Social+Studies

Social Studies //"Who am I?" //

__Meets Ohio Social Studies Standards: __ Social Studies Skills and Methods Students collect, organize, evaluate and synthesize information from multiple sources to draw logical conclusions. Students communicate this information using appropriate social studies terminology in oral, written or multimedia form and apply what they have learned to societal issues in simulated or real-world settings.

Thinking and Organizing 1. Describe historical events and issues from the perspectives of people living at the time in order to avoid evaluating the past in terms of today's norms and values.

__Technology Needs: __ Skype Online Application Webcam American Memory Online Database ([])

__Activity Description with Technology Integration: __ Students will be required to select a historical figure that they have studied throughout the year. Examples could include Julius Caesar, Alexander the Great, Kubla Khan, and Marco Polo. Using their text books and American Memory (if additional resources are needed) the students will find ten clues written in first person point of view. Students will then write these clues on an index card. In the mean time, another school in which the teacher/media specialist has communicated, is doing the same thing. On the specific date and time arranged by the educators, these classes will meet via Skype. The students will then, by taking turns, go to the camera and read his or her clues, pausing to allow for the other classroom to submit their guesses as to what persona the student has developed. As an added bonus, each student can dress up as their character. This can be a fun, end-of-the-year activity, which also reinforces the concept that seventh graders all over the state are indeed learning the same standards. To conclude the lesson plan, students will take a self-portrait while in costume to contribute to their overall Tech Day Glog.

1. I was often referred to as the "Virgin Queen" or "Good Queen Bess" --Queen Elizabeth I 2. I played a huge role in the development of the Roman Empire. --Julius Caesar


 * A couple of my former seventh graders were more than happy to help out. They submitted these examples via email.

__Supporting Research: __ Around 43% of American schools are in rural communities. Many students in these schools may not know much more than the town they have grown up in. Video distance learning VDL) is a tool that has grown more and more over the last few years, opening doors students never knew existed. First, they are getting exposed to technology that is hitting college campuses everywhere, which will aid them in their post-secondary aspirations. Second, due to No Child Left Behind’s heightened standards for teachers, several school districts were left without highly qualified teachers to take on certain subject areas (examples: foreign language or calculus). VDL allows for teachers from miles away to conduct a classroom, giving the students the courses they need to meet state standards as well as adding challenging courses to the curriculum. A third advantage is that when many school budgets for field trips have been cut, students can get an interactive virtual field trip instead. The article describes a U.S. park ranger broadcasting a live prairie fire to schools across the state. Another small advantage for teachers? No permission slips!

Kingsbury, A. (2004). REMOTE ACCESS. //U.S. News & World Report//, //137//(13), 66. Retrieved from Middle Search Plus database, EBSCO//host// (accessed June 28, 2010). __ "Tried and True" or "New and Innovative?" __ Distance learning has been going on for years and years. A historian could probably find examples of correspondence dating back thousands of years. Innovated, multi-million dollar, international companies have probably been video conferencing for years. However, to the average seventh grader, this technology is new and exciting. It is opening a world to possibilities and friendships (the article I read noted some students acquiring prom dates through their VDL classmates!). The seventh grade social studies curriculum is not an easy one to keep kids motivated. Students today are very concerned about the “here and now”, making ancient civilizations far down on their priority list. However, combining lesson plans with VDL marries the ancient and present quite successfully. Not to mention the additional perk of being on “tv”. More than one vain seventh grader comes to mind. This alone could be their reason for getting out of bed in the morning!

COMPONENT TWO Part One The first instructional strategy that can be found within this lesson plan is reinforcing effort. This instructional strategy aligns with the use of a webcam. This is a very reasonable technology that students may see again in their personal lives, as well as in their academic and professional careers. Being connected to the world is more important than ever and this activity is a beginning step in stepping beyond the four walls of a classroom. This activity could even be broadened to classrooms around the country or even the world.

Using the particular hardware of a webcam is appropriate for reinforcing effort because students will gain an extra motivation to put forth effort since they will be sharing their research and costume ideas to their peers from other schools. Students will see the greater effort they put forth will result in a more successful quizzing time.

The hardware needed in this lesson plan is a webcam and a Smartboard. This webcam (in addition to the Internet) is essential in connecting my class to the classroom in another town. Depending on the quality, webcams run an average of $45. The Smartboard will allow for a classroom of 25 students to easily view the partnering class. A Smartboard, along with the projector needed to feed the desktop screen to the Smartboard screen, may cost a school around $2000. Although used as a projector in this lesson plan, the advantages of a Smartboard in a classroom are endless; the purchase of interactive Smartboards is a great investment for a school. In addition, we will of course need a computer, which may be another $500.

When introducing the lesson plan, student will be reminded that effort is of the utmost importance in this lesson. It is in their hands. The students are the ones who will take control of this plan. The opportunity to learn AND have fun is possible if they embrace the plan and find a historical figure to call their own. Since this is a history lesson, they will be reminded of the great Julius Caesar. He could not have grown the Roman Empire into such a powerful entity if not for his immense effort and dedication. Sure, a smug seventh grader may point out being assassinated doesn’t show success. However, few men have made such a great impact on world history like Julius Caesar. He built Rome into a military and political powerhouse. Not to mention he earned a whole Shakespearean play and countless busts! After a discussion of Caesar, we will then take suggestions of other leaders throughout history who proved that effort leads to achievement. This will also aid in the brainstorming of who the students will choose for their lesson plan. Finally, we will conclude with the questions “What does effort look like? What did all of these leaders have in common?”

Reinforcing the effort that students are expected to produce goes hand in hand with student motivation. With this lesson, several factors align with motivation. First, is using the hardware technology of a webcam. Students will be motivated because this is a technology this use outside of school. Students, especially young adolescents love making a connection between their education and the real world. Some of the students will be more familiar than the instructor when it comes to the webcam! They will love sharing tips and their know-how with their classmates. The webcam will also foster collaboration. By nature, most middle schoolers are very social and love social networking. Also, middle schoolers ten to be very restless and are more engaged in learning t​he more active the lesson.

<span style="display: block; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 8pt; text-align: left;">Image found at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Julius_caesar

<span style="display: block; font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive; font-size: 130%; text-align: left;">Part Two <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 130%;">The second instructional strategy used in this lesson plan is using “simulations and games.” Countless researchers have found that students are able to recall information easier when they have learned the information through multiple facets. In this lesson, full of customs and the spirit of competition, learning is almost “disguised”. Bringing history alive will reinforce their learning.

Students will be using the web as a resource for this activity. They will be using Skype, a software application to communicate with a partner classroom. Skype will create an opportunity to learn and share, as well as create meta-cognitive processes. Skype will help foster inter-personal skills in the “safe” environment of their home classroom. To introduce the technology of Skype, I would arrange a meeting with my sister. She is currently a college sophomore in South Carolina. She and her friends from Ohio often use Skype to communicate. The class would be able to ask her questions about the technology –how she uses it and in what capacity. <span style="display: block; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 8pt; line-height: 115%; text-align: center;">A webcam snapshot of my sister while she’s “down south” <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 129%;">The web resources focused upon in this section is Skype. Skype is a free downloadable application available at their website, <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 130%;">[|www.skype.com]. We will also need internet access, which the school will have provided. A typical school district subscribes to a service that provides many online programs to organize and run day-to-day school business, including the Internet. This service will run around $95,000. To support the web resources, we will also need the hardware mentioned in part one.

This lesson plan will address the challenge of differentiating instruction. Too often, teachers fall into the habit of assessing students with paper and pencil. Review turns into a lecture series. This does not need to and should not be the case. A class is full of individuals with different learning styles and abilities. It is a great challenge, but teachers must accommodate for all learners. This lesson plan will facilitate success for many students. Students will be working individually and will allow for the teacher to roam around the room and help, encourage, and provide positive reinforcement. Some students that may not bode well on written tests will embrace this opportunity to get in front of the camera. This will be a motivating factor as they research their historical figure. Also, the pressure of a typical assessment will be lifted as they read their information off of their self-made cue cards. Image found at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Skype