Caplette,+David

Lesson Plan: Scientific Observations

Background/ Pre-Writing: Students have been learning how scientists observe, record, and communicate scientific information. Each student has had practice writing good fourth grade sentences, and knows which components are necessary when recording observations.

Objectives: By the end of this lesson, students will be able to post comments summarizing what they learned in science during the week. I hope to also have parents leave comments, questioning my young scientists. This in turn will allow my class to look at questions, and create experiments that will answer any posed questions. Overall, I would like to use the blog to allow parents and students to communicate about our weekly science discoveries.

Standards: (GLE’s addressed) W-4-3.4 (Organizing ideas, using transition words/phrases and writing a conclusion) W-4-4.1 (Creating a clear, understandable story line with a beginning, middle, and end) W-4-6.4 (Writing a conclusion) W-4-11 (Demonstrates the habit of writing extensively by…) W-4-1 (Students demonstrate command of the structures of sentences…) W-4-8 (In informational writing… students demonstrate use of a range of elaboration strategies by…)

Commenting: Students will be required to post a comment (as their science group) about what they learned this week. They will be expected to use good fourth grade sentences (proper punctuation, sentences have a beginning, middle and an end, stay on topic, use content vocabulary). They will also be expected to read other students comments, and leave praise for their peers’ comments (at least to one other comment). If students are responding to a parents question, they will be expected to leave an “I think…” comment, and then afterwards a follow-up. Students will be graded on a 3-2-1 Blog posting rubric (seen below).

3-2-1 Blog Posting Rubric – 3- Students’ post correctly summarizes the week’s science lessons. The post includes praise, and response to another students/parents post. Sentences are fourth grade quality 2- Students’ post summarizes most of what occurred during the week’s science lessons. The post includes praise or response to another students/parents post. Sentences are almost fourth grade quality. 1- Students’ post summarizes some or little of what occurred during the week’s science lessons. The post does not include any praise or response to another students/parents post.

Differentiation: Students who do not have computers at home, will be able to write their “post” on paper and hand it in that way. They will get a print out of the comments already posted, so that they can reply to the post even though they are usual normal media methods. Students who have difficulty recalling their weekly science lessons can use their Science Journals to recall lessons, vocabulary and “Big Ideas” that we talked about.

**Deliverable 3: The Proposal** Technology: I would like to introduce the tool known as “wiki” to our school personal. With this tool I hope to enable a more open collaboration on the topic of Responsive Classroom, where teachers will be able to share ideas on each of the four components of morning meeting (greeting, sharing, activity, morning message) as well as management ‘tricks.’ A Wiki Description: Before I begin, let me quickly explain what a wiki is. Originating from the Hawaiian word “Wiki-Wiki,” it literally means ‘quick.’ A wiki allows users to create a collective document, where together, ideas are shared, discussed and edited. Each individual that views a wiki can add their own ideas and help create a powerful, accurate, and informative online resource. An explanation of the service: With the wiki I plan on introducing to our staff, teachers will be able to easily view the different areas of responsive classroom. It is my intention that teachers will be able to add their ideas for each area of RC, so that over time our building will have a large collection of ideas across the grade levels. This will be a great way to build our own personal library of activities, and greetings (two areas of the RC morning meeting that are constantly changing). With this wiki, teachers will also be able to ask questions to the entire staff, which can be answered by anyone at anytime (no longer at just a staff meeting). Filling a need: Many teachers were overwhelmed in the beginning of the year when they received the __First Six Weeks__, an introduction to the Responsive Classroom, and asked to implement it in their rooms. This collaborative wiki, will allow teachers to have a place to go and ask questions, get ideas, and share ideas. Teachers who have a place to go to get ideas for activities, greetings, sharing ideas and morning meeting messages, will feel more comfortable trying RC in the classroom (using ideas that have worked before have this effect). Evidence that this Technology will be Useful: To help convince you of how useful wiki’s are, please take a look at the following links. 1) PBwiki collaboration: http://www.teachertube.com/view_video.php?viewkey=e414107ee22b6198c578    This is a short video discussing what a wiki is, and some ways that the wiki can be used to help build discussions (collaborate) with your audience, whether they are teachers, parents or students.    2) PBwiki Favorites: http://www.teachertube.com/view_video.php?viewkey=b38b23cc967316c13dae This is another short clip where the people from PB talk about some of their favorite features of wikis. Some features include embedding files, inserting links, etc. Basically the things you can add make your wiki more powerful! 3) PBwiki helping educators: http://www.teachertube.com/view_video.php?viewkey=455b3fa09a282e0d496f     This clip features several teachers talking about how wiki’s are used for collaboration. They also discuss the issue of posting ethics and how we can even (eventually) use the wiki’s with students.     4) Make Way for Wikis – 11/1/2005 – School Library Journal http://www.schoollibraryjournal.com/article/CA6277799.html Make Way for Wikis is a short article that briefly talks about what wikis are, how they’re used in the classroom and what people are saying about them. While the article is older, it still touches on topics that are current, like “Why haven’t more educators found a place for them in their schools?” 5) Educationalwikis >> home: http://educationalwikis.wikispaces.com/ This wiki has a list of sites and articles that help facilitate how wikis can be used in the school environment. Links to help new teachers understand what wikis are, and how to build their own wiki. There’s a great deal of information on this site, as well as examples from other educational users!   Roadblocks: One major roadblock whenever introducing a new piece of technology is comfort. Many of our older staff members have difficulty using new software, and do not have the time to sit down and explore the different functions. Time is another roadblock that we will have to deal with. In the beginning, teachers will need time to explore the software and to figure out the controls/options. They will then need time to read what others have written, and then additional time to contribute their own ideas. Overcoming Roadblocks: The best way to introduce this new software to our faculty will be to give them time and hands on experience. I recommend using the computer lab, with the additional laptop carts, so that ever teacher can be on the computer at once. During one or two staff meetings, as a whole, we will walk though the site, explore the software, and practice recording ideas. To help counter the time-issue, I will set up the site, with links made up beforehand, so they don’t feel like they have to create extra pages right away. By doing this, the learning process will be easier. Software Suggestions: I would recommend using wikispaces to create our school-wide wiki. Wikispaces offers ad-free space to educators. It is also free of charge, and secure. Wikispaces has an easy, user friendly tour that introduces what wiki’s are as well as information on how to personalize your wiki, uploading files and pictures, and adjusting personal settings. An alternative option is pbwiki, which has given nice attention to educators: http://pbwiki.com/academic.wiki. The Future of our Wiki: My hope for our collaborative wiki is that in years to come teachers are still referring back to it for ideas on the different components of RC. I would like teachers to also be comfortable enough to be adding their own ideas, making each section (greetings, activities, sharing, messages) a large wealth of knowledge. It would be great to see teachers finding outside resources and linking them within our wiki. I would be excited to even see off shoots of the RC wiki taking place within our building to start discussing other issues and ideas that take place between grade levels (reading books used, holiday activities, math activities, writing pieces, story starters, etc.) Finally I would be happy to see new teachers using this tool to help them in their first years of teaching (and eventually adding to it!) **Final Project -Social Studies Unit- ** Brief Introduction: One of the the main topics that we cover in our Fourth Grade curriculum is the history of Rhode Island. The following four lessons focus on the history of Rhode Island as well as information about our town and surrounding communities. Students are also expect to learn about the other 49 states and their capitals. While I have included four lesson plans, keep in mind that each lesson plan encompasses a large amount of information and research. Also due to scheduling, my social studies curriculum is divided up into portions to fit between our science 'GEMs Net' that we get for eight week intervals. These four lessons include valuable components that we have learned from EDC: 921 this semester. My students will be asked to work on blogs, use Wikipedia (along with other internet resources), to make a podcast, to make a vodcast, and to make their own wiki (well.. actually its a class wiki that they are all helping to create.) A few of the lessons take more than a week to complete, and that is being //overly// generous with time. Realistically, the amount of time to research and write reports, summaries, interviews, letters and a few of the other writing components in my lessons will all vary with different classes. Please take your time as you view each lesson and feel free add time, make changes or do what you will!

EDC: 921 Unit, Lesson 1
 * Name:** David Caplette  **    Date:** December 12, 2008
 * Grade/Level** : Fourth  **Subject** : Social Studies  **Topic** : Rhode Island

The goal of this lesson is to determine what students know about Rhode Island. According to Chariho’s performance standards and RI’s GSEs, students need to be able to describe similarities and differences in the ways people live in Rhode Island (SS/1.0); identify geographic boundaries in villages, towns, cities and countries (SS/3.0); Demonstrate an understanding of others’ points of view and work cooperatively in a group.. (SS/10.0). In addition to the social studies standards, students will be expected to demonstrate their knowledge of technology though the use of blogging. 1. Students will blog two thoughts for each section of our online KWL (what they //think// they know, and what they want to learn. We’ll return at the end to add what they learned). 2. Students will be required to read their classmates thoughts and comment appropriately (using our online ethics) on at least one other blog entry.
 * __Purpose/ Curriculum Standard:__**
 * __Objectives:__**

//   By Teacher// :     //By Student// : Lap tops          Access to the Internet Example of previous KWL charts Blog software (blogger.com)
 * __Materials Needed:__**


 * __Anticipated Length of Lesson:__** This lesson should be approximately thirty to forty minutes. There will be a short introduction about our goals/objectives for the day, as well as a short review of what KWL’s are. The class will then review our online ethics that we had created in the beginning of the year. Students will then have a few quite minutes to themselves to think of thoughts that they could write down in their blog. Students will have the remainder of the time to work with their partner to write in their blog, and post comments to other students’ blogs.


 * __Grouping:__** Whole group and partners

Students will have had experience making KWL charts in the past. They have also had previous lessons on how to use the laptops, how to access the internet and how to blog. In the beginning of the year, students talked about and developed their own code of ethics when posting their writing on the internet (or blogs) and when making comments to others posts. This is the introductory lesson to RI and our study of its history as well as the rest of the United States).
 * __Background Information (Pre-Activities):__**

**Introduction:** · Introduce the start of our social studies topic for this trimester (RI). · Ask students what they have learned in social studies the previous years. · Give students a brief overview of what they will be doing today (blogging about what they think they know and what they want to learn about RI).
 * __Procedure:__**

· Ask students what the K in KWL stands for. · Ask students what the W in KWL stands for. · Bring out a KWL that we completed for our previous science unit, and have students share what some of the thoughts look and sound like (ie: I think I know that electricity can flow though water). · Tell students that they will be working with their 12 o’clock (from clock partners sheet) to blog about the K and the W on the topic of Rhode Island · Have students remind you how to get to our class blog and what the rules for blogging are. · Let students know that they will be required to leave two thoughts for both what they think they know about Rhode Island and what they want to learn. · Remind them that part of blogging is also reading what others have written and commenting on their posts. Therefore they will be required to comment on at least one other persons post. · With your partner, blog about what you think you know about Rhode Island, and what you want to learn. You may write what you know about RI’s history, our it’s landmarks or even about the different communities in RI. Please make sure that your information/thoughts are only about Rhode Island. When you have finished with your blog, please take a look at your classmates’ and leave at least one comment to one of their posts.
 * Body of Lesson:**
 * Writing Assignments:**

· When students have finished, have them take a seat and review the blog as a whole class. Discuss with the class the thoughts that were made about Rhode Island, as well as the comments that were posted by other students. Where each appropriate? · As a whole class try to create a list of the common “big ideas.” Make a final post as Mr. C’s class KWL, which summarizes the big ideas for what we think we know, and what we want to learn.
 * Conclusion:**

