EDUC 2220- Educational Technology

Infant-Pre-K Curriculum Plan: Technology-Based Lesson/Activity

Your Name: Sherri Roberts Activity Title: Serengeti Safari Adventure

Number of children participating at one time: 12 students Ages: 4 and 5 years old (Pre -K)

Activities written for previous classes cannot be re-used and must be the original work of the student.
Ohio Early Domain: Cognition and General Knowledge
Learning &
Strand: Life Science
Development
Standards: Topic: Exploration of Living Things

List at least 1 Standard Statement: With modeling and support, identify and explore the relationship
standard that
Between living things and their environments (e.g., habitats, food, eating habits, etc.).
is addressed
by this activity.
Write out each
component Domain: Cognition and General Knowledge
completely
Strand: Cognitive Skills
and exactly,
as published in Topic: Reasoning and Problem Solving
ELDS.
Standard Statement: Solve problems by planning and carrying out a sequence of actions.
Lesson
During this lesson, the students will be able to visually see the grasslands of the Serengeti by
Summary:
participating in an interactive Nearpod presentation using the Smart Board and tablets in the
classroom. The students will use their tablets to engage with their teacher during this guided
activity. This lesson will allow the students to see where Africa is in relation to Columbus, Ohio and
to see the landscapes and habitats of the animals of The Serengeti. The students will also have an
opportunity to draw animals they think live at the Serengeti (pre assessment), see an aerial view of
the Serengeti, participate in an animal matching game, watch a safari adventure video and watch
and sing along to a safari themed music video. Once their Nearpod activity is complete, they will
participate and have an opportunity to explore centers and activities geared towards the safari
theme. During centers, students will have an opportunity to use a tablet to participate in a Safari
themed QR adventure. Upon completion of the centers and activities, the students will use a
tablet/smartboard to illustrate/draw animals that live in the grasslands of the Serengeti.
Estimated The estimated duration of this project will be broken into three 60 minutes morning class sessions.
Duration:
Day 1: 60 minutes
Day 2: 60 minutes
Day 3: 60 minutes

Preparation The Nearpod presentation will be saved in the Nearpod library and can be easily accessed
of materials and loaded to the tablets using my log in and password. The Smartboard will be lowered to
and their level and also have the Nearpod lesson on the screen. The QR codes will be adhered
environment to the coordinating animals for the students to scan. The tablets will have a QR code and
scanner app downloaded for the students to access and use. The animals will be placed
around the room for the students to find and scan on their safari adventure. Centers and
 activities that coordinate with the theme will be prepared and ready for student use (block
and habitat creation center, safari dramatic play opportunity, plush safari animals in the
reading nook, safari animals, making their own binoculars, “feed the elephant” letter
matching game, writing center, art/drawing materials, animal matching game, hungry,
hungry hippos game and safari animal tracks center).
Instructional Procedures:

This lesson was created to incorporate the current interests of some the students in my class. They have recently
been interested in cheetahs and lions and often ask questions about what where they live and what they eat.

Day 1: As a class, following our morning meeting and prayer, I will announce that we are going on a “trip to the
Serengeti”. I will ask the students if they know where the Serengeti is located and how we will get there. Following
their responses that I will record on chart paper; I will encourage the students to join me on an “airplane ride”. Once
the plan has landed in Africa (the carpet rug), the students will sit on the carpet near the smartboard. The Nearpod
activity will be loaded and ready to present to the students on the Smartboard and their individual tablets. The
students will follow along the activity and go at their pace as they view and interact with the 8 slides. This activity
should last 20 minutes. Upon completion of the Nearpod, I will let the students know that we are going to “stay in
Africa” and go on Safari hunt. I will ask the students to share with me what they think a safari is. Following their
answers, I will define the vocabulary word and then introduce the next activities. I will demonstrate to the students
how to use the QR code reader and how to use it on one of the animals in the room. Following the tablet
demonstration, I will let the students know that we will take turns using the tablets with the QR code reader. Only 4
students at a time will use the tablets and have ample time find the animals and watch the informative videos. I will
also introduce the other centers and activities for the students to investigate and manipulate for the remaining part of
the morning open play time. As they are engaged in the activities, I will use open ended questions, use descriptive
language, add scaffolding comments and introduce and use the listed vocabulary to expose them to new words and
build upon their prior knowledge. I will take pictures of the students as they are engaged and document/journal their
knowledge for pre and post assessments. I will also post pictures of the students and their morning on our school
communication/documentation platform, School Speak. Estimated duration of the activities will be 40 minutes.

