A S S U R E
Lesson Plan on The Giver: A Novel by Lois Lowry
The Perfect Society !
Analyze Learners | State Objectives | Select Methods, Media, and Materials | Utilize Media and Materials
Require Learner Participation | Evaluate and Revise
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The ASSURE model is an instructional guide for planning and conducting lessons that integrate media and technology while focusing on the learner's needs. It is based on six classroom procedures that Analyze Learners, State Objectives, Select Methods, Media, and Materials, Utilize Media and Materials, Require Learner Participation, and Evaluate and Revise. Millie Alvarez, Nellie Deutsch, & Cindi Mendoza created an instructional unit based on the ASSURE model for a WebQuest on The Giver. The assignment was part of a Masters program at the University of Phoenix on Designing and Producing Educational Technology. The authors wish to thank their instructor Loy Dakwa for sharing her knowledge and expertise in educational technology.
Learners’ General Characteristics
The instructional unit is for grade eight students enrolled in a general English class geared toward the average learner. The students range in age from 13 to 15 years. None of the students have learning disabilities but they are culturally diverse. They come from various socioeconomic environments; however, the majority of the students are white, middle class Americans who live in a rural area. Some are from Hispanic and African-American origins. Generally, the students behave well when the lesson integrates interactive activities that focus on topics of interest.
Entry Competencies
The eighth graders have received prior instruction and have working knowledge in:
Working with WebQuests
Conducting a research using search engines and the Internet
Keyboarding
Using MS Word, MS PowerPoint, MS Excel, RealPlayer software, tape recorder and LCD projector
Plagiarism and copyright guidelines
Citing resources using APA guidelines
Average reading comprehension level of 7.6
Learning Styles
The students dislike reading from textbooks. They prefer updated material of real-life issues. They appear to learn best in
cooperative team settings. They like to work on projects and conduct oral presentations. Some of them do not test well on
paper-and-pencil assessments. Therefore, rubrics allow them to know in advance the objectives and expected outcome of their
performance.
The Giver by Lois Lowry
The objectives for the instructional unit on The Perfect Society:
Students will read the Giver by Lois Lowry.
- Students will collaborate in teams of four.
- Students will locate and read each part of the WebQuest: http://www.nelliemuller.com/Theperfectsociety.student.htm
- Students will analyze and identify flaws in the community as presented by Lois Lowry in The Giver.
- Prior to the WebQuest students will evaluate and discuss the pictures located at: http://www.nelliemuller.com/ThePerfectSociety.htm Students will compare the two paintings. They will discuss the questions: How does color compare with black and white? Why did the community in The Giver prefer sameness to color? They will write their answers in one of the progress reports. They will add the answers to the interviews to justify the flaws in the community.
- Students will choose a character from the book and deduce what the character would say about Jonas' reasons for leaving the community. They will choose a character to interview from The Giver and write their answers in a journal: http://www.nelliemuller.com/Theperfectsociety.committeejournal.htm
- Students will collaborate as a team and write their progress reports consisting of 150-200 and submit them to the instructor electronically utilizing proper grammar, spelling, and sentence structure: http://www.nelliemuller.com/Progress_Report.htm Students will prepare individual reports based on the information they generated from conducting the interviews and observations: http://www.nelliemuller.com/Theperfectsociety.individualreports.htm
- Students will produce a written report that is a culmination of all four interviews by the end of the two week period: http://www.nelliemuller.com/Theperfectsociety.evaluationofthecommitteesreport.htm Students will write their reports using the Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association (APA) format , incorporating good sentence structure, spelling, grammar, organized paragraphs, writing citations, table of contents, bibliography, and appendix: http://www.nelliemuller.com/Writing_Techniques_and%20Styles.htm
- Students will analyze one of the audio listening presentations given by two students and answer the interview questions and evaluation rubric for the criteria that follow at: http://www.nelliemuller.com/Student.Assure.Project.htm
- Students will present their findings and suggestions on a big screen for the whole community to view in the main auditorium. Students will present their work using MS PowerPoint or Hyperstudio. The presentation will include 12 slides, photos, animation, transitions, proper spelling, covering The Giver and conducted interviews: http://www.nelliemuller.com/Theperfectsociety.presentation.htm Students will present their work by organizing it according to the evaluation rubric. The criteria requires that each member of the team participate in the final team project presentation; speaking clearly, slowly, and demonstrating an understanding of The Giver and the project presented.