Pre-assessment: Asking questions to find out what they know about KWL’s, blogging and online ethics. Formative assessment: Observing the interaction of students while they discuss and record what they think they know about RI, and what they want to learn about RI. Also the types of comments that they leave for other students on their blogs. Are they valuable and do they follow the code of ethics we have created. Summative assessment: Making sure objectives above are met and the students know how to use blogs and KWL’s properly. By looking at the blogs when reviewing as a whole class, an idea of student’s knowledge and ability will be easy to assess.
 * __Assessment of Student Learning:__**

Students will follow our normal indoor classroom expectations for when we are working as a whole class. Students who need to regain their focus will use the “chillin”’ chair as needed or directed. When working with their partners, they will be expected to use their inside 1” voice. Students who choose to stray off topic will lose the privilege of working at the computer with their partner. They will return to their seats, and write down their thoughts for K and W on a regular sheet of paper. Classroom rules have been established since the beginning of the year and should be followed throughout all activities, including this one.
 * __Child Guidance/ Management:__**

To save time or to help eliminate the struggle that many fourth graders have with typing, the teacher may assist with the typing, or have an early finisher help with typing. Students with language disabilities could work with other students, or may type in their native language and then use an online translator (then cut and paste). For students who finish early, they will be given the option to help other students with their typing, leave comments for more then one other blog, or to start using the web to see if what they wrote for “what I think I know” was right. If they find documentation indicating that they were correct, then they need to write down the url with their post.
 * __Adaptations/extensions:__**

EDC: 921 Unit, Lesson 2
 * Name:** David Caplette  **    Date:** December 12, 2008
 * Grade/Level** : Fourth  **Subject** : Social Studies  **Topic** : Rhode Island History

The purpose of this lesson is to learn about a historical figure in Rhode Island’s history. Students will also be required to write a mock interview with their famous person and share their interview though a podcast. According to Chariho’s performance standards and RI’s GSEs, students need to be able to explain the history of Rhode Island, past and present (SS/2.0), Compare and contrast the lives of Americans who influence the development of Rhode Island (SS/2.0), Recognize, describe, and demonstrate leadership characteristics and fairness (SS/6.0). In addition, students will be using their knowledge of information writing (W-4-8).
 * __Purpose/ Curriculum Standard:__**

1. Students will research and collect information on a famous historical Rhode Island figure (through the use of wikipedia and then other online sources that they can find to verify wikipedia’s accountability). 2. Students will write a mock interview with their famous person, asking important questions and supply valuable, informative answers. 3. Students will record their mock interview onto our online news podcast.
 * __Objectives:__**

//   By Teacher// :     //By Student// : Laptops   Pencil Access to the Internet  Paper Podcasting software Microphone
 * __Materials Needed:__**


 * __Anticipated Length of Lesson:__** This lesson will take four to six days to complete, giving an hour each day (total of four to six hours). There will be a short introduction, where students will be given the directions, expectations and a chance to ask questions. Students will then have the remainder of that hour to look for information on the web. The following two days will be spent writing and revising their mock interview with their famous historical figure, and then the remaining days will be spent practicing and then recording their interviews into our class podcast.


 * __Grouping:__** Partners.

Students have had a brief introduction to wikipedia, with the chance to find information on topics already familiar to them (ie: baseball, karate, American girl dolls, etc). They have had the discussion about how information found on the web is not always accurate, and should be backed up with another resource. Students have also had experience making podcasts beforehand, and know that they need to speak both loud and slowly. In addition to working with the various pieces of software, students have been working on peer editing their writing, and have already created a mock interview earlier in the year (when we worked on our ironic stories during Halloween).
 * __Background Information (Pre-Activities):__**

**Introduction:** · Start the lesson off with a short background check on what the students know about the history of Rhode Island. · Ask about founders that they may know about, and other important people in the history of our state. · Tell the students that they will be using wikipedia to find and researching important people in our states history. The will then write a short report on that person and then use that information to make a pretend interview, which we’ll record later into a podcast.
 * __Procedure:__**

· Once the directions have been explained, pass out the laptops and direct students to the wikipedia main page. · As a whole class walk though the steps to find famous Rhode Islanders · Once students have chosen a famous Rhode Islander, have them click on the link and gather research on that individual. · Continue to walk around and make sure students are on tasks and there are no questions. · Make sure students are recording important information. The teacher may have to stop and direct students to which information is important (date of birth, what they did that was important, where they lived, etc.) · Once students have collected enough data to answer the important questions they’re looking for, direct them to google.com and have them look for supportive sites that help verify the information they found on wikipedia. · As students finish their research, let them start writing their mock interview. Remind them that one of the is the interviewer, and the other partner is the famous person they chose (who is answering the questions they decided to research). · Once students have written their interview, they must then go though the rest of the writing process, (self edit, peer edit, etc) · After all students are done, they will then practice their mock interview and then record it into our podcast.
 * Body of Lesson: **

· With your partner, choose a famous individual from Rhode Islands rich history to research. Using your research, write a mock interview where your famous person must answer the important questions that you researched. Your mock interview will then be turned into a podcast.
 * Writing Assignments:**

· When students have all finished their writing and podcasting, listen to the entire classes podcast. As a class, discuss what important information they learned from each groups podcast. Since every group was responsible for reporting on a famous person, there should be something important learned from every podcast. · Once all podcasts have been listened to and discussed, talk about possible positive comments we would leave each group (talking about their podcast and the information they provided). This may also be done after the class listens to each podcast, as it will be easier for them to remember rather then waiting until the very end.
 * Conclusion:**

Pre-assessment: Asking questions to find out what students know about early famous Rhode Islanders. Do they know any? What do they know about them? Formative assessment: Observing the interaction of students while the research their famous person and while they write their mock interview. Pay attention to their discussion and the amount of detail that they’re writing down from their research. Is that detail finding it’s way into their writing? Summative assessment: Making sure that the above objectives are met and that the students know how to use Wikipedia, remember how to write an interview and are using detail in their writing. Also are students recording their podcasts correctly, remember to speak slowly and with a loud voice?
 * __Assessment of Student Learning:__**

Students will follow our normal indoor classroom expectations for when we are working as a whole class. Students who need to regain their focus will use the “chillin”’ chair as needed or directed. When working with their partners, they will be expected to use their inside 1” voice. Students who choose to stray off topic will lose the privilege of working at the computer with their partner. They will return to their seats, and write down their thoughts for K and W on a regular sheet of paper. Classroom rules have been established since the beginning of the year and should be followed throughout all activities, including this one.
 * __Child Guidance/ Management:__**

For students who have difficulty finding and or selecting a famous Rhode Islander, I will proved them with a pre-selected individual. If students are having difficulty finding supportive information to help validate the information they found on Wikipedia, I will provide them with a list of possible websites that they could visit. For those students that have a hard time remembering how to write an interview, I will allow them to pull out their pervious interview that they had written earlier this year, and use it as a guide. If there are any soft-spoken students, I will use an external microphone and let them record their interview when other students are not around (incase there are any shyness issues). If there are any students who finish early, or need an extra challenge, I will encourage them to “act” out their interview so that they add character to their voice and make the podcast sound more ‘alive.’ The early finishers should also be encouraged to find additional information that is not normally known about their famous person (a piece of information that they do not find on every site.. but can still be validated by being on at least one other site). Another option for early finishers is to help revise and edit the writings of other students to help them along.
 * __Adaptations/extensions:__**

EDC: 921 Unit, Lesson 3
 * Name:** David Caplette  **    Date:** December 12, 2008
 * Grade/Level** : Fourth  **Subject** : Social Studies  **Topic** : Rhode Island           Landmarks

The goal of this lesson is to learn about the various landmarks that surround the area we live as well as the rest of Rhode Island. According to Chariho’s performance standards and RI’s GSEs, students must be able to identify geographic boundaries in villages, towns, cities and countries (SS/3.0), locate various landforms and bodies of water in RI (SS/3.0), and use the big 6 method to research historical places in RI (SS/2.0). Students must also, demonstrate the habit of writing extensively by…(W-4-11), use relevant and descriptive details (W-4-5.1), and include sufficient details or facts for appropriate depth of information (W-4-8.3) in their writing.
 * __Purpose/ Curriculum Standard:__**

1. Students will pick and research one of the landmarks found around Rhode Island. 2. Using their research, students will write a 1-2 page report detailing the history and significance of their landmark. 3. Students will build a model of their landmark and then make a vodcast, where they will share their model and report.
 * __Objectives:__**

//   By Teacher// :     //By Student// : Laptops   Pencil Access to the Internet  Paper Vodcast software  Craft Materials (to     Video Camera    build a model of their          landmark)
 * __Materials Needed:__**


 * __Anticipated Length of Lesson:__** This lesson will take six to eight days to complete, giving an hour each day (total of six to eight hours). There will be a short introduction, where students will be given the directions, expectations and a chance to ask questions. They will also be shown examples of previous projects and given a short (but not complete list) of Rhode Island landmarks they may choose from. The first two days should be spent on researching and recording information that they find on their landmark. The third and fourth day should be spent writing and revising their report (keep in mind, more time maybe needed here, or it may even be sent home for homework). The fifth and sixth days should be spent building their models of their landmarks. Again, keep in mind that more time may be needed depending on the size of the landmark and the student doing the work. The last two days will be spent creating the vodcast (taping the reports and presentations.


 * __Grouping:__** Individual.

Students have been researching Rhode Island, listening to read aloud books that discuss Rhode Island and have done research on Famous or historical figures from RI’s past. All of the students have also had experience using the Internet to find information and have experience of using that research to write a report. Each student has also presented a report in front of the video camera and knows the expectations of presenting information to an audience.
 * __Background Information (Pre-Activities):__**

**Introduction:** · Start this lesson with a short discussion about places in RI that students think are important. If needed, prompt students with the idea of “where would suggest a tourist (someone visitng the state) go.” · Remind students about the Beavertail Lighthouse, our first field trip. · Also discuss Aster’s Beechwood Mansion (the second part of our field trip). · Next introduce the goals and expectations for their next project.
 * __Procedure:__**

· Once students have been introduced to their next activity, and they know the different components involved, generate a list of possible places they may want to research (put this list on the board). · After a few minutes of listing possible places, pass out the laptops and direct students to the RI home page and have them browse the tourist section to get additional ideas. · Some students may want to take a look at Wikipedia, that is fine. · As students find places they think are interesting, have them write that place on the board so that there will be no duplicates (we want the class to get a good mix of popular/famous landmarks in Rhode Island.  ·  When everyone has found their landmark they want to research let them spend the rest of the time looking for information that they can use in their report.  ·  If there are any good photos that they come across, make sure that they print that photo out so that they can use it in both their report and as a guide to when they build their landmark.  ·  When students have finished their research, they may start writing their report (this may take two days or even three days).  ·  Once the report is finished, they must revise, edit, peer edit their reports before starting a final copy.  ·  The report should include (but not limited to) when the landmark was created, why it was created, where it is, who created it, is it still around, who cares for it, and any special or unique information they found. · After the report is finished, they then may start to build a model of their landmark using the materials that they brought in from home.
 * Body of Lesson:**

· Using the state of Rhode Island’s home and tourist web page, or Wikipedia, find a landmark that you find interesting. Once you choose a landmark, write a one page persuasive essay trying to convince me why I should go to your landmark this summer (since I can only go to one place this summer…). Remember to include important details like when it was created and why it was created.
 * Writing Assignments:**

· Once all students have finished their reports and made their models, they will then present their projects to the class. · Their presentations will be filmed and turned into a vodcast which will be added to our class website. · Students will be responsible for making sure that every presentation has at least one positive comment posted, either commenting on the presentation or remarking on something they learned. Students will use the code of ethics that they created earlier this year that deals with online comments.
 * Conclusion:**

Pre-assessment: Asking questions to find out what they already know about popular landmarks in Rhode Island though our introduction discussions. Formative assessment: Observing their research and note taking, as well as conferencing with them during writers’ workshop. Do they need to go back and get more accurate information? Do they need to add detail and descriptions in their writing? Summative assessment: Students will use a rubric that they create as a class (based on our objectives) to determine the quality of the report and the quality of the model built. They will then be responsible for grading each other using the rubic that they created. The teacher will then add to that grade, by looking at the comments that they left for their peers under each vodcast. Was it valuable information? Did it follow our class code for online ethics?
 * __Assessment of Student Learning:__**

Students will follow our normal indoor classroom expectations for when we are working as a whole class. Students who need to regain their focus will use the “chillin”’ chair as needed or directed. When working with their partners, they will be expected to use their inside 1” voice. Students who choose to stray off topic will lose the privilege of working at the computer with their partner. They will return to their seats, and write down their thoughts for K and W on a regular sheet of paper. Classroom rules have been established since the beginning of the year and should be followed throughout all activities, including this one.
 * __Child Guidance/ Management:__**

Some adaptations to help students who are struggling could include a pres-elected landmark. For those students who have trouble finding or deciding which landmark they want to choose, I will provide them with one, along with information that they can use. If they need help writing their persuasive essay, they I will provide them with a guide for writing a persuasive essay, which would include a list of strong words, good transitions, and the ideas of counter questions. If I see a student struggling with the writing aspect, I will partner them up with an early finisher and also meet with them more than just once in a writer conference format. For students who need an extension to this activity, I will require them to make a travel brochure for their landmark. This will entail taking the important information from their persuasive essay and turning it into a three-fold informative brochure advertising their great landmark. Students will use the computer and be required to use pictures in their brochure (they can use the pre-formatted brochure template that we’ve used before in class… a.k.a. the menu template).
 * __Adaptations/extensions:__**

EDC: 921 Unit, Lesson 4
 * Name:** David Caplette  **    Date:** December 12, 2008
 * Grade/Level** : Fourth  **Subject** : Social Studies  **Topic** : Rhode Island and US          Geography

The purpose of this lesson is to learn about the different communities in RI, as well the other states in our nation. According to Chariho’s performance standards and RI’s GSEs, students need to be able to describe similarities and differences in the ways people live in Rhode Island (SS/2.0); identify 50 states and capitals (SS/3.0); compare how neighborhoods differ (SS/4.0); and explain how people depend on their environment to earn a living (SS/7.0). Students will also be expected to demonstrate that they can organize ideas and use transitions words (W-4-3.4); demonstrate a habit of writing extensively… (W-4-11) and they demonstrate command of the structures of sentences…(W-4-1).
 * __Purpose/ Curriculum Standard:__**

1. Students will pick and research a town in Rhode Island. 2. Using their research, students will write a short description of that town, including 3 interesting facts and a short history of the town on our USA wiki (under the link Rhode Island) 3. Students will generate a letter to fourth graders around the USA, inviting them to view our wiki and add to it a little bit about their town and surrounding communities (under their state link).
 * __Objectives:__**

//   By Teacher// :     //By Student// : Laptop computers  Pencils Access to the Internet  Paper Wiki software (wikispaces.com) Envelopes Stamps Map of RI (by county, but with town outlines)
 * __Materials Needed:__**


 * __Anticipated Length of Lesson:__** This lesson will take five to six days to complete, giving an hour each day to work (totaling five to six hours). There will be a short introduction, where students will be given the directions, expectations and a chance to ask questions. The will then have the remainder of the first day to pick and find information on the town they chose. The next two days will be spent writing a short summary on the history of the town, along with three interesting facts about the town. The will also revise their writing during these two days. The next day will be spent posting their information on our USA wiki under the Rhode Island link. The remaining two days will be spent generating a letter to other fourth graders around the USA, explaining our wiki (and what a wiki is), and then picking a school to send our letter too.


 * __Grouping:__** Partners and whole group.

The students have had experience using Wikipedia and the Internet for research projects in the past. They have also previously written both reports and letters, so they are aware of the formats required. Students know about online posting expectations and have had practice writing blogs and leaving comments for online work. The entire class has been working hard studying the history of Rhode Island, as well as the various states and capitals.
 * __Background Information (Pre-Activities):__**

**Introduction:** · Start the lesson with a review of some historical facts that students remember from the previous lesson. · Discuss how there were many people who impacted the start of our great state. There are also many people who were not mentioned. Many people who settled into small towns and did great things. · Have a discussion about towns and counties.
 * __Procedure:__**

· Introduce the map of RI, which is divided into counties. · Ask students to identify towns that they know on the state of RI map. · As they identify towns, write them in  ·  Direct students to http://www.chariho.k12.ri.us/faculty/riordan/ri/whereami.html, a website created by a Chariho teacher which has information on each town. · Instruct students that they are going to pick a town to research with a partner. They may use this site to start gathering their information, but they must then find additional resources elsewhere online. They must also be able to identify where their town/city is on our map of RI ·  Give students their writing assignment (see below). · Next show students that once they have collected their information and written their brief summary, they will log into our USA Wiki page and edit the RI link, to write their summary about their town. · Once all students have added their information to the RI page, call everyone back together as a whole group. · Together, remind the students the idea behind what a wiki is, that it is a collaboration tool. · Inform students that the next part of the lesson is to try to get fourth grade students from other states to visit our wiki and add information about their town or their surrounding towns/cities. · As a whole class draft a letter that can be sent out to other towns/cities in the US. · Each student is next responsible for copying down in their own writing the letter, addressed to a Fourth Grade Class. · Once all the letters have been written, allow students to use the internet to find schools in different states (of their choice) to send the letter out to. Suggest to students that the search Google for “elementary schools in ‘state’”. Students may also want to use the website that we used for the Great Mail Race.
 * Body of Lesson:**

· Using the provided website and other available online resources, research a town or city in Rhode Island. Using that research, give a brief overview of the history of the town and include at least three important and or interesting facts.
 * Writing Assignments:**

· Once all students have finished posting their writing assignment on our class USA Wiki, and have finished coping our class letter (this way we get 21 copies), review our wiki as a whole class. · Have students present/read what they found out about their town, making sure to both the brief history and the interesting facts. · Continue checking back once or twice a month to see what information is being added about other towns and states. The goal is to track which towns/states are participating, this way we can learn about each state/capital from people who actually live there!
 * Conclusion:**

Pre-assessment: Listen to what students know about their town, state, and surrounding communities though our pre lesson discussion. Formative assessment: Walking around and observing students as they find their information, work on their rough draft and final draft. Are they finding valuable, reliable information? Are they using the correct writing format, paying attention to grammar, conventions and details? Summative assessment: Using the students research and wiki, create an exam where students must go back to the wiki to find the information. Use the facts and information provided by the students to generate the questions. Can students go back and successfully use their own tool to answer the questions that they basically wrote?
 * __Assessment of Student Learning:__**

Students will follow our normal indoor classroom expectations for when we are working as a whole class. Students who need to regain their focus will use the “chillin”’ chair as needed or directed. When working with their partners, they will be expected to use their inside 1” voice. Students who choose to stray off topic will lose the privilege of working at the computer with their partner. They will return to their seats, and write down their thoughts for K and W on a regular sheet of paper. Classroom rules have been established since the beginning of the year and should be followed throughout all activities, including this one.
 * __Child Guidance/ Management:__**

For students that have a difficult time picking a town/city to research or are having a hard time finding information, I will provide them with a town and/or information already printed out. If students are struggling completing the assignment on time, either the written portion or getting their information on the wiki, I will have an early finisher help them. Any students who do finish early will have an option of making a placemat of their town. On the placemat they will draw a full sized image of their town boundaries, making sure to include important landmarks, buildings and smaller communities. They will also be required to label where important events happened, or unique/special locations in the town/city. If students who finish early would rather work on something else, then they may choose another state, and find a town in that state to research. They can then add their research to our USA Wiki under the appropriate state. Throughout the remainder of the year, students may choose to add information they find about other towns and states to our Wiki. This is especially important if other schools have not discovered our wiki or are choosing to not participate!
 * __Adaptations/extensions:__**