MultiMedia Tools

Lesson Idea Name: The Civil War

Content Area: Social Studies
Grade Level(s): 4th Grade
Content Standard Addressed: SS4H5 Explain the causes, major events, and consequences of the Civil War.

Technology Standard Addressed: 3 – Knowledge Constructor

Selected Technology Tool:

☒ Movie (list application): iMovie
☐ Audio (list application):
☐ Other: (list)
URL(s) to support the lesson (if applicable):
https://www.dropbox.com/s/jvuwdlw11jrq70o/Civil%20War.mov?dl=0

Bloom’s Taxonomy Level(s):

☐ Remembering ☒ Understanding ☒ Applying ☒ Analyzing ☒ Evaluating ☒ Creating

Levels of Technology Integration (LoTi Level):

☐ Level 1: Awareness ☐ Level 2: Exploration ☐ Level 3: Infusion ☒ Level 4: Integration
☐ Level 5: Expansion ☐ Level 6: Refinement

Universal Design for Learning (UDL):

Engagement: Students are engaged in this lesson as they are given individual choice to which cause of the
Civil War they will create their video on. This lesson also fosters collaboration and community as the students
are working in pairs to complete the project. Finally, students are provided with a variety of resources to find
information about their topic of choice.

Representation: This lesson provides many means of representation as students are not only given
alternatives for visual information, but also auditory information. Videos can be listened to by students with
visual impairments and watched by students with hearing impairments as long as transcripts are provided.
Students’ background knowledge is supplied through the introductory video and later activated as they create
their own video based on what they saw.

Action and Expression: Students are given a variety of ways to express themselves through the videos and
photos they choose to represent their cause of the Civil War. Students can also optimize access to tools such
as laptops and tablets to create their videos and conduct research. Finally, students can communicate their
message through including a voice-over in their video or choosing music that relates to their topic to set the
mood of the video.

Lesson idea implementation:

The lesson will begin as I introduce the new standard about the causes, major events, and consequences of
the Civil War. Before showing the students the video, I will ask them to think-pair-share with a partner about
what they already know regarding the Civil War and to make some predictions about what caused the Civil
War. After students have shared their thoughts and ideas, I will show the students the video that I have
created on the causes of the Civil War to build their background knowledge and engage them in the lesson.
The video will also answer whether their predictions and knowledge of the Civil War were accurate or not.

Spring 2018_SJB
 MultiMedia Tools

After the students watch the video, I will partner them up and give each pair an iPad. They will have to create
their own video that goes into detail about one of the causes of the Civil War. The students can choose
whichever cause from the video they want, or research to see if there were any other causes that weren’t
mentioned. I will provide the students with websites that they can gather resources from without breaking
any copyright rules or regulations. The students will have already had to create a video for another lesson, so
they will know how to use iMovie. This project will probably take a few days to complete as they must find
music, pictures, videos, etc. Student learning will be assessed based on each group’s ability to create a video
on one cause of the Civil War with accurate information and a professional, educational video. I will have a
rubric in which students can refer to while creating their video so they know they are including each of the
required criteria. Student learning is differentiated as the students are using many different means of
representation to learn about causes of the Civil War. Videos and visuals are used in this project so a variety
of student needs are met. This project can be taken to an even higher level by posting each pair’s completed
video on the classroom blog for other students and parents to watch. Finally, I will give students feedback by
grading their completed video based on the rubric and returning those rubrics to the students.

Importance of technology:
The Civil War video is critical to the project because that is where students will choose their topic for their
own video from. The project could not be completed without iMovie as the whole point is to create a video
detailing one cause of the Civil War. If students were not shown the Civil War video at the beginning of the
lesson and taught that information instead, it might not be as engaging for the students. Technology that will
be needed for this lesson includes iPads or Mac computers, the iMovie app, and internet access to resources
for the video.

Inspiration (optional): N/A

Internet Safety and Student Privacy:

This activity has potential to cause fears among parents or administrators as students are using technology
and creating a video that will most likely be published on the classroom blog. In order to alleviate any fears, I
would make sure to password protect the blog so only parents and students could view the videos. Internet
safety will be implemented as students conduct research as they will only be allowed on certain kid-friendly
sites provided by the teacher such as DiscoveryEducation.com. Students’ privacy will be maintained as the
kids are only creating a video using other resources such as pictures and videos in their own video, so their
faces and personal information will not be connected to the video.

Reflective Practice:
I believe that the activities of this lesson will impact student learning because they are not only engaged in
active learning through the creation of their video, but they are learning the standard in a way that is unique
and encourages individuality and creativity. Since this project will be completed at the beginning of the unit, I
would further extend the lesson by having students watch each other’s videos and complete a jigsaw activity
so that they are learning about all the causes of the Civil War, not just the one they chose. Other technology
tools that could further enhance this project include having the students create a voice-over for the images in
their video and edit it on Audacity before importing it into iMovie. This would make the video even more
personalized.

Spring 2018_SJB