My integrated lesson is based off of a U.S Government/Civics lesson I used during my fieldwork experience. The lesson targets high school students, more specifically freshmen and sophomores. The goal of the lesson is to allow students to apply what they know about the U.S Government and analyze how it applies to them as citizens. The lesson discusses various items including: economic, social, and political opportunities people faced, the change/adoption of British governance, and documents that impacted NJ and U.S government. Important to note is that I use the standard as the base for my essential question, which drives every lesson of mine. So any reference to the essential question and/or standard is the same.
The first standard I focused on was {6.1.8.A.2.c Explain how race, gender and status affected social, economic and political opportunities during colonial times}. This standard is geared to expose the students to the many diverse groups that will be discussed throughout the lesson. Specifically it focuses on the way these groups were treated, how they may continue to be treated, and how their opportunities were challenged/changed due to who they were. This is also a great way to tie in current day civil issues and events that are occurring. The lesson begins with a Do Now question prompted on the board. The question is "To what extent did race, gender, and status affect social, economic, and political opportunities during colonial times?". The students work in their journals for about five minutes and then a Think-Pair-Share activity based on the essential question. The students take time to form answers and share their ideas with their partners to prepare for the next part of the lesson. The next part of the lesson is bringing the class together and conducting a class discussion with Cold Calling strategy. The students gain the opportunity to hear all the ideas and comments that are shared. As this occurs the students fill out a graphic organizer to help them and their thought process. The activities done in class will help prepare them for their homework assignment which is a Twitter post. The class has a Twitter page and each day they are told they must tweet to the page. The student will use what they learned thus far to respond to the twitter post. This allows me to check for understanding and get students engaged in a fun, creative way. By using the internet, their computers, their smartphones, and the projector screen, the students stay engaged throughout the lesson and are able to take their learning experience to a more interesting level. The use of Twitter also allows for students to have a medium of information that they can easily access and learn from as well. This also address two ISTE-S standards as well : Creativity and innovation as well as communication and collaboration. By working with their partner, discussing with the class, and then creating their tweet, the content standard is met as well as the ISTE-S standard.
In the second row, the matrix is centered on the standard {6.1.12.A.1.a Explain how British north American colonies adopted the British governance structure to fit their ideas of individual rights, economic growth, and participatory government}. This standard focuses on the students analytical and critical thinking skills because it forces them to think about the aspects of the governance structure that was changed/altered and why the colonies chose to do so. The lesson strategy begins with the students having to analyze a cartoon that depicts the scenario in the standard. This is also a semi-lecture conducted by the teacher that helps generate the students thinking process in the right direction. Once analyzed, there is a PollEverywhere activity where they students use their computers or smartphones to respond the question projected onto the board. This helps to check for understanding and if I am able to move on. It is also a fun way for students to stay engaged in the classroom. The PollEverywhere app displays real-time results onto the screen and allows for students to then analyze the results and also allows the teacher to use the results as a way to clear up any confusion that may be present. It also gears into the next activity which is a class discussion that opens up conversation within the classroom. Students feel comfortable sharing their thoughts and ideas because the lesson, thus far, has been a gradual build up of information. Finally there is the group activity in which the students work together to research and create a visual aide in which it display the information they obtained that answers the standard. This activity also highlight the ISTE-S standards: Research and Information fluency, Critical thinking, problem solving, and decision making, Communication and collaboration. It is challenging the student to use technology and taking learning into their own hands as they work together, and individually, to complete the task.
The final row of the matrix deals with {6.1.12.A.2.c Compare and contrast state constitutions, including New Jersey’s 1776 constitution, with the U.S. Constitution, and determine their impact on the development of American constitutional government}. This standard focuses on the state of NJ which helps make the lesson more relevant and meaningful to the students. Having the lesson somehow connect to the students will increase engagement and overall participation throughout the lesson. The strategies begin with a demonstration/lecture of what is expected and how to utilize a Paddlet wall. The lesson in this last row of the matrix is very student based where the teacher provides all the instruction and supporting cites needed and then the students are left to create a Paddlet wall in their groups to express what they have learned. They will be required to do a research inquiry, and work with others to fulfill what is addressed in the rubric. This activity hits all the ISTE -S standards, specifically I included: Research and Information fluency, Critical thinking, problem solving, and decision making, within the matrix. However, having the students use the computers, Padlet accounts, web resources, checklists, and internet to complete the assignment puts learning in their own hands. By providing guidelines and a Q&A, the teacher helps with any confusion or misunderstandings there may be. By monitoring the groups and having access to all the walls, the teacher is also able to provide feedback and monitor success.
By utilizing the projector, the computers, the Padlet accounts, Twitter page, internet, video cartoon, and the PollEverywhere website/application, I feel the lesson has ben enhanced by the use of all these various technologies. I also feel creating a gradual build up of responsibilities, where in the end the students are in complete control of their learning in the class period, and outside the class, it scaffolds the students and also helps them grow. With these integrations, I feel the level of success and expectations of what can come out of my lesson has been enhanced.
Here is a look at the matrix I created
