Instructional Software

Lesson Idea Name: Georgia Regions and their rocks and soils/ ecologist training
Content Area: Science
Grade Level(s): 3rd

Content Standard Addressed:

S3E1. Obtain, evaluate, and communicate information about the physical attributes of rocks and soils

Technology Standard Addressed:

1. Empowered Learner

Selected Technology Tool: Brain Pop

URL(s) to support the lesson (if applicable):

Type of Instructional Software:

☐ Drill and Practice ☒ Tutorial ☐ Simulation ☒ Instructional Game ☐ e-books/e-references

Features of this software (check all that apply):

☐ Assessment Monitoring/Reporting
☐ Allows teacher to create customized lessons for students
☐ Multi-user or collaborative functions with others in the class
☐ Multi-user or collaborative with others outside the class
☒ Accessible to students beyond the school day
☒ Accessible via mobile devices
☒ Multiple languages
☒ Safety, security and/or privacy features

Bloom’s Taxonomy Level(s):

☒ Remembering ☒ Understanding ☒ Applying ☒ Analyzing ☒ Evaluating ☒ Creating

Levels of Technology Integration (LoTi Level):

☐ Level 1: Awareness ☐ Level 2: Exploration ☐ Level 3: Infusion ☐ Level 4: Integration
☒ Level 5: Expansion ☐ Level 6: Refinement

Universal Design for Learning (UDL): I will make this lesson very interactive throughout. There will be
instruction from me, the teacher, and there will be hands on learning with actual rocks and soils for those
who need that physical object to conceptualize the content. This is good for EL learners, and for students
who have mixed abilities, as well as all student. Using Brain Pop to aid in instruction will be another way
that I use UDL techniques. Brain Pop will help EL learners with close captioning helping them see the words
and hear them. This also helps students who might have hearing impairments. At the end of the lesson we
will do soil samples around the school. This will make the lesson meaningful and therefore it will be more
likely to become apart of the student’s schema. As with all UDL, what helps the students on the margins,
helps all students.
Lesson idea implementation: I will start the lesson with a centers activity. I will not give too much
instruction with this centers. I will give the students a data sheet that they can fill out at each center. Each

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center will have different rock samples and soil samples. Students will be the scientist and explore all the
ways to describe the material they come across. This center activity will be done in groups of four. The
students will have 5 minutes to each station and then they will rotate to the next station/center. After the
centers time, we will have time as a whole class to discuss what the students discovered about the rocks and
soil. This will start with the basics, I will ask was center 2 a rock or soil? How do you know? What is the
difference? Students will have time to discuss. Then I will have students explore the differences between
each rock, and each soil. I will say, What is the difference between rock 1 and rock 3? ( it will be that one is a
sedimentary rock and rock three is an ingnious rock). We will explore the soils the same way.
We will need to go over the academic vocabulary at this time. We will discuss the different types of rock
and I will make sure to write down the different types on the board. I will then have the students write down
the types on their small white boards so they can have it as a reference when we watch the brain pop. The
Brain Pop movie has some complex words, so I will make sure that all my students understand the language.
This includes my students who are EL learners and students with mixed abilities. After I am certain that they
Brain Pop movie can be understood and will be an aid to instruction, we will watch the Brain Pop on types of
rocks. It is only 2minutes and 3 seconds. I will have the students do a quiz on Brain Pop that I have made for
them.
I will follow this with a discussion on the soil that they explored. I will ask: What makes these soils
different? How do you think Soil happens? What is it made up of? Why does soil one look and feel different
from soil two? Once the students answer these questions we will go over the academic language of Soil. I will
make sure that the words are displayed for all the students to see, and I will have the students add these
words to their word bank on their white boards. Then we will watch a Brain Pop on soil. Because of time, I will
not have the students do a quiz on soil at this time.
To end the lesson for the day, the class will go outside. We will pick three different places around the
school to take a soil sample. We will bring back the soil sample to class, and I will have it sent off to be tested.
We will write down a hypothesis about what the test will say about the soil we collected. This lesson will take
approximately 45 minutes to an hour.

Reflective Practice: I believe that this lesson might be enough to be almost the whole unit, and might need
to be broken down into smaller pieces. However, I believe that starting with rocks and soils that the
students can actually touch, see and smell will make it a lesson that sticks with the students. I believe that
doing the soil sample is another way that makes the lesson meaningful. The students can see what the soil
in their own area is made up of and if there are any ecological ramifications to what we find we can explore
that as well. To further extend the lesson, we could talk about what the lab tested for in the soil. We could
use technology to research the test that the lab performed. We could link this to social studies by making
sure that we are good citizens and share the information with anyone who might need to know.

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