Using the Internet for Instruction

Lesson Plan

Title: Symbols of Citizenship
Subject: Social Studies
Grade: 3rd
Overview: This is a jigsaw activity designed as a cooperative learning activity where students will learn how to use several types of helpful and educational websites. Students will be divided into small groups, given websites to research histories of U.S. symbols (U.S. Flag, Bald Eagle, Statue of Liberty) to become experts on assigned symbols. Students will teach other groups and vise versa by making presentations using Glogster and Wordle Websites to present what they have learned.

Objectives: By the end of this lesson, the students will be able to:

• Know the histories the Five Ws (Who? What? When? Where? Why?) of U.S. symbols including the U.S. flag, the bald eagle, the Statue of Liberty
• Who is it about?
• What happened?
• When did it take place?
• Where did it take place?
• Why did it happen?
• Work cooperatively in a small group using Glogster to design their interpretation of their given symbol (U.S. Flag, Bald Eagle, Statue of Liberty) and state the significance of the citizenship symbols they have researched as a group.
• Use Wordly site to generate a “word cloud” from text that they provide which is their definition of a symbol of citizenship.

Online links/Resources:

• U.S. Symbol Background BrainPop video
• U.S. Flag website
• Bald Eagle website
• Statue of Liberty website
• More U.S. Symbols
• Flickr website
• Glogster website
• Wordle website

Brief Description:
Each group will use the online links/websites provided to do research on their symbol: U.S. Flag, Bald Eagle, Statue of Liberty. Next, students will find and save images for their presentation using the Flickr Creative Commons website provided. Then, each group will go to the Glogster website to make an online multimedia poster – with text, photos, videos, graphics, sounds, drawings, data attachments which represents their research findings. Finally, groups will go to the Wordly site link to generate a “word cloud” from text that they provide from their research which explains their definition of citizenship.

Vocabulary:

• Monument: A structure, such as a building or sculpture, erected as a memorial. Statue of Liberty, for example, is an American monument.
• Symbolism: A person, place, action, word, or thing that (by association, resemblance, or convention) represents something other than itself.  For example, the Bald Eagle is a symbol of U.S. freedom.
• Citizens: An person who lives in a particular town, city, state, or country. For example, I am a citizen of the United States.

Assessment:

• Each group will share their Glogster presentations to the class and teacher explaining their symbols history including the Five Ws (Who? What? When? Where? Why?)
• Each group will present their Wordle ‘word cloud’ from text that they provide from their research which explains their definition of citizenship.