ND Curriculum Initiative

Subject & Standards

Needs Assessment/Rational

This unit of instruction addresses 4th grade social studies standards 1, 4, and 6 of North Dakota studies, map skills, and significant people, places, events, and geographical features relative to our home state and nation. My 4th grade students at Central Cass School in Casselton, ND, will do a comprehensive study of their home state of North Dakota that includes the state’s history, geography, topography, people, language, culture, products, agriculture, tourism, education, and weather. Using technology for a learning tool, students will work collaboratively in groups of three to construct a PowerPoint presentation covering one aspect of the state of North Dakota. This jigsaw approach to learning enables learners to cooperatively construct a qualitative segment of information. When each thematic topic is unified with other small group projects, the end product results in quantitative conceptual understanding. Technological skills involved with this unit include learning the PowerPoint program as a tool for constructing and sharing information, using the internet for specific research on North Dakota, word processing/keyboarding skills, understanding how to use graphics to add a creative flair to a presentation by making it visually attractive and to spark interest in learning. Social and communication skills are fostered in the small group setting. Students will be assessed based on a teacher-created rubric that evaluates individual input, effective use of technology that contributes to the group project and demonstration of conceptual understanding of the different aspects of the state of North Dakota.

Understandings & Goals

Enduring Understanding: Through this experience, I want my students to develop skills with using technology to research and display information and communicate ideas. Using technology as the learning tool in a social learning environment, the ultimate content goal is for the students to construct knowledge and an understanding of the state of North Dakota. Although technological standards and benchmarks could be achieved in this unit of instruction, technology is the learning tool and my primary goals are in the social studies content area. Goal(s): To learn about the state of North Dakota using technology as the mindtool by jigsawing the massive information into small group learning that chunks information into topics that are consolidated into a class project. To learn the geographic features of North Dakota: prairies, mountains, lakes, rivers, buttes, cities, regions. To learn about North Dakota products and industry. To learn about the people of North Dakota—past and present. To learn interesting facts and features about North Dakota: flag, tree, flower, bird, motto.

Questions Answered

Essential questions: Where could you look for information on the topic of North Dakota? What are the important facts or information that should be emphasized in your topic? How could the information be presented so your classmates will have a clear understanding of your topic? Does your PowerPoint tell exactly what you want your classmates to know about your topic? Objectives: Using the internet and other resource publications, groups of three students will research a designated topic and will construct 3-5 PowerPoint pages to display the information to 4th grade peers. Groups of three students will collaboratively construct a PowerPoint presentation that includes 3-5 pages: topic, relevant information about the topic, contain 2 graphics and features that add visual appeal to the presentation. Students will demonstrate understanding of North Dakota information by successfully completing group activities, engaging in oral group discussion, completing all written materials and completing a final written assessment at 84%. Students will demonstrate an understanding of using the computer as a mindtool by actively engaging in individual and group technology activities. Students will collaboratively research and construct 3-5 PowerPoint pages that present information to their peers and display conceptual understanding of North Dakota. Students will demonstrate understanding of North Dakota information by individually constructing a Kidspiration graphic organizer that displays state information in an organized, systematic, thematic format.

Assessment

What quiz and test items (e.g. simple content-focused questions that require a single, best answer) will provide evidence of understanding? Content-focused questions that require retrival of factual information. Content-focused questions that extend understanding of ND concepts to higher levels of thinking (e.g. compare the geographic features of ND with Florida) Connect the ND facts below to the correct information. Label the geographic features on the North Dakota map. Assessment items that require students to draw conclusions and make inferences (e.g. What individual do you believe contributed the most to the state? If you could produce a product that helped the state of North Dakota, what product would you develop?) 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? Describe the products and industry of North Dakota. What facts or features of North Dakota would make you proud to live in North Dakota? Write a paragraph about 3 interesting facts you learned about North Dakota and didn’t know before. Describe two products or industries found in North Dakota. What new product or industry would benefit North Dakota. Explain. 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? By engaging in technology-driven research, students mirror real world practices of collecting, evaluating and presenting information. This performance-based learning has potential to lead to a quality end-product group project. Using the Kidspiration program towards the conclusion of the study of North Dakota, students will individually construct an indepth graphic organizer that sorts relevant information about the state of ND. The Kidspiration project can be both a review for information presented in the PowerPoint presentations and also an assessment tool of determining the student’s understanding and knowledge of revelant North Dakota information. The graphic organizer is an effective tool for organizing and presenting information and will give a broad picture of the level of conceptual understanding with each student. What other evidence (e.g. observations, work samples, dialogues, student self-assessment) of understanding will you collect?  Informal (direct observation) and formal assessment (rubric) will be administered in the computer lab that evaluates student involvement in the group research and construction process and final product) of the PowerPoint pages. The PowerPoint presentations will be the vehicle for displaying learned information to class peers and the final written assessment will determine understanding of content material. A self-assessment will be used in conjunction with the formal rubric evaluation tool. The work sample will be revealed in a rubric assessment that displays each student’s independent technological activity. Each student will record in writing what website they found and what information they located that would contribute to the group project.

Instructional Strategies

The project-based learning experience of constructing a group PowerPoint is self directed simply because of the unlimited open-endedness that lends itself to individual and small group creativity. This activity promotes higher order thinking skills due to the nature of the individual/small group collaboration. Using enrichment learning tools, students are given full reign of decision-making power for research, technology and content information. Thus, those higher level questioning and thinking skills—application, analysis, synthesis, evaluation skills—will emerge through the independent learning process