Biographies and Research

Brittni Taylor Grade 1, Standards for Speaking and Learning

Common Core Standards: Ohio Department of Education Language Arts Model Curriculum Grade 3: Students define and investigate self-selected or assigned issues, topics and problems. They locate, select and make use of relevant information from a variety of media, reference and technological sources. Students use an appropriate form to communicate their findings. Lesson Summary: Prior to this lesson students are going to be splitting up in groups and taking turns reading a biography on a famous inventor. When they are done they will be asked to create a video presentation using Go Animate on that specific persons life and what they invented. They will also have to write a biography review paper individually and turn it in after they present their video.

Estimated Duration: This lesson plan will take about 200-250 minutes depending on how fast we can get through presentations. This project will be taking place after theyve read together in class. Day 1 we will spend the first 25 minutes of class discussing the lesson plan, and then well take the last 25 minutes of class to get into their groups creating ideas for their video. The next time we meet they will be asked to continue working on their presentations and get prepared to present it to the class which should take a whole 50 minutes of class time. The next class will be when the groups of students use our Smartboard in class to pull up their presentation (along with some of my guidance.) We will spend the next two 50 minute class periods presenting.

Commentary: My approach to this lesson is for my students to be able to use technology and creativity to re-tell a persons life. I expect at this time of the year they are able to use the correct spelling and have basic knowledge of computer applications. The challenge that I anticipate, is that they wont use their self monitoring skills enough to be able to make the GoAnimate presentation flow and make sense to the other students. The way I plan on getting the students hooked to the lesson is by letting them decide how they will show the other classmates what theyve learned about the person. That means complete creative control and the ability to decide what the settings and characters should look like. They will have to utilize the voice part of the website and to make sure the story is similar to the one we read.

Instructional Procedures:

Day 1: (50 mins total split in to 25 min intervals) We will spend the first 25 minutes of class discussing the lesson plan, and then well take the last 25 minutes of class to get in our groups which I have assigned at an earlier time and choose which chapter theyre going to re-create. The students will have to make sure they are using the web application to its fullest potential as we have the GoTeam package which allows students to make their videos more in depth. I will be making my way around the classroom and making sure they are staying on task and staying true to the book itself. Day 2: (50 mins) The next day I will provide them with the information on how to use the GoAnimate website for this project and that my expectations are that they use every capability of the web application for this project. The video will need to be 3-5 minutes long and they will need to have a summary typed and ready to hand in on why they chose this inventor and their experiences using GoAnimate. They will start working on their project for the remainder of the class. Day 3: (50 mins) The students will then be with their group for all of the class period putting together the basic parts of their presentation. Day 4: (50 mins) The students will be finishing their projects and writing their summary paper. Each student will be expected to write their own summary. Day 5: (50 mins) Students will take turns presenting their videos via the Smart Board for the rest of the class. Day 6: (25 mins) We will finish up presentations if needed and students will turn in their summary papers.

Pre-Assessment: Students will need to be educated on famous inventors in history. We will be spending time on researching people and getting them acclimated to the inventors. Students will have a list of people to choose from and then as a group they will go to the library and pick out a biography on that person.

Scoring Guidelines: The guidelines for this project will be based on several aspects of the project. 50%- for the video and class participation. To receive full credit on both you will have to be doing your work in class for the participation piece. The video will need to be 5-7 mins long, use of at least three different settings, correct spelling and punctuation, and four voice changes.) 30%- for the individual papers summarizing the biography. 20%- for research and having the correct facts on the inventor. Total of 100%. Post-Assessment: The post-assessment for the research project is the video and the essay the students will have to present and turn in.

Differentiated Instructional Support For the students that have an accelerated reading comprehension I will require them to be in a group with struggling students. I want them to be able to help each other when it comes to reading the book together and using the web application.

Extension http://teacher.scholastic.com/writewit/biograph/ This site is for them to see what reading a biography and making a report out of it is like.

Homework Options and Home Connections Besides the book that they found in the school library on the inventor I will be asking them to find one other source about the inventor that they will need to cite and include in their papers. They can use the internet with their parents permission at home or sometime during their group class time.

Interdisciplinary Connections This lesson can be integrated into our social studies or science content. They will have to become familiar with who invented what, and why it was an achievement to our human existence.

Materials and Resources:

For teachers

I will need an example presentation of my own, so I will have a GoAnimate video prepared. Examples and pictorials on inventions that have made an impact, for example: cotton gin, telephone, and computers.

For students

Students will need a book, access to the internet, and the Smart Board.

Key Vocabulary The students will need to know what a biography is and what it means to do research.

Additional Notes I had a hard time deciding what would be the most beneficial way to get students to use technology for this project. It was a toss-up between GoAnimate and Prezi. Hopefully they will be really creative and involved with using the GoAnimate website.