Lesson+Analysis+&+Assessment

PART 1: Lesson Analysis
__Content Area/Topic__: Social Studies and Geography

__Title of Lesson__ (hyperlinked): [|Passport to Adventure]

__Intended Audience__: This activity can be done in any grade 1-6, **My lesson will be tailored for grades 4th and 5th.**

__My GPS for which I would adapt this lesson__: Elements: a. Locate major physical features of the United States; include the Atlantic Coastal Plain, Great Plains, Continental Divide, the Great Basin, Death Valley, Gulf of Mexico, St. Lawrence River, and the Great Lakes. b. Locate major man-made features; include New York City, NY; Boston, MA; Philadelphia, PA; and the Erie Canal.
 * SS4G1 The student will be able to locate important physical and man-made features in the United States.**

Elements: a. Locate important physical features; include the Grand Canyon, Salton Sea, Great Salt Lake, and the Mojave Desert. b. Locate important man-made places; include the Chisholm Trail; Pittsburgh, PA; Gettysburg, PA; Kitty Hawk, NC; Pearl Harbor, HI; and Montgomery, AL.
 * SS5G1 The student will locate important places in the United States.**
 * ==The lesson...== || ==Indicators== || ==Your Review Comments== ||
 * Works toward appropriate goals. || * Content and technology standards are mentioned.
 * Standards seem appropriate to grade level and content area.
 * Objectives align with standards.
 * Tasks focus clearly on obtaining the objectives. || * My lesson did not have any standards listed with the lesson plan, because I found it on the Crayola page. There were no technology standards listed with my lesson plan but you could easily incorporate technology into this activity in a variety of ways.
 * The standards I chose to use with this activity are appropriate because the students can use their passports to visit all the places listed in the standards.
 * The lesson objectives do align with the standards and I think this would be a fun activity to do while meeting these standards.
 * Yes, all tasks involved with this activity work to help the students obtain the objectives of the standard. ||
 * Requires the use of higher order thinking skills and "new" literacies. || * Students are asked to do more than memorize or understand.
 * Media, visual, communicative, technological, mathematical, and/or other nontraditional literacies are addressed. || * With this activity the students are being asked to do more than just memorize they are going to be learning things about the places they are visiting. Some memorization could be incorporated in this lesson but that is not the main focus.
 * With this activity and standard media, visual, and technological literacites are all being addressed because through this activity students are drawing, using photography, and the internet to find out information about the places, both physical and man-made, that they are visiting. ||
 * Integrates the learning goals. || * Communication
 * Production
 * Critical Thinking
 * Creativity
 * Content
 * Problem-solving
 * Inquiry/research || * This lesson is integrating communication, production, creativity, content, and inquiry/research as learning goals. All of these are met through the activity, the students must communicate with others to find out information, they will be producing a passport, the passport and all drawings will hopefully be creative, and they will be using inquiry/research to find out the content information needed for their passports. ||
 * Includes a variety of resources. || * Students have choices of materials at different levels.
 * Materials are available in a variety of modes (e.g., graphics, sound, text, video) and media (e.g., books, films, photos, computer). || * With this lesson the students will have choices as to what kind of materials they use to make their passports and the drawings included in the passport but they will not have a variety of modes available to them for this activity.
 * During this activity the students will be using text, books, possibly films, the computer, and photos. ||
 * Engages all students actively in authentic tasks. || * Students have roles/tasks to perform throughout the lesson.
 * Connections are made between the task and real life.
 * Students must actively search for answers to essential questions. || * No, the students will maintain the same role of explorer and investigator throughout the activity.
 * This lesson could have some real life connections, if a student has visited a place we are visiting they may be able to present some information about the place to the class.
 * Depending on the essential question I feel the students will definitely be searching for answers to the essential questions, because they will be engaging in research during the activity. ||
 * Uses technology effectively, efficiently, and as a learning tool. || * The technology makes the task more authentic.
 * The technology makes the task easier to accomplish.
 * The technology helps the students learn faster than without it.
 * The technology is secondary to the content and goals. || * Technology could definitely make this task more authentic looking. You could incorporate pictures found on the internet, or even print out a copy of a passport cover. I do feel if you use a lot of technology during this assignment the students do not have as much room for creativity as I would like.
 * The use of technology would make this assignment easier to complete because the students could use the internet to research their topics, which would speed up the process of finding information.
 * Yes, becuase with the aid of technology students have access to the information right at their finger tips and since students are more knowledgable about computers and the internet using technology will help the students learn the information faster.
 * I do feel for this assingment technology is secondary. Technology is just a resource for research and pictures, I would rather my students learn the content and goals than to focus just on using technology. ||
 * Addresses the needs of a variety of students, including ELLs (English Language Learners) and students with physical or other challenges. || * All students can access task instructions.
 * All students can access task materials and resources.
 * Students have different ways to accomplish the same objectives. || * Yes, for this assignment all students will be able to access the instructions, I would give them a hardcopy and also post a copy online, that way if the hard copy is misplaced they are still able to see the instructions for the activity.
 * If a student has access to a computer or the internet they will be able to find out information on the topics, they will also be allowed to use textbooks and any other form of research they need, so all students should be able to access the materials and resources.
 * There will be one templete for producing the passport, however the students will be allowed to fill in there passports however they choose, they can use as much or as little technology or creativity they want. ||
 * Includes appropriate assessments. || * Assessment is aligned to the standards and objectives.
 * Assessments are fair for all students and not based on one ability (e.g., writing).
 * Assessments allow students to show what they know/can do rather than what they cannot. || * I feel this assingment could make and excellent study aid. The students can fill in their own information as well as some from the teacher, that way the students can use the material to study for a test. By having some information come directly from the teacher the lessons and assignment will meet both the standards and objectives.
 * Yes, the grade will not only be based around one area, they students will be graded based on a rubric that will cover all the main areas, neatness, creativity, information... So the student will be graded on more than one idea.
 * Yes, because this assignment will allow students to show how creative they are and how much they can learn about the places we are visiting. ||

Give a summary of the strengths (2+), weaknesses (2+), and the changes (2+) you would make to tailor this to your class.
__Strengths__: I really enjoyed reading this lesson plan. It is definitely something I would use in my own classroom. I feel a huge strength in the assignment is that students are allowed to be creative. I think anytime students are allowed to free express themselves creatively it is a good thing. Another strength this lesson has is that it is very adaptable to other units of study and even other content areas. You could use this lesson for all subjects and have the students visit differnt place in science, reading, and even math.

__Weaknesses__: After reading through the lesson there were very few weaknesses. I felt it was easy to tie the standards into the lesson and I feel it is a very adaptable lesson plan. But one weaknees this lesson might have is that older students may not want to do this creative of an activity. I tailored my lesson for 4-5th graders and by that age they might not want to do something like this activity. Another weakness in this lesson would be the time. This activity would be very time consuming, but if you are dedicated to the project and use figure out ways to save time and make things run smoothly I believe it would be fun to do over a long period of time, plus it is an awesome keepsake.

__Changes__: There is really nothing I would change about this activity because it is so versatile. Depending on the age group I might change the amount of technology used during the activity. For older grades I would incoporate more technology than I would for the younger students.

PART 2: Assessment
(What they KNOW, What they WANT to know, and What they LEARNED) || I chose to use a KWL chart as a formative assessment, because it gives me information on what the students already know about they new location, what they want to know and might be interested in, and then after the lesson it will tell me what they have learned. I feel this is a great activity to do before a new unit, becuase it also helps the students to know what they will be learning about and it gives them ownership in the lesson. I also like to use KWL charts because you can continue to add information in the Wonder or Want to know section. || At the begining of a unit or before visiting a new location. || ||
 * Assessment #1: Formative Assessment**
 * **Assessment Method** || **Purpose** || **When Used** || **Instrument (**include written, attached, or hyperlinked on this page**)** ||
 * //K-W-L Chart//


 * Assessment #2: Summative Assessment**
 * **Assessment Method** || **Purpose** || **When Used** || **Instrument (**include written, attached, or hyperlinked on this page**)** ||
 * //Rubric// || I am choosing to use a Rubric as my summative assessment because it will give the students an idea of what I am expecting of their passports. A rubric will also allow the students the option to critic their activity. This form of assessment will not only set my expectations for their work, it will also give them an idea of how their work will be graded. || I will use the rubric to grade the activities after they have been turned in. || [[file:passport activity rubric.docx]] ||