ET-IL Power Lessons (Durango School District, 2004)
Teachers
in Durango School District, using a planning template provided by the
district edtech staff, have created numerous lesson and unit plans that
incorporate educational technology and information literacy (ET-IL)
into content area learning. Six of those plans are presented here,
courtesy of JoAnne Hibbard, Director of Educational Technology, and
Corky Stahn, Power Educators Project Coordinator, in Durango School
Distric.
Each of the lesson plans is standards-based and multidisciplnary. Each
is built on an essential question, each involves the use of higher
order thinking skills, and each incorporates at least some technology
in students' pursuit of content learning.
If you find these lessons to be useful models or sources for ideas,
more may be obtained from Stevan Kalmon (720-423-3443;
stevan_kalmon@dpsk12.org).
Character Counts | Social Studies and Learning Skills | Grade: K
Students decide what a responsible person would look like, through
brainstorming activities, reading, interviewing parents and other
adults, role-playing, and working on Kidspiration activities. They then
design a poster on responsibility.
In
learning about natural resources, students will begin to inquire about
shelter needs and how environment affects choices in shelter. Students
will research one of the three basic types of living environments, then
choose a shelter which fits that environment. They will write a report
on their environment and shelter, and construct a model of the shelter.
An
imagined zoo writes to the class seeking advice about where to house
its new polar bear. The zoo requests a digital presentation for its
board of directors that includes recommendations regarding habitat and
animals that can share the space with the bear.
Students research a Colorado historical figure, gathering notes
for a first person report on the person. They then discuss and decide
which four of their characters are most deserving of being included in
a mural at the state capitol. They then create the mural.
Students
research Greek mythological characters. Based on their research, they
discuss which character is most deserving of being placed in the
heavens as a constellation -- either as an eternal honor or an eternal
punishment.
Students
investigate a variety of real-world data sets, applying analytical
tools and processes in order to reach conclusions regarding animal and
human performance. The students focus on data acquired from the
SuperBowl -- such as, point spreads and offensive statistics -- to
assess excitement levels for such contests.
