Geography lesson and Voki

Using Technology to Support Authentic Instruction

Lesson Plan

Title: Country Creativity Project

Standard: Fourth grade: 

History Social-Science:4.1.1 Explain and use the coordinate grid system of latitude and longitude to determine the absolute locations of places in California and on Earth.

English Language Arts:2.3 Write information reports:

a. Frame a central question about an issue or situation.

1. Include facts and details for focus. 
2. Draw from more than one source of information (e.g., speakers, books, newspapers,

other media sources).

Outcome: Students will...

1. Discover where major continents are located on the map
2. Where these continents are located in reference to longitude and latitude
3. The capitals of the country (longitude/latitude)
4. Present facts about the countries’ population, economy, culture, language(s), and name its bird and flower
5. Create a blog where they will post their findings in a research paper format 
6. Add their Voki character to blog
7. Add a song or video about their country to their blog 

Materials and Resources: 

Internet access

www.blogspot.com

www.Voki.com

http://www.abcya.com/childrens_latitude_and_longitude_practice.htm

http://kids.nationalgeographic.com/kids/places/

Notebook 

World map (per student)

Flashcards (7 per student)

Rubric (student-teacher created)

Procedures: Students will be placed into seven groups. Students will vote and decide what country they will research. They will conduct research using the National Geographic website for kids. Students will write down their required information on their flashcards. Students will write a draft of their findings in a notebook and have their peers review it. After the final review by the teacher students will create a group blog dedicated to their country and post their research paper on it separately. Students will then use Voki.com to create a character that will look similar to those people in their country. They will choose an appropriate background, clothing, voice, and overall look. They will then type in the name of their country, its bird and flower for the character to say. Their character will then be posted (shared) on their blog. 

Assessment: Students will use a rubric they created collaboratively in the beginning of the project with the teacher. Students will have a copy of the grading rubric while working on their project to make sure all requirements are met.

Attachments: 

Example of a Voki character: http://yungteach951.blogspot.com/2011/03/geography-lesson-and-voki.html

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