Francesca Madonna

Professor Dawson
InTASC Category 2: Content. EDU 3224
Today’s teachers make content 10 December 2020
knowledge accessible to learners by
using multiple means of communication,
including digital media and information
technology.

Evidence
The standard that I am going to be achieving is
Ninth through Twelfth grade Civics, “C - 3.1.4: Examine
and evaluate the effectiveness of the role of separation of
powers and checks and balances in regard to the
distribution of power and authority between the three
branches of government”. The learning target is for the
students to be able to distinguish between the three major
branches of the United States government.

Lesson Narrative
Students will have meaningful learning experiences with technology. I will present
to my class a PowerPoint presentation that includes a quick video, examples that include
visual aids, and a Kahoot review game at the end of the lesson to assess their
understanding. I believe these uses of technology will best enhance my lesson and the
learning experience for my students because it will allow them to compete against each
other while also giving me important data. I also think the video will capture their attention
and help them to further comprehend the material. Finally, a PowerPoint presentation will
help the students to follow along with the material that I am going to be teaching them.
 Differentiation
1. Student #1 has dyslexia. One way I can differentiate my lesson plan is by printing out the
slides for this student and making the print easier to read by enlarging the font. For the
Kahoot game, I can also print out the questions that are included and enlarge the font and
have them circle their answers on the paper or their technology piece as the rest of the
class answers.
2. Student #2 has an intellectual disability. One way I can differentiate my lesson is by
allowing more time in between slides for any questions and making myself available
during any breaks I may have, or before or after class. Another way is I create a video on
Hippo Video that talks about this concept in a more broken down, but simpler view. I will
put this video on my Google Classroom/Online Classroom so that Student #2 will always
have an option to refer back to this video to help their understanding.
3. Student #3 is Gifted & Talented. How I can differentiate my instruction for this student is
by instead of assigning the homework I had originally planned for the class; I can assign
them something else. Using Kialo Edu, Student #3 can create a list of Pros and Cons of
the three branches involved in the United States government. This differentiation can
challenge their thinking in an effective way.

Reflection
I chose to design my lesson this way because I believe it will keep the students focused, but also
on their toes. This approach reflects the teaching strategy of direct instruction, but also the use of
imagination. The warmup question I have come up with for this lesson requires the students to imagine
themselves as the President of the United States and think about the steps that they need to take in order to
declare war on a country that has attacked the country. But, during my lesson as we are discussing the
different branches of the government, I bring in real life examples of when each branch used their powers.
I think the weakest part of my lesson is the examples I came up with to check the students' understanding
on the subject. The most important thing this lesson has taught me about teaching is that as a teacher you
need to convey the passion in your tone of voice and make the presentation more enjoyable for the
students. That is why I chose to include Kahoot at the end of the lesson to bring more energy to the
classroom.

I presented this lesson to one of my college classes. One thing I noticed that I would like to change
is how I relayed the information to my classmates. I would like to have more enthusiasm in my voice the
next time I teach a lesson. I also think that I presented the information really quickly. For my observation
from Mr. Dawson with a different lesson, he told me that I should work on the speed of my presentation
and also allow for more wait time.

I really like incorporating technology into my lessons because I feel like it helps to captivate the
students. I believe a video at the beginning of the lesson can help with frontloading and or using a video at
the end of the lesson can help with driving the important concepts home. For differentiation, I think
technology can be useful and can definitely help the student who has special needs become successful.