Unit Plan Template

Intel® Teach Program

Thinking with Technology Course

Global Warming Unit Plan

Unit Author
First and Last Name / Linda Pruett
School District / St. James R-1 School District
School Name
School City, State / St. James, MO
Unit Overview
Unit Title
Science/Math – Global Warming – What Can I Do?
Unit Summary
Students will examine data available on the greenhouse effect and create a chart to explain the data they have found.
Students will develop a plan to implement in their own home to help with decreasing global warming.
Subject Area
5th Grade Math
5th Grade Science
Grade Level
5th Grade
Approximate Time Needed
This class will take approximately 50 minutes per day for 7 days.
Day 1 –
· Explore activity on youtube
· Brainstorming activity - Visual Ranking Tool: Break into teams of 2. Get into the visual ranking tool and let kids experiment with their thoughts on global warming.
· In groups of 2 test your climate change knowledge - http://epa.gov/climatechange/kids/games/index.html
· Share out using the Smartboard.
· Discuss the project goals.
Day 2 – break into groups of four.
Group 1 – Research specific websites with data. Collect data on handouts. Students will design a chart using their own format to represent the data on the greenhouse effect. Each student will research the site and gather different data based on the handout provided.
Group 2 – Research what the greenhouse effect is. Record answers on a handout. Use “Seeing Reasoning” thinking tool to formatively assess if students see how things positively and negatively affect global warming.
Group 3 – Research ways to reduce the greenhouse effect.
Group 4 – Read fiction and non-fiction books in class with global warming/climate change in the theme. Students will journal about their books.
Day 3 - Rotate groups through each rotation listed above
Day 4 – Rotate groups through each rotation listed above
Day 5 – Rotate groups through each rotation listed above
Day 6 – Create posters for ways to decrease global warming at home. Present posters to class.
Day 7 – Present plans in class. Share data charts created. Take a constructed response final exam.
Unit Foundation
Habits of Learning Taxonomy
Bloom’s Taxonomy:
Analyzing - Breaking information into parts to explore understandings and relationships
Evaluating - Judging value based on criteria; justifying a decision/ course of action
Habits of Mind:
· Questioning and Posing Problems: Knowing how to ask questions to fill in the gaps between what is known and unknown. Ability to recognize discrepancies and phenomena in one's environment and probe into their causes.
· Thinking about Thinking: Ability to develop a plan of action, maintain that plan in mind over a period of time, and then reflect back on and evaluate the plan upon its completion. Aware of one's actions and the effect of those actions on others and on the environment. Ability to explain one's strategies of decision making.
Marzano’s Dimensions of Learning:
Dimension 4: Students learn best when they need knowledge to accomplish a goal that is meaningful to them
- Decision Making
- Investigation
- Experimental Inquiry
- Problem Solving
- Systems Analysis
Targeted Content Standards and Benchmarks
Missouri Grade Level Expectations:
5th Grade Math A 2 A (DOK 2) – Applying Other’s Strategies - represent a mathematical situation as an expression or number sentence using a letter or symbol or chart
5th Grade Science ES 2 A (DOK 2) - Describe how weathering agents (e.g., water, chemicals, temperature, wind, plants) cause surface changes that create and/or change Earth’s surface materials and/or landforms/ bodies of water
5th Grade Science – ES 2 E (DOK 2) - Identify the different forms water can take (e.g., snow, rain, sleet, fog, clouds, dew) as it moves through the water cycle
NETS-S standard 3:
Research and Information Fluency:
Students apply digital tools to gather, evaluate, and use information. Students:
a. / plan strategies to guide inquiry.
b. / locate, organize, analyze, evaluate, synthesize, and ethically use information from a variety of sources and media.
c. / evaluate and select information sources and digital tools based on the appropriateness to specific tasks.
d. / process data and report results.
Student Objectives/Learning Outcomes
Students will use data from the Internet and text to demonstrate an understanding of climate change and its implications on global warming by creating charts of the data.
Students will explain what the greenhouse effect is, its causes, and recommendations for reducing global warming.
Students will develop a personal plan for their home to help with global warming from a personal standpoint.
Curriculum-Framing Questions
Essential Question / How can I do my part to take care of the world?
Unit Questions / 1. What is the greenhouse effect?
2. What can be done to stop its effects?
Content Questions / 1. What are the components of the climate system?
2. How can I explain global warming using my own data and charts?
3. What can I do with my family to help stop global warming?
Assessment Plan
Assessment Timeline
Before project work begins / Students work on projects and complete tasks / After project work is completed
Test your climate change knowledge / Visual Ranking tool – determining what causes the green-house effect the most / Charts on data usage / Seeing Reasoning activity / Personal plan for reducing the greenhouse effect in your home / Poster to explain this to the class and to your parents
Constructed response
Go back to the visual ranking
Assessment Summary
Assessments being used:
Pre-assessment – visual ranking – this will assess how much students already know about global warming
Scaffolding devices for each group learning experience – facts and information about global warming; information on ways to reduce global warming
Scoring guide for the poster on taking information from the Internet and making it into a usable form to explain to the class
Seeing Reasoning tool – to see if students can show positive and negative relationships between various items provided and global warming – formative assessment to see if students are learning.
Scoring guide for personal plan for ways to reduce global warming in the home
Constructed Response questions on Global Warming
Post-assessment – go back to Visual Ranking tool to see how students do.
Visual Ranking Elements (Complete this section if this tool will be used in the unit)
Visual Ranking Project Name (For the Visual Ranking workspace)
Global Warming – Ranking what causes it.
Project Description (For the Visual Ranking workspace)
Pre-learning activity - Students will look at a list of possible issues that could affect global warming. They will be asked as a team to rank the list in order of the most effect on global warming to the least. Students will then compare their rank to other teams.
Prompt (For the Visual Ranking workspace)
Please rearrange the list provided in the order of what you think causes global warming. Put the item at the top of the list that you think is the most direct cause of global warming.
Sorting List (For the Visual Ranking workspace)
Practice Ranking (For your future quick reference)
Teacher ID: pruettl / Password:
Practice Team ID 1:team1 / Password:team1
Practice Team ID 2:team2 / Password:team2
Seeing Reason Elements (Complete this section if this tool will be used in the unit)
Seeing Reason Project Name (For the Seeing Reason workspace)
Global Warming
Project Description (For the Seeing Reason workspace)
Global warming is considered a serious issue today. Many feel that this generation will deal with new crises related to global warming.
Research Question (For the Seeing Reason workspace)
Do the things in blue negatively or positively affect global warming? Connect the links to show your thoughts.
Practice Map (For your future quick reference)
Practice Team ID:team1 / Password:team1
Unit Details
Prerequisite Skills
Technical skills will be needed in order to log into the computers. Background in how to use the Intel thinking tools will be needed prior to this unit.
Review ways to take other’s data and make it into a usable format. Practice this skill prior to this unit.
Instructional Procedures
Engage Global Warming video – http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zK5v8AtMVho Discuss the unit
Explain
Math – students will investigate information on the changes in climate related to global warming and will create a graph to explain the data that is available on the Internet.
Science – students will research the Internet to understand what global warming is and what causes global warming.
Explore – Students will work in pairs to reach consensus with the top 3 reasons that cause global warming. They will use the information they learned above to determine this.
Elaborate – Students will develop a personal plan for how to reduce global warming in the home and will present their plan to the class.
Evaluate
A scoring guide will be developed for the math activity.
A scaffolding device will be used for gather the information about global warming.
A scoring guide will be developed for the personal plan to reduce global warming.
Accommodations for Differentiated Instruction
Resource Student / Special needs students will work in groups with regular education students. Teams will be strategically created to ensure all students can work together and all students can participate if at all possible.
Various learning styles will be available for students to ensure all students can feel successful with this project. Modifications can be made easily by cutting down any of the worksheets or by eliminating some if needed.
Nonnative English Speaker / Graphic organizers will help non-linguistic students in understanding the concepts in other ways besides text.
Gifted Student / Gifted students will be able to elaborate more fully on their projects for making personal plans for their homes. This project will lend itself to all learning levels.
Materials and Resources Required For Unit

