BEYOND-THE-BASIC

PRODUCTIVITY TOOLS
Name: Sarah Garner
Grade Level: 5th Grade
Content Area: Social Studies
Beyond-the-Basic Productivity Tool Used: http://www.readwritethink.org/classroom-
resources/student-interactives/timeline-30007.html
Standards Addressed: SS5H1 The student will explain the causes, major events, and consequences
of the Civil War.
c. Identify major battles and campaigns: Fort Sumter, Gettysburg, the Atlanta Campaign, Shermans
March to the Sea, and Appomattox Court House.
Blooms Level of Critical Thinking:
Remembering Understanding Applying Analyzing Evaluating Creating
Description of how to implement in the class:
Teacher will tell that class that now that they have covered the tensions between the North and the
South leading up to and during the Civil War, today they will look into the battles and campaigns that
took place. First, the teacher will write the five battles/campaigns that she will have the class focus
on today. Before showing an example to the class and introducing the beyond-the-basic productivity
tool they will be using today, she will ask the class if any of them are familiar with the topics Fort
Sumter, Gettysburg, the Atlanta Campaign, Shermans March to the Sea, and Appomattox Court
House. The students will share their thoughts, and the teacher will instruct them to all research the
five in more detail.

The teacher will instruct the students to go to readwritethink.org and create a timeline of the events.
Look up the date that the event occurred, provide a short description, and attach a picture in order
that the events took place. This will help the students understand the events that took place during
the time of the Civil War. Using this BBPT, the students will understand new information and apply it
in the order of events, as well as place images with the major events to deepen their understanding.
She will display her example on the board to give the students an idea of what she is expecting for
their finished product. She will take this down so that they will have to complete the research and
creativity of their own timeline on their own during their independent work time. She will add one of
the battles on for them to watch her complete, showing them where they will add what information.
From here, she will tell them to construct their own timeline of the events with summarizing
statements from websites they explored.
Level of Technology Implementation (LoTi):
This learning experience is in Level 3 of the LoTi levels, as the students analyzing information and
synthesizing it into chronological order with details they find themselves. The focus is learner
centered, and the activity is based around the content in the standard and the process of creating the
timeline on the BBPT.
Description of the sample BBPT file provided *:
The viewers will see an example of the teachers timeline that displays the dates, battles, and a
picture, and she will click through them to show the further detail that she provided for each topic. In
introducing the BBPT and after she goes over the topics that they will be focusing on, she will display
the timeline that she created, and explain that in doing this activity, it helped her understand the
importance of this event, the order of which is took place, and looking thought images gave her a
visual explanation to help her understand these events that shaped our country, and that is what the
students will be doing today in order to have the same learning experience.