Name: Fred Merritt Date: 11/15/10

Construct a lesson plan utilizing good pedagogical practices and incorporating

technology as a tool for teaching and learning. Focus on a concept or skill in your
content specialty area and support student activities with the use of hardware and/or
software. *Note: Do not make the emphasis of the lesson a "how-to" with
technology. An outline for your lesson plan is provided below:

Standards: For a 9th grade ELA class

ELA Standards

Reading

• Standard 1 – Students will read for information and understanding.

o Interpret and evaluate data, facts and ideas in informational texts such
as newspapers and websites.
• Standard 3 – Students will read for critical analysis and evaluation.
o Form opinions and make judgments about the accuracy of information.
• Standard 4 – Students will read for social interaction.
o Share reading experience with peers and/or adults.
Writing

• Standard 1 – Students will write for information and understanding

o Select and limit topics for informational writing.
o Use paraphrase and quotation in order to communicate information.
• Standard 3 - Students will write for analysis and evaluation.
o State an opinion or present a judgment by developing a thesis and
providing supporting evidence, arguments, and details.
• Standard 4 – Students will read for social interaction.
o Share the process or writing with peers and adults.
Listening

• Standard 3 – Students will listen for critical analysis and evaluation.

o Recognize and acknowledge various perspectives on issues of local
and national concern.
• Standard 4 – Students will read for social interaction.
o Participate as a listener in social conversation.
o Withhold judgment.
Speaking
• Standard 3 – Students will listen for critical analysis and evaluation.
o Present content that is clearly organized.
o Present Arguments from different perspectives.
o Respond to constructive criticism.
Technology Standards

1. Creativity and Innovation

Students demonstrate creative thinking, construct knowledge, and develop innovative products and
processes using technology. Students:

a. Create original works as a means of personal or group expression.

2. Communications and Collaboration

Students use digital media and environments to communicate and work collaboratively, including at a
distance, to support individual learning and contribute to the learning of others. Students:

a. Interact, collaborate, and publish with peers, experts, or others employing a variety of digital
environments and media.
b. Contribute to project teams to produce original works or solve problems.

3. Research and Information Fluency

Students apply digital tools to gather, evaluate, and use information. Students:

a. locate, organize, analyze, evaluate, synthesize, and ethically use information from a variety of sources
and media.
b. evaluate and select information sources and digital tools based on the appropriateness to specific tasks.
c. process data and report results.

4. Critical Thinking, Problem Solving, and Decision Making

Students use critical thinking skills to plan and conduct research, manage projects, solve problems, and
make informed decisions using appropriate digital tools and resources. Students:

a. identify and define authentic problems and significant questions for investigation.
b. plan and manage activities to develop a solution or complete a project.
c. collect and analyze data to identify solutions and/or make informed decisions.

5. Digital Citizenship Students understand human, cultural, and societal issues related to technology and
practice legal and ethical behavior. Students:
a. advocate and practice safe, legal, and responsible use of information and technology.
b. exhibit a positive attitude toward using technology that supports collaboration, learning, and productivity.
c. demonstrate personal responsibility for lifelong learning.

6. Technology Operations and Concepts Students demonstrate a sound understanding of technology

concepts, systems, and operations. Students:
a. understand and use technology systems.
b. select and use applications effectively and productively.
c. transfer current knowledge to learning of new technologies.
Lesson Objective(s): Students will be able to (SWBAT) Research a given topic using
preselected sources. SWBAT write down key ideas of the sources and share them in
a group setting. SWBAT write a persuasive piece of literature expressing their
opinion about a 1 of the 4 topics. SWBAT work in small groups and combine their
personal writing with that of their members to create a holistic piece. SWBAT
analyze both sides of the 4 topics and decide which one is more persuasive.

Introduce the Learning Activity:

A. This lesson will incorporate a web-quest, which will describe the entire process in
detail to the students. Prior to this web-quest I will explain to them what it will
encompass. This will be done so that if students do not fully understand the activity
and objectives I can help them.

B. At the end of the activity the students are going to participate in a “debate”.
During this activity students will read their collaborated persuasive pieces in front of
the class and his/her fellow students will vote on which side of the controversial topic
was more persuasive. This will be explained prior to the lesson so that the students
will understand that they are going to play an important role in the activity. They are
also going to be given current and relevant issues that impact their lives, which will
engage their interest. An example of such a topic is the legality of downloading
music and other forms of media for free.

Provide Information:

A. Prior to the start of the lesson, I will review techniques used in persuasive essays.
This was taught in the prior class and still should be fresh in their minds; therefore a
simple 2-3 minute review should be suffice.

Provide Practice:

A. The web-quest is designed for students to replicate how one would create a
persuasive writing piece. They must look at a topic that is controversial, assess the
information at hand, and utilize that information, along with previous knowledge and
logistics, to try and persuade the reader that the position they have taken is the right
one (i.e. convert the reader). It is also designed to have them work individually as
well as in groups, which will cover all of the objectives I listed above.

B. The first section of the web-quest allows students to gather information and write
their own persuasive piece, while the second part of the web-quest involves
collaborating with group members and peer editing. This allows them not only
individual practice writing a persuasive piece of literature but also practice in a group
setting. The benefit of this is that the individual practice can be utilized as guided
practice if need be, because I will be able to help students on a 1-1 basis if they are
struggling. If students aren’t struggling then I can eliminate unnecessary time spent
on guided practice, which makes for an efficient lesson in respect to time.

Provide Knowledge of Results:

A. As the students are busy working on the computers, I will walk around and take
note of how the students are doing. I will use phrases that indicate that they are
doing well and if a student is lost are disinterested I will work with him/her 1-1 for a
minute or two and help them back onto the right track.

B. The notes and write-ups are going to be on MS Word and they will print them
before the class ends. I will read them that night and not necessarily put a numerical
grade on the work, but give them constructive feedback that they can use the
following day in class. I will given a numerical grade along with written feedback on
the final draft of the collaborated piece. I will also give them feedback on how they
acted in the group setting.

Review the Activity:

A.

Method of Assessment:

A. Assessment is going to be two fold during this lesson plan. The first part of
assessment is going to be formative. This will be non-graded assessment that I
derive from interacting with the students while they are both working individually at
the computers (writing their persuasive piece and researching the topic) as well as
when they are in groups (how they are interacting as a group, are they on task, etc.).
I will use a roster chart and write down what I observe and give them a ✓+, ✓-, or a
✓ depending on how well they did. This will help me not only get students to
understand the task and stay focused, but also when grading the summative
assessment. The summative assessment will be assessed based on the rubric I
provided to the student, which can be found on the web-quest under the tab
“evaluation”. This will based on their collaborative piece.