Amy Matthews

MEDT 7490
Summer, 2016
Comprehensive Instructional Design Plan
Name of Client: Mrs. Cheri Mills teaches at Woodland Elementary School in Fulton County,
Georgia. Mrs. Mills taught a special area class on coding last year at Woodland Elementary. This
coming year, she will be teaching special area classes on robotics. Her email address is
millsc2fultonschools.org.
Problem: Mrs. Mills has been asked by her principal to work with the science teacher to
incorporate more technology into science lessons across all grade levels. Students complete
many experiments in science, but their usual method of showing what they know is a paper and
pencil test. The principal would like the students to create more projects using technology to
demonstrate their knowledge, especially in science.
Plan: We chose to begin with redesigning a 4th grade science unit on Earth Science, as this is
the first unit that will be taught by the 4th grade teachers when school starts.
Standards:
The Georgia Performance Standards addressed in this unit will be:
S4E1. Students will compare and contrast the physical attributes of stars, star patterns, and
planets.
b. Compare the similarities and differences of planets to the stars in appearance, position,
and number in the night sky.
c. Explain why the pattern of stars in a constellation stays the same, but a planet can be
seen in different locations at different times.

The ACRL Visual and Literacy Competency Standards addressed in this unit include:
3. The visually literate student interprets and analyzes the meanings of images and visual media.
1.

The visually literate student identifies information relevant to an images meaning.

Learning Outcomes:
a. Looks carefully at an image and observes content and physical details
b. Reads captions, metadata, and accompanying text to learn about an image
c. Identifies the subject of an image
d. Examines the relationships of images to each other and uses related images to inform
interpretation
e. Recognizes when more information about an image is needed, develops questions for
further research, and conducts additional research as appropriate
5. The visually literate student uses images and visual media effectively.
Performance indicators:
1.

The visually literate student uses images effectively for different purposes.

Learning Outcomes:
a. Plans for strategic use of images and visual media within a project
b. Selects appropriate images and visual media aligned with a projects purpose
c. Integrates images into projects purposefully, considering meaning, aesthetic criteria, visual
impact, and audience.

Description of the Redesigned Lesson:

At the beginning of this unit of study, Ms. Mills and I came up with some videos for the science
teacher to use when introducing and teaching this unit. This supports Paivios theory of Dual
Coding that students learn better when they both see and hear information. We also picked two
digital activities that students would complete to demonstrate their learning. Students will work
in groups to create a Piktochart to show the differences in stars and planets and students will
create a cartoon to explain why the position of planets appears to change in the night sky, but the
positions of the constellations do not appear to change. After the lessons with the science
teacher, students will visit the technology lab where they will learn about the technology tools
they will be using to create their digital products. Mrs. Mills will introduce students to
Piktochart and ToonDoo and give students time to explore the tools on their own. Students will
also be taught mini-lessons on design principles for their Piktochart.
Artifacts:
Next, Mrs. Mills and the science teacher will have students work in groups to create infographics
on the similarities and differences of planets to stars in appearance, position, and number in the
night sky, and create comics to explain why the pattern of stars in a constellation stays the same,
but a planet can be seen in different locations at different times. See examples of a Piktochart
and a comic below. Students may work on their projects in the science lab, technology lab, or
media center. Mrs. Mills will be available for assistance in the technology lab, the science
teacher will assist in the science lab, and the media specialist will be available for assistance in
the media center.

Methods to Assess or Evaluate the Lesson:

The infographics and cartoons will be evaluated using rubrics designed by Mrs. Mills and myself
for each digital product. The rubrics will be shared with students and discussed prior to
beginning the projects.

Multimedia Project : Stars & Planets

Infographic Rubric

Teacher Name: Cheri

Mills
Student Name:
________________________________________
CATEGOR
Y
Content

Attractive
ness

4
At least 5
points of
informati
on about
stars and
5 about
planets
are
included.
Informati
on is
correct.
At least 6
related
images
are
included
Makes
excellent
use of
font,
color,
graphics,
effects,
etc. to

3
Missing 12 of the
following
points
of
informati
on about
stars/plan
ets, or
related
images.
Informati
on is
mostly
correct.

2
Missing 34 of the
following
- points of
informati
on about
stars/plan
ets, or
related
images.
Informati
on is
mostly
correct.

1
Missing
more
than 4 of
the
following
- points of
informati
on about
stars/plan
ets, or
related
images.
Informati
on is
mostly
incorrect.

Makes
good use
of font,
color,
graphics,
effects,
etc. to
enhance

Makes
use of
font,
color,
graphics,
effects,
etc. but
occasiona

Use of
font,
color,
graphics,
effects
etc. but
these
often

Mechanics

Workload

Oral
Presentati
on

enhance
the
presentat
ion.
Informati
on is well
laid out
and
spaced.

to
presentat
ion.
Informati
on is
mostly
well laid
out and
spaced.

No
misspelli
ngs or
grammati
cal
errors.
The
workload
is divided
and
shared
equally
by all
team
members
.

Three or
fewer
misspellin
gs and/or
mechanic
al errors.
The
workload
is divided
and
shared
fairly by
all team
members
, though
workload
s may
vary from
person to
person.
One team
member
did not
participat
e in the
oral
presentat
ion.
Presentati
on was
mostly
rehearsed
and
smooth.

All team
members
participat
ed in the
oral
presentat
ion.
Presentat
ion was
rehearse
d and
smooth.

lly these
detract
from the
presentat
ion
content.
Informati
on
placemen
t is
difficult to
follow.
Four
misspellin
gs and/or
grammati
cal errors.
The
workload
was
divided,
but one
person in
the group
is viewed
as not
doing
his/her
fair share
of the
work.
Two team
members
did not
participat
e in the
oral
presentat
ion.
Presentati
on was
not
rehearsed
and
smooth.

distract
from the
presentat
ion
content.
Informati
on
placemen
t does not
make
sense.
More than
4 errors
in
spelling
or
grammar.
The
workload
was not
divided
OR
several
people in
the group
are
viewed as
not doing
their fair
share of
the work.
No oral
presentat
ion or
informati
on was
not
presented
correctly
or did not
make
sense.

Comic Rubric
Name/Class
Category
Content

Characters/Sett
ing

Spelling,
Punctuation,
and Grammar

Content is
always correct;
Ideas and
concepts are
always clearly
explained and
understood.

Content is
usually correct;
Ideas and
concepts are
usually clearly
explained and
understood.

Content is
sometimes
correct; Ideas
and concepts are
sometimes
clearly
explained and
understood.

Content is
seldom correct;
Ideas and
concepts are
seldom
explained and
understood.

Content is rarely
correct; Ideas
and concepts are
rarely explained
and understood.

The main

The main

The main

The main

The main

characters are

characters are

characters are

characters are

characters are

always

usually

sometimes

seldom

rarely

identified,

identified,

identified,

identified,

identified,

and their

and their

and their

and their

and their

actions

actions

actions

actions

actions

and dialogue

and dialogue

and dialogue

and dialogue

and dialogue

are always

are usually

are sometimes

are seldom

are rarely well-

well-matched.

well-matched.

well-matched.

well-matched.

matched.

Landscape

Landscape

Landscape

Landscape

Landscape

and props are

and props are

and props are

and props are

and props are

always related

usually related

sometimes

seldom related

rarely related

to the

to the

related to the

to the

to the

theme or

theme or

theme or

theme or

theme or

purpose

purpose of the

purpose of the

purpose of the

purpose of the

of the comic

comic and

comic and

comic and

comic and

and

enhance

enhance

fail to enhance

fail enhance

enhance

understanding

understanding

understanding

understanding

understanding

of the scene.

of the scene.

of the scene.

of the scene.

of the scene.
There are no

There are 1-3

There are 4-5

There are

spelling,

spelling,

spelling,

more

punctuation, or

punctuation, or

punctuation,

than 5

grammar

grammar

and grammar

spelling,

errors.

errors.

errors.

punctuation,

The comic book

cannot be
understood
because there
are too many
spelling and
grammar errors.

and grammar
errors.

Explanation of Why You Think the Artifacts are the Correct Solution:

I feel that having students create a Piktochart and a comic help them to represent what they have
learned about stars and planets both visually and textually and will help them to better process
and retain the knowledge. Also, the mini-lessons on design principles for creating the infographic
assist students in becoming more visually literate, which are lessons which can be applied
through all aspects of their lives. Having students create their own multimedia instructional
messages is also supported by Richard Mayers Cognitive Theory of Multimedia Learning.
Creating a comic and a Piktochart address the visual and literacy competency standards above by
helping students practice choosing images that correlate to the text, identifying the subjects of an
image, realizing when more information is necessary, and selecting appropriate images and
media. By incorporating student use of technology to create products that showcase their
learning, we move closer to the goal of creating a true 21st century learning environment to help
students be successful.
Reflection:
I enjoyed working with Mrs. Mills on this project. She does an excellent job of teaching students
about different technologies. Several challenges of this project were time constraints since both
of us were out of town off and on for summer vacation and not having students with which to
test out various parts of the lesson. Overall, I feel this project was beneficial for all parties
involved. It not only will help Mrs. Mills with her principals request to integrate science and
technology, but it will help me to continue working with my teachers to integrate technology into
lessons and to teach students about visual literacy.