Lesson Plan for Implementing

NETS•S—Template I
(More Directed Learning Activities)
Template with guiding questions
Teacher(s)
Name Melanie Harwell

Position Instructional Technology Coordinator

School/District Calhoun City Schools

th
Grade Level(s) 5 grade

Content Area ELA

Time line March 20-March 28 (7 days)

Standards (What do you want students to know and be able to do? What knowledge, skills, and strategies do you
expect students to gain? Are there connections to other curriculum areas and subject area benchmarks? ) Please
put a summary of the standards you will be addressing rather than abbreviations and numbers that indicate which
standards were addressed.
ELAGSE5W1: Write opinion pieces on topics or texts, supporting a point of view
with reasons. a. Introduce a topic or text clearly, state an opinion, and create an
organizational structure in which ideas are logically grouped to support the writer’s
purpose. b. Provide logically ordered reasons that are supported by facts and
details. c. Link opinion and reasons using words, phrases, and clauses (e.g.,
consequently, specifically). d. Provide a concluding statement or section related to
the opinion presented.
ELAGSE5SL4: Report on a topic or text or present an opinion, sequencing ideas
logically and using appropriate facts and relevant, descriptive details to support
main ideas or themes; speak clearly at an understandable pace.
Content Standards

1c Students use technology to seek feedback that informs and improves their
practice and to demonstrate their learning in a variety of ways.
3a Students plan and employ effective research strategies to locate information and
other resources for their intellectual or creative pursuits.
3b Students evaluate the accuracy, perspective, credibility and relevance of
information, media, data or other resources.
3c Students curate information from digital resources using a variety of tools and
methods to create collections of artifacts that demonstrate meaningful connections
or conclusions.
3d Students build knowledge by actively exploring real-world issues and problems,
developing ideas and theories and pursuing answers and solutions.
6a Students choose the appropriate platforms and tools for meeting the desired
objectives of their creation or communication.
NETS*S Standards:

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Overview (a short summary of the lesson or unit including assignment or expected or possible products)
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Following the first unit of Lucy Calkins 5 grade persuasive writing unit, students will self select a new opinion
topic. Students will fully develop their writing using resources within Google Classroom & Google Drive, and
present using the Prezi presentation tool to be published on the web in hopes of persuading others. Student
topics will be brainstormed as a whole group using Padlet. Once students choose their topic they will have the
choice to work with someone of the same topic, or work independently. All students will complete their own
writing, but can work with a partner to create the Prezi.
Once the writing and Prezi are finished, students will turn their final draft into a Prezi and present to the class
on the closing ‘Celebration Day.’ These Prezi’s will be linked to the teacher’s digital newsletter so families will
have easy access to viewing the students’ final projects.

Essential Questions (What essential question or learning are you addressing? What would students care or
want to know about the topic? What are some questions to get students thinking about the topic or generate
interest about the topic? Additionally, what questions can you ask students to help them focus on important
aspects of the topic? (Guiding questions) What background or prior knowledge will you expect students to bring
to this topic and build on?) Remember, essential questions are meant to guide the lesson by provoking inquiry.
They should not be answered with a simple “yes” or “no” and should have many acceptable answers.

-How can word choices signal a persuasive topic?

-How do writers construct persuasive writing?
-How do writers find information to build an argument?
-Why should writers cite sources?
-How can my writing reach a larger audience?

Assessment (What will students do or produce to illustrate their learning? What can students do to generate new
knowledge? How will you assess how students are progressing (formative assessment)? How will you assess
what they produce or do? How will you differentiate products?) You must attach copies of your assessment and/or
rubrics. Include these in your presentation as well.

Students will produce a Prezi as a culminating task. Through out the development of the opinion writing piece
students will have a rubric to guide their work. Through self-assessment and peer-assessment students will
make corrections and modifications on their work before producing a final published Prezi. The Prezi will
receive peer feedback through T-A-G student feedback.
T-Tell something you liked
A-Ask a question
G- Give advice
The same rubric used to guide students in the creation of the Prezi will be used to assess the final piece by the
teacher. l

Resources (How does technology support student learning? What digital tools, and resources—online student
tools, research sites, student handouts, tools, tutorials, templates, assessment rubrics, etc—help elucidate or
explain the content or allow students to interact with the content? What previous technology skills should students
have to complete this project?)

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 Technology supports student learning throughout the entire process. All resources and activities are made
available through Google Classroom, and students will access this through a school issued Chromebook. All
students have a Google student account in which they use to access Google Drive and Google Docs where all
their writing will be produced. Our school has a subscription to Flocabulary. This site will be used to reinforce
the persuasive vocabulary learned in the previous unit. Student skills include a basic understanding of how to
use word processing skills to type their final paper and create the Prezi. Student research sites include, but are
not limited to YouTube, National Geographic Kids, Space.com, Kidzone, Ranger Rick, Soft Schools, and A-Z
Animals, and Everest Facts.

Instructional Plan
Preparation (What student needs, interests, and prior learning provide a foundation for this lesson? How can
you find out if students have this foundation? What difficulties might students have?)

