Secondary Learning Plans
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| Designing a Travel Brochure |
Students will create a brochure that demonstrating their abilities in Microsoft Publisher as well as their proficiency in the following science standards: Understand the processes acting on the Earth and their interaction with the Earth systems. In the project, students will choose a state to learn about; within the state, students will choose three cities to explore. Next, students will look at the factors that influence climate in their chosen region. Based on their findings, students will indicate the best times to visit their state. The completed project will look like a vacation brochure that consists of information about the climate of the chosen state; this is how students will demonstrate that processes acting on Earth cause weather. Students will identify the factors that influence climate in the area. For example, say the chosen state was Arizona: The student will choose 3 cities within the state: Flagstaff, Phoenix, and Tucson. For each city, the student will look at the factors that influence climate; mountain ranges, bodies of water, latitude… Students will then write about the activities each city offers and when the best time to visit would be. For example, it might be best to visit Flagstaff in the winter so you could partake in winter sports and see the Grand Canyon in snow… Or, visit Tucson or Phoenix in the winter so that you can work on your tan…Meets Arizona State Technology Standard 3. |
| Shark Behavior |
This lesson lasted five class periods (50 minute blocks). Initially, students reflected upon attacking behaviors of sharks, then formulated a question about these behaviors. For the first three class periods students watched documentaries about shark behaviors and attacks, while recording their behavior observations on a chart. Students analyzed their observation data by looking for patterns and trying to answer their initial question. Students then spent the last two periods in the computer lab, first typing up their lab reports, then posting their reports on a Scholastic Website (http://teacher.scholastic.com/activities/sciencewriting/index.htm). Additionally, students were asked to write a poem about sharks and could earn extra credit by posting their poetry on another Scholastic Website (http://teacher.scholastic.com/writewit/poetry/karla_home.htm). Meets Arizona State Technology Standards 1, 3 and 4. |
| Evidence for Evolution |
This activity took two class periods (one 80 minute block and one 50 minute block). Students were split into six groups that represented six science disciplines: paleontology, comparative anatomy, biogeography, comparative embryology, classification and molecular biology. Each group member individually researched for pieces of evidence in their topic that support evolution. The group then picked the strongest pieces of evidence to present to the rest of the class. Lastly, each individual was responsible for critically evaluating one of the websites they visited. The long class period was spent in the computer lab doing the Internet research; the short class period was in the classroom exchanging the evidence. Attached to this lesson plan are: 1) directions for the activity, 2) website evaluation rubric, and 3) the evidence chart worksheet. Meets Arizona State Technology Standard 5. |
| Who Wrote That? |
Students will complete author studies in groups of 2 or more. In their study, they will read 3 or more works by their chosen author. They will then use the Internet to learn about the write and their life. Websites will help children to determine the authors purpose and identify what factors in the author’s life influence his/her writing. Meets Arizona State Technology Standard 5. |
| Student Publishing using Writer’s Window |
Students used Writer’s Window (http://english.unitecnology.ac.nz/writers/home.html) website to publish their own poems and short stories for peer critique. Meets Arizona State Technology Standards 3 and 4. |
| Evaluating a Website (Artopia) |
Students used 21st Century Information Fluency Project website (http://21cif.imsa.edu/tools/evaluate/) and Artopia website (http://www.knowitall.org/artopia/) to evaluate a website for accuracy, authority, and credibility. Meets Arizona State Technology Standard 5. |
