The theme of the unit is change – and making an impact. Students are researching, taking stock and understanding how people problem solve.
Students will present their research findings as a group. There are a variety of presentation type applications and programs. I decided on Prezi because it is easy to use and access, and it has many different styles students can play with. Students will need some help managing passwords. As 7th graders, students should be familiar with Power Point, but if the need is there I would consider letting them have the option.
- Design a digital slide-show and craft a short response identifying and explaining the idea(s) from their folders, what impact was made in Tacoma, and maybe what they think the future holds.
- Synthesizing knowledge, crafting a visual report of what stands out to them.
- Analyzing resources and notes to make a decision about what matters most and why.
Examples listed are relevant to a social studies presentation or make use of an interesting format to consider how information is presented.
- Report on the changes, events and ideas in the US by the decade.
- Civil Rights March, very dynamic with images and video embedded.
- Science, Theory of Relativity, Makes use of interesting animations.
- Teacher presentation on what is Social Studies?.
- Using Prezi in the classroom.
Activity types that could make use of this form of technology.
I see this technology making use of the following activity types relevant to a Social Studies classroom:
- Historical Weaving: Students organize information, synthesize key elements and address multiple perspectives.
- Generating Questions: Questions around the concept of change, content, and understanding of the relevancy with regards to their local.
- Inquiry: Into what had happened and what is still evident in Tacoma today.
Things to think about.
Provide time enough to focus, identify and explain insights, and for students to make sense of the learning objectives and purpose of the presentation project. Also, students will need time to discuss what they know about or are learning, generate ideas, craft their understanding of the materials in the files. In addition, for the final reflection piece, materials are to be provided for students who would prefer to draw and scan their images. Consider ways to support students tracking their login information for Prezi as well as the content of the presentation.