Annotated Lesson Plan Form

Name: Virginia Senft

A. Description of Lesson Plan

Academic Subject(s): Science

Grade Level(s): Grade 5 Special Education – Language disabilities, Anxiety

Disorders, and other Health Impairments

Standards Integrated into the Lesson Plan:

 Common Core State Standards or Student Content Standards (e.g., national,
state, or district): Standard and Indicator MSDE Social Studies Curriculum (2014)
5.1.C.1.a Describe individual rights and responsibilities in the United States.
Describe responsibilities associated with certain rights of citizens, such as
freedom of speech, religion, press, and explain why these responsibilities are
important.

 National Educational Technology Standards for Students (2007): Standard

and Indicator(s) 5.3.A.1. Use technology tools, including software and hardware,
from a range of teacher-selected options to learn new content or reinforce skills.

Enduring Understanding: Students will apply the definition of a right and a

responsibility to real life situations.

Learning Objectives for Lesson Plan: Students will communicate how littering affects
their rights and responsibilities at school.

Brief Overview of Lesson: This is part of the government unit where rights,
responsibilities, rules, and laws were already introduced. Discovering litter on the
playground during recess (this occurs daily), students conduct research about litter (laws,
health hazards, and environmental hazards), choose a method of communicating with
school community members at the next monthly assembly, plan, produce the project, and
present the project at the assembly. Students will work in groups of two to three students
with a staff member working with each group (teacher, teaching assistant, speech
language pathologist – push-in during the lesson, and social worker - push-in during the
lesson). This lesson will demonstrate student understanding of rights and responsibilities.

Featured Technologies
 Classroom laptops (3)
 Classroom touch screen computer (1)
 Classroom iPad
 Classroom black/white printer
 Hallway color printer
 Microsoft software
 Clipart access

Check all of the computers and the iPad before school. At the same time, check
the links to the printers. Copy the Learning Page to the student drives.
Other Necessary Materials:

Student white boards, student dry erase markers and erasers, paper, pencils,
student login checklists with user names and passwords, rights and responsibilities poster
made by the class in the previous lessons, classroom white board, assignment and rubric
handouts, playground with litter (after the high school lunch period), table at the
assembly, exit card.

Prerequisite Student Skills):

Students will have completed the unit lessons on rights, responsibilities, laws,
rules, citizenship, and communities. They will know the definition of rights,
responsibilities, laws, and rules and be able to give an example of each from a given list.
Students have working knowledge of the computers and software that they will utilize for
this lesson. If needed, support will be given for technology use.

Procedures/Activities:

 While at recess, make sure that the class sees the litter around the playground.
 In class, at the beginning of social studies: I saw something on the playground
that made me unhappy. Did anything make you unhappy? Lead discussion to the
litter.
 What is a right? A responsibility? Write it on your white board. Students use
their displayed poster if needed. Walk around and observe.
 We are going to work in groups to show what we know about our rights and
responsibilities when if comes to litter on our playground. We have a school
assembly on Friday. We are going to create posters, letters, videos, or pamphlets
that will help other students understand their rights and responsibilities for litter
on our playground.
 Hand out the assignment checklist and project rubric. Review for understanding.
 Students are assigned to groups with a staff member. Each is assigned a laptop or
the touch screen computer. The laptops or touch screen computer will be used for
research and creation of the projects.
 Staff members make observations and provide support as needed.
 Groups move to their assigned location for their group.
 One student in each group logs in and opens the Learning Page in their student
drive.
 Students view each resource on the Learning Page.
 Each group brainstorms how they are going to let other students know their rights
and responsibilities for a litter free playground at the assembly.
 Students use their white boards to make a plan and to assign roles – designer,
keyboarder, writer…
 Students share their project idea and plan with the class at the beginning of day 2.
Students give each other feedback.
 Students create their project with staff support as needed (day 2 and 3). The
projects will be either a pamphlet, flyer, brochure, poster, letter, or video made
using the laptops, touch screen computer, and iPad.
 Students share their projects on a table at the student entrance for the monthly
school assembly.
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  Closure – exit card - What right did you show with your project? What
responsibility?
 Assessment – Project grade using the project rubric, staff observations, and the
exit card.

Checklist: (Large Print per accommodations)

Rights and Responsibilities Project

Put a check mark next to each after you complete it:

____ One member of your group opens the Learning Page

document in their student drive.

____ Explore each link on the Learning Page.

____ Brainstorm what the rights and responsibilities are with

littering. Write them on a whiteboard.

____ Brainstorm a solution for the playground litter problem.

Write it on your whiteboard.

