Researching+Maryland+history+6th+Grade+(Penelope)

Project Members
[Penelope Murnane] School of Information Studies, University of Maryland

Introduction
This is a unit in a Science class of fourth graders in Anne Arundel County, Maryland. The school is anticipating receiving two terrapins to raise to release into the wild and they are learning about how plants can be used to save energy, about soil erosion and runoff, and the environmental benefits of native landscaping to native animals and plants. Crofton Pines is applying to be a Green School which requires it to implement recycling, native landscapes, and be environmentally conscientious. See: [] The science teachers are working with the media specialist to help the students create posters to promote the greening of the school with more recycling tips. Technology used will be Kerpoof, Google Earth, Inspiration software.

Standards Addressed: ISTE 1.b engage students in exploring real-world issues and solving authentic problems using digital tools and resources ISTE 1.c promote student reflection using collaborative tools to reveal and clarify students' conceptual understanding and thinking, planning and creative processes. ISTE 2b. develop technology-enriched learning environments that enable all students to pursue their invidual curiosities and become active participants in setting their own educational goals, managing their own learning and assessing their own progress. AASL Standards 1.2.1 Graphic organizers/ask essential questions; 1.1.5 Evaluation websites/Evaluating information, 1.3.2 keyword searching, 1.1.7 Extract Information, 2.1.1 Analyze sources, 1.3.3 Bibliographic Citations, 2.1.4, 3.1.3, Critical thinking, appropriate product

The Setting and Context

[Here write about the setting within which you foresee this curriculur unit being taught and implemented. Describe a very detailed educational setting (can be a library, a classroom, or outside of school like a community program etc). Again, I don't want to see just a list of contexts. I want to see a narrative of how you think about, and plan ahead for, the different obstacles and challenges you will face when teaching a technology-integrated lesson. You'll be graded on how well you can communicate your thoughts, the number and breadth of obstacles you can think of, and how you linked your lesson designs back to overcoming those challenges. Here are some challenges that you can start with:
 * 1) The lesson will be taught in a public school.? Why does this matter to your lesson?This lesson will be taught at Crofton Pines Elementary School which is in a suburban neighborhood of Washington DC and Baltimore. It is in a county which has more shoreline than any county in the United States, 534 miles of coastline. It is surrounded by mature trees and bubbling brooks. Although Crofton Pines isn't as close to the shore as other schools in the county. The streams in the community feed into the bigger streams which eventually empty into the Chesapeake Bay. This matters because the public school is able to apply for the Green School status being a public institution. The topic affects the environment which affects the entire public. The students are learning about issues that will affect them in the public world when they get out of school.

2.What kind of students, and what are their learning needs? Students in the fourth grade are mostly Caucasian. There are 36 white males, 48 white females, 5 Hispanic males, 4 Hispanic females, 2 Asian males, 3 Asian females, 6 African American males, and 2 African American females. There is one student with mild Downs Syndrome and at least two students with learning disabilities (autism and ADHD). I will be teaching this with the science teacher. I have been invited in as a guest speaker for their unit on Ecology. Challenges of working with the teacher are planning times together. When she's busy during the day teaching, I'm available; and when she's available after school I'm not as available. But we have planned around that by emailing and planning to meet at least 2 days after school to go over the details. Benefits, are her knowledge of science and her experience of teaching for 18 years at this school. As a result she knows what resources are available around the school and what she has done in the past. She will be teaching the unit on Ecology before hand and I will be coming in to teach the specific topics of Using plants to save energy and Soil Erosion and runoff and how rain gardens and rain barrels can reduce this problem. Some factors that attest to the value of this project and the importance of this lesson can be found in this recent article from the Baltimore Sun, "Teachers have given science and social studies lessons fewer minutes in the school day since the federal No Child Left Behind Act dictated testing of reading and math from grades three through eight. Science is tested, but the results don't count toward the rating of schools. Maryland began testing students on their science knowledge several years ago."( September 20, 2011 | By Liz Bowie, The Baltimore Sun) Scheduling changes that will affect the number of students who participate are band and strings practice. Students just leave the class when their scheduled band and strings practice happen so they will miss out on part of the lesson. Students have their specials in the morning which are P.E. Music, Art, and Media; so the classes will have to meet in the afternoon when the students are not as fresh and alert. Unless they are done on a Friday when there are no specials. The teacher has allotted 50 minutes for each lesson and four days in which to accomplish it in her schedule. We have decided not to compress it into four consecutive days but in two weeks with two consecutive days. I will come in on Thursday and Friday from 1:05-1:55pm for two weeks in March.
 * 1) Will you be teaching this yourself, or working with a teacher? What are the challenges of either scenario?
 * 1) Are there scheduling challenges that affect how you plan the lessons, and when the classes will occur? Do the scheduling challenges affect when and how you will plan with other teachers?
 * 1) What are the technology skills of the students and the teachers? How do you plan to work around these considerations?
 * 2) What are the level of resources that you have? Number of computers? Internet access? Mobile devices? etc etc. How does the level of technology access you have link to how you're implementing your lessons?
 * 3) What kind of policy challenges will you face? Are certain sites blocked? Will certain projects (for example social media projects) pose professional/ethical concerns? How will you get around these?
 * 4) What about technology failures (i.e. a site is down, a computer is offline etc.). How will you plan for these possibilities?
 * 5) Think of other contexts that apply to your specific scenario.
 * 1) Think of other contexts that apply to your specific scenario.

The Materials and Technology Tools You will Need
[Here list, and write a short explanation of the different materials and technology tools you are using in your lessons. Provide an explanation of what the students will be doing with these tools and why they are relevant or good for learning the topic or skills you want to teach.]

The Implementation & Assignments
[Write a short section on when and in what sequence the lessons will be implemented. Also talk about the assignments the students will complete, and how you will assess their learning. For example, if the project is book trailers, what in the book trailers should we be looking for as evidence that the students understood both the content and the technology?]

The Lessons
[Add your 3 lesson plans in this section. You might choose to provide short explanations in between the lessons, that talk about how they sequence together (or this could be in the Implementation section). You should also add in examples of the technology artifacts, or assignments, that the students will complete.]