Instructional Software

Lesson Idea Name: The Adventures of Danny & the Dinosaur!

Content Area: Reading Literary/Language Arts

Grade Level(s): 1ST Grade

Content Standard(s) Addressed:

ELAGSE1RL1: Ask and answer questions about key details in a text.

ELAGSE1RL3: Describe characters, settings, and major events in a story, using key details.