Fifty StatesPowerPoint Lesson Plan

By: Dottie Barrow

Overview: The information literacy lesson plan will be implemented with a fourth grade unit on the northeastern states. The students will gather specific information on an assigned state. In addition, the students will use the information gathered using the pathfinder to create a PowerPoint presentation.The Pathfinder is included in this lesson plan and it is also located at the following web address as a wiki: http://fredericaknights.pbwiki.com/FrontPage

Assessed GPS Standards:

Grade 4Social StudiesEnglish/Language Arts

SS4G1 – The student will be able to locate important physical and man-made features in the United States.

ELA4W3 – The student uses research and technology to support writing. The student:a. Acknowledges information from sources.b. Locates information in reference texts by using organizational features (i.e.

prefaces, appendices, index, glossary, and table of contents).c. Uses various reference materials (i.e. dictionary, thesaurus, newspapers, and key

words).d. Demonstrates basic keyboarding skills and familiarity with computer terminology

(i.e., software, memory, disk drive, hard drive).

ELA8W3 – The student uses research and technology to support writing. The student:a. Plans and conducts multiple-step information searches by using computer

networks and modems.b. Achieves an effective balance between researched information and original ideas.c. Avoids plagiarism.

ILLSSL Standard 3 – The student who is information literate uses information accurately and creatively.

Indicator 1 - Organizes information for practical application

Indicator 4 - Produces and communicates information and ideas in appropriate formats.

ILLSSL Standard 8 – The student who contributes positively to the learning community and to society is information literate and practices ethical behavior in regard to information and information technology.

Indicator 2 – Respects intellectual property rightsIndicator 3 – Uses information technology responsibly

ILLSSL Standard 9 – The student who contributes positively to the learning community and to society is information literate and participates effectively in groups to pursue and generate information.

Indicator 1 – Shares knowledge and information with others

Procedure:

Step 1 - The educator will develop a sample PowerPoint on a state to show the students how to use the software and to give a sample PowerPoint on a state as a guide to follow for the creation of their own PowerPoint. Step 2 – The educator will show the students the command features of PowerPoint. (See attached instructions handout)Step 3 – Students will create a seven-slide presentation on an assigned northeastern state with information they have gathered using the “50 States Pathfinder”. Step 4 – Students will present their PowerPoint to the class.

Materials and Equipment:

1. Pathfinder handout and also as a wiki - http://fredericaknights.pbwiki.com/FrontPage

2. Computer3. PowerPoint software4. LCD projector and computer for presentation5. Sample state PowerPoint 6. PowerPoint instructions handout7. Fifty States Rubric

Assessment:

Students will be assessed on the PowerPoint presentation using a rubric titled “Fifty States”.

PowerPoint InstructionsStep 1: Start the PowerPoint application.

Step 2: Format - Slide Design. Pick one with good contrast.

Step 3: Add a new slide by selecting Insert- New Slide from the menu.

Step 4: Look at the sample state PowerPoint. Using the given sample PowerPoint, locate the same information for your state.

Step 5: Add transitions to the finished presentation. Go to Slide Show and then Slide Transition. Click on Apply to All Slides.

*To Get Pictures from the Internet:

Right click on pictureGive it a name you will rememberSave to your document folder

*To Insert Pictures into Your PowerPoint

Insert – Picture – from FileGo to your document folderClick on the picture you wantResize using CORNERS

50 States Pathfinder

http://fredericaknights.pbwiki.com/FrontPage

Introduction: The following resources can be used when researching information on the fifty states. You will find information from online sources, print sources and from your schools subscription database.

Keywords and Phrases for Searching: North America United States Names of states, such as Georgia

Online Sources:http://www.infoplease.com/ipa/A0108201.htmlThis site gives historical background information on each state. http://www.50states.com/This site contains information on each state and its capitol.http://www.enchantedlearning.com/usa/states/Connect to this site for state maps, facts and state symbols.http://bensguide.gpo.gov/3-5/state/index.html

Find quick facts at this government site on each state.http://www.shgresources.com/resources/shg_statesA guide to U.S. facts.http://www.americaslibrary.gov/cgi-bin/page.cgi/esThis site has a short introduction to each state and also real stories about life in the state.

Print Sources:Non-Fiction Books917.3 BEA - Bear, John. United States of America: The Land and its People. Morristown, N.J.: Macdonald Educational. 1976.General history of the United States and the people.

917.3 POP - Pope, John. America's Historic Places. New York: The Readers Digest Association, Inc. 1988.Contains more than 350 full-color illustrations of America's historic places.

929.9 SMI - Smith, Whitney. The Flag Book of the United States. New York: William Morrow & Company, Inc. 1975.This book is dated, and some flags have changes since the publishing date. However, it does have great information on the history of state flags and symbols.

973 CAL - Calkins, Carroll. The Story of America. Pleasantville, New York: The Reader's Digest Association, Inc. 1975.

A good site for the history of the United States. Use the index for information on different states.

