Before Strategy/Engage:
Pose the Essential Question to students, How can I be responsible? (Students are answering the question relating to their responsibilities in all ways of life.) Have the students turn and talk with partners to share their thinking. After a few minutes, have a few volunteers share what they discussed with their partner to the class. Give partners another chance to turn and talk a second time. This time have students use a graphic organizer to organize their thinking while talking and sharing with their partner. The graphic organizer will be a "Main Idea Tree." The students will list How can I be responsible? as the main idea. Then, the students can list ways they can be responsible in the details section (trunk section of the tree). Tell students to brainstorm examples of things that relate to the Essential Question, How can I be responsible? Ask students to think of things that happen every day in their lives. After completing their graphic organizers, students will use the SeeSaw app to take a picture of their graphic organizer and share it on the class journal. SeeSaw has a feature that allows students to use voice narration to explain the examples they placed on the graphic organizer. Students are encouraged to work on this portion of the assignment in collaborative teams.
During Strategy/Explore/Explain:
Activity 1- Research
As a class, discuss the question, “How can I motivate others to prepare for a natural disaster?” After discussing this question, students will conduct research on the question. Students will use a research tool to conduct research in collaborative groups. Students will use Symbaloo to bookmark the websites/pages they find during research. Here are some links that students may utilize to find information on natural disasters and on preparedness:
Next, students will use their research to create motivational posters focusing on natural disasters. Explain to students that it is similar to an ad in a newspaper. For example, you might see an ad convincing someone to buy a product. Tell the students they are making a poster to motivate people to prepare for natural disasters. After completing their paper posters, students will then turn their paper posters into electronic posters. Students will use Adobe Spark to create their poster. If necessary, give students an example of a motivational poster for reference.
Students will also share their electronic posters on the Google Sites after completion. The class will share one Google Site, so the teacher will upload the electronic poster after the students have completed it.
Activity 2- Digital Story
After students have gathered their information and research, they will create a digital story about a natural disaster. They will select one natural disaster to focus on. They can utilize the research they have already gathered from the first activity, or they can find a book online or in the library to create a digital story. Pose the question, “How can I inform others to prepare for a natural disaster?” Students will use information from their research to answer this question. First, students must create a storyboard/script that has information about their selected natural disaster. They may work independently or with a partner. After students have completed their storyboard/script, they will start on their digital story. Here is an example of a storyboard/script that can be shared with the students as an example of what is expected. Students have a choice of using Screencast-O-Matic, Jing, or WeVideo to record their digital story. Here is an example of a digital story that can be shared with the class so the students will know what is expected of them. Depending on the abilities of the students, different degrees of support and scaffolding may be needed. Teachers in learner-centered classrooms should provide students with as much choice as possible while they are creating their products. After students have finished their digital story, the teacher will add the student-created videos to a class Google Site. The class Google Site link can be shared with parents and the school.
After Strategy/Explain, Elaborate:
Revisit the question, “How can I be responsible?” Have students post a reflection on a teacher-created FlipGrid page on additional ways they can be prepared for natural disasters they may not have discussed in activity 2. Encourage students to return to FlipGrid to watch their classmates’ responses in order to promote long-term retention of the information.