Intel® Teach Program

Thinking with Technology Course

Printed Materials / Need worksheets (scaffolding devices) for group research. If possible, make different math worksheets so that various groups are creating different posters.
Need fiction and non-fiction books on greenhouse for reading and literacy group reading and journaling
Supplies / Poster board
Markers
Poster supplies such as magazines and tape
Technology -Hardware / Student computers working on the Internet
Printing capabilities
Technology -Software / Make sure the plug ins necessary for Intel Thinking tools are all installed on the computers.
Make sure access to youtube is available.
Internet Resources / Group 1 – Math research
Climate Change Calculator
http://epa.gov/climatechange/kids/calc/index.html
How much is too much? http://www.fightglobalwarming.com/page.cfm?tagID=273
How can I change Fahrenheit to Celsius?
http://education.arm.gov/studyhall/ask/past_question.php?id=672
How lightening works http://science.howstuffworks.com/lightning8.htm
How does global warming affect the earth’s climate? http://education.arm.gov/studyhall/ask/past_question.php?id=601
Data stream atmosphere - http://www.ametsoc.org/amsedu/dstreme/
Group 2 – What is the greenhouse effect, or global warming?
http://education.arm.gov/studyhall/globalwarming/beginwhatis.stm
http://epa.gov/climatechange/kids/greenhouse.html
Group 3 – What are things we can do to reduce global warming?
http://www.fightglobalwarming.com/page.cfm?tagID=267
http://epa.gov/climatechange/kids/difference.html
Extra Links
http://epa.gov/climatechange/kids/index.html
http://www.pewclimate.org/global-warming-basics/facts_and_figures
http://www.fightglobalwarming.com/page.cfm?tagID=136
http://education.arm.gov/studyhall/warming.stm
http://www.climatechange.gc.ca/default.asp?lang=En&n=F2DB1FBE-1
Other Resources