Day 2: Following the story Rumble in the Jungle, which should take 10 minutes, I will give 4 different students the
tablets to go on a QR safari adventure. Other students will explore and participate in the same centers from Day 1.
Once the other 4 students are done with the safari hunt using the tablets, the last 4 will find the animals in the room
and watch the informative videos. I will have the animal matching activity from the Nearpod lesson on the
Smartboard for students to play. As they are engaged in the activities, I will use open ended questions, use descriptive
language, add scaffolding comments and introduce and use the listed vocabulary to expose them to new words and
build upon their prior knowledge. I will also take pictures of the students as they are engaged and document/journal
their knowledge for pre and post assessments. I will post pictures of the students and their morning on our school
communication/documentation platform, School Speak, for parents to view and for a digital representation of each
students’ abilities and knowledge. Estimated duration of the activities will be 50 minutes.

Day 3: The last day will allow any students who were not present or wanted to do the QR Safari adventure an
opportunity to “find” the animals around the room. I will also have the Nearpod Assessment slide on the smartboard
for students to draw their favorite animal of the Serengeti. Once they are done drawing, I will print their artwork.
Students will also be able to explore and engage with the safari themed centers at their pace. I will take pictures of
the students as they are engaged and document/journal their knowledge for pre and post assessments. I will also
post pictures of the students and their morning on our school communication/documentation platform, School Speak.
Estimated duration of the activities will be 60 minutes.
Day 4: I will go though my pictures and documentation notes and create a documentation panel for parents to view
and see the progression of student knowledge gained through technology lessons and open-ended centers and
activities. I will also assess student knowledge through the pre and post assessment tools used on the tablets and
Smart Board. Through their assessments, I can create activities and opportunities for student growth and mastery of
the Ohio Early Learning and Development Standards.

Extension
ABCya! is a wonderful free website for students to practice their matching skills and other cognitive skills. This
educational website has engaging games organized by grade levels. The website also organizes the games into
subject categories for easy access.
https://www.abcya.com/

Another great website for students who are interested in animals and their daily life, habitats and other fun facts,
should check out National Geographic for Kids. This website offers informative animal videos, educational games and
an exploration tab that connects students to different countries, alternative ways to help the Earth and various
cultures.
https://kids.nationalgeographic.com/

Differentiated Instructional Support: Describe how instruction can be differentiated (changed or altered) to meet the
needs of gifted or accelerated students:
For those students needing additional support, I will help them manipulate the tablet during the NearPod, QR safari
hunt or the matching game on the Smartboard activities. If they continue to struggle, I can sit with them and help
them through the slide presentation or walk them through the safari hunt. I can use open ended questions to assess
their prior knowledge and use scaffolding comments to guide them through the activity. If they are having a hard
time focusing in the large group, I can provide them with ear phones to use. If they do want my help, I could pair
them up with a peer as they use the tablet or the Smartboard for the activities. Upon completion of the activities and
their pre/post assessments, we can gear activities that will support their individual cognitive growth of the Ohio Early
Learning and Development Standards.
For those students who are gifted or accelerated, I will gear an individual Nearpod lesson that will be more suited to
their cognitive and social/emotional abilities or their interests. I can also create centers and activities that are more
suited to their interests and abilities. Finally, I could pair them with a classroom peer to encourage collaboration and
social interaction.

Vocabulary: Serengeti, Africa, map, grassland, habitat, safari, adventure, travel, exploration, aerial and QR reader.

For teachers 14 Tablets Smart Board Chart Paper Marker

Safari animals Blocks Animals cut outs QR codes
 Open ended art materials Animal matching cards
Tablet to take pictures of student work Safari masks and dramatic play items
Playdough Safari animal books Paper towel tubes Plush safari animals
Writing tools and paper Labeled animal picture cards Dry erase markers
Dry erase boards Clean and appropriate recycled materials
Smart Board writing tools Feed the Elephant letter matching game
Hungry, hungry hippos game.

For students The students will use tablets and the Smart Board for this activity.