Set of State Books - Dewey Number 974-979 - My Report Links. Berkley Heights, NJ: Enslow Publishers, Inc. 2003. (Together as a set on the shelf)Explores the geography, climate, government, and history of every state.

Reference BooksR 912.73 RUB - Rubel, David. Scholastic Atlas of the United States. New York: Scholastic, Inc. 2000.This atlas gives clear, detail-oriented maps and vivid landscape photos.

R 912 NAT - National Geographic United States Atlas for Young Explorers. Washington D.C.: National Geographic Society. 1999.Presents information about the regions and states of the United States using maps, illustrations photographs and text.

R 031.02 WOR - The World Almanac for Kids 2007. New York: World Almanac Books. 2006.Great for up to date information on population, governments and even fun facts like how the states got their names.

R 030 WOR - The World Book Encylolpedia. Chicago: World Book, Inc. 2000.Find information on each state in the appropriate volume.

Database Sources

Access to our subscription database requires a password. The link to the database is on the school website.  Ask the Media Center staff for the password.Galileo – Searchasaurus - Use the encyclopedia to search for great information on every state.

RubiStar

  

Rubric Made Using: RubiStar ( http://rubistar.4teachers.org )

HyperStudio/Powerpoint Appearance and Content : Fifty States

Teacher Name: Dottie Barrow

Student Name:     ________________________________________

CATEGORY 4 3 2 1

Background Background does not detract from text or other graphics. Choice of background is consistent from slide to slide. Text is not on top of any graphics.

Background does not detract from text or other graphics. Choice of background is consistent from slide to slide.

Background DOES detract from text or other graphics. There is not enough contrast between text and background.

Background makes it difficult to see text or competes with other graphics on the page.

Text - Font Choice & Formatting

Font is readable and large enough to be read from across a large room. Use same font throughout the entire presentation.

Font is readable close up, but too small to read across a large room.

Font may be a little hard to read.

Font formatting makes it very difficult to read the material.

Use of Graphics All graphics are attractive (size and colors) and support the theme/content of the presentation.

A few graphics are not attractive but all support the theme/content of the presentation.

All graphics are attractive but a few do not seem to support the theme/content of the presentation.

Several graphics are unattractive AND detract from the content of the presentation.

Content - Accuracy

All content throughout the presentation contains accurate facts and graphics on states. There are no factual errors.

Most of the content is accurate on state facts and graphics but there is one piece of information that might be inaccurate.

The content on states facts and graphics is generally accurate, but one piece of information is clearly flawed or inaccurate.

Content on state facts and graphics is typically confusing or contains more than one factual error.

Spelling and Grammar

Presentation has no misspellings or grammatical errors.

Presentation has 1-2 misspellings, but no grammatical errors.

Presentation has 1-2 grammatical errors but no misspellings.

Presentation has more than 2 grammatical and/or spelling errors.

Technical Student knows how to load and run the presentation without help or problems.

Student needs help on at least one of the steps to run the presentation.

Student needs help more than once to run presentation correctly.

Student could not run presentation even with help.

Date Created: Oct 16, 2007 12:53 pm (CDT)

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 Dottie BarrowITEC 7136

Reflection

The fourth grade at Frederica Academy studies the fifty states every year. This

assignment was chosen because the collaborating fourth grade teacher felt like the

PowerPoint project done the previous year with her students was done with very little

instructions on how to create a “quality” PowerPoint. She wanted her students to see and

understand the importance of a quality presentation. We collaborated on this and decided

that the students would be given a template for the PowerPoint with specific information

required on each slide. We understood that some creativity may be taken away with these

specific requirements, but we felt like the focus was more on creating a PowerPoint that

could be seen and understood by the audience.

The first lesson in the computer lab was spent going over the PowerPoint

instructions using the handout. I focused on some of the elements in the assessment

rubric to include background, text and font choice, and inserting graphics. I showed the

sample PowerPoint created by the collaborating teacher and myself. In addition, I spent

some time showing examples of bad PowerPoints and asking the students to identify

what was wrong. For example, did the slides have fonts that were difficult to read, was

there poor contrast, was there too much text and were there too many bells and whistles

that detract?

The second time that the students came in to the lab they set up their template for

seven slides that would be their PowerPoint. The students picked a slide design that had

good contrast and readable fonts. They entered the titles (everyone had the same titles) on

all the slides. This part of the lesson went very smoothly because the collaborating

teacher had done this same project the year before and she knew exactly what she wanted

to do differently. She had communicated all of this to me in advance and I was able to

plan and focus on the things that she felt would help the students create a quality product.

At this point, the collaborating teacher took over to begin the research process. She was

able to guide the students through the use of the pathfinder and the gathering of

information to be used to create the PowerPoint. She shared later with me that the

pathfinder was a great help for the students in locating the information they needed for

the project.

It was a lot of fun to work with this teacher and I think our communication led to

a more meaningful project for the students. They are not finished yet, so I can’t reflect on

their finished products. I do plan to sit in on the presentations to help the collaborating

teacher with the assessment.