TIPC Ratings

This lesson is Developing in Research and Information Fluency as students used classmates research projects to gain new knowledge about animals that they had not researched directly. They recorded this new information into their science interactive notebooks.

This lesson is Ideal/Target in Communication and Collaboration as students used VoiceThread to share their animals. They responded to classmates research with their posts. By using VoiceThread, student projects were able to reach a larger audience.

This lesson was Approaching in Critical Thinking and Problem Solving as students generated and responded to each others work. They used digital tools to accomplish this such as the text, audio, or video options on VoiceThread. To improve this strand, a student reflection component could be added.

This lesson was Approaching in Creativity and Innovation as it incorporated allowed students to generate their own avatars, respond to classmates work with either text, audio, or video responses.

TIPC Ratings

Entry – Research and Information Fluency wasn’t the focus of this lesson; however, the students did participate in research prior to the time frame this lesson was implemented.

Ideal/Target – The students work in their self-chosen groups with their assumed roles to participate in a simulation activity where they are engaged in the authentic task of learning what life was like as a slave journeying on the Underground Railroad. They created a VoiceThread presentation to communicate and collaborate with others, regardless of time zone or physical distance. The students reflected on their roles as communicators and collaborators and set goals for future growth by way of the VoiceThread presentation.

Ideal/Target – The students will generate and respond to purposeful questions when making decisions about escaping on the Underground Railroad. As discussed in the summary and the lesson development sections, each group will come together prior to the simulated journey to make their plans and problem solve. They will have to decide whether to escape in daytime or nighttime, whether the weather should be dry or stormy, what to bring with them, where to go, what to look for along the way for assistance, what to avoid along the way, how to navigate the terrain, etc. Even more importantly, they will have to justify their decisions on paper and to the teacher when asked along the route and recorded via video camera. When the simulated journey is completed, the students will reflect on their roles as critical thinkers using Voice Thread where they have the choice of sharing via the digital methods of text, audio, or video. They will determine whether or not they were successful as “slaves” escaping along the Underground Railroad and why things happened as they did. They will determine what changes they could make to have a more positive outcome if the journey were to be made again. They will also evaluate how they performed as a group throughout the project and summarize their overall opinions, as well as the knowledge they gained involving VS.6 and slavery.

Ideal/Target – The students used the knowledge they gained from their prior research as well as self-generated knowledge from their simulation roleplay on the Underground Railroad to create their maps, quilt, and VoiceThread presentation. They reflected on this creative/innovative process and set goals for future growth via the VoiceThread presentation.

TIPC Ratings

This lesson would be in the Developing category.  Students were using preselected information and responding to a class assignment that prompted analysis of that information.

This lesson would be in the Developing category.  The students are using a teacher selected digital tool and working in teacher defined groups to complete this assignment.

This lesson would be in the Approaching category .  Students are responding to purposeful questions.  They are having to justify their decision-making process.  Also, critical evaluation of art requires higher order thinking skills.

This lesson would be in the Approaching category.  Students were using their personally created avatars to represent themselves as they synthesized information about an artist and his work.  Students were looking for trends as they analyzed the works of the artist.

TIPC Ratings

Many of the lesson activities required students to locate, explore and analyze information and as a result, this unit is rated as target. Students must find information, analyze and internalize what they find to form a coherent argument supporting an opinion based on fact.

The inclusion of a text in the target language, additional textual information, engaging online videos and the complexities of the Holocaust and the survivors stories necessitated students work together to create their own stories (and to extend their knowledge by analyzing situations currently plaguing countries in Africa.) As a result this unit is rated as target in terms of communication and collaboration.

This unit is approaching in terms of problem solving and critical thinking, as the multi-faceted activities provide introduction to a complex topic with a focus on the process and story. If this lesson was more oriented to solving the problems faced in society then students could delve further into the critical thinking and problem solving arena. Although the goal is mainly on understanding France’s role, the stories and strife of the survivors, and learning the target language, students also gain a greater understanding of genocide happening in the world today.

This lesson is target as the learning experience is about internalizing an event and retelling a story in modern and unique way. Students are charged with coming up with a 21st Century tool and manner to best convey their survivor’s story. They have been given supporting background information and digital video, which will have been discussed and analyzed in smaller teams and in larger class discussions.. Students will use a variety of creative means to tell their story. There is a focus on student creativity and innovation thoughout the entire lesson unit.

TIPC Ratings

This lesson is approaching as students are asked to research, evaluate, and narrow web sources of information pertaining to cases heard by the Supreme Court. Students must locate sources on their own, and determine which ones provide the most accurate and relevant information on their particular real world case.

This lesson is developing because students work in teams of two to create a Power Point file which is then uploaded to their VoiceThread account which can then be accessed by other members of the class (and the world at large.) Appropriate identifying ‘tags’ are added to the VoiceThread which allows their work to be shared online.

This lesson is in the developing stage as students use their knowledge of the law to research and evaluate existing Supreme Court case decisions where a key legal decision that has been issued. Additionally students apply digital tools to think critically about content and class assignments.

This lesson is developing as students apply existing knowledge to create an orignial PowerPoint and VoiceThread project explaining and analyzing a Supreme Court case. Students collaborate on all aspects of the assignment which allows for student choice and provides for open-ended responses.

TIPC Ratings

Ideal/Target – Students are responsible for selecting and prioritizing research sources based on accuracy, relevance and variety. Students are expected to maintain a comprehensive list of all resources and to filter for content.

Ideal/Target – it allows students to collaborate with peers throughout five chemistry classes and any individuals who access the interactive periodic table through the internet. Students must communicate ethically at all times with all individuals as well as monitor the comments that are posted on their individual sites. As a part of the process students must seek out the work of other students that have similar characteristics (properties) and those that have opposing characteristics (highly reactive).

Approaching – Students must use critical thinking skills to correctly comment on their reactions with the other elements in the periodic table. They have to generate and respond to purposeful questions, justify their decision making and apply digital tools to think critically while solving open-ended authentic tasks.

Approaching – Students must be creative in their creation of their Facebook templates for their periodic elements, take on their personalities and interact and react to the other elements in their Voicethreads.They have to analyze trends and make predictions that inspire new solutions to authentic tasks, while creating meaningful work within their assigned parameters.

Student Artifact

See the whole Interactive Periodic Table

Download Files

Contents:

• LESSON PLAN
• See the whole Interactive Periodic Table

TIPC Ratings

Ideal/Target: Students were given the sources by the teacher to conduct their own research. They utilized teacher and peer support throughout the entire lesson to be creative in coming up with a way that they could change the world

Ideal/Target: Students worked in pairs to evaluate and come up with their own idea of how they could make the world a better place. Students shared thoughts and ideas as they brainstormed together.

Ideal/Target: Students worked in pairs to evaluate and come up with their own idea of how they could make the world a better place. They used books and technology to solve this real world problem and create their own original ideas.

Approaching: Students expressed their ideas in drawings and writing using paper, pencil, and Pixie. Students then recorded their sentences in VoiceThread.

TIPC Ratings

Research and Information Fluency: Students created a focus question and chose a real contemporary issue where the Bill of Rights was used to measure and provide for the rights of 21st Century Americans through the use of One Search which includes sites such as Issues and Controveries. The mulitple databases offer students a wide range of places to search and the MLA citation was provided at the conclusion of the articles to insure ethical use of information.

Communication and Collaboration: Student groups were created to promote collaboration on this project. Each student chose a task to perform for the good of the whole group. One student was the leader, one the computer guru, one the rubric checker, and one the spelling/ gramarian. Two class periods were provided for group/team discussion and collaboration following research. Two full class periods were given for the making of the voicethread. Collaboration is the main ingredient to making a voicethread.

Critical Thinking and Problem Solving: Students researched and analyzed the strength and viability of the Bill of Rights in the 21st Century as it is applied to a current social or civic issue of their choice. Students found their social problem from a variety of databases. Student groups had to agree on which problem and then which amendment to analyze. Students were asked to address open-ended questions and in addressing real world problems reflect on extremely complex 21st Century problems.

Creativity and Innovation: Although all students used Voicethread for the first time in this lesson they created different products by choosing their delivery style, content and commentary. They chose to produce a newscast, an advertisement, a debate, or some other presentation method while using the same technology platform as their classmates. Technology choices were also available in Voicethread as they choose to insert pictures, drawings, videos they make or videos they borrow for their visuals for commentary. Their commentary was in their own words and from their own perspective based on the strong research of their chosen topic and collaboration with their team members.
Group norms were established by students signing up for specific tasks within the group. Leaders, gramarians, gurus,and rubric checkers had a sense of the importance of their role within the group thus taking ownership for the work of the group.

TIPC Ratings

Entry: Teacher is directing student use of resources.

Approaching: Students are communicating within and beyond the classroom.

Approaching: Students are working collaboratively and using VoiceThread to solve problems.

Approaching: Students will use critical thinking to create an original problem. They will communicate with an audience beyond the classroom to create an original voice thread within the assignment parameters.

TIPC Ratings

Developing: Students applied search techniques to sources and digital tools provided by the teacher.

Ideal/Target: Students communicated and collaborated with peers and with others using Voice Thread. Students reflected on communication tools and their roles within their groups.

Approaching: Students applied digital tools to think critically and solve open-ended authentic tasks. Reflection of the critical thinking process was included with justification about individual and group problem-solving practices.

Ideal/Target: Students synthesized existing and new knowledge to create innovative products and reflected on the process.