Lesson Summary:
In this lesson, students will select one of 58 National Parks in the U.S. to research. They will create a Prezi that will make use of relevant information they gather on their selected National Park from a variety of media, reference and technological sources.
The standards that will be addressed in this lesson plan are as follows:
Grade 5:
Grade Band: K-5
Content Area: Writing
Standard: Research to Build and Present Knowledge
7. Conduct short research projects that use several
sources to build knowledge through investigation
of different aspects of a topic.
8. Recall relevant information from experiences or
gather relevant information from print and digital
sources; summarize or paraphrase information
in notes and finished work, and provide a list of
sources.
Grade: Grade 5
Grade Band: Grade 3 - 5
Content Area: Technology
Standard: Technology and Information Literacy
Standard 4: Technology and Communication Applications
Students use an array of technologies and apply design concepts to communicate with multiple audiences, acquire and disseminate information and enhance learning. Students acquire and publish information in a variety of media formats. They incorporate communication design principles in their work. They use technology to disseminate information to multiple audiences. Students use telecommunication tools to interact with others. They collaborate in real time with individuals and groups who are located in different schools, communities, states and countries. Students participate in distance education opportunities which expand academic offerings and enhance learning.
Benchmarks : B. Develop, publish and present information in print and digital formats
Standard 5: Technology and Information Literacy
Students engage in information literacy strategies, use the Internet, technology tools and resources, and apply information-management skills to answer questions and expand knowledge. Students become information-literate learners by utilizing a research process model. They recognize the need for information and define the problem, need or task. Students understand the structure of information systems and apply these concepts in acquiring and managing information. Using technology tools, a variety of resources are identified, accessed and evaluated. Relevant information is selected, analyzed and synthesized to generate a finished product. Students evaluate their information process and product.
Benchmarks:
A. Describe types of information: facts, opinions, primary/secondary sources; and formats of information: number, text, sound, visual, multimedia; and use information for a purpose.
B. Use technology to find information by applying a research process to decide what information is needed, to find sources, use information and to check work.
C. Use the Internet to find, use and evaluate information.
D. Identify, access and use electronic resources from both free and fee-based Internet sources.
Students will be expected to use information literacy by applying a research process to decide what information is needed, to find sources and use information. Students will be able to develop, publish and present information in a digital format by the end of the lesson.
Below are three supplemental materials I created for this lesson. Each are embedded below.
The first supplementary material is an assessment tool that can be given to students both before and after the lesson is taught. This Quizlet will help to identify whether students have background knowledge about how to go about their research on a national park. If given at the end of the lesson, it will confirm the students' understanding of what was taught.
The second supplementary material I created is a teaching tool. It is a GoAnimate video that helps walk students through the research process. It discusses what to do first and how to map out the information they will need to present their national park in a digital format. Please note that because I have not upgraded to a membership with GoAnimate, I am unable to video over 30 seconds. The last slide needed to be deleted in order to save it, so it is slightly under 30 seconds due to their requirements.
National Parks Research by klisteducator on GoAnimate
The third supplementary material I create is Prezi. This is an example of a student's final product. They will be taking the information they collect and putting it into this digital format. Students will use a rubric to follow as they conduct their research.