____ Brainstorm a project that your group can make for the
monthly assembly (pamphlet, flyer, brochure, poster, letter,
or a video).

____ Make a plan of what it will look like and list everyone’s job.

____ Your project must tell what the right and responsibility is
with littering.

____ Your project must say if it is good or bad to litter and why or
why not.

____ Your project must suggest a solution for the litter on the
playground problem.

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____ Be ready to share your project with your class and at the
monthly assembly.

Learning Page:

Learning Page
Use this link to learn about rights and responsibilities:

Children and Youth Health – Rights and Responsibilities:

http://www.cyh.com/HealthTopics/HealthTopicDetailsKids.aspx?
p=335&np=307&id=1712

Use these links to learn about litter.

The City of Rockville Law (Sec. 13-62. – Littering):

https://www.municode.com/library/md/rockville/codes/code_of_
ordinances?nodeId=CICO_CH13MIPROF_ARTIIIOTOF_S13-62LI

Conserve Energy Future:

http://www.conserve-energy-future.com/various-littering-
facts.php

Ducksters – The Environment Land Pollution:

http://www.ducksters.com/science/environment/land_pollution.
php

PBS-Kids Lab Video – Setting a Good Example:

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http://pbskids.org/lab/videos/93/

Rubric:
Litter Project Grading

Members of my group:

______________________

______________________

______________________

Category Yes Some No

Says the right
that has to do
with littering

Says the
responsibility
that has to do
with littering
Tells if it is
good or bad to
litter

Tells why
littering is
good or bad

Says a solution
for the litter
problem

Student Assessment and Evaluation

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 The exit card will assess whether a student understands that it is their right to a
litter free playground and that it is their responsibility to not litter. The project rubric will
address whether students understood the concepts of rights and responsibilities of
citizens. Observing will address how much support each student required or if they were
able to express it in ways other than with the exit card or project. Observation will also
address how a student responds to the opening discussion of rights and responsibilities.
Could they provide the definition with or without the assistance of the poster?

Differentiation Techniques:

Students with vision and/or fine motor skills issues will use the touch screen
computer. All students will receive support as needed by the staff member working with
their group. This may be assisting with technology use (reminders and logging in),
facilitating the brainstorming and planning, scribing, shared keyboarding or writing, and
provide frequent movement breaks to reduce anxiety and distraction issues. Each group
brainstorms and produces a project of their choice.

B. Analysis (Rationale)

Rationale for Activities

This lesson uses project based learning. I chose this so that the students would
own their learning and demonstrate their mastery through peer collaboration with
guidance from their teachers (Wolpert- Gawron, 2015). The litter on the playground is a
real life issue that has plagued the school. The elementary school has recess after the
high school students had their lunch on the playground. There are garbage cans and
recycling bins. At least once a week, students have a delayed recess so that staff may
take care of the litter. Presenting their projects at the monthly assembly will assist with
solving the problem. The project and assessments will document mastery of concepts of
rights and responsibilities of citizens of a community.
The Maryland Social Studies Standard is for students to describe rights and
responsibilities in the United States. It is a citizen’s right to have a healthy, trash free
playground. It is a citizen’s responsibility to follow the local law and not litter. The
projects will show that students not only mastered these concepts but have applied them
to their own lives. Per John Dewey’s social activism theory, learning occurs through
hands on activities that deal with real-world events (Roblyer , M.D. & Doering, A.,
2013). The littered playground is a real-life issue for these students.
The progression of this lesson is to provide scaffolding. During the introduction
and the middle of this unit, students learn about rights and responsibilities and provide
examples of each. They created a poster with the definitions and examples. With this
lesson, they review rights and responsibilities and then learn about littering. Students
then apply their knowledge of rights and responsibilities to the litter problem on the
playground. Presenting their projects at the monthly assembly makes the project real for
them while providing a sense of accomplishment.
The school is comprised of students from pre-school through grade 12. This is a
private, non-profit special education school with private and public paid students. All
students have individualized lesson plans with diagnosis of learning disabilities, language
disabilities (expressive, receptive, and pragmatic), fine motor disabilities, executive
function disabilities, anxiety disorders, autism, and other health impairments. This lesson
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with the support given is appropriate for the grade 5 classroom’s abilities and needs. The
facilitated support is needed per accommodations listed on student plans. Privacy issues
are met by students only presenting to the school community during the school day.
Differentiation of materials and final project would occur to level the playing field for
each student and their needs.
The learning in this lesson will be significant to the students for two reasons.
First, litter is a real problem for them. Secondly, the fifth graders adore the older students
and seek interaction with them. This lesson has them doing something positive regarding
the litter and gives them interaction with the older students. Both of these reasons
support that students will be able to apply the meaning of rights and responsibilities to a
real life situation.

Explanation of Technology Integration:

The technologies in this lesson are Microsoft software (includes Office and
Explorer, iPads, laptops, touch screen computers, printers, and clipart software). The
lesson begins with using technology in “Augmentation”, reviewing and learning with
technology tools. The lesson moves into “Modified” when students make a choice of a
project and use the technology to make it (Shrock, 2015). The students will need to apply
the definitions of rights and responsibilities to the littering problems. They will then need
to use the technology to convey their knowledge. Their project’s goal is to educate the
other students and to prevent future littering.
The students could accomplish this goal without the technology. However, the
grade 5 students would have problems creating projects that others would understand.
Students in this class have fine motor skill goals and accommodations. Students may
become frustrated when presented with writing and drawing tasks. Utilization of the
technology enables all to create a project that they will be proud of and that others would
be able to comprehend.

C. Reflection

This is the first lesson that I have written using backward planning. First, I
thought of a need that I had at the end of the government unit. Reflecting on the common
occurrence of litter on the playground, I knew that I had a problem for the students to
solve. Knowing that the students should be able to complete a project and choose the
format of it presented a challenge. The projects had to be possible with staff support as
needed and accommodations per student individualized lesson plans. Identification of the
resources that were appropriate was challenging. In the past, I would use paper resources
for student research. Once I figured out that I could put the Learning Page in each
student’s drive, this integration of technology became easier. I learned how to use the
school’s intranet for this. This will assist with planning future lessons.

In a well-organized essay (with introduction and conclusion and good support), reflect
on what you learned through planning this lesson and through the peer review process.
Include the following points.

Your Learning about Technology and Teaching:

Writing this lesson has taught me how to backward plan with project based
learning. It also forced me to explore new ways to use technology in the classroom. I

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had been stuck at it being too time consuming and difficult for the students. This lesson
has provided me with the knowledge that it can be accomplished.

Future Explorations:
Obstacles may occur with connection problems. Also, staff and student absences
could change the group dynamics. This could cause delays in completion of the lesson.
Another obstacle could arise through miscommunication of the goals, procedures, and
outcomes of this lesson with assisting staff.

Once your colleagues have given you feedback on your lesson plan, please add to your
reflection the following:

Learning from Peer Review:

The main thing that I learned from the peer reviews of my lesson plan is that I do
not always explain all of the steps in the lesson. My peers pointed out that I was not
clear on how the technology was to be utilized during the lesson. I added details to
what kind of projects the students were going to make and what technology they were
going to use. Also, I did not include the Learning Page or the rubric with the draft
that my peers reviewed. I included them in this lesson plan.
I have only thought of using technology in the general classroom. I learned about
the challenge of using technology in music classes. Specials teachers need to think
outside of the box to utilize technology. Music teachers do not necessarily know the
technology abilities of their students. Collaboration with team members is necessary
for technology to work with all classrooms.

D. References and Annotated References

Kukreh, R. (2015). Conserve-Energy Future: What is Littering? Retrieved from

http://www.conserve-energy-future.com/various-littering-facts.php
This page was used on the Learning Page.

Municode: Rockville, Maryland (2015). Retrieved from

https://www.municode.com/library/md/rockville/codes/code_of_ordinances?
nodeId=CICO_CH13MIPROF_ARTIIIOTOF_S13-62LI
This page was used on the Learning Page.

Public Broadcasting Service: PBS-Kids Setting a Good Example (2015). Retreived from
http://pbskids.org/lab/videos/93/
This page was used on the Learning Page.

Roblyer, M.D. & Doering, A. H. Integrating Educational Technology into Teaching.

Boston, MA: Pearson.

Shrock, K. (2015, September 30). Kathy Shrock’s Guide to Everything: SAMR and
Bloom’s. Retrieved from http://www.schrockguide.net/samr.html

Technical Solutions Inc. – Ducksters: The Environment Land Pollution (2015,

September). Retrieved from
http://www.ducksters.com/science/environment/land_pollution.php
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 This page was used on the Learning Page.

Wolper-Gawron, H. (2015, August 15). What the Heck is Project-Based Learning?

Retrieved from http://www.edutopia.org/blog/what-heck-project-based-learning-
heather-wolpert-gawron

Women’s can Children’s Health Network: Kids’ Health: Rights and Responsibilities
(2015, July 13). Retrieved from
http://www.cyh.com/HealthTopics/HealthTopicDetailsKids.aspx?
p=335&np=307&id=1712
This page was used on the Learning Page.