Basic Productivity Presentation Tool

Lesson Idea

Lesson Idea Name: European Exploration

Grade Level/Content Area: 3rd Grade- Social Studies
Content Standard Addressed: SS3H2 Describe European exploration in North America.

1. Describe the reasons for and obstacles to the exploration of North America.
2. Describe the accomplishments of: John Cabot (England), Vasco Núñez de Balboa
(Spain),

Hernando de Soto (Spain), Christopher Columbus (Spain), Henry Hudson (The

Netherlands), and Jacques Cartier (France).

3. Describe examples of cooperation and conflict between European explorers and

American

Indians.
ISTE Technology Standard Addressed:  What would you like students to know and
1.1 Empowered Learner be able to do by the end of this lesson:
Students leverage technology to take an active
role in choosing, achieving, and Students will be able to use prezi in order to
demonstrating competency in their learning accurately present the information that they
goals, informed by the learning sciences. have collected. I want them to understand
how to best use BPT’s to broadcast
1.1.a. Students articulate and set personal information about the European Exploration
learning goals, develop strategies leveraging in North America.
technology to achieve them and reflect on the
learning process itself to improve learning
outcomes.

1.1.d- Students understand the fundamental

concepts of technology operations,
demonstrate the ability to choose, use and
troubleshoot current technologies and are able
to transfer their knowledge to exploring
emerging technologies.
What is the student learning goal for this lesson idea?
I can create at least 6 slides on prezi that accurately reflect what I know about the topic of
European exploration.
Selected Instructional Software Tool:
URL(s) to support the lesson (if applicable):
https://prezi.com/
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Lesson Idea

Bloom’s Digital Taxonomy Level(s):

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

How will this lesson be implemented? Check all that apply.

☐ Teacher-directed: There is no student voice and choice in the activities. Students are guided by the
teacher's direction and expectations.

☐ Student-Led: Students are given voice and choice in the activities. They may select the topic for
presentation and/or determine the tool they will use to meet the learning goal. Products of
learning will be uniquely designed. Teacher simply facilitates the learning in a lesson like this.

☐ Project-based and/or Publishable: Students are completing projects to demonstrate their learning
and the projects can be shared outside of the classroom. This objective could be reached by
displaying the project on the school’s morning newscast, posting the project to the classroom
blog, presenting it to another class, or publishing it via an outside source.

Lesson idea implementation:

This lesson will start off with me teaching the lesson on the European Expansion and what
that looked like. I will address each of the question found in the standard during my
explanation. After the lesson is given, I will give the students the opportunity to share the
information that they have learned in the format of a “prezi”. As a class we will review how to
best use prezi and I will give an example of a student’s presentation from the past. A rubric
will be given to each of the students with aspects that each of their PowerPoints need to
include. They can include whatever they would like in order to best showcase the information
that they have learned but they must include the requirements from the rubric. I will then
give them the option of doing this project either as an individual or in a group setting. Once
the project is finished, I will give them the opportunity to evaluate the rubric and grade
themselves on how well they follow the project. I think this is a great way to show students
the value or following a rubric and also give them a clearer picture of what they need to focus
on next time. I will walk around and make sure everyone, and every group is staying on task
and offer help wherever it is needed. I will conclude this lesson by having the
individuals/groups present the project that they created to the whole class. I think this is a
great lesson to help kids understand how to utilize technology in order to express their
learning.

Managing engagement: Describe a way to use this technology in a way that gets students
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Lesson Idea

actively involved in authentic tasks and contexts?

Basic productivity tools such as “prezi” are a great way to keep kids on task because there is a
tangible goal at the end of the lesson. When you are teaching a lesson and a discussion is the
end product is can be hard to keep students on task because there is no way to physically
assess whether the work has been done or not. Also, BPT’s are fun for students to put their
personal spin on their own learning. Even though there are some specific requirements in the
rubric the students are able to add, design, or decorate their project in any way that they would
like. I also decided to allow students to choose whether or not they wanted to work in a group
setting or as an individual. I did this because some students work much more effectively with
other students while some prefer to do so alone. I will give the students a time limit of when
the project needs to be done. This way they are able to self-regulate and be reminded of the
learning goal in order to decide how much work needs to be done by what time.

Universal Design for Learning (UDL):

This tool supports the UDL principle of engagement. BPT’s such as prezi allow for students to
become excited about learning because it is a new way to present what they have learned.
Providing differentiation in learning is important to break up the monotony of the typical 8-3
school day. Prezi provides different ways for a student to present their information. Whether
they want to do it auditorily, visually, or textually it provides enough choice and
differentiation that students become more engaged in the assignment. This supports all
students because it is offered through different formats. For students that might be visually
impaired or with learning disabilities we have an auditory option or for our ELL students we
have an option for translation if needed.

Reflecting on enhanced learning:

I believe that this lesson will impact students by helping them learn how to best present
information. Taking a whole lesson and turning it into a couple of slides can be challenging
but it is important that we are able to categorize and present the information that we have
learned. I look forward to seeing the students present their Prezi’s in front of the class. I love
being able to see students enjoy something that we are learning. Even more importantly I
love being able to see students do something that is going to be beneficial for the rest of
their lives.