Curriculum Project Proposal...

Expected timeline to complete the project: This will be a 10 day unit, extended depending on students ability to edit/produce presentations, and to make adequate time for student presentations.

Tentative title/ theme: Explore the World!

Goals/ Objectives:

•Students will work in a group of 3 to research one of ten pre-selected countries using library books, encyclopedias, and online resources.

•Students will use the library book resources as well as the Internet to find information about the people, culture, religions, and traditions of their country.

• Students will create a flow chart using Inspiration.

• Students will write a 1-2 page research paper using Word, which will require insertion of images.

• Students will present one of the following about the people and culture of their selected country:

-       A 3-minute (minimum of 10 slides) Powerpoint presentation

-       A 3-minute video presentation

-       A 3-minute audio podcast presentation

(Unit aligns with the following Nevada State Standards)

Technology

2.C.5.1- Use digital resources to research about places, people, and world cultures.

Social Studies

G5.[6-8].7 Compare Earth’s physical and human features using maps, fieldwork, graphic representations, aerial photographs, satellite images, and technological resources.

C16.[6-8].1 Define the characteristics of a country:

-sovereignty

-territory

-population

-organized government

Rationale : Many students are not familiar with other countries or cultures. I feel it is important to know where people are from in order to better understand our differences. This unit will allow students to research and produce a video or PowerPoint presentation that will give an overview of a countries culture and traditions, as well as any other information that the students find interesting.

Medium: Students will be able to decide between producing a PowerPoint presentation, or will be allowed to create a video presentation, depending on what they have experience with. Students will also be working in Inspiration to create a flowchart of their ideas and information. Each task will be posted to the class blog, where they will receive honest peer feedback.

Target Audience: 6^th grade Social Studies

Lesson ideas or lesson plans that you searched in this topic.

http://www.infoplease.com/countries.html - basic country information

http://www.infoplease.com/ipa/A0855613.html - religion information by country

http://www.zunal.com - contains many webquests on different countries. Depending on what the students pick, this could be a fun resource for research.

Teaching Strategies and Methods: Students will be mostly self-guided during this unit. They will have previously had basic internet search lessons, as well as experience in Inspiration and PowerPoint. The teacher will be available for guidance and assistance in all steps of the assignment.

Evaluation Methods: Assessment strategies: The students will be provided with a simple rubric of the requirements and expectations of each of the specific tasks of the unit. They will also be grading each other’s assignments, using a rubric as a guide. In addition, because they are working within a group, they will be grading each partner, considering their contribution to the group.