Famous Men of the Renaissance & Reformation By Jasmyne Spain

This book covers the period in western European history from 1300-1550 and includes chapters on Da Vinci, Michelangelo, Dürer, Erasmus, Wyclif, Hus, Luther, Calvin, Zwingli, Tyndale and Knox. In addition to that the book includes over 75 images of the men, women and works of art that distinguish this period of history.

Renaissance Vocabulary

The students are going to explore one of the important figures of the Renaissance time frame: Leonardo da Vinci. Have the students go to the website http://www.mos.org/sln/Leonardo/LeoHomePage.html. The students will type a paragraph about Leonard da Vinci based on their research on the website. This will be turned in and used as an assessment piece to ensure understanding.

Geography: Map Comprehension Skills by Bob Felker

I am teaching a geography unit for fifth graders. Part of the unit is meant to address students’ lack of map skills. I have chosen to begin by having the students design their own country/nation, complete with borders, cities, towns, capitals, and various types of landforms. Rather than doing a simple pencil sketch, which usually yields a quick and sloppy rendering, the students will create their maps using the Microsoft Paint program. With this program they can refine details, correct mistakes without unsightly erasure marks, and render the map in color, which should result in a map that closely resembles maps they routinely encounter in their text books. Once a satisfactory design has been completed, it will be saved on the school’s hard drive. The file can then be imported into Microsoft Word as a Printed Watermark (from the Background section in the Format drop-down menu). Once the map is present as the background, the students can type the names of their cities, towns, countries, etc., simply by placing their cursor over the appropriate spot and typing it in. They may also use the Table menu to draw a map key, and perhaps even a grid, upon which they can place coordinates or measures of latitudes and longitudes. The original file can be kept and modified to produce other types of maps that they need knowledge of, including product, road, elevation, political, and historical.
Having created their own maps, and using the some of the same techniques used in modern cartography, it is hoped that students will have an expanded understanding of how to read and decipher maps they will be exposed to later in both school and in the real world.

Thomas Rivers Citizenship Unit Ben’s Guide to Government

http://bensguide.gpo.gov/3-5/index.html

Third grade is a transitional year for most elementary school students. The third grade social studies curriculum is designed to expand the students' concept of "leaders" in relationship to their communities. In order for students to become productive citizens, it is very important that students develop and understand their duty and responsibility as a citizen. As a citizen in the United States of America (USA), students must begin to understand that that they have rights that are governed by laws that may differ from state to state. It is important for students to understand that citizens have many rights, however, with those rights come many responsibilities. To incorporate technology in my unit I am going to use an interactive website, Ben’s Guide to US Government, to help my students’ research what makes a good citizen and what rights and responsibilities United States citizens have. Ben’s Guide to the United States Government will give students factual information about good citizenship and government. Students are able to click links that will explain citizenship and their roles and responsibility as a citizen in the United States. The information is specifically designed to accommodate grade level needs according to standards from Kindergarten through twelfth grade.

Task: You have been living in the United States for awhile and you will soon have friends arriving in the United States from your native country. You want your friend to adapt to life in the United States so you decide to write a welcome letter to talk about their rights as a citizen. You will have to explain to your friend why it is important to be a good citizen. Each student will write one to two paragraphs explaining what makes a good citizen in the United States. You can also support you paragraphs with examples of what responsibilities they will have as a citizen. I know that you do not want your friend to have any questions about citizenship so you must include examples of bad citizenship and consequences that are enforced for bad citizenship. Becoming a good citizen in the United States will make your friend excited about moving to a new country.

The Invention and History of the Telephone by Courtney Lamade

Unit Title: Changes in Technology

Currently, I teach third grade. As part of the curriculum, I have developed a unit on technology. Throughout the unit, students will learn how technology is used at home, school, and in the community. Furthermore, students will learn how this technology has changed over time and improved the community and quality of life. This particular activity is meant as an introductory activity in which the students will use the Internet to research famous inventors and their inventions that have become a large part of our everyday life.
Students should be paired up with a peer and each child or group should have access to a computer. This activity should take approximately three to four class periods to complete, including a time for sharing.
First, students will pull up the PowerPoint template. This template will consist of four slides. Each slide will have the name of a famous inventor on it (Henry Ford, Thomas Edison, Alexander Graham Bell, and the Wright Brothers). The students will use the Internet website http://www.factmonster.com/people.html to find out when the inventor lived, what he invented, and why it is an important invention. Once the students have found this information, they will include it on their PowerPoint slides. The students must also insert a picture representing the invention.
As students finish, they may go to http://pbskids.org/wayback/tech1900/index.html to find fun facts about early cars and telephones. Within this website the students will find information on how fast the first cars went and the requirements and working conditions of telephone operators. The students will include any information found on an additional “fun facts” slide in their PowerPoint. When the students have completed the PowerPoint, they will print it out in a handout form. As the teacher, I can collect and check over the PowerPoint handouts to ensure that the students found the correct information. Then, the students can use the handout as notes for future lessons and assessments. Once all projects are completed, allow students to share their slides, specifically the “fun facts’ slide.

Econ-o-mania Web quest for 2nd grade

Unit title: Economic concepts and resources within the community
My unit is about teaching students basic economic concepts and how these concepts affect their life as well as their community. Students will learn the difference between wants and needs, goods and services, producers and consumers. Students will also begin to understand different types of employment, income and sources of revenue. All of these are important concepts for students to learn to become responsible citizens in the future.

Students will be using the ibooks to complete the econ-o-mania web quest.

Working in cooperative groups students will need to use basic computer skills to make there way though the web quest. Students will complete task to better understand wants and needs, goods and services, production and consumption, and natural resources. After completing those basic tasks and gaining a better understanding of each topic they will have a final task to complete as a group.

Their final task will be to create a good or service with the materials they are given. Their group may develop any good or service using any or all of the materials they are given. Their final presentation can be a KidPix slide show or an art form of their choosing. As a group they will have to present their good or service to the rest of the class.

Listed below is the link for the web quest:

http://cte.jhu.edu/techacademy/fellows/Seaman/webquest/index.html#home%

20page

Note: One of the links in the web quest was not working so students will use the following link instead:

http://www.coolmath-games.com/lemonade/

Interactive Native Americans Scavenger Hunt Ullanda Tyler

http://www.mrnussbaum.com/indintscav.htm In the fourth grade, students begin to learn about the history of North Carolina. The unit that I am presenting to my students focuses on the arrival and the influence of Native Americans and their impact on North Carolina’s culture, customs and history. (NCSCOS 2.02, 2.03, 2.04) It is important for students to have a sense of pride when they think about their culture and their history. Often times, students do not feel connected to the subject matter that is being taught. When students feel as though the content is relevant to their life, they are more likely to pay attention and have a desire to learn more. Studying ethnic leaders in North Carolina is very important for my students as they begin to think about role models and leaders and as they begin to make major decisions. They will be able to understand who some of the important leaders of North Carolina were and they will notice that there may be some similarities in the leaders’ past that they can identify with. Students will have an opportunity to realize that they too can play a role in the history of their city, state, or country. This website is an Interactive Native American Scavenger Hunt that provides contextual, geographical and historical perspective on six major American Indian groups. Students are able to click on the group of Native Americans that is located in North Carolina to learn more about its name, diet, homes, history, culture, and characteristics and beliefs specific to that group. Once students have learned about the Cherokee Indians in North Carolina, they can click on any of the other five groups located around the US and compare and contrast. There is also an interactive quiz that goes along with the Native American Scavenger Hunt that teachers and students can use to check their understanding.

Inventions in Technology by Jessica Ellison

My unit that I am teaching is on inventors and technology for third grade. Students will be brainstorming about how we use technology in our homes, school, and communities. They will also be learning about some famous inventors and how their inventions have changed and helped our communities over time.

One integration of technology I will be using in this unit is that students will create their own power point. After brainstorming several inventions in technology and visiting websites with different inventions such as http://www.kidcyber.com.au/, students will create their own invention of something they think is needed in the community. The power point will include the name of the invention, what the invention does, why it was invented, and how much it will cost. Then, each student will create a model or draw a detailed picture of his or her invention.

Opportunity Cost of Trade, Commerce, Industry, and the Effects on Our Earth Amy Wilson

I teach fifth grade gifted and talented math and science. The focus of the unit is human impact on the earth, which is one of the five themes of geography. During the unit lessons the students will be participating in a simulated oil spill, mapping the Exxon Valdez oil spill, conducting research on the importance of oil as a resource to the United States as well as various environmental issues and topics concerning oil spills. The students will also investigate the relationship between oil and the United State’s involvement in the Gulf War. The students will be writing an editorial taking a position for the Gulf War or against the Gulf War.

The Apprentice Webquest: Ecosystems in Danger, http://www.ldcsb.on.ca/schools/cfe/rpt/RPT_Ecosystems/student.html
will allow the students to problem solve using a real life scenario. The purpose of this webquest is to help the students to make logical informed decisions that will impact many people.
The students will be given a reasoning web that will help them reason through the problems of importing and exporting oil and make a decision about whether Mr. Trump should indeed enter into the business of exporting oil. As the students complete this activity they will have to provide support or evidence that has been researched to support the problems that they have found with importing and exporting oil. The webquest allows the students to research and design the most effective and cost efficient method for importing and exporting oil. They will also research the validity of the argument that transporting oil is damaging to the environment. Upon completion of the task the students will be able to reason through a problem by looking at the problem from various viewpoints. The students will also have an idea of how importing and exporting oil can potentially harm the environment but can also be a profitable business as well. The students will make a decision about exporting and importing oil based on their research and the various viewpoints represented.

The American Revolution by Stacey Kirkley

The unit that I am teaching is for third grade students and it is about the American Revolution. The students are learning about different events that led to the American Revolution; the significant people, events, and places in the American Revolution; and South Carolina’s role in the American Revolution. At the end of this unit, the student will be able to identify the significant people, events, and places that played a role in the American Revolution.

Technology will be integrated in this unit by using power point presentations, the Smart Board software, and the students will use the PBS website to gain a deeper understanding of the American Revolution. The PBS website is at http://www.pbs.org/ktca/liberty/. This website has information that is perfect for this unit of study. On this website, the student will be able to do many things. They can read all about the different events during the American Revolution in a newspaper type setting. They can also learn about different perspectives during the revolution, such as learn about life during the 18th century; learn what was happening in the world at the time of the revolution; and learn the differences between the American and British soldiers. Finally on this website, the student can play an interactive game titled “The Road to Revolution” that will test their knowledge about the American Revolution. The student will head towards “independence” in this game if they answer questions correctly. Students will be able to use this website in the computer lab in our school. We will use one day of social studies time to use this website at the end of our unit. Students will have to document information that they found so that they will learn how to directly use the internet and this website specifically.

The Civil War by Cassi Odom

I will be teaching a 4th grade unit on the Civil War. During this unit, students are expected to demonstrate an understanding of the Civil War and its impact on America. Students will study the reasons behind the war, the role and accomplishments of the leaders, key battles, the roles of African Americans and women, and the effects of the war on people and their environments. Understanding of our country’s history is important. Our views of history shape the way we view the present, and therefore dictate what answers are offered for existing and future problems. It is important for students to learn history in order to learn from the past and gain a sense of perspective about themselves and the world around them. In order for students to be functioning citizens in our society, they should be able to think critically about documents, cause and affect relationships, and have the ability to read and summarize material.
This technology integration will need to take place in a computer lab at your school. This is a two-day integration, so plan to have your students in the lab for two days during the week. The goal of this integration is for students to be able to read articles and/or biographies for information and create online timelines of significant dates and events. The biographies of Civil War leaders can be found at http://www.history.com. If creating a timeline on key battles of the Civil War, information can be found at www.sonofthesouth.net. It would be beneficial for the teacher to provide a hard copy handout to students that highlights the desired important dates. This is to provide students with some guidance so they do not get bogged-down with insignificant dates during research. Day 1 of research should consist of students reading biographies and articles and writing down important information (significant dates during Lincoln’s presidency, Key battles, etc). Day two should consist of students finishing up research from the prior day and advancing on create their online timeline.
After research is complete, students should visit the site: http://www.teach-nology.com/web_tools/materials/timelines. Step 1 on the web site allows students to choose whether they would like to create a vertical or a horizontal timeline. Step 2 of creating the timeline allows students to type in their researched information into blank cells. The cells are labeled: Event #, Event Date, and Event Name / Description. Once students have successfully entered their information, he/she is allowed to then add one border graphic to the timeline. For the final step, students click “generate your timeline” and PRESTO—a printable timeline of the information appears. Online timelines can be used throughout the Civil War unit and should prove to be quite effective in helping students to organize information.

Landforms by Amy Womble

I am teaching a Geography unit on landforms for 2nd grade.
My class is learning about the different names of landforms
and bodies of water. They are also discovering how a place’s
geography affects the lives of people that live there.
In my unit, I have integrated technology by using Google
Earth. As a class, we can explore the geography around
Charlotte and identify landforms that we have studied. For
example, I can pull up a satellite map of Lake Wylie and find
examples of islands and peninsulas. Google Earth helps
students make connections to their world and puts their
immediate “world” on a map.
Google Earth is also valuable for comparing characteristics
of regions. My students are pen pals with a second grade
class in Seattle, Washington. Using this technology,
students can compare and contrast the geography of Seattle
and Charlotte. Furthermore, they can draw conclusions about
how people’s lives are different depending on where they live
and what natural resources are around them. Google Earth
even has a new feature which allows you to look at images
taken over previous years. This allows for a comparison over
time and lets students see firsthand the importance of human-
environment interaction.
You can download a free version of Google Earth at
http://earth.google.com/.