- Students will evaluate the WebQuest and their teamwork. They will indicate what they liked and what they would like to change by adding their comments and feedback: http://www.nelliemuller.com/student_reflections_march31.htm
Select Methods, Media, and Materials
The instructor first selects a teaching method, followed by materials and equipment that are available at school. The teacher also develops instructional materials and evaluation guidelines. The method chosen was large-group instruction with small groups. The lesson will begin with the use of a LCD projector and a large screen to introduce the activities prior to the WebQuest, the WebQuest and activities that follow. The projector and screen are available in the classroom. The authors chose a WebQuest because it is ideal as an instructional tool that integrates technology and involves students in higher order thinking skills such as analysis, synthesis, and evaluation.
The WebQuest helps students stay on task while searching for information on the Internet. They are inquiry-based activities that appeal to both students and teachers because they provide structure and guidance. The teacher will conduct discussions on what makes a perfect society and why Jonas left the community, the importance of color, feelings, and memory prior to the WebQuest.
The school has mini labs in each classroom with six PC desktop computers connected to the Internet. There is also one computer laboratory that can accommodate the whole class. The students will have access to MSWord, MS PowerPoint, and RealPlayer software to work on their projects. A video camera, digital camera, a CD burner and tape recorders will be available for students to use. They are a good choice for the objectives and assignments required for the final project. Students will enter the website through an image of the book cover.
Using MSWord the teacher will create a set of handouts so that each student will have the interview questions, the final paper guidelines, the final project requirements, and rubrics for the individual report, group report, and final project. An online feedback form is available for students to express how they feel about working on a WebQuest, the novel, and working in teams.
TOPPreview the Materials
The teacher previews all the Websites under the resource section of the student WebQuest. Also, the student produced PowerPoint presentations, videos, play scripts, and audio materials, before allowing them to present before the class.
Prepare the Materials
The teacher prepares student WebQuest page, handouts, and rubrics using MSWord software. The teacher makes sure that the necessary equipment is working and accessible for the students to use. The equipment available will be available in the classroom: video camera, digital camera, DVD player, CD burner, tape recorder, computers, TV monitor, projector, large screen, and blank video cassettes, audio tapes and CD’s.
Prepare the Environment
The classroom will always be set up for small teamwork. There is a mini lab in the classroom with six computers. One computer will be assigned to each team for their use. The teams will take turns to plan, create or rehearse their presentation in the classroom. During this time the rest of the teams will have access to the computer lab to work on their individual reports.
Prepare the Learners
To prepare the students, the teacher presents the overall plan and objectives for the lesson. Each student receives a handout of the student WebQuest page, the Committee’s Journal, the Individual Reports rubric, the Final Written Report rubric, and the Presentation rubric. The teacher conducts a whole class discussion each one of the evaluations guidelines using the large screen projector with the teacher’s laptop computer.
The teacher quickly reminds the students about plagiarism, copyright issues, and citing resources making reference to available Web links. Then, continues with a quick review on how to use the video camera, digital camera, CD burner and tape recorder.
Provide the learning Experience
During the introductory phase of this unit, the teacher presents materials using a laptop computer and the large screen projector. The only place for the projector is at the center of the room over a tall cart attached to the teacher’s laptop computer. The large screen is right in front and center of the class. A TV monitor connected to a desktop computer is located to the front-left side of the classroom. There is also a VCR and a DVD player connected to the TV monitor. The other five computers are set around the left and back sides of the room. All desktop computers have CD burners, headphones with microphone, and RealPlayer software.
