Instructional Software

Lesson Idea Name: The wonders of the Carbon Cycle

Content Area: Biology

Grade Level(s): 9th-grade

Content Standard Addressed:

SB5. Obtain, evaluate, and communicate information to assess the interdependence of all organisms on one
another and their environment.

b. Develop and use models to analyze the cycling of matter and flow of energy within ecosystems through the
processes of photosynthesis and respiration.

Selected Technology Tool: BrainPOP

URL(s) to support the lesson (if applicable and goes directly to the lesson):
https://www.brainpop.com/science/earthsystem/carboncycle/

Type of Instructional Software:

☐ Drill and Practice ☐ Tutorial ☐ Simulation X Instructional Game ☐ e-books/e-references

Features of this software (check all that apply):

☐ Assessment Monitoring/Reporting

X Allows Teacher to create customized lessons for students

X Multi-user or collaborative functions with others in the class

X Multi-user or collaborative with others outside the class

X Accessible to students beyond the school day

X Accessible via mobile devices

X Multiple languages

X Safety, security and/or privacy features

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Bloom’s Digital Taxonomy Level(s):

X Remembering X Understanding X Applying ☐ Analyzing ☐ Evaluating X Creating

Levels of Technology Integration:

X Infusion Level: Students may work at a higher Bloom’s Level, but they do not have any “Voice or Choice”
during the activity and most of the decisions are made by the teacher.

☐ Integration Level: We would like to see ALL lessons/activities reach this level. The project is student-
driven. Students have “Voice and Choice” in the activities, selecting the topic of study and determining the
technology tool to demonstrate mastery of the standard. The teacher becomes more of a facilitator.

☐ Expansion Level: The projects created are shared outside of the classroom, publishing student work and
promoting authorship. This could be reached by showcasing the project on the school’s morning
newscast, posting the project to the classroom blog, or publishing via an outside source.

Universal Design for Learning (UDL): This lesson is planned to benefit all students. The lesson should boost
engagement by starting with a fun and interesting video about ecology. It will also show the same information
in various forms. The students will engage with the content through the short video, interactive games,
vocabulary, and the coding project. They will have different coding projects with varying themes to choose
from. This will ensure that they have autonomy in their learning while still meeting the class’s goals of the
day. English learners have translation tools to help them, and the vocabulary review game will ensure that
they understand key concepts.

Lesson idea implementation:

The teacher will start the lesson by reading the goals of the day. The goals will be related to learning about
the carbon cycle, applying that information to create a project using code, and learning key vocabulary (15
minutes). After going over the goals, each student will take out their laptops or their phone and go to
BrainPOP.com or follow the provided QR code. The students will log in and watch the short carbon cycle video
first; they may choose to pause and rewind the video as much as needed (approximately 5 minutes). After
watching the video, the students will choose between one of the coding projects. Students will have
approximately 45 minutes to work on their coding project. To close off the online lesson, students will
complete the vocabulary worksheet. To conclude class, the students will be paired up and will play the Picture
It game on the whiteboards to further review key vocabulary.

Student learning will be assessed based on the quality of their coding projects and vocabulary review. The
teacher will walk around during Picture It and listen carefully to see who is struggling. The data collected will
be used to shape future instruction and provide appropriate support for struggling learners. Individual
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feedback will be provided to students by the website. However, if a student is struggling with the content, a
one-on-one meeting will be had in which we will discuss further support.

Reflective Practice:

After completing my lesson, I feel that the activities I selected will positively impact student learning. I believe
that students will be happy to start the day with the BrainPOP video, which features lively comments by the
characters while delivering content. I chose the coding project because it gives students choices and because
coding is something they will encounter in higher education and other courses. I also decided to review
vocabulary twice because my classroom is composed mainly of ELs, and mastering vocabulary is key to their
learning.

If this lesson was an introduction to the Ecology unit, I could use other technology to teach further concepts.
For example, once we start talking about limiting factors in an ecosystem, we can use the PHET lab to see how
limiting factors affect populations in real-time. We can also discuss human impact by viewing videos about
human pollution, analyzing data on global warming, and viewing time-lapses of how areas have changed over
time.

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