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TopicQuest Lesson Plan

Title of Lesson: Dogs A Kids Best Friend

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-1/11, 4/13)
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: 1st and 4th
Subject Area: Technology Integration
Strand: Research
11,13 Topic: Research
Standard: Uses basic research techniques with teacher guidance.

Georgia Performance Standard (GPS)
B. English/Language Arts Performance Standard
Grade: 1st and 4th
Comprehension
ELA1R1, ELA4R1:  The student gains meaning from orallly 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
6. Picture of my drawing
7. Computer with internet connection

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: Dogs are a Kids Best Friend   &  URL: http://www.valdosta.edu/~sjward/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 Dogs.  List 2 or more questions that introduce students to your TopicQuest that establish a connection to students' prior knowledge by asking them:
1." How many of you own a dog as pet?'
2." Can you tell me something about dogs?"  
Today we are going to learn about Dogs 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 dogs, you will be given some activities to do about what you have read on the internet.
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 kind of food does dogs usually eat?
2.  Name some ways to take care of your pet.
3.  Name some things that you think work dogs do.

Practice and feedback related to the PLO
Read mission project to students.  Explain to students that they are going to be investigators for their class and find out information about dogs.   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 to be included in the story and draw pictures for the mission project.  While students are completing mission project, teacher will observe students and give assistance when needed.]

Mission    Imagine you are a worker at Best Friends Pet Care dog kennel, and Miss Burkett's First Grade Class is coming to visit your kennel today. It is your job to tell all the kids about 2-4 of your dogs. You must tell them about the different types of dogs you have.          Mission Steps  1.  First, let's check out some of the pictures and information about dogs at  Select theRight Puppy by its Characteristics.    2.  List three characteristics for 1 to 2 types of dogs selected.     3.  Draw  a picture of each type of dog you select and list the characteristics of each dog.

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

Assessment:
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.

Assessment Rubric

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.

Assessment Rubric

Accommodation:
Links for Accommodations for Special Students
1. Select one of your students that needs special attention.  Describe the student in your class with special needs. (Do not use the student's real name.  You could refer to the student as "the special student.")  My special needs student was in the second grade, and she was in an inclusion class in the afternoon.  This student had cerebral palsy which causes muscle weakness and prevents or limits use of muscles in the neck, hand, and legs.  This student also could not communicate well verbally with the teacher and assistant.

2. Explain what you would add to this lesson plan to accommodate your special student?   Special accommodations for this student would include a wheelchair to make it easy for her to move from station to station.  An electronic keyboardlike device would be provided for communication purposes.  She would be able to type words into it and answer questions asked by the teacher.  This device would be programmed for many types of teaching aids such as spelling words, sentences, dictionary,etc.  A teacher's helper will be provided to assist the student for regular classroom activities.  The eletronic device will also have an advanced reading aid for scanning and converting standard print text into electronic text.  Speech feedback for auditing reading would be provided,also.

Comments & Reflections: For Electronic Portfolio Principle #1 Content and Curriculum: Teachers demonstrate a strong content knowledge of content area(s). Describe how your TopicQuest project is evidence that shows how you understand concepts of knowledge.  Also tell how you used the tools of inquiry to develop and implement your TopicQuest for your elementary students in your field classroom

1. Describe how you developed the mini-reserach TopicQuest lesson for your students.  Include your process of researching and selecting web sites for your pre-k/elementary students.
When selecting the topic of my lesson, I had to keep in mind the grade levels, background knowledge of the students, my knowledge of the subject, and the interest of the subject(Would it be exciting for the students?).  Since I chose to do my lesson on dogs, I had to do some critical thinking about what I wanted my students to learn about dogs.  The three critical questions that would  inspire me to develop a good mission topic are: 1.How would you describe a certain type of dog? 2.What do dogs eat? 3.How would you take care of a dog?  I did some research on the Internet and selected some websites that I thought would be interesting to my students and that would give them good information about dogs. I evaluated the websites to see if they were age-appropriate and to see if the information was reliable.

2. Comment on your teaching of how your TopicQuest lesson created learning experiences and activities that implemented the use a variety of resources and technologies. 
My students happen to have two dogs at home.  Their mission was to pretend they were a worker at a dog kennel and had to tell a visiting 1st grade class about the dogs in their kennel.  I used their prior knowledge about dogs along with knowledge from the Internet and showed them that there is a let to learn and tell about dogs.  Some dogs are used as pets while other dogs are used for more serious work.  They seemed very interested as they found pictures on the websites about dogs around the world and what interesting things they can do,  They had a chance to write something about some of the dogs they read about, and they drew a picture of their favorite dog and talked about it  I also guided them through the use of the computer.

4. Examine and describe your teaching of this TopicQuest lesson.
My goal in teaching this lesson was to show the students how interesting and important  it is to learn about dogs  This lesson was taught from two perspectives.  I wanted to use the students prior knowledge about dogs as pets and the information from the Internet to gain more indepth knowledge about dogs.  A combination of the these two perspectives made the lesson realistic, educational, and applicable. I concluded my lesson by evaluating what had been taught and assessing  whether the students learned anything by asking them questions.

5. Give at least one suggestion that would lead to improving your teaching practices and student achievement.
  As I look back on the lesson ,  I would like to have been more effective in time management.  Allowing more time for student/teacher interaction on activities so that they could ask more questions, and maybe allow me as a teacher better feedback.

TopicQuest Scanned Pictures & Comments
by

Sarah Ward

This student is in the 1st grade and she chose the poodle to draw.  In her picture she is walking her poodle named Francis.  She is going to feed her, give her water, and make sure Francis is not left in a hot car.  Francis is a large, short haired, and long eared dog.  She says that she colored Francis green because it is her favorite color.	This student is in the 4th grade, and she chose the french bulldog to draw.  His name is Charles and is black and white in color.  His size is 14 to 16 inches long with a short coat of hair and bat shaped ears.  To take care of Charles she would take him to the vet, feed him, give him water, and make sure he is kept on a chain..