Large-Group Activities
At the beginning of the lesson, as a review, and introduction, each student will have a white board and expo marker to answer questions from the novel, The Giver. The instructor will ask questions regarding the text, to check for comprehension, to review, and warm-up for the interviews. Each student will answer the questions on their individual white board and hold it up for the teacher to check. The instructor will be able to see which student has answered correctly and who needs more review or to reread the story. After the review, the instructor will pass out a copy of the questions asked with the answers missing. The page numbers will be provided for the students to look them up if they do not already know them. This will enable all of the students to have the answers and the questions that will be needed for a well written report.
In addition, the instructor will project a PowerPoint presentation of the WebQuest on a large screen. The students will view a sample of the progress report journal on the computer. The instructor will demonstrate how to add an entry into the computer journal page. The teacher will also model complete sentences, proper spelling, and grammar required for each entry. After the journal entry, the instructor will display an evaluation rubric for the progress report. Each entry will consist of 150-200 words. Then, the instructor will play a sample interview using RealPlayer software. The interview is available for continuous listening at: http://www.nelliemuller.com/ThePerfectSociety.audio.evaluation.htm
Small Group Activities
Following the large-group instruction, the students will form teams of four to participate in small group interviews, collaboration, and writing. They will receive a handout with instructions. Prior to the interview process, students will locate the pictures on the website at: http://www.nelliemuller.com/paintingsbyNoa.htm . They will discuss the importance of color, the difference between the black and white, and the color painting. Students will evaluate why the community valued sameness and had eliminated color from individuals. Each student will record their own thoughts, feelings, and conclusions in a progress report.
After viewing and discussing the pictures, students will interview one another by using the questions in the handout. Each student will have to interview, collect data, input data into the computer, and submit a progress report. The group will need to work together to plan, discuss, and agree upon their paper and visual presentation. The presentation must follow the provided rubric for content, pictures, sounds, transitions, incorporating the data from the surveys and interviews.
Upon completion of the student’s interviews, the group will analyze and listen to one of the two audio recordings of an interview: http://www.nelliemuller.com/Multimedia.Presentation.htm
After listening, they will record their findings in the journal, located at: http://www.nelliemuller.com/ThePerfectSociety.audio.evaluation.htm . The journal exercise will count as one of their daily reflections
Personal Interview
The small groups will conduct individual interviews regarding Jonas’ leaving the community. They will record the interview on the form provided
at: http://www.nelliemuller.com/Theperfectsociety.committeejournal.htm
Technologgy
Students will utilize the computer lab to make their individual reports. Each team will have one computer assigned during class time. Those not working at the computer stations will be doing their interviews and recording the answers in their journals. Additionally, students will submit their progress reports online using http://www.nelliemuller.com/Progress_Report.htm
Assessment of Learner Achievement
The following rating for will be used to evaluate students’ knowledge of the “The Perfect Society” unit.
1. Individual Interview and Written Report (25 points):
http://www.nelliemuller.com/Theperfectsociety.individualreports.htm
2. Team Final Written Report (50 points):
http://www.nelliemuller.com/Theperfectsociety.evaluationofthecommitteesreport.htm
3. Team Presentation (25 points):
http://www.nelliemuller.com/Theperfectsociety.presentation.htm
Evaluation of Media and Methods
The students will evaluate the WebQuest as an instructional media using the rubric (see Appendix D). The teacher will also ask them to write a
brief paragraph stating what they liked most, and what they liked least about the unit, and what they learned in the process.
Evaluation of Overall Instruction
At the end of the WebQuest lesson students will evaluate their work so that the teacher can revise and improve the instructional lesson plan
unit. A form is available online for student feedback and comments on the WebQuest and teamwork:
http://www.nelliemuller.com/student_reflections_march31.htm
The instructor will analyze the evaluations of the students and the students’ evaluations on the unit to assess the effectiveness of the WebQuest and if the final projects met the objectives of the unit. In addition, the instructor will evaluate student objectives (see Appendix J).
Analyze Learners | State Objectives | Select Methods, Media, and Materials | Utilize Media and Materials
Updated May 3, 2005