Micro Lesson #1: Phase 1

MICRO LESSON #1:

I. RATIONALE:

This lesson is tied closely to the Arizona state standards for Social Studies, English Language Arts, and Educational Technology and the ISTE standards for students. Students will be learning what propaganda is and be looking at examples of it from during the space race. Students will be exposed to individual work time, small group, and whole group discussion. In addition, students will have the opportunity to create their own propaganda poster about something that is important to them.

II. OVERVIEW

Grade Level: 6th

Subject(s): Social Studies, English Language Arts, and Technology

Topic of Study: United States and Soviet Russia during the Space Race & Propaganda

Time Allotment: 30 minutes

Standards:

• 6th Grade English Language Arts:

Text Types and Purposes

6. W. 1: Write arguments to support claims with clear reasons and relevant evidence.

C. Use words, phrases, and clauses to clarify the relationships among claim(s) and reasons.

• 6th Grade Social Studies:

Strand 1: American History

Concept 10: Contemporary United States

PO 1. Describe current events using information from class discussions and various resources (e.g., newspapers, magazines, television, Internet, books, maps).

• 6th Grade Educational Technology:

Concept 4: Original Works

Use technology to create original works in innovative ways.

PO 1. Analyze information using digital creativity tools to create original works and express ideas.

• ISTE Standard for Students:

6. Creative Communicator

6a. Students choose the appropriate platforms and tools for meeting the desired objectives of their creation and communication.

6b. Students create original works or responsibly repurpose or remix digital resources into new creations.

Objectives:

• Students will be able to use words, phrases, and clauses to clarify their claim about a current event.
• Students will be able to describe a current event using technological resources.
• Students will be able to design a digital propaganda poster that will describe their opinion on a current event of their choosing.   

III. IMPLEMENTATION

***Prior to this lesson, students have already defined propaganda as a class, studied and analyzed examples of propaganda posters from the Space Race, and have identified a few different propaganda techniques. ***

1. Students will have previously looked at four Space Race Propaganda posters. As a warmup, students will have 5 minute discussions in their pods to review the propaganda posters.
2. As a class, we will make a list of the characteristics that make an effective propaganda poster. To do this, students will draw on their prior knowledge of discussions from propaganda techniques and the posters we have studied.
3. Next, give students a minute to think about a current event that is important to them. It could be any political or social movement or an event occuring in their community/home/in their family. We will briefly talk about the Red for Ed Movement, as an example of a social or political movement for students to reference. On the board, we will collect ideas of recent events that are important to the students.
4. Students will then choose their technology that they want to use to create their own propaganda poster. They will have the option of using apps on the iPad, the “Create” app on the HP Sprout, or digital poster websites that I will provide.
1. Sprout: “Create” app on the touch mat
2. Using internet on the iMac, PC, or Sprout: https://www.postermywall.com/index.php/posterbuilder or https://www.fotojet.com/features/poster/
5. Students will have 15 minutes to create their propaganda poster. While the students are working on their propaganda posters, the teacher will walk around the classroom and will make observations on the students’ progress and help them with their products.  
6. Once students have completed their propaganda poster, they will email it to the following email address: ajh489@nau.edu . There will be instructions for students to follow when sending their posters to the teachers email.
7. For the remaining 5 minutes, a few students will share their propaganda posters to the class.

IV. ASSESSMENT

There is two different types of assessment for this micro-lesson, formative and summative. As a formative assessment, the teacher will keep track of students responses during the review portion of this lesson. The teacher will also utilize observation while students are creating their propaganda poster. For the summative assessment, the teacher will be looking at the propaganda posters and assessing it based on the checklist below. This checklist was created closely based off of the objectives that were formed from the standards.

Grading Checklist

• Words, phrases and/or clauses are included on their propaganda poster ____/ 10
• Word choice for the words, phrases, and/or clauses are clear and represents their claim for a current event  ____/ 10
• The propaganda poster was created using one of the technological sources provided  ____/ 5

• Total Score: ___/25
• Comments/Additional Feedback:

IIV. MATERIALS AND RESOURCES

1. Space Race Propaganda Poster #1 → Soviet Union
2. Space Race Propaganda Poster #2 → Soviet Union
3. Space Race Propaganda Poster #3 → United States
4. Space Race Propaganda Poster #4 → United States
5. “Create Your Propaganda Poster” Instructional Guide
6. Google Forms

Space Race Propaganda Poster #1

Translation: “In the name of peace.”

Space Race Propaganda Poster #2

Translation: "Soviet man - be proud, you opened the road to stars from Earth!"

Space Race Propaganda Poster #3

Space Race Propaganda Poster #4

Create Your Propaganda Poster

Instructions:

Once you have completed your propaganda poster send it to the following email: ajh489@nau.edu

iMac/PC/Sprout websites: https://www.fotojet.com/features/poster/  or https://www.postermywall.com/index.php/posterbuilder

1. Foto Jet: To send the poster to the email, click the button on the top bar of the webpage. Make the size of the image medium and click save. Then click the “save for free now” button. Once the document has downloaded on the computer, attach it to the email you send me.
2. Poster My Wall: To send the poster to the email, click the on the top right of the webpage. The option on the far right, says “Free!” Look for the button and click it to save your poster to your computer. Once it is downloaded to your computer, attach it to your email that you send me!

HP Sprout “Create” app:

1. Save the image to your computer and send it to the email.

Section I: Reflecting on Assessing Prior Knowledge and Planning Instruction

• What do the students need to know prior to the lesson?
• Prior to this lesson, students will need to know the definition of propaganda, elements of an effective propaganda poster, and different propaganda techniques.
• How will prior knowledge and experience be assessed?
• I will be able to assess prior knowledge with a warm-up using small and whole group discussion about the elements we have learned about previously.
• How will you use this information in the planning process?
• Depending on the results of the small and whole group discussion for the warm-up, I will adapt my lesson accordingly. If they seem to not have the prior experience as planned for this lesson, we will go back and reteach those concepts. If they are more advanced than thought out for this lesson, I will go more in depth about propaganda.  

• Why should the content of this lesson be taught at this grade level?
• Propaganda should be taught at this grade level as it is an effective form of an opinion piece. Students experience propaganda all around them and can easily relate to the different forms of propaganda they see in social media.
• How do the objectives that you have for the lesson align with the standards?
• The objectives that I have created for this lesson, align directly to the standards chosen for this lesson. The standards discuss using words, phrases, and claims to clarify a claims and the reasons for that claim. Therefore, my first object aligns directly to that students use words, phrases and claims to clarify their claim about a current event. The next standard says that students will describe current events using various resources, including technology. This is why the second objective goes over students being able to use technological resources to describe their event. That same standard also inspired the last objective, which says that students will be able to describe their claim on a current event of their choosing by creating a digital propaganda poster.
• When will the lesson be taught in the course of the school year? Why?
• This lesson would most likely be taught during the middle of the school year. When students are learning about opinion pieces, I would introduce propaganda, as it is a form of sharing an opinion.

Section II: Reflecting on Designing Instruction (In Task Standards 7 and 8)

• Why are you using the instructional methods you have described?
• I am using the instructional methods I have described in the implementation section because it incorporates whole class, small group, and individual work-time. Students will have the opportunity to be engaged in a whole class and small group discussion, where they will get to experience different perspectives. Students will also have the opportunity to expand upon their own opinions about current events that are important to them, which makes their learning relevant.
• How do the instructional methods align with what you know about best practices (think about your methods classes)?
• I know one of the best practices, as discussed in various methods classes, is engagement. Students are engaged in this lesson because they have the opportunity to explore something that is relevant to their lives and create a product that is important to them. As it is hands-on, they have the opportunity to be involved from the start of this lesson to the end.
• How is your lesson designed to meet the needs of all students? ? (Use the the UDL guidelines as a resource)
• Students have various options to create their propaganda poster. Student choice is present for when they want to choose their current event. In addition, for students with disabilities, there is various of ways in which they can present their poster.

Section III: Reflecting on Planning Assessment (In Task Standard 6):

• How does the assessment align with the standards and objectives of this lesson?
• I have pulled the elements of the grading checklist for this lesson directly from the objectives, which were directly designed from the standards. The elements from the checklist, objectives, and standards all correlate to using words, phrases, and clauses to design a digital propaganda poster.
• How does the assessment demonstrate that the students have been successful in learning the content?
• Using the checklist, I will be able to see if they have successfully created their own poster, using the elements of the standards and objectives, as they are clearly communicated in the checklist.
• How does the assessment demonstrate student engagement in higher order thinking?
• It demonstrates higher order thinking as students have to consider the elements of an effective propaganda poster and create their own poster that represents their claim. They will have to analyze a current event, form their claim on the event, and translate their opinion into a few short words or phrases.
• How does the assessment demonstrate that individual student needs were met?
• Since each student is creating their own propaganda poster, I will be able to assess them individually to make sure they have mastered the concepts mentioned in the checklist.

Section IV: Reflecting on How your lesson meet each of the ISTE NETs Standards?

1. How does your lesson meet Standard 1: Facilitate and Inspire Student Learning and Creativity ?
1. This lesson is very engaging for students as they have the opportunity to explore their own beliefs in an educational setting. They also have the opportunities to explore their creative side when creating their own propaganda poster. They are also exploring their creative side using various technological resources provided.
2. How does your lesson meet Standard 2: Provide Digital-Age Learning Experiences and Assessments?
1. Students have digital age learning experiences and assessments, as they are creating their entire product using the internet or other technology. They get to explore what technology offers them for poster making, and use their knowledge of propaganda posters to make their own digital version.
3. How does your lesson meet Standard 3: Model Digital-Age Work & Learning?
1. This lesson is mostly modeled digitally. They will be creating the product in a digital format and turn it in digitally.
4. How does your lesson Meet all four elements of Standard 4: Promote and Model Digital Citizenship and Responsibility by:
• advocating, modeling, and teaching safe, legal, and ethical use of digital information and technology, including respect for copyright, intellectual property, and the appropriate documentation of sources.
1. Students will be given the websites they are using for this lesson. They will get to practice safe, legal, and ethical use as they will be going to specific websites and not searching around, getting into dangerous or harmful webpages. The teacher will also be observing students working to insure that they are following these guidelines.
• addressing the diverse needs of all learners by using learner-centered strategies providing equitable access to appropriate digital tools and resources.
1. Since this lesson will only involve the use of technology in class, it is equitable as all students will have access to technology to complete their digital poster. Students will all be unfamiliar with the webpages used to create the digital posters, so they will all be on a level playing field.
• promoting and modeling digital etiquette and responsible social interactions related to the use of technology and information.
1. Since this lesson would be taught in the middle of a school year, students would already been made aware of the expectations and proper etiquette used for technology. The teacher will monitor to insure these expectations are met throughout the duration of this lesson.  
• developing and modeling cultural understanding and global awareness by engaging with colleagues and students of other cultures using digital-age communication and collaboration tools.
1. Students are not collaborating with students from other cultures. However, since students are choosing their own current events, students can be engaged in other cultures current events, if students choose events from their culture and get to experience those students propaganda posters. This would heavily touch on students’ global awareness.