The Opinion unit from Lucy Calkins will have already been taught. Students have been guided through the
creation of a persuasive piece of writing together with the teacher as they argue whether chocolate milk should
be allowed in schools and have already produced a final write on this topic which was given to the principal for
consideration. The current self selected topic is for students to independently demonstrate what they have
learned. The target of the Opinion unit was to help students learn the persuasive vocabulary contained in
Opinion writing and fully developing the topic with evidence to support the Opinion. Expected difficulties in this
independent culminating task are for students to use the persuasive vocabulary and fully develop the topic with
evidence to support their opinion independently. I do not foresee technology being difficult, but rather a
motivator to complete their writing.

Management Describe the classroom management strategies will you use to manage your students and the use
of digital tools and resources. How and where will your students work? (Small groups, whole group, individuals,
classroom, lab, etc.) What strategies will you use to achieve equitable access to the Internet while completing this
lesson? Describe what technical issues might arise during the Internet lesson and explain how you will resolve or
trouble-shoot them? Please note: Trouble-shooting should occur prior to implementing the lesson as well as
throughout the process. Be sure to indicate how you prepared for problems and work through the issues that
occurred as you implemented and even after the lesson was completed.

Students will work in a variety of ways. On the first day, students will discuss topics as a whole group. Once
individual topics are selected students may choose to work with a partner with the same or similar to research
their topics together. Working with a partner will help students better develop a counterclaim. The project will be
completed in class during the Writing block. An ELL resource teacher will be in during each block to serve
those students in small group time. Our network has been updated this year to support our 1:1 environment, so
I don’t anticipate any issues with technology unless there is a power outage. If there is an issue with
connectivity or devices throughout the project, then students will go to the library to utilize books and
magazines not available in the classroom. Students may choose to work on their Prezi at home if they need
more time to complete the project. Students may also arrive before school at 7:15 to work in the classroom if
internet is not available at home; however, the majority of this project will likely be completed in class ensuring
all learners have adequate use of technology to complete the Prezi.

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Instructional Strategies and Learning Activities – Describe the research-based instructional strategies you will
use with this lesson. How will your learning environment support these activities? What is your role? What are the
students' roles in the lesson? How can you ensure higher order thinking at the analysis, evaluation, or
creativity levels of Bloom’s Taxonomy? How can the technology support your teaching? What authentic,
relevant, and meaningful learning activities and tasks will your students complete? How will they build knowledge
and skills? How will students use digital tools and resources to communicate and collaborate with each other
and others? How will you facilitate the collaboration?

Through out the lesson students will be collaborating and communicating in small learning groups or individual.
Students begin the lesson by brainstorming topics together as a whole group using Padlet. Next, students will
view the Flocabulary video for Persuasive Language and then create their own rhyme using the persuasive
words activity through Flocabulary. This introductory activity will serve as a remembering activity from the past
unit so students are able to recall the vocabulary needed in creating their independent writing. After that,
students will use Chromebooks to research their topic, and then use their Google Drive and Docs to apply the
information into their opinion topic as they create their opinion writing. Small group instruction, student choice,
and questioning techniques will be used throughout the writing process. Finally, students will demonstrate their
understanding of opinion writing through the creation of a Prezi to share their opinion with others.

Differentiation (How will you differentiate content and process to accommodate various learning styles and
abilities? How will you help students learn independently and with others? How will you provide extensions and
opportunities for enrichment? What assistive technologies will you need to provide?)

Differentiation will be used through conferring with small groups, the push in resource teacher, and meeting the
needs of learners as it arises. Questioning techniques will be implemented to scaffold learning for students.
Also, Read & Write, Mercury Reader, and Shorten extensions will be used. ELL students and students with
accommodations will benefit from the use of this technologies. Read and Write is a screen reader as well as a
word predictor. Mercury Reader takes the busy out of webpages making the content more accessible. The
Shorten extension will provide shortened passages based on student needs. Passages may be shortened by
25%, 50%, or 75%. All three of these extensions help students with disabilities access the content online.

Reflection (Will there be a closing event? Will students be asked to reflect upon their work? Will students be
asked to provide feedback on the assignment itself? What will be your process for answering the following
questions?
• Did students find the lesson meaningful and worth completing?
• In what ways was this lesson effective?
• What went well and why?
• What did not go well and why?
• How would you teach this lesson differently?)

The closing of the unit will take place on the seventh day. Students will take turns presenting their topic for the
class from the published Prezi site. The link will also be provided and spotlighted in the weekly Technology
Newsletter so other teachers and staff members will have the ability to see the students work and leave a
comment on the Prezi’s.

Students loved this unit! Telling them upfront where the lesson was going and the purpose for writing was
powerful. All students tried their best and worked hard because the audience was larger than our classroom
and they knew their work would be online for anyone to see.

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Closure: Anything else you would like to reflect upon regarding lessons learned and/or your experience with
implementing this lesson. What advice would you give others if they were to implement the lesson? Please
provide a quality reflection on your experience with this lesson and its implementation.
The lesson went very well. Students were eager to get their research and writing finished in order to learn
Prezi. They enjoyed ‘playing’ with Prezi to learn how to create their presentations. Once one student learned
how to embed a YouTube video, others quickly wanted to know how, providing a platform for students to learn
from one another. The teacher I worked with even learned from the student how to embed the YouTube video
and bragged about how much the students were teaching her. One change I would have made to the unit
would have been to have a professional come in and speak about real life applications for Opinion/Persuasive
writing. Seeking out either an advertising professional or a newspaper reported would have made this project
have a more real-world connection, and perhaps would have provided students a career prospect for the future.

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