Teaching & Learning Guide

Final Products

Podcasts

    • Students will complete a 6-12 minutes podcast on the topic of their choice as long as it relates to Alabama history.

Journal writing

    • Students will use their online portfolios to write about each process of creating their process. The responses must be at least 150 words.

Week1: What is the title of your podcast and how did you and your team come to this conclusion?

Week 2: How did you decide on who you would work with for this project?

Week 3: Was writing the script hard for you as a group? How did you all handle the task? Was there one person designated as the lead or did you all work as a team?

Week 4: How did you decide on the editing and publishing tools you would use for your podcast?

Week 5: Did you enjoy creating your podcast? Would you like to create more podcasts in the future? If so, would you pick the same teammates? Why or why not?

Week 6: Whose podcast was your favorite? Give reasons as to why you chose the podcast.

Script writing

    • Students will use a collaborative document (Google Docs or Google Slides) to complete their scripts as a team or group.

Peer reviews

    • Students will review one another's scripts by posting comments in Google Docs or Google Slides.

Learning Targets

English Language Arts:

    • Write informative or explanatory texts to examine a topic and convey ideas and information clearly. [W.4.2]
    • Write narratives to develop real or imagined experiences or events using effective technique, descriptive details, and clear event sequences. [W.4.3]
    • Produce clear and coherent writing in which the development and organization are appropriate to task, purpose, and audience. [W.4.4]
    • With guidance and support from peers and adults, develop and strengthen writing as needed by planning, revising, and editing. [W.4.5]
    • With some guidance and support from adults, use technology, including the Internet, to produce and publish writing as well as to interact and collaborate with others; demonstrate sufficient command of keyboarding skills to type a minimum of one page in a single sitting. [W.4.6]
    • Engage effectively in a range of collaborative discussions (one-on-one, in groups, and teacher-led) with diverse partners on Grade 4 topics and texts, building on others' ideas and expressing their own clearly. [SL.4.1]
    • Demonstrate command of the conventions of Standard English grammar and usage when writing or speaking. [L.4.1]

Social Studies:

    • Explain the social, political, and economic impact of the War of 1812, including battles and significant leaders of the Creek War, on Alabama.
    • Explain reasons for Alabama's secession from the Union, including sectionalism, slavery, states' rights, and economic disagreements.
    • Analyze political and economic issues facing Alabama during Reconstruction for their impact on various social groups.
    • Analyze social and educational changes during the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries for their impact on Alabama.
    • Describe the economic and social impact of World War II on Alabamians, including entry of women into the workforce, increase in job opportunities, rationing, utilization of Alabama's military installations, military recruitment, the draft, and a rise in racial consciousness.
    • Analyze the modern Civil Rights Movement to determine the social, political, and economic impact on Alabama.

Digital Literacy & Computer Science:

    • Locate and curate information from digital sources to answer research questions.
    • Produce, review, and revise authentic artifacts that include multimedia using appropriate digital tools.
    • Use basic features of digital tools to communicate key ideas and details in a way that informs and/or persuades.
    • Synthesize complex information from multiple sources in different ways to make it more useful and/or relevant.
    • Conduct complex keyword searches to produce valid, appropriate results and evaluate results for accuracy, relevance, and appropriateness.
    • Demonstrate an appropriate level of proficiency in performing tasks using a range of digital devices.

21st Century Skills:

    • Creativity
    • Collaboration
    • Critical thinking
    • Social skills
    • Initiative
    • Flexibility
    • Communication
    • Leadership
    • Productivity
    • Informational literacy
    • Media literacy
    • Technological literacy

Formative Assessments

Journal entries

    • Students will use their online portfolios to write about each process of creating their process. The responses must be at least 150 words.

Week1: What is the title of your podcast and how did you and your team come to this conclusion?

Week 2: How did you decide on who you would work with for this project?

Week 3: Was writing the script hard for you as a group? How did you all handle the task? Was there one person designated as the lead or did you all work as a team?

Week 4: How did you decide on the editing and publishing tools you would use for your podcast?

Week 5: Did you enjoy creating your podcast? Would you like to create more podcasts in the future? If so, would you pick the same teammates? Why or why not?

Week 6: Whose podcast was your favorite? Give reasons as to why you chose the podcast.

Script writing

    • Students will use Google Docs or Google Slides to write their scripts. The document will be collaborative. Every student on the team or in the group will work on that one document.

Brainstorming

    • Students will use Coogle, Mindmeister, or Popplet to brainstorm on the topics of their choice regarding their podcast.
    • Students will also brainstorm with the teacher using the classroom whiteboard and expo markers.

Peer reviews

    • Students will give peer reviews of one another's scripts by leaving comments on their Google Doc or Google Slides and give feedback on one another's completed podcasts.

Instructional Strategies

The teacher will serve as a facilitator who shares responsibilities with the students. The teachers will provide ongoing feedback during small and whole group instruction and on documents created through GSuite (journal writing, online portfolios, peer reviews, and brainstorming). Students will peer review one another's scripts and podcasts. The teachers will meet with each student at the end of the project to discuss their evaluations based on the Podcast Rubric. Students will also provide their thoughts on the process using Flipgrid. Podcasts will be shared through the school's social media page.

Differentiation

  • Students will be placed in teams or groups of their choice.
  • Reflections through journals
  • Allow students to set goals at the beginning of the project
  • Allow students to meet periodically throughout the day/week so they can discuss new ideas they may have had or information they may have come across
  • Give students a variety of resources and allow them to choose the ones they feel comfortable using: