Learning Environment E-Portfolio

Robert Lundhild and Anne Hodgskiss

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Unit Plan

This unit is designed for elementary students in the third grade. Most children around this age usually have an appreciation of dinosaurs. This unit is designed to manipulate that interest integrating the application of technology and other academic skills, predominantly math and science domains. If children see how a computer program can be applied towards something they have an intrinsic interest about, they may be more open and eager to learn about technology.

Dinosaurs provide a backdrop for children to explore while technological skills are integrated into their individual discoveries. These lessons can be based on something else, but we have chosen dinosaurs.

The overall objective for the unit is for students to become familiar with different computer programs that are relevant to their future academic success. At the very least children should become comfortable using the various software applications, and they should become aware of how these programs could be personally applied to their daily lives. If students can see technology as a useful tool in their lives, then they will be more likely to utilize it in the future.

The software programs that have been selected are:
  • Microsoft Power Point
  • Microsoft Excel
  • Inspiration
These programs have a multitude of applications and can be utilized in many different academic settings. If students can learn to use these programs and become comfortable with them, then they may start to use them on a frequent basis improving their performance in academics.
Another skill that is incorporated into this unit is using the Internet effectively for acquiring needed information. The Internet is a powerful and practical tool that is not properly utilized by many students. If students can learn to effectively search for information and assess what is good data and bad data they will become skilled in wielding the Internet effectively in the future. The unit will consist of the following lessons:
  • 2 information treasure hunts facilitating effective Internet research skills.
  • 2 Microsoft Excel lessons facilitating manipulation of numbers.
  • 2 Microsoft Power Point lessons demonstrating effective presentations of information.
  • 1 Inspiration lesson conveying the construction of cognitive maps.
Each lesson plan can be expanded or altered as seen fit by instructors. Each lesson plan will roughly take between one to two hours to execute. The overall dinosaur themed unit should take approximately two weeks to complete, but could be modified and expanded up to three weeks. The classroom teacher could deem it necessary to develop original lesson plans that facilitate repetitive practice for students to truly master these technological skills to a mastery level.

Speed is not the emphasis on these projects, but rather the exposure to, and the effective application of these software programs towards the designated tasks. Once students become comfortable with the software they will be more inclined to apply it to other subjects in their curriculum. Once a class is competent with the programs, the teacher could deviate from the dinosaur theme and apply these skills towards a more relevant and meaningful subject matter in his or her students lives.


Lesson Plans

Lesson Plan: Dinosaur Types using PowerPoint

Lesson Plan: Inspiration Cognitive Map of Dinosaur Types

Lesson Plan: Dinosaur Measures Spreadsheet Work using Excel

Lesson Plan: My Favorite Dinosaur Spread Sheet with Excel

Lesson Plan: Fossils: An Internet Based Treasure Hunt

Lesson Plan: Dinosaur Extinction: An Internet Based Treasure Hunt

Lesson Plan: PowerPoint Introduction to the Metric System

Last Updated December 7, 2003
For information about this page, contact Anne Hodgskiss and Robert Lundhild.
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