What if Nothing Ever Changed?

Learning Resource Type

Lesson Plan

Subject Area

Social Studies
Digital Literacy and Computer Science

Grade(s)

4

Overview

Imagine if the world as you know it never changed. Students will embark on a journey back in time and research what life in Alabama looked like in the late twentieth and early twenty-first centuries. Students will compare and contrast the information they research with their present-day lives. Students will then identify how technological advancements changed life for Alabamians and reflect on how they feel their life would be today if things never changed. Students will create an Adobe Express digital story to communicate their researched information and personal reflections.

This resource was created as a result of the Alabama Technology in Motion Partnership.

Digital Literacy and Computer Science (2018) Grade(s): 4

DLCS18.4.R5

Locate and curate information from digital sources to answer research questions.

UP:DLCS18.4.R5

Vocabulary

  • curate
  • keyword
  • search engine
  • database

Knowledge

Students know:
  • information to research questions can be obtained from digital sources.
  • how to use resources to organize information.
  • how to find resources to present or share with others.

Skills

Students are able to:
  • create a list of keywords or phrases to enter into a search engine and/or database such as the Alabama Virtual Library.
  • use additional words or punctuation to narrow search such as AND (+), OR, NOT (
  • ), setting date boundaries, or quotation marks ("").
  • organize information.
  • share information by creating a digital resource.

Understanding

Students understand that:
  • information can be located from a digital source to answer research questions.
  • information can be organzied and shared by creating a digital resource.
Digital Literacy and Computer Science (2018) Grade(s): 4

DLCS18.4.12

Use basic features of digital tools to communicate key ideas and details in a way that informs and/or persuades.

UP:DLCS18.4.12

Vocabulary

  • digital tools
  • communicate
  • key ideas
  • informs
  • persuades

Knowledge

Students know:
  • digital tools are available that enable them to inform others.
  • digital tools are available that enable them to persuade others.

Skills

Students are able to:
  • use basic features such as headings, text, and images to communicate key ideas that inform and/or persuade.

Understanding

Students understand that:
  • digital tools can be used to communicate by informing and/or persuade others.
Social Studies (2010) Grade(s): 4

SS10.4.16

Determine the impact of population growth on cities, major road systems, demographics, natural resources, and the natural environment of Alabama during the late twentieth and early twenty-first centuries.

UP:SS10.4.16

Vocabulary

  • assess
  • technological advancements
  • population growth
  • demographics
  • natural resources
  • foreign-based
  • economy

Knowledge

Students know:
  • The causes of population growth in cities includes natural resources, advancements in technology, and placement of foreign based industries.
  • Key technology inventions that have changed the lives of Alabamians.
  • Key technology inventions that have changed the power of the media's influence over Alabamians.
  • Location of major waterways and road systems in Alabama impacts the population density of an area.

Skills

Students are able to:
  • Identify major road systems, natural resources, and areas of population growth.
  • Relate Alabama's economy to the influence of technology and foreign based industry.

Understanding

Students understand that:
  • Technological advancements that have occurred in the twentieth and twenty-first centuries have greatly impacted the lives of Alabamians socially, economically, and globally.
  • The natural resources available in Alabama in the twentieth and twenty-first centuries led to the growth of Alabama's population.

Primary Learning Objectives

  • I can use technology to locate information about life in Alabama from 1970-2019 to answer research questions.

  • I can explain the differences and similarities of my own life to someone who lived in Alabama in the late twentieth and early twenty-first centuries (1970-2019).

  • I can describe how changes in technology affected Alabamians.

  • I can make an inference on what my life would look like if the world had never changed.

  • I can communicate what I have learned in the form of a digital story using digital tools. 

     

Additional Learning Objective(s)

  • I can provide feedback to my classmates. 
  • I can communicate clearly.
  • I can access and use technology applications such as Symbaloo, Adobe Express, Google Classroom, and Google Forms.

Procedures/Activities

Before Strategy/Engage

**Please note that students will need to have their devices readily available before starting the lesson**

  1. Start the lesson by asking the class the essential question, “What would life be like if nothing ever changed?” (The teacher can display a Google Slides presentation on the board to facilitate the lesson, or students may access the slideshow on their own device so that links within the lesson for the assessments and activities are easily accessible.)

  2. Allow students to discuss the essential question with their classmates nearby.

  3. After students have thought about the essential question, show a picture of a cell phone from 1984.

  4. Open up the discussion again and allow students to share how they would feel if this was the cellphone they had.

  5. Ask the students another driving question, “Is change a good or bad thing?” Using Google Forms, ask students to explain their thoughts on if the change is a good or bad thing in a short paragraph.

During Strategy/Explore/Explain

  1. Ask students, “How have technological advancements brought change to the lives of Alabamians?”

  2. Using the ABC Brainstorm have students think of as many technological tools as possible that they feel may have changed the lives of Alabamians.

  3. After students have completed the ABC brainstorm, explain that they will be researching how items such as the telephone, refrigerator, automobile, television, Internet, and space technologies changed lives.

  4. Show students the Symbaloo Web Mix they will use to conduct their research.

  5. Distribute the research organizers and script organizers for their Adobe Express digital story.

  6. Allow students time to explore the web pages on the Symbaloo and start their research.

After Strategy/Explain, Reflect

  1. Once you have approved each student's research, allow them to start working on their Adobe Express digital story. Adobe Express is a technology tool that is user-friendly. Students will be able to communicate ideas and information for a specific assignment and still create a piece of work unique to them.  

  2. There will be a minimum of 5 slides for the digital story. Students can access the requirements on the Google Slides Presentation or the Rubric. An example of the assignment can also be accessed here: https://adobe.ly/2GVMvwH.

    1. Slide One: Answer the essential question “What would life be like if nothing ever changed?”

    2. Slide Two: Students will describe one way their life is different than the lives of Alabamians in the late twentieth and early twenty-first centuries.

    3. Slide Three: Students will describe one way their life is the same/similar to the lives of Alabamians in the late twentieth and early twenty-first centuries.

    4. Slide Four: Students will explain how the technological advancement they chose changed the lives of Alabamians.

    5. Slide 5: Students will answer the question, “What would your life look like today if the world had never changed?”

  3. Students will share their digital stories in Google Classroom as a comment under the announcement post created by the teacher. Students will share the link that Adobe Express will create when asked to share. Sharing on Google Classroom will allow their peers to easily access and view videos.

  4. Students will be required to choose two different digital stories to leave comments on.


Before Strategy/Engage

**Please note that students will need to have their devices readily available before starting the lesson**

  1. Start the lesson by asking the class the essential question, “What would life be like if nothing ever changed?” (The teacher can display a Google Slides presentation on the board to facilitate the lesson, or students may access the slideshow on their own device so that links within the lesson for the assessments and activities are easily accessible.)

  2. Allow students to discuss the essential question with their classmates nearby.

  3. After students have thought about the essential question, show a picture of a cell phone from 1984.

  4. Open up the discussion again and allow students to share how they would feel if this was the cellphone they had.

  5. Ask the students another driving question, “Is change a good or bad thing?” Using Google Forms, ask students to explain their thoughts on if the change is a good or bad thing in a short paragraph.

During Strategy/Explore/Explain

  1. Ask students, “How have technological advancements brought change to the lives of Alabamians?”

  2. Using the ABC Brainstorm have students think of as many technological tools as possible that they feel may have changed the lives of Alabamians.

  3. After students have completed the ABC brainstorm, explain that they will be researching how items such as the telephone, refrigerator, automobile, television, Internet, and space technologies changed lives.

  4. Show students the Symbaloo Web Mix they will use to conduct their research.

  5. Distribute the research organizers and script organizers for their Adobe Express digital story.

  6. Allow students time to explore the web pages on the Symbaloo and start their research.

After Strategy/Explain, Reflect

  1. Once you have approved each student's research, allow them to start working on their Adobe Express digital story. Adobe Express is a technology tool that is user-friendly. Students will be able to communicate ideas and information for a specific assignment and still create a piece of work unique to them.  

  2. There will be a minimum of 5 slides for the digital story. Students can access the requirements on the Google Slides Presentation or the Rubric. An example of the assignment can also be accessed here: https://adobe.ly/2GVMvwH.

    1. Slide One: Answer the essential question “What would life be like if nothing ever changed?”

    2. Slide Two: Students will describe one way their life is different than the lives of Alabamians in the late twentieth and early twenty-first centuries.

    3. Slide Three: Students will describe one way their life is the same/similar to the lives of Alabamians in the late twentieth and early twenty-first centuries.

    4. Slide Four: Students will explain how the technological advancement they chose changed the lives of Alabamians.

    5. Slide 5: Students will answer the question, “What would your life look like today if the world had never changed?”

  3. Students will share their digital stories in Google Classroom as a comment under the announcement post created by the teacher. Students will share the link that Adobe Express will create when asked to share. Sharing on Google Classroom will allow their peers to easily access and view videos.

  4. Students will be required to choose two different digital stories to leave comments on.


Before Strategy/Engage

**Please note that students will need to have their devices readily available before starting the lesson**

  1. Start the lesson by asking the class the essential question, “What would life be like if nothing ever changed?” (The teacher can display a Google Slides presentation on the board to facilitate the lesson, or students may access the slideshow on their own device so that links within the lesson for the assessments and activities are easily accessible.)

  2. Allow students to discuss the essential question with their classmates nearby.

  3. After students have thought about the essential question, show a picture of a cell phone from 1984.

  4. Open up the discussion again and allow students to share how they would feel if this was the cellphone they had.

  5. Ask the students another driving question, “Is change a good or bad thing?” Using Google Forms, ask students to explain their thoughts on if the change is a good or bad thing in a short paragraph.

During Strategy/Explore/Explain

  1. Ask students, “How have technological advancements brought change to the lives of Alabamians?”

  2. Using the ABC Brainstorm have students think of as many technological tools as possible that they feel may have changed the lives of Alabamians.

  3. After students have completed the ABC brainstorm, explain that they will be researching how items such as the telephone, refrigerator, automobile, television, Internet, and space technologies changed lives.

  4. Show students the Symbaloo Web Mix they will use to conduct their research.

  5. Distribute the research organizers and script organizers for their Adobe Express digital story.

  6. Allow students time to explore the web pages on the Symbaloo and start their research.

After Strategy/Explain, Reflect

  1. Once you have approved each student's research, allow them to start working on their Adobe Express digital story. Adobe Express is a technology tool that is user-friendly. Students will be able to communicate ideas and information for a specific assignment and still create a piece of work unique to them.  

  2. There will be a minimum of 5 slides for the digital story. Students can access the requirements on the Google Slides Presentation or the Rubric. An example of the assignment can also be accessed here: https://adobe.ly/2GVMvwH.

    1. Slide One: Answer the essential question “What would life be like if nothing ever changed?”

    2. Slide Two: Students will describe one way their life is different than the lives of Alabamians in the late twentieth and early twenty-first centuries.

    3. Slide Three: Students will describe one way their life is the same/similar to the lives of Alabamians in the late twentieth and early twenty-first centuries.

    4. Slide Four: Students will explain how the technological advancement they chose changed the lives of Alabamians.

    5. Slide 5: Students will answer the question, “What would your life look like today if the world had never changed?”

  3. Students will share their digital stories in Google Classroom as a comment under the announcement post created by the teacher. Students will share the link that Adobe Express will create when asked to share. Sharing on Google Classroom will allow their peers to easily access and view videos.

  4. Students will be required to choose two different digital stories to leave comments on.


Before Strategy/Engage

**Please note that students will need to have their devices readily available before starting the lesson**

  1. Start the lesson by asking the class the essential question, “What would life be like if nothing ever changed?” (The teacher can display a Google Slides presentation on the board to facilitate the lesson, or students may access the slideshow on their own device so that links within the lesson for the assessments and activities are easily accessible.)

  2. Allow students to discuss the essential question with their classmates nearby.

  3. After students have thought about the essential question, show a picture of a cell phone from 1984.

  4. Open up the discussion again and allow students to share how they would feel if this was the cellphone they had.

  5. Ask the students another driving question, “Is change a good or bad thing?” Using Google Forms, ask students to explain their thoughts on if the change is a good or bad thing in a short paragraph.

During Strategy/Explore/Explain

  1. Ask students, “How have technological advancements brought change to the lives of Alabamians?”

  2. Using the ABC Brainstorm have students think of as many technological tools as possible that they feel may have changed the lives of Alabamians.

  3. After students have completed the ABC brainstorm, explain that they will be researching how items such as the telephone, refrigerator, automobile, television, Internet, and space technologies changed lives.

  4. Show students the Symbaloo Web Mix they will use to conduct their research.

  5. Distribute the research organizers and script organizers for their Adobe Express digital story.

  6. Allow students time to explore the web pages on the Symbaloo and start their research.

After Strategy/Explain, Reflect

  1. Once you have approved each student's research, allow them to start working on their Adobe Express digital story. Adobe Express is a technology tool that is user-friendly. Students will be able to communicate ideas and information for a specific assignment and still create a piece of work unique to them.  

  2. There will be a minimum of 5 slides for the digital story. Students can access the requirements on the Google Slides Presentation or the Rubric. An example of the assignment can also be accessed here: https://adobe.ly/2GVMvwH.

    1. Slide One: Answer the essential question “What would life be like if nothing ever changed?”

    2. Slide Two: Students will describe one way their life is different than the lives of Alabamians in the late twentieth and early twenty-first centuries.

    3. Slide Three: Students will describe one way their life is the same/similar to the lives of Alabamians in the late twentieth and early twenty-first centuries.

    4. Slide Four: Students will explain how the technological advancement they chose changed the lives of Alabamians.

    5. Slide 5: Students will answer the question, “What would your life look like today if the world had never changed?”

  3. Students will share their digital stories in Google Classroom as a comment under the announcement post created by the teacher. Students will share the link that Adobe Express will create when asked to share. Sharing on Google Classroom will allow their peers to easily access and view videos.

  4. Students will be required to choose two different digital stories to leave comments on.

Assessment Strategies

Google Forms assessment will be used as a formative assessment to track student thinking about the concept of change.  

The ABC Brainstorm encourages students to start thinking about the things in the world around them and examining how they may have impacted/ changed the world.

Students will create an Adobe Express digital story, and it will be used as a summative assessment to track students' understanding of how technological advances have shaped the world they live in today and changed the lives of Alabamians. Students will follow the rubric to complete this assignment and the teacher will assess student mastery of the standard using the rubric. 

Acceleration

Students have learned about how “things” have changed and shaped the world around them. To accelerate learning, students can start discovering famous Alabamians that changed the world. Students can research and discover the impacts that their actions had on Alabama, as well as the world.

Intervention

Students who need to receive additional assistance, may get help from a partner, or be provided with a research organizer with sentence stems to help narrow down what information is needed.  

Total Duration

91 to 120 Minutes

Background/Preparation

Students: Students will need to have basic computer skills (logging onto a computer, accessing Google Classroom, typing in a URL web address, and keyboarding skills). Beyond basic computer skills, students will need to be familiar with how to navigate and use the following technology tools: Symbaloo, Adobe Express, and Google Slides.

Teacher: The teacher will need to be familiar with the following technology tools: Symbaloo, Adobe Express, Google Forms, and Google Slides. Prior to the lesson, the teacher will need to create a Symbaloo for students to access. Websites will need to be reviewed prior to adding to the Symbaloo class page. The teacher will also need to create an Adobe Express account that each student will be able to access, as well as student examples using Google Slides and Adobe Express to clearly outline expectations.

  • Symbaloo: A tool used to organize a variety of web links. This will help prevent a student from accessing websites that are not relevant to the lesson or may have inappropriate content.
  • Adobe Express: A tool used to create a video using photos, videos, music, text, and or your own personal recordings. This tool will be used for digital storytelling.
  • Google Slides: Google Slides is a presentation program that students can access at any time from any device.
  • Google Forms: Google Forms is a survey administration application, that students can gain access to at any time from any device.

Materials and Resources

  • Google Classroom (Link to Google Slides Presentation): Presentation will be used to introduce the assignment and be used as a home base for students to reference independently.

  • Google Forms: Students will answer essential questions using Google Forms.

  • ABC Brainstorm: Students will complete an ABC brainstorm using Google Forms to think about things that have caused a change in the world around them.

  • Symbaloo: Students will use Symbaloo to access teacher-approved websites and as another home base to access other tools needed for the assignment.

  • Adobe Express: Students will use this to create a digital story.

  • Chromebooks/iPads

  • Research Organizer (Paper Copy- 1 per student)

  • Story Script Organizer (Paper Copy- 1 per student)

  • Rubric

Technology Resources Needed

  • Chromebooks/iPad 
  • Projector Screen/Smart Board

Approved Date

2019-06-18
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