EDG 693: July 2012

I have learned a lot from this course. There are so many resources available to teachers, but this class showed me how to utilize those resources. The thing I learned was the in order to truly incorporate these resources into my teaching, I must take the time to work with them and become a master at using these resources. It is important for students to have many different experiences in their education. If students are to stay engaged they must have different resources that are fresh and can keep them focused throughout their educational experience. After completing these assignments I realized that I must be willing to try knew things. I truly plan to incorporate different forms of technology into my teaching and this course has helped to set me on a path for become a master at using the different resources that are out there.

I am constantly reminded of a phrase that I read in the book, The Highly Engaged Classroom. “The answer to the final emblematic question, “Can I do this?” also affects engagement. Again, if the answer is yes, students are more likely to engage. If the answer is no, students might lessen or abort their involvement—even if they have positive feelings about the task (How do I feel?), are interested in the topic (Am I interested?), and perceive it as related to their personal goals (Is this important?). This issue has been addressed in great detail within cognitive psychology under the nomenclature of self-efficacy.” This phrase says to me that if my students feel as if they can use these resources, then they can be fully engaged in what they are learning. However, in order for them to use these resources I must become a master at using them, so that they can be instructed on the proper ways to use these knew and engaging resources. This book was a great tool to refer to throughout this course and I would recommend any teacher or instructor to read this book on how to engage learners. I plan to use all of the resources I have been exposed to in this class as a way to enhance my classroom, and create a high level educational experience for my students.

Marzano, R. J., & Pickering, D. (with Heflebower, T.). (2010). The Highly Engaged Classroom (pp.15-16). Bloomington, IN: Marzano Research Laboratory.

Title

Foundations of America

Description of the Students

This unit will be taught to a class of fifth grade students at Woodfill Elementary School in Fort Thomas, Kentucky. The unit will be taught during their social studies class.

Plan Highlights

The fifth grade students at Woodfill Elementary School will be working on a government and civics unit, which will aim to teach the students about the foundation of America. This unit will be taught during their social studies class, and it will cover the election process, The Bill of Rights, and our three branches of government.

Students will create virtual candidates for the presidential election.
Students will learn about important qualities to look for in presidential candidates.
Students will examine the electoral college and how it works.
Students will analyze national voting trends among the electoral college from the past 5 elections.
Students will create a class Bill of Rights.
Students will use the Cincinnati Enquirer to find examples of the amendments being upheld or denied in their community.
Students will create posters depicting different phrases from the preamble.
Students will research the three branches of government and will create a Prezi presentation that will be view by their peers.
Students will hear guest from guest speakers from different branches of the government.
Students will be taking a field trip to Frankfort to see our government come to life.

Key Learner Outcomes

Students will be able to analyze important qualities of a leader.
Students will be able to work in cooperative groups to come up with a list of important qualities of a potential President of the United States.
Students will write a journal entry reflecting on their opinion of important qualities in a leader.
Students will analyze The Bill of Rights and be able to explain how The Bill of Rights protects the rights of Americans.
Students will be able to work in cooperative groups to identify which actions would fall under the specific rights of citizens.
Students will be able to write their own Classroom Bill of Rights.
Students will be able to identify and understand the responsibilities of each of the three branches of government.
Students will work in groups to research one of the three branches of government
Students will draw different excerpts from the Preamble.
Students will be able to present their finding of the branches of the government by using the PRESI presentation program.

How I will Measure if the Plan is Successful

Assessments

Journal Entries- Each student will be responsible for writing journal entries throughout this unit. In their journal they will be responsible for responding to certain questions that pertain to the different lessons.
Informal Observations- Students will be observed during all aspects of this unit to ensure that they understand the material that is being presented to them.
Creating Posters- Students will demonstrate what they know about the preamble to the constitution to illustrate different phrases from the preamble.
Students will be using mapping skills to map out the number of electoral votes given to each state.
Students will take a quiz on the different amendments to the Bill of Rights.
The students presentations will be assed by suing a rubric that I have attached below.

Organization	Worked Well in a Group	Knowledge of their Branch of Government	Presentation Skill
5- Excelled in organizing their presentation.	5-Excelled at working together as a group. Worked hard from start to finish.	5- Excelled at demonstrating their knowledge of their branch of government.	5-Excelled at giving their presentation properly with everyone having a chance to present. You could tell students had practiced their presentation.
4- Demonstrated acceptable organization in their presentation	4- Demonstrated the ability to stay on task and work together.	4-Demonstrated the proper knowledge of their branch of government.	4- Demonstrated the ability to present their presentation properly.
3-Demonstrated some ability to be organized but could had some errors.	3- Demonstrated some ability to work together but had some lapses in concentration.	3- Demonstrated some knowledge of their branch of government with minimal lapses of understanding.	3- Demonstrated some ability to present their presentation to the class. There were some lapses in the presentation. Maybe one person doesn’t get the chance to speak.
2-Demonstrated minimal ability to be organized.	2- Demonstrated a minimal ability to stay on task and work together.	2- Demonstrated minimal knowledge of their branch government.	2- Demonstrated minimal ability to present to the class. One person does all the speaking and there are many lapses in how the presentation was suppose to be given.
1- Demonstrated no organization in their project	1- Demonstrated no ability to work together as a group and were constantly arguing.	1- Demonstrated no knowledge of their branch of government.	1- Demonstrated no ability to present simply let their presentation run without any speaking or clarification during their presentation.