Brief Description

Students will work in cooperative groups and select an Arizona animal to study and present information about their animal. Each group will be reponsible for creating informational slides and a bibliography slide related to their Arizona  animal in Microsoft PowerPoint. Students will determine whether they wish to utilize online clipart or clipart available thru PowerPoint They will need to revise & edit for content & clarity prior to their class presentation.

Standards and Frameworks

Technology Standards

3T-F3 Use prescribed technology tools for publishing and presenting information.
4T-F2. Use technology tools for individual and collaborative communication activities to share products with audiences inside and outside the classroom
5T-F1. Recognize electronic information sources.

VP-E2. Plan, develop and produce a visual presentation, using a variety of media such as videos, films, newspapers, magazines and computer images
R-F1. Use phonetic skills to decode words.
R-F2 Use word recognition & decoding strategies such as phonetic skills, context cues, picture cues, word order, prefixes & suffixes to comprehend written selections.
R-F4. Identify facts.
W-F1. Use the writing process, including generating topics, drafting, revising ideas
and editing, to complete effectively a variety of writing tasks.
W-F2. Use correct spelling, punctuation, capitalization, grammar and word usage to complete effectively a variety of writing tasks.

Academic

• Students will plan, develop and produce a visual presentation using computer images
• Students will decode words in context using beginning, middle and final letter/sound relationships.
• Students will derive meaning from a written selection using reading/decoding strategies (phonetic clues, context clues, picture clues, word order, structural analysis, word recognition).
• Students will identify relevant facts in a reading selection.
• Students will take notes on their topic
• Students will write draft
• Students will revise draft content (e.g., organization, relevant details, and clarity).
• Students will edit revised draft using resources (e.g., dictionary, word lists and banks, thesaurus, spell checker, glossary, style manual, grammar and usage reference).
• Students will proofread revised draft.
• Students will present final copy according to purpose (e.g. publish).


In their final copy of their writing task:

• Students will spell high frequency words correctly.
• Students will punctuate endings of sentences.
• Students will capitalize sentence beginnings and proper nouns.
• Students will use standard, age-appropriate grammar and word usage (e.g., basic subject-verb agreement, complete simple sentences, appropriate verb tense, regular plurals).

• Students will access information from URL source & communicate electronically with developmentally appropriate technology resources.
• Students will access, retrieve, save information.
• Students will create, save, retrieve,  and print documents.
• Students will demonstrate respect for other students while using technology.
• Students will use equipment appropriately.
• Students will practice safe Internet usage.

Students must be able to demonstrate functional operation of technology components & be able to type a URL address and have discussed basic issues related to responsible use of technology & information. They should be able to describe personal consequences of inappropriate use.

Materials

Computer(s) with Internet access, online & book resources on animals, student's individual word walls with No Excuse Words & chunks, classroom dictionaries,  phonerphones ( 6" section of PVC with two elbow connections on each end), printer, notecards, bibliograpy sheet for resouces used

Accommodations for Special Needs

All of my students have special needs and have Reading, Written Expression goals & objectives on their IEP's. The lesson was developed to allow for extended time & flexible scheduling. Students will work both cooperatively & individually during the course of this lesson. They will be available to support each other in both academic & technology tasks required within this lesson. In their general ed classrooms, students have been focusing on different aspects of AZ. This lesson will provide them with additional opportunities to gain information about AZ & make connections to what's going on in their gen. ed. classrooms.

Procedures

Students attend the Learning Lab for 60 min time blocks / 4 days a week
This activity takes 4 class sessions to complete.

Session 1:

1. The class will be exposed to books that introduce students to some of the different animals that dwell within AZ. & brainstorm information that someone might want to know about any animal (ie. appearance, enemies, habitat, behaviors, other names, food, about their young, etc.) In cooperative groups students will select an animal & then divvy up who will be reponsible for the various topics the group decided were of interest. They will list at least four things they plan to research about their topic. The Presentation Rubric will be shared with the students at this time so that they are fully aware of the grading process for this project.
2. In groups of two or three students will go to a few different search engines that will be bookmarked on their computers. They will collect information and pictures. They will have index cards to jot down bullets of information. A bibliograpy information sheet will be provided for them to note their sources. They will be encouraged to use any information source available.


Session 2:

1. Students will be introduced to Microsoft PowerPoint with a how-to presentation. A hand-out of the presentation will be handed out for students to refer to as they do their own shorter versions. During this session, students will have opportunities to take turns experimenting. This will give them a chance to see some of the various options before they start on their own.


Session 3 & 4

1. Groups will meet and discuss the information collected on their notecards. The notecards will also help them map out their presentations as they take turns creating their Microsoft PowerPoint slides at the computer. Each group's presentation should include at least one photo, graphic or piece of clip art per page. Students will also include a resources or bibliography slide. They will be encouraged to refer back to the notecards. If they are unsure (facts, or spelling of words used within the text) they will be expected to use their own personal word walls with their No Excuse Words. (These are high frequency words that have been taught on the inside & a chunk wall of phonemes, etc. on the inside. The No Excuse Words are practiced regularly in our classroom. Students are required to correctly spell those words correctly in all writing products. My students Word Walls are updated every 9 weeks or so. They have 3 copies of this Wall.  One is for home, here in the Lab & one is in their general ed. classroom.)
2. Students will reread as they write, checking for meaning.
3. Students will review their slides & practice presenting slides with fellow group members.


Session 5:

1. Students will present their slide shows to the class. The slide show will be used as a tool to enhance oral presentations.

Presentation Rubric will be used to evaluate the process & product.  Notecards & the Bibliography Information sheet will be collected and compared to the final product.
Discussion Rubric will be used to evaluate student involvement during their & others' presentations.

Teacher Name: Barbara Peers Robeson
Site: Donaldson
Date Submitted: 2/27/02