Lesson+Plan

=Lesson Plan - Ancient Greece Unit - __The Odyssey__=
 * Teacher:** __Steve Clapp__ **Library Media Specialist:** __Katie Clancy__
 * Grade Level:** __6__ **Subject:** __Social Studies__
 * Date of lesson:** __June 19, 2012__ **Length of lesson:** __45 Minutes__


 * __Lesson Topic:__** An Introduction to using Edublogs

After reading __The Odyssey__ and watching the 1997 version of the movie, students will each write a blog post in the first-person from the perspective of Odysseus. They will document his journey, as detailed in __The Odyssey__, which will serve to encourage broader understanding of Ancient Greek culture.
 * __Overall Goal:__** **(Broad statement using non action verbs) “Students will understand that….”**

The students have been learning about Ancient Greece. In this particular unit, they have read and discussed __The Odyssey__, and have watched the 1997 version of the movie. Students have participated in small group and whole class discussions and activities to break down their understanding of __The Odyssey__. Students are now going to write blogs to encourage a broader understanding of Ancient Greek culture. The introduction to __The Odyssey__ unit will take place with the classroom teacher, who will begin by setting students up for reading from the novel theatrically - as though creating a movie trailer for the story - with a focus on the hero who faces peril and defeats monsters at every turn! Then, the teacher will explain that __The Odyssey__ was written by Homer and why this relates to what they have already learned about Ancient Greece. The social studies instructor will relay to students that they are to become experts on Odysseus' journey because by the end of the unit they will have to "become" him by recounting his adventures through a class blog. In doing so, he will reveal that __The Odyssey__ informs what we know about life in ancient Greece and why it is important then to keep reading texts such as this. Prior to this class, the students will have chosen one part of Odysseus' journey that they would like to blog about for this project. They will have completed their research, and will bring their notes with them to the Media Center for today's lesson. The teacher and LMS will have set up a class blog on Edublogs, and will have created an individual login for each student in the class prior to today's lesson.
 * __Learner Background:__** **(This addresses why the lesson is being taught.) Describe the students’ prior knowledge or skill related to the learning objective(s) and the content of this lesson, using data from pre-assessment as appropriate. How did the students’ previous performance in this content area or skill impact your planning for this lesson?**

__Social Studies:__ 1.3.b - Analyze how specific individuals and their ideas and beliefs influenced world history. 2.3 – Create various forms of written work (e.g. journal, essay, blog, Web page, brochure) to demonstrate an understanding of history and social studies issues. 3.1 – Use evidence to identify, analyze and evaluate historical interpretations. __Information Literacy:__ 1.1.9 - Collaborate with others to broaden and deepen understanding. 2.1.1 – Continue an inquiry-based research process by applying critical-thinking skills (analysis, synthesis, evaluation, organization) to information and knowledge in order to construct new understandings, draw conclusions, and create new knowledge. 3.1.4 - Use technology and other information tools to organize and display knowledge and understanding in ways that others can view, use, and assess. 4.1.7 Use social networks and information tools to gather and share information.
 * __Curricular Standards:__** **Identify the primary state standard(s) this lesson is designed to help students attain. (If required, include the national and/or local standards as well.)**

The students will use EduBlogs ([]) to write a blog in the first-person from the perspective of Odysseus. They will document one event from his journey, as detailed in __The Odyssey__, which will serve to encourage a broader understanding of Ancient Greek culture. By the culmination of the project, students will be able to cite specific examples of Ancient Greek culture as informed by __The Odyssey__ and will have an understanding of the technology, format and etiquette commonly used to create a blog.
 * __Student Learning Objective(s):__** **Identify specific and measurable learning objectives for this lesson. Use action verbs. “Students will be able to….”**

The teacher workstation in the computer lab of the media center has Smart Sync student monitoring software installed on it, which allows the teacher to monitor each student computer from the teacher workstation. This enables the teacher or Media Specialist to quickly check to ensure that each student is on-task and using the appropriate blog website, as well as read each student’s individual screen. Additionally, the classroom teacher and library media specialist will circulate the room, checking in with each individual student to conference and verbally check for understanding.
 * __Assessment:__**
 * Part I****: How will you check for student understanding during the lesson? (Formative)**

Students will be assessed using the attached rubric. Students will also demonstrate knowledge by posting comments to student work.
 * Part II****: How will you ask students to demonstrate mastery of the student learning objective(s)? Attach a copy of any assessment materials you will use, along with assessment criteria/rubric. (Formative or summative)**

Resources for The Odyssey
 * __Materials/Resources:__** List the materials you will use in each learning activity **__including any technological resources__**.
 * [] - The full version of __The Odyssey__, broken down into books 1-24.
 * [] - MP3 Audio Files for books 1-24 of __The Odyssey__.
 * [] -__The Odyssey__ Movie (1997)
 * [] - A Thinkquest created for __The Odyssey__
 * [] - An interactive map detailing the journey of Odysseus.

Databases and Resources for Research
 * Encyclopedia Britannica - []
 * Grolier Online - []
 * iCONN.org - [|http://rqst-agent.auto-graphics.com/HomePages/CustomerWide/ClassicMiddleSchool.asp?myses=18467260&cuid=rqst&lid=mids&cusrvr=minerva]

Editing and Revising Resources
 * Citation Machine - []
 * EasyBib - http://easybib.com - Provides automatic works cited and bibliography formatting.
 * [|http://www.nwmissouri.edu/library/CITING/MLA.HTM#books] - MLA Style Examples

Creating the Blog
 * EduBlogs - [] - A safe, free, and easy way for teachers and students to manage blogs.
 * ReadWriteThink - [] - Provides an example of features key to blog posts.
 * Examples of current content appropriate blogs as well examples of student written blogs
 * Blog Exemplar written by the LMS

The first time the LMS sees the students will be after the Social Studies instructor has concluded his introduction to the lesson (Parts I and II), so the students will know that they will be required to construct a blog post. The lesson concerning blog writing instruction will be introduced, first by asking students what they know about blogs and blogging, and if they have favorite blogs. They will be asked to look at a predetermined example blog and the class can brainstorm as a whole or in small groups about why the blog is appealing.
 * __The Lesson__**
 * Initiation:**
 * Part I - Briefly describe how you will introduce the lesson, engage students in the lesson and connect it to previous learning. (This is intended to motivate students.)**

The LMS' bridge will be that anyone can publish a blog - if the technology had been around, it's probable that Odysseus would've created one himself! Because technology is always evolving, however, blogging is a relatively new concept, but if the students learn and can utilize the basic concepts to make Odysseus' adventures come to life, they can use what they've learned applied to other technologies, and new technologies as they evolve.
 * Part II – (This is intended to bridge to the lesson: set expectations for learning, articulate to learners what they will be learning in this lesson and why this is important).**

Introduction (10 minutes) - The LMS specialist will introduce Edublogs. She will model to students how to use Edublogs to develop their blog on Odysseus. She will provide examples of blog posts for students to refer to during the process. The teacher will remind the students that they were to have chosen one part of Odysseus' journey to blog about, and ask the students to take out their notes. The teacher will remind the students that they can reference the Livebinder that has been established for this unit to refer back to the book, or check a reference if needed. The LMS and teacher will review a model exemplar blog created by the LMS with the class. The exemplar will remain on the Smartboard for students to reference throughout the lesson. Development (30 minutes) - Students will be given their Edublogs logins. They will log into Edublogs, and begin to create their blog posts. Students will use their notes and background knowledge to document one part of Odysseus' journey from __The Odyssey__. The students will make connections between __The Odyssey__ and Ancient Greek culture. They will document and discuss ways that __The Odyssey__ depicts Ancient Greek culture. They will support their work with specific examples from the part of __The Odyssey__ they are covering. The teacher and LMS will use SmartSync classroom software to monitor the students’ computer usage, and will circulate throughout the room to conference with each student to check for understanding and answer any questions as they come up.
 * Lesson Development: Describe how you will develop the lesson: what you will do to model or guide practice and the learning activities students will be engaged in to gain the key knowledge and skills identified in the student learning objective(s). Include the questions you will ask, identify and explain the instructional grouping (whole class, small groups, pairs, individuals) for each lesson segment, and include the approximate times for each. __Include reference to Bloom’s taxonomy to identify higher levels of thinking.__**

Closure (5 minutes) - See below

The LMS will review the concept of blogging with the students. Students will share some of their successes and challenges with using Edublogs for the first time. The teacher and LMS will remind the students that they will have additional class time to complete the blogs, and will be asked to do additional research (if needed) for homework.
 * Closure: Briefly describe how you will close the lesson, help students understand the purpose of the lesson, and show how it will connect to future learning. (Rather than an administrative closure, interact with learners to elicit evidence of student understanding of purpose(s) for learning and mastery of objectives)**

In future classes, in addition to learning basic blogging, student will go over commenting etiquette and skills, and demonstrate knowledge by posting comments to student work. When the blog posts are complete, the class will examine the completed blog as a whole group, and discuss the strengths and weaknesses of the blog as a comprehensive documentation of Odysseus' journey and its connection to Ancient Greek culture. Students will assess themselves on the rubric before submitting it to the teacher and LMS for a final grade.


 * __Individuals Needing Differentiated Instruction:__** Describe students with learning differences. These students may be special or general education students and need not be the same students for each lesson. Students may represent a range of ability and/or achievement levels, including students with IEPs, gifted and talented students, struggling learners, and English language learners.

//Note: Differentiated instruction may not be necessary in every lesson. However, for formal, scripted observations and in lessons included in the portfolio, it is expected that each student teacher will demonstrate the ability to plan and implement differentiated instruction in order to meet the needs of students **__at both ends__** of the learning spectrum.//


 * Remember: differentiation means “different”, not more; differentiation should focus on learning, not behavior.**
 * **Which students do you anticipate may struggle with the activities and/or learning objectives of this lesson?** ||  ||   ||
 * **Student initials** || **__Evidence__ that the student needs differentiated instruction** || **How will you differentiate instruction in this lesson to support student learning?** ||
 * || IEP, 504 Plan, Data from previous assessments, etc. || Struggling readers will have the opportunity to listen to __The Odyssey__ in MP3 format. ||
 * || IEP, 504 Plan, Data from previous assessments, etc. || Teacher and LMS will provide visual aids and step by step directions to students who demonstrate a difficulty to focus on overall task. ||
 * **Which students will need opportunities for enrichment and/or higher level of challenge?** ||  ||   ||
 * **Student initials** || **__Evidence__ that the student needs differentiated instruction** || **How will you differentiate instruction in this lesson to support student learning?** ||
 * || Data from assessments, Lexile scores, CMT scores, etc. || Students who successfully complete the requirements ahead of schedule can serve as peer tutors, working with struggling students to help them develop their blog posts. ||
 * || Data from assessments, Lexile scores, CMT scores, etc. || Students may choose to learn to embed video into a blog post or to set-up an archive for the comprehensive blog. They may also choose to link to other students' posts to document Odysseus' sequential journey. ||
 * || Data from assessments, Lexile scores, CMT scores, etc. || Students may choose to learn how to make sure blog posts are set-up to be published chronologically according to __The Odyssey__. ||