ND Curriculum Initiative

Subject & Standards

Understandings & Goals

Enduring Understanding: I would like my students to be able to apply the technology skills we practice and learn in my classroom to their lives outside of my the classroom. I want them to realize that the application tools we use in the classroom are just that--tools to be used in their everyday lives. Goal(s)? Students will create a slideshow presentation using PowerPoint related to “An American Tribute.” Students will use their technology skills to create an organized, effective presentation.

Questions Answered

Essential questions: What do students need to know and/or review about the concept of “audience” when preparing a slideshow presentation? What do students need to know and/or review about researching a chosen topic to be presented? What parts of the application program do they need to know and/or review to create an on-going slideshow presentation? What, if any, other media will need to be used to prepare the slideshow presentation? What guidelines or criteria, if any, will need to be modified as students create an on-going slideshow presentation? Objectives: Students will select a topic for their presentations related to “An American Tribute” based upon their interests and audience considerations. Students will research their topic for information to include in their presentations. Students will create and modify their presentations during the grading period as they learn new skills using PowerPoint. Students will analyze what is important in preparing and presenting an effective slideshow presentation. Students will present their slideshows to their classmates at the end of the grading period.

Assessment

What quiz and test items (e.g. simple content-focused questions that require a single, best answer) will provide evidence of understanding? Short quizzes and unit tests will be used during the grading period to measure students understanding of the applications program (PowerPoint). What academic prompts (e.g. open-ended questions or problems that require students to think critically and then to prepare a response / product / performance) will provide evidence of understanding? Short answer and essay questions will be used during the grading period to help in monitoring their progress in understanding the application program and in applying it to their on-going presentation related to “An American Tribute.” What performance tasks and projects (e.g. complex challenges that are authentic, mirror the real world and require a performance or product) will you include that will provide evidence of student understanding?  Students will create a PowerPoint presentation related to “An American Tribute” using their technology skills they acquire during the grading period. They will participate in a “group check” at various times throughout the grading period to be sure that they are following the guidelines related to audience, content, layout, etc… What other evidence (e.g. observations, work samples, dialogues, student self-assessment) of understanding will you collect?  I will collect copies of their presentations printed as notes pages. Students will evaluate each other’s presentations and will record their thoughts; I will collect these and give them to the presenters so that they get feedback from their fellow students.

Instructional Strategies

Students will utilize the project-based strategy to accomplish their objectives. This strategy will provide them an opportunity to create something using PowerPoint that they could both share with their classmates and use in the “real world.” The end product (the slideshow presentation) will show that the students both used the technology to produce the product and followed the guidelines related to presentation preparation. By allowing students to choose a topic related to “An American Tribute” that they are interested in, they were given freedom to use the technology to apply their skills and demonstrate their creativity. In addition, students were able to evaluate others’ work to see how effective presentation guidlines could be applied to their presentations.