Nicole Cloutier

EDT 315-71

EDT Final Project Lesson Plan

Content Standards for Grade Four:

Connecticut State Department of Education

  • Geography
  • 2.3-4.1Demonstrate a familiarity with people, events and places from a broad spectrum of human experience through selected study from various regions (e.g., East Asia, Europe, the Americas, Africa, South Asia, West Asia).
  • Writing - 3. Communicating with Others
  • Students produce written, oral and visual texts to express, develop and substantiate ideas and experiences.
  • 3.1 - Students use descriptive, narrative, expository, persuasive and poetic modes.
  • 3.2 - Students prepare, publish and/or present work appropriate to audience, purpose and task.

Student Learning Objectives:

  • Students will demonstrate their ability to recollect information from the story Olivia Goes to Venice by completing an informative memory game on the SMART board.
  • Students will investigate information about Venice, Italy by researching specific travel topics of Venice through various approved websites.
  • Students will create a travel brochure to Venice, Italy regarding Olivia the pig and her adventures in Olivia Goes to Venice by using Microsoft Word.

Assessment:

  • To informally assess the students, the teacher will around the room as groups are researching various topics of Venice, Italy as well as when they are creating their group travel brochures in Microsoft Word. I will ask the students questions regarding their research and quality of information.
  • To formally assess the students, the teacher will create a check-list of students who were able to correctly complete the SMART board activity as well as complete the travel brochure with the required elements and the group presentation.

Classroom Learning Environment:

  • The classroom will have computer stations (preferably start in the library or computer lab) for the groups to work together on their research and brochures. The classroom must have a SMART board and reading area for the lesson’s activities.

Instructional Model:

  • Discussion
  • Read-Aloud
  • Literature Based Instruction
  • Research Projects

Material and Resources:

  • Story - Olivia Goes to Venice
  • Globe
  • Black board/white board
  • Projector and screen
  • Computers (one for each student), Internet
  • Google Earth Software
  • SMART board, SMART board software
  • Microsoft PowerPoint, Microsoft Word

Initiation:

  • Start the lesson by asking the students, “Can anyone tell me where Venice, Italy is on this globe?” Choose one student to show the class where Venice, Italy is. Then ask the students, “Does anyone know anything about Venice, Italy?” If the students would like to share, write their thoughts on the board.
  • Tell the students that we are going to read the story Olivia Goes to Venice to learn more about Venice and discover interesting sights to see in Venice, Italy.
  • Read Olivia Goes to Venice and stop to point out specific sites such as the Piazza San Marco, the Grand Canal, etc. (pictures that will be presented on the SMART board and in the PowerPoint).
  • After the story has been read explain to the students that they will go on a Google Earth Lit Trip about Olivia’s trip to Venice. Also tell the students that they will complete a memory game activity using the SMART board to test their knowledge of the sites seen in their Lit Trip. They will then create and present a brochure in small groups titled “Olivia’s Guide to Venice” where they will develop an informational brochure regarding Venice and the beautiful sites Olivia visited.

Lesson Development:

  • The students will use the computers to complete Olivia Goes to Venice Lit Trip. I will model how to open up the Lit Trip while students are preparing their computers.
  • For students who have finished early, have the students explore Google Earth’s features to see Venice in different ways.
  • After they have completed the Lit Trip, the students will have a turn to play the Olivia Goes to Venice memory game on the SMART board. Students will use the markers to draw a line connecting a picture of one of the sites Olivia visited in Venice to the name of that site.
  • After the SMART board activity, I will show them a brief PowerPoint of pictures from when I visited Venice, Italy in high school. The students will have the opportunity to make connections with the text and real life experiences.
  • The students will be put into groups of 2 or 3 and work on creating their “Olivia’s Guide to Venice” brochures. I will model the brochure template and explain how to search the websites. They will open the brochure template and read the directions inside the template. The students will then have the chance to visit specific sites to research more about Venice, Italy and complete their brochures. It is important to encourage creativity and descriptive writing regarding their brochures.

Closure:

  • After the groups have completed their brochures they will present them to the class using the projector. I will be looking for descriptive language and full group participation.
  • Each student will post a comment about the “Olivia’s Guide to Venice” brochures on the class blog site. They will describe what they found was the most important aspect of Venice and explain whether they would ever visit Venice or not. The students will then post an additional comment about another student’s comment.