Online Projects, Collaboration Sites, and Publishing Opportunities

Lesson Idea Template

Name: Chanel Smith

Grade Level: 2nd grade
Content Area: Science
Standards Addressed: S2L1. Obtain, evaluate, and communicate information about the life
cycles of different living organisms.
Title of Online Project/Collaboration Site/Publishing Opportunity: Journey North
URL of Online Project/Collaboration Site/Publishing Opportunity:
http://www.learner.org/jnorth/
Describe how you would use the Online Project/Collaboration Site/Publishing Opportunity in
your classroom: Students will be placed in 5 to 6 groups. Each group will be assigned a
different type of bird (hummingbird, oriole, American robin, American eagle, whooping
crane, and red-winged black bird). Students will use Journey North to gather information
about each bird (where it lives, what it eats, migration patterns – analyzing maps, etc.)
Students will create a graphic organizer, using bubbl.us, to organize the facts about their
bird.
What technologies would be required to implement this proposed learning activity in a
classroom? To implement this proposed learning activity in the classroom, students will need
computers/laptops, scientific data collection tools (magnifying glass, thermometers, etc).
Students can also use tablets or iPads to digitally record and organize data.
Describe how the following features are addressed in this learning experience (note: all of them
may not be addressed in the project, but most should be if you are reaching a high LoTi Level.):
a. Collaboration with peers, near-peers, mentors outside their classroom and often
beyond their school: Students will be working in groups to gather information
about their specific bird. Students can communicate with scientist to ask questions
about their bird.
b. Student-centered learning and knowledge creation (collecting original data and or
producing original products as a result of engaging in the project): Students will
explore their bird on the Journey North website and collect data about where it
lives, what it eats, and the migration patterns it follows. Furthermore, students will
create a concept map using bubbl.us to organize their thoughts
c. Higher-order thinking: Students will use higher-order thinking when evaluating
the information gathered on Journey North and students will analyze maps to
gather migration information on their bird.
d. Students publishing their original work to others who will use/care about their
product: Students will create a bubbl.us concept map that outlines the information
they gathered about their bird. Students will post bubbl.us to classroom blog, so
every group can learn information about each bird.

Bloom’s Level of Critical Thinking Required (check all that apply):

See http://epltt.coe.uga.edu/index.php?title=Bloom%27s_Taxonomy
Remembering Understanding Applying Analyzing Evaluating Creating
What Level of Technology Implementation best describes this learning activity and Why? This
lesson would be a LoTi level 5 because it involves higher level thinking tasks and students have

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the opportunity to communicate with experts and other students who are outside of the
classroom. Students can share the data they collected and receive feedback within the online
database.
How could you implement this proposed learning experience and still comply with your district’s
Internet Safety and Student Privacy policies? Journey North is a well-established and safe
website where students can safely and anonymously communicate with scientists and students
from all over the world. Journey North keeps students’ personal information is private.