Try-Unit

Try

Me!
 * PART I**

1. Go back and review the Scope and Sequence of your first choice of grade level/content area.

2. MAKE A DECISION: decide on a unit of instruction (2-3 weeks) you will teach in your grade leve;/content. You will be writing 10 complete technology-driven lesson plans for this unit. That's not to say that these 10 lessons may be the ONLY lessons you would need for the unit, but this will give you an opportunity to build a sample unit with lesson plans.

3. Use the form below and complete it based on your ideas of what concepts, knowledge and skills you will need to impart to learners. I know this is hard!! It requires some knowledge that you may not have acquired in school yet, and a great deal of creativity, but this is a huge part of teaching and you need to start thinking about how to do it! And this is a safe place to get a start.



Things to think about before writing lessons: --what concepts need to be taught --what knowledge needs to be mastered --what skills need to be attained --what is the authentic connection to the students' life --how will technology be used to enhance 21st century learning principles


 * PART II**

1. OPEN the document below, complete it to the best of your ability, and COPY AND PASTE IT in front of your lesson plan format.



The two parts of this document (the introduction and the lesson plans) represents one way of writing a lesson plan (albeit, a bit abbreviated). The purpose of this assignment is to get you thinking about what content/knowledge/skills need to be taught in scope and sequence units and activities (lesson plans) that would effectively use technology to change the learning and/or teaching environment. For example, if you are writing a unit on Evolution for a 9th grade Biology course, what content and skills do students need to master? If the standards call for Colorado History in the 4th grade, what is the content and skills that students need to know/be able to do in order to meet the standard? If the Middle East is the area of focus for 7th grade social studies, how will you decide (from a vast knowledge base) what is critical for the students to know to understand the Middle East? These are the very beginning questions for designing a unit.

As stated in your wiki assignment your "Teaching With Technology" page will have a minimum of 10 lessons effectively using different technologies that logically fit into your unit. Please do NOT embed the lesson plans, but DO copy and paste. The reason for this is simple: your lessons will be in a state of revision most of the time. Therefore, if you embed them in your wiki, you will always be downloading them, revising, then uploading. Also, when a hiring principal sees your lesson plans, you do not want them to have to download, then open them. Best to have them "viewable" instantly. However, HOW you organize the lesson plans is up to you. For example, you might want to create a table and then a separate page for each lesson, then create a link within the table. In this case, you would only put a link on the navigation bar to your table. Or, you could create a page with a description of each lesson and then link each lesson to a separate page. The decision is yours, but it must look professional, make logical sense, and be easy for someone to find your products.

**HINT** : as you are thinking about inclusions in your unit or your separate lessons, consider that you might be including the following assignment types:


 * --Introducing a concept**
 * --Reviewing information**
 * --Enhancing reading**
 * --Using technology with writing**
 * --Small group cooperation/colaberatio****n**
 * --Research project**
 * --Real world simulation**
 * --Presentation of student work (NOT IN FRONT OF CLASS!)**
 * --mapping activity**
 * --podcasting project (like a radio show)**
 * --timelining project**
 * --digital storytelling**

DON'T try to write your lessons now because you haven't seen the tools you will have to use in writing those lessons. Your job right now is to review the scope and sequence and determine where the above list of inclusions would logically fall.

Remember: This document is a dynamic document--it will change and grow throughout the semester, so do not think this needs to be finalized today. That's not how curriculum is written--it is a journey, not an event.

1. The completed chart ("Designing a Unit"). Embed this in your wiki on your Unit of Instruction page (under your embedded Scope and Sequence document)
 * What to turn in: **

2. Open the "Intro to Unit", complete it to the best of your ability, and copy and paste it right above your lesson plan format on your Unit of Instruction page.

3. Send me an email (with your wiki address in your email signature) and tell me you are done!