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TopicQuest Lesson Plan

Title of Lesson: Traveling Fun with Transportation

Primary Learning Outcomes (PLOs):
The primary learning outcomes to be achieved with this lesson include:
A. With teacher guidance student will be able to use the computer to research topic information on the Internet. (QCC- Technology Integration- Research- K10)
B. With teacher guidance student will be able to listen to information to gain knowledge.  (GPS- English/Language Arts- Comprehension- ELAKR6)
 

Assessed Standards
Georgia QCC
A. Grade: K
Subject Area: Technology Integration
Strand: Research
10 Topic: Research
Standard: Uses basic research techniques with teacher guidance.

Georgia Performance Standard (GPS)
B. English/Language Arts Performance Standard
Grade: K
Comprehension
ELAKR6:  The student gains meaning from orally presented text. 
a. The student listens to and reads a variety of literary and informational texts and materials to gain knowledge and for pleasure.

Materials and Equipment:
1. Have example of your mission project to show students
2. Paper for drawing
3. Crayons
4. Pencil & paper (to make notes for lesson plan assessment and reflections)
5. Modification of a  lesson developed by Dr. Diane L. Judd
 

Technology Connection:
Technologies that will be used in this lesson include:

• Computer with Internet connection. 
• Students will use computers to research information on the Internet.  
• Copy of my TopicQuest Web page included with this lesson plan. 
• TopicQuest Web page Title: Traveling Fun with Transportation &  URL: http://www.valdosta.edu/~jennyw/topic.html

Procedures:
Step One: Introduction
Have a small group of students go to a computer.  Explain to students that you are going to use the computer to find out information about transportation.  List 2 or more questions that introduce students to your TopicQuest that establish a connection to students' prior knowledge by asking them:
1. "Do you know what transportation is?" 
2. "Can you tell me some different types of transportation?"  

Today we are going to learn about transportation by visiting websites on the Internet and we will do a fun activity.  I have made a special Web page for your class.  (During discussion have students turn around away from the computer to interact.)

Estimated Time for Step One:
5 minutes

Step Two Teaching the Primary Learning Outcomes:
(Have students sit at the computer where they can control the mouse and computer.)  (Explain to students the process of the lesson.)  After we visit several websites about transportation then you will pretend to be a travel agent and draw pictures about transportation to help one of your clients get to the Bahamas. 

Check for understanding
Have students explore and discuss the information in each of the 3 pre-selected websites.  Ask students guiding questions about the important concepts in each of the visited websites.   List three or more questions.
1. "What was the very first type of transportation?"
2.  "Can you tell me what types of transportation are by land?"
3. "What types of transportation are by water?"
4.  "What types of transportation are by air?"

Practice and feedback related to the PLO
Read mission project to students.  Explain to students that they are going to be travel agents for their class and find out information about transportation.   Tell the students that the information that they will need to complete their mission project is listed and connected in the  mission activity.  Visit website for information for mission project.  Discuss the information in the linked website in the mission activity with the students to emphasize interesting and important information students will need to complete mission project. 

 [Students will write (or dictate to teacher) information about the types of transportation and safety and draw pictures for the mission project.  While students are completing mission project, teacher will observe students and give assistance when needed.]

Mission Activity          Through our journey we have learned that there are many different types of transportation. Transportation on land includes walking, riding a bike, driving a car, or riding a train.  We know that transportation in water includes boats, ferries, canoes, and ships.  We can also travel in the air by a hot air balloon or an airplane.  Of course, these are not the only ways of transportation. We also learned different ways to remain safe while dealing with transportation.                      Today you are going to pretend that you are a travel agent (someone who arranges trips for customers) for the Transport Travel Agency. One of your clients comes in and tells you that they want to take a vacation to the island of the Bahamas.  They ask for your advice to help them arrange their transportation plans to get there. They live in Valdosta, Georgia, so they have to get all the way from their house in Valdosta to their Atlantis Hotel in the Bahamas.  Since the Bahamas are islands, they are completely surrounded by water.  Do you think that you can come up with a travel plan to help get your client from Valdosta to the Bahamas?  Should they take a car, a train, a plane, or a boat? It is up to you. Also, are there any safety tips that might be helpful for your client to know when using the different types of transportation?  You can use the websites about Traffic Safety and the pictures from Tex and Dot to help you get some ideas. Check out these websites to see a map from Valdosta to Florida and a map of the Bahamas. These will help you see where your client could travel.     Mission Activity Steps 1.  Explore the different types of transportation from Tex and Dot and the safety tips from Traffic Safety. 2. Think about the different ways that you could help your client travel all the way from Valdosta  to the Bahamas. 3. You will be given paper and crayons to draw two types of transportation your client could use in order to travel across the ocean. 4. Write if the transportation is by land, water, or air. 5. Write a sentence at the bottom of your picture about the safety tips you think your client needs to know before they travel using your chosen transportation method.  I will help you. 6. We will scan your pictures and put them on the Internet.

Step Three
Closure:
Have students discuss their mission project and information they found on the Internet.  Tell students that your TopicQuest page is on the Internet and they can visit the website at school or home.  Explain to students that you are going to put their pictures and information on the Internet and they will be able to share their mission projects with their friends and family.  (If possible teacher should take brief notes during the lesson and concluding discussions to be added later to the assessment and reflections in lesson plan.)

Estimated Time for Step Three:
5 minutes

Accommodation:
Links for Accommodations for Special Students

1. One of my students has trouble with his basic motor skills. His motor skills involving coloring, cutting, writing, etc. are slightly behind those in his class.  This special student also has trouble comprehending and remembering basic and daily processes.

2. In order to accommodate this lesson to assist this particular student, I will provide very specific step by step directions.  As he maneuvers through the websites I will point out the places to visit as I take him through the steps. When he draws his pictures the large crayons should be provided to help his motor skills, and I will assist him when sounding out the words to write.

Assessment the Primary Learning Outcomes
A. Technology Integration 
Student will be assessed through observation while using the computer with teacher guidance to do research on the Internet for topic information.

B. English/Language Arts
Student will be assessed through observation and oral discussion to evaluate if student with teacher guidance is able to listen to information to gain knowledge.

Student Evaluations

Comments & Reflections:

1. Comment on your teaching of how your TopicQuest lesson created learning experiences and activities that implemented the use a variety of resources and technologies. 
                Students were provided with a hands-on learning opportunity as they navigated through several Internet websites to research more about transportation                 and transportation safety. Each different website presented new knowledge and pictures about various modes of transportation.  Students were then                         given a mission to be a travel agent  and set up traveling plans for a client. They used the knowledge they learned to draw two types of                                             transportation and write to distinguish whether it was by land, water, or air.

2. State evidence in two or more sentences to show that your students gained knowledge during your TopicQuest lesson.
                The students gained knowledge throughout this lesson because they consistently answered Check for Understanding questions throughout the lesson.                     They remained very involved as they related and applied their own stories of their experiences with transportation as they learned about them. They were                 able to distinguish the difference in transportation on land, water, and air when presented with various types of transportation. Students even related their                 personal experiences to name some of the safety rules of transportation.

3. Give at least one suggestion that would lead to improving your teaching practices and student achievement.
                In order to improve this lesson,  I would just focus on and briefly summarize the main points of the lesson in the introduction. I think I tried to cover too                     much information throughout all the different websites, so it may have been overwhelming. By briefly introducing them to the key concepts in the                             beginning, we can then rehearse those concepts while adding other information piece by piece but not lose focus on the main points of the lesson.

Student's description/ comments about his project: Student One describes that he is driving in a boat across the ocean, like he does in his boat at the lake. His describes that his boat has a red flag, and he is holding the steering wheel. He copied the word "water" because his boat is on top of water. Student One says, "you have to sit down on the boat." He drew a truck with a steering wheel that is on "land."

Student's description/ comments about her project: Student Two describes that she is driving in her car on the road. She says that "you have to wear your seatbelt." She copied the word "land" because a car is on land. She drew an airplane flying high up in the clouds, and she copied the word "air" because planes fly in the sky.

Jenny Williams's Home Page

jennyw@valdosta.edu

TopicQuest Traveling Fun with Transportation