Lesson Plan for Implementing

NETS•S—Template I
(More Directed Learning Activities)
Template with guiding questions
Teacher(s)
Name Maleigha King

Position 3rd Grade Inclusion Teacher

School/District Beecher Hills Elementary School / Atlanta Public Schools

E-mail mking180@students.kennesaw.edu

Phone 404-802-3200

Grade Level(s) 3rd Grade

Content Area Science, Social Studies, Writing and Speaking

Time line Three Weeks

Standards
Content Standards:
Students will obtain, evaluate and communicate information about the similarities and differences between plants,
animals, and habitats found in geographic regions. (S3L1) Students will learn will able to share information about the Blue
Ridge Mountains, Piedmont, Coastal Plains, Valley and Ridge, and Appalachian Plateau regions of Georgia. (S3L2).
Students will locate major topographical features on a physical map of the United States including the major rivers and
mountain ranges (SS3G1). Students will be able to locate and describe the equator, prime meridian, and lines of
latitude and longitude on a globe. (SS3G2). Students will report on a topic or text, tell a story, or recount an
experience with appropriate facts and relevant, descriptive details, speaking clearly at an understandable pace
(ELAGSE3SL4).

NETS*S Standards:
Students will become empowered learners by leveraging technology to take an active role in choosing, achieving, and
demonstrating competency in their learning goals, informed by the learning sciences. Students will use technology to seek
feedback that informs and improves their practice and to demonstrate their learning in a variety of ways. (ISTE1)
Students will be knowledge constructors and critically curate a variety of resources using digital tools to construct
knowledge, produce creative artifacts and make meaningful learning experiences for themselves and others. (ISTE1c).
Students will plan and employ effective research strategies to locate information and other resources for their intellectual
and creative pursuits. (ISTE3).

Overview

In this unit activity students will be exploring the different regions, landmarks and physical features of Georgia.
They will first participate in a virtual field study with Chattahoochee Nature Center where they will explore the
features and regions of Georgia and even participate in a live animal encounter on Zoom. Students will be
required to create a FlipGrid video to share with their Chattahoochee Nature Center tour guide as a thank you.
Students will then act as nature explorers themselves and take a virtual reality trip through a GPB Education
simulation called ‘Physical Features of Georgia.” As researchers themselves, students will work through the
virtual reality individually and compile their own research answering questions provided. Once their research
is compiled, students will join into groups of 2-3 to create a Google Slides presentation based on their findings
and research from the virtual trip. Students will collaborate to become creative producers of their own products
given a template and rubric to follow. Once their presentation is complete students will be required to present
to the class. 

Page 1 of 5
Essential Questions

What are the 12 physical features of Georgia?

How can I describe Georgia with regards to physical features and location?
Where are Georgia’s five regions located?
How are Georgia’s five regions similar and different?
What plants and animals can you find in Georgia based on their habitats location?
What physical features have you visited in Georgia?
How can we collect and organize research on a topic?
Assessment

Students will be assessed through an ongoing process where teachers will provide feedback on a daily basis.
Each assignment will be due on Friday in which they will receive their feedback before the following Monday in
order to prepare them for the upcoming task. The final product will be the Google Slides presentation that will be
graded by a rubric and completed as a group. Students and the audience will find all tasks meaningful and
authentic due to the content about the real world around them and the state they reside in. Students will take
ownership in their product when having to share with their peers.

Ongoing Assessments:
Week One- I will assess the students using their Flipgrid thank you video. This will be assessed using a checklist.
Week Two- I will assess the students using their answers to their research questions, STEMScopes, and
BrainPop. These will be on a grading scale and taken for Science and Social Studies grades.
Week Three- I will assess the students using their final Google Slides group presentation. This will be assessed
using a rubric.

Resources

Due to a full virtual setting, technology was used throughout this entire lesson. Students participate in online
classes each day using the Zoom platform. All students have been given a Chromebook from the school to
ensure digital equity. The procedures and strategies being implemented within this unit activity have all been done
in previous learning experiences prior to this unit. Students are well equipped with Google Slides and how to
create presentations, as well as how to conduct research when given a template and resources. Students have
utilized zoom breakout rooms in and outside of class, as well as mastered how to present to the class by sharing
their own screens on zoom. Ongoing feedback will be provided to students daily from not only teachers, but
classmates and peers as well, by using a 1-3 rating system during project check-ins. Being 5 month in to digital
learning, my students have proven to be well equipped with the technology tools and resources I am providing
within this activity.

Resources and Supporting Materials (links attached):

Chattahoochee Nature Center Virtual Field Studies and Animal Encounter
FlipGrid
FlipGrid Video Checklist
GPB Virtual Field Trip
Google Slides
Google Slides Presentation Template
Final Product Georgia, My Home! Google Slides Rubric
STEMScopes: Physical Features of Georgia
BrainPop

Page 2 of 5
Instructional Plan
Preparation

This will be an end of the unit activity. Students will rely heavily on the information retrained from the prior and
former Social Studies and Science units, as they are closely related. This will also be the third Google Slides
presentation students have created within our current virtual setting. GSuite tools are relied upon heavily at my
school, therefore all of my students have a strong foundation in these tech tools, even prior to our virtual learning
world. While we have definitely improved in our technology skills, they can never be perfect. One of our biggest
difficulties students might have is the use of technology tools, including Zoom and breakout rooms. Being in a full
virtual setting while implementing a technology rich lesson is always a difficulty without the means to troubleshoot
and assist students when tech issues arise.

Management

Being fully virtually meant I needed to ensure my management strategies were in place and clear expectations
were set beforehand. Before any presentation week we start by creating our essential agreements together.
These encompass our learning goals and agreements that will take place throughout the unit activity. Classdojo is
also a platform that is utilized throughout virtual learning to improve classroom management. Technology
expectations and digital citizenship is discussed and agreed upon while creating essential agreements as well.
Students will work on these task during Zoom instructional lessons, where whole group lesson will be taught and
breakout rooms will be utilized for small group instructions when needed. Meetings outside of class with your
project group can be scheduled and arranged using a Google Doc to sign up. During week one, students will
participate in whole group instructions where a guest visitor will join them for a field study. Through discussions
and FlipGrid responses, students will complete task while in Zoom class. During week two students will begin to
receive independence in their learning. They will work independently during their Zoom classes and partake in
their virtual reality journey. Throughout this journey students will complete research questions to compile their
information. By week three, students will begin the collaboration phase and start working in breakout rooms with
their groups to complete their Google slides presentation. Troubleshooting issues were implemented prior to the
start of the activity and screen casting was utilized whenever possible to provide students with a reliable reference
at all times. Because we are implementing this lesson on Zoom there are a countless amount of technical issues.
When these arise with student Chromebook or sites, our quick fix is to have students share their screens so we
can troubleshoot together. This has been successful throughout the year so far, all of my students are capable of
performing the task and they are finally comfortable asking to share their screens for assistance.

Instructional Strategies and Learning Activities –

Throughout this activity, students will act as explorers and producers. Students will be responsible for exploring a
virtual space and answering research questions to collect data and information. They will also act as producers
when creating FlipGrid videos and their final Google Slides presentation. The teacher will maintain the role as a
facilitator and monitor the process of learning. The teacher will continually assess the students, whether it be
informally or formally, and provide ongoing feedback to the students. This feedback will enhance the work and
learning of the students moving forward into the following week. Throughout the strategies and technology being
used I have manage to create an innovative lesson that encompasses critical thinking, creativity, collaboration
and communication.

Week One: Students will engage in a live session with a tour guide from Chattahoochee Nature center.

Page 3 of 5
 Week One: Students will engage in a live session with a tour guide from Chattahoochee Nature center.
Throughout the learning experience students will having meaningful discussions and activities that relate to the
physical features of Georgia. Once the guest speaker has finished students will have the week to create a thank
you video on FlipGrid. The video will be used as a formal assessment of students’ learning throughout the
experience. Students will be required to include words of appreciation for the visit, a summary of what they
learned, their favorite part of the trip, and an invitation to view their final products created on Google Slides. The
video will be graded using a checklist. Ongoing feedback will be given from the teachers and peers throughout the
week as we view them daily in class and provide a check-in. Once the videos are critiqued and completed, the link
will be sent to our Chattahoochee Nature Center tour guide where I will encourage for a reply to share with the
students.

Week Two: Students will participate in a GPB simulation on their own. During the virtual field trip students will
explore the 12 physical features of Georgia through video footage, phot galleries, and interactive maps. Students
will analyze the importance of water in Georgia’s historical development and economic growth, as well as assess
how the four transportation systems (road, air, water and rail) of Georgia contribute to the development and
growth of the state’s economy. Students will be given research questions to answer that can be found within the
virtual trip, as well as a few that require research from outside sources. Students will have the week to conduct
their research and answer the questions. During the same week students will also be required to complete a
STEMScopes “Georgia Features” activity, and a BrainPopJr video on Georgia’s five regions where they will
extend their research and learning. The research questions, STEMscopes activity and BrainPop videos will be
used as formal assessments throughout the unit, as well as provide ongoing feedback for students.

Week Three: Students will join a team of 2-3 class members to work with for the remainder of the unit. The goal
for the week will be to create a Google Slides presentation called “Georgia, My Home!” The presentation will
include a description and research of at least 6 physical features, including pictures, videos, and a poll, or
questions, for the audience at the end. Students will be given a rubric to follow, as well as their graded research
questions from the previous week. First, the group will compile all of their individual research questions together
using collaboration strategies provided from the teacher. For example, one activity will be through a collaboration
strategy called “give one, take one” where students will compare their research and minimize the overlapping
information. The goal of this task will be to collaborate and agree on the key topics they want to include in their
presentations. The meaning of this part of the activity is for students to become explorers and producers in their
learning, while the teacher assumes the roles of a facilitator. Students will work to sort through their research and
create a presentation encompassing the overall learning criteria of the activity provided on the rubric given.
Breakout rooms on zoom will be utilized throughout the week with two teachers floating through the rooms to do
check-ins and provide feedback and suggestions where needed. A sign-up sheet will be provided for groups, and
highly encouraged, to request for time outside of class to meet with your group and teachers for feedback and
preparation. Students will be required to complete their presentations by Friday and present to their classmates.
Once a group has finished presenting the teacher will request for a rating. At this time peers will rate their
classmates on their presentation based on a 1-3 scale that students are familiar with and use almost daily during
zoom instruction. Students will then be able to give ‘glows and grows’ to each other to prepare for future
presentations. Students will share their presentations with the Chattahoochee Nature Center and follow up with a
collaboration message on Google, depending on the response received.

Differentiation

Due to our class being an inclusion class I will differentiate my lesson in multiple ways. My special education
students will work with our co-teacher, Ms. Clay throughout the three weeks. She will facilitate their virtual field
trip, assist them in compiling research and provide guidance when completing their Google Slides. The question
template given for students to answer when compiling research will be differentiated based on the needs of my
diverse learners, as well as the Google Presentation expectations and rubrics. Groups will be selected based on
individual needs. Presentation and collaboration skills will be highly considered to balance the groups and create
effective teamwork. Many technology tools being used provide assistive widgets such as read-aloud options or
speech to text tools. When working independently students will be given a checklist and outline of questions to
keep them on track and aligned to the content being studied. My gifted and talented development students
(GATE) will be given the opportunity to create an extension project that describes their favorite physical feature in
the world.

Page 4 of 5
 Reflection

As a closing event we hosted a “Mini Explorers Day.” This is something our class does often to collaborate with
others during our virtual setting. We invited a second grade class into our zoom session and shared our final
products. Once the classes were combined, the teachers utilized the zoom breakout rooms to create groups that
consisted of a 3rd grade project team, and three-four second grade students. Within their breakout rooms students
had 30 minutes to present their projects and answer any questions that follow about the content being taught.
During this time teachers monitored and visited each room for observations. Once presentations had been
completed students received an extra 30 minutes to explore Google Slides with their peers and teach their
younger classmates how to manipulate and create using the GSuite resources. This extra time provided for an
informal, free learning space where students were able to share their ideas and collaborate to wrap up their unit
learning. As teachers and facilitators during this process we learned that the students took away so many things
from this unit activity. Not only did the majority of them master the content being delivered, but I was so proud of
their presentation skills and leadership skills at they taught their younger peers how to use GSuite tools. Of course
if this was a lesson being taught face to face I would have implemented things differently which may have caused
me to miss out on the technology tools being implemented. When I implement this lesson again in a face to face
lesson, I am thankful I had the opportunity to explore the technology and can assure you I will use it again.

Closure:
This was an awesome lesson to implement while in a virtual setting. I had to critique the resource to find the right
tools to fit our needs, which in returned allowed me to become more equip with the technology I was using. I
believe even when implementing this again in a classroom setting, I will still choose to incorporate the technology
strategies I used now. Whereas digital equity was not an issue for me during this lesson, I can see where it would
be for many. Although, throughout my lesson there were a lot of mishaps such as students losing internet
connection and dropping out of zoom, or audio issues and absences due to Wi-Fi outages. While these are all
things we are learning to battle during this pandemic and learning, I found that using Screen-O-Matic to walk
students and groups through processes and instructions became a life saver. It saved me time and repetition!
Overall, my students and I enjoyed this learning experience greatly. I would recommend using Chattahoochee
Nature Center for a virtual field trip experience if you haven’t before. There wide variety of programs is guaranteed
to keep your students engage, especially during a pandemic time like this. PBS kids is another resources that
provides virtual trip and reality spaces.

Rubric and Checklist: See *resources* for other detailed assessment forms

Page 5 of 5