works with objectives 1 and 2 as the
students are utilizing technology and
the students are getting further along
to completing the flowchart.

Students will research Google docs

the war and put all of
it into a document
that they are able to
share with the
members of the group
and the teacher
therefore the teacher
can monitor their
progress

The teacher will be able to monitor the

student's progress and make sure
that they are on the right track for
being successful in this project. This
works with objective 1 because he will
be able to check on the flowchart as
frequently as possible

Students will research Buzzword:

the war and put all of
it into a document
Needs to be downloaded
that they are able to
share with the

Buzzword is run through Adobe and is

similar to google docs. It will allow the
teacher to create the document and
share with all the students, giving
them access to edit their sections of

members of the group

and the teacher
therefore the teacher
can monitor their
progress

the document, filling in what they have

found for their flowcharts. This works
with objective 2 as the students use
their laptops to share information and
facts for the flowchart.

Students will research

the war and put all of
it into a document
that they are able to
share with the
members of the group
and the teacher
therefore the teacher
can monitor their
progress

Trello
http://help.trello.com/article
/899-getting-started-videodemo

Trello is an online tool for managing

projects and personal tasks.Teacher
will assign tasks to students using this
site.

Students will
showcase their
presentation through
one of these websites

Powtoon

All students in the group can work

together on their final product that
way they can display their
presentation on the smartboard at the
end of the class. This works with
objective number 3 as it will show
their flowchart as a presentation
during class.

Students will
showcase their
presentation through
one of these websites

Prezi
https://prezi.com

Prezi is a newer website that allows

the students to make more interactive
and interesting presentations to
present to their fellow classmates.
This works with objective numbers 2
and 3 because the students are
utilizing technology and presenting
their projects to the class.

Students will
showcase their
presentation through
one of these websites

Powerpoint

Powerpoint is another presentation

tool that the students can access
through their computers to showcase
their project to the class. This works
with learning objective 3 as the
students take turns showing their
parts of presentation to the class.

Reflection Questions:
Which task was the most difficult one to address with appropriate technology options? And why?

I believe that task number 1 was the hardest as the group may not work together as stated
above because their is no way to control what the students do. The students will be working
individually on their computers os their is no concrete way to ensure group involvement.

STEP V. Selected Options

1.

TASK: 1. Students will create flowcharts after each one is given a task to research on

their computers (Exploring the website to find facts to create the flowchart of the War.)
SELECTED OPTION(s): Ancient History Website
For task #1, why is/are this/these technology option(s) the best choice?
This option is the best because it allows the students to access the research information on their
own computers, taking less time for the research because each students will be given their own
task to look up. This will take up less time making this option more efficient and effective. It is
more efficient because the students can access their laptops at anytime, saving time from
having to travel as a class to a computer lab which uses up valuable time for the students. It is
also effective because this gives the students less to research individually, meaning that as a
group more information can be found in less time. This will allow the students to engage with
each other and make conversation about the topic at hand. This will allow them access to
further research to help with the subject on hand.

2.

TASK: 2

SELECTED OPTION(s): Google docs/ Trello/Shutterfly site with a calendar

For task #2, why is/are this/these technology option(s) the best choice?
For the teacher, Google docs would be the most efficient because he would have access to all
his students progress first hand and would be able to check it at any time throughout the class.
He is comfortable with technology already and using google docs will also be enhancing the
classroom as it will be a new way for the students to communicate with the teachers as well as
other students throughout this project. This will also help with the students struggles mentioned
in Step 1 because he will be able to monitor them better now.

3.

TASK: 3

SELECTED OPTION(s): Powtoon, prezi, powerpoint

https://prezi.com
For task #3, why is/are this/these technology option(s) the best choice?

This is the best option technology wise because it will be more efficient when presenting their
project at the end of class. It allows easier access via the computer and thus making it more
effective for the students and the classroom. All students are capable of using simple
presentation websites as they have been using them for years.
5. Were there any considerations from Step 1 (e.g., teachers comfort level, student grade
level, subject area, students with special needs, student misconceptions/struggles,
technology accessibility) that you did not address in your choices? Please describe.
I didnt talk about the students with special needs because I addressed the situation in an earlier
question. The students with disabilities will not need any special treatments as the other
members of the group will be able to assist those certain students. The teachers comfort level
was not mentioned that much because it was also addressed in step one very well. The teacher
is very comfortable with all and any technology so using any program will be okay with him.

STEP VI: PROJECT ARTIFACTS PROPOSAL (300-500 words)

Dear Trent Hillenburg,
For this one class period project, I have planned the following instructional tasks.
1. Teacher will talk about the project with the students and assign students their
different roles (5 min)
2. Students will begin working on their flowcharts as each one researches their
given topics with the technology available to them (15 min)
3. Teacher will begin to monitor their progress on Google Docs while the students
being to finalize their research and input their findings on this document (20 min)
4. Students will showcase their presentations to the rest of the class and each
member of the group will take a turn in talking about what their group has found. (5-10
min)
To support this lesson plan, I created these two artifacts to back up the students learning.
Artifact 1: Prezi

Description: This presentation will be created by using Prezi for a short, 5-10 minute
presentation. The students will create different sections on this prezi showing their research
findings. The first section will give an overview of the Peloponnesian War and what the flowchart
is about. The second section will show the flowchart and the certain sections that they had to fill
in. The third, fourth, and fifth sections will be breaking down what the students did individually
towards the project. This works with learning objectives 1 and 2 as the students will show how
they created their flowchart by completing the necessary research and how they utilized the
technology given at hand to create a presentation using Prezi. I will create a tutorial prezi for the
students to learn the basics of the website. This will help students that are not too familiar with
the website and how it works. I have broken down how the website works and the steps the
students should follow to make a high quality presentation.
Artifact 2: Google Docs/Trello/Shutterfly website with a calendar
Description: This website is a useful tool for the teacher to monitor the student's progress and
making sure that they are on the right track for a successful presentation. This works with
learning objective 2 as it allows the teacher to have access to all their students progress.
Trello is an online tool for managing projects and personal tasks.Teacher will assign tasks to
students using this site. It offers a simple and intuitive interface. Projects are represented and
organized using boards or cards that contain task/ to-do lists that users share in real-time.
Cards can represent an ongoing technical issue, project specs, people architecture or anything
else you can think of. I can create a screencast to describe these tools. Additionally there is a
Shutterfly website that helps you to post event dates, questions, and embed calendar and
videos. I can create a site for your class project as well.
Artifact 3: Piktochart
Description: This website is a useful for teachers and students to create infographics and
presentations. This works with learning objective 2 as it goes hand in hand with creating the
flowchart. The teacher will assign both the flow chart and presentation part, making the project a
group effort. The students will have 5-10 minutes to present their Piktochart, giving each student
a few minutes to talk about their specific part of the project. I have created my own
Peloponnesian War presentation to illustrate what the students presentations should look like for
length and depth of the information. This website has additional features that allows the
students to create a project from the ground up or use a template, whether or not it is an
infographic or presentation with slides.
Sincerely,
Paige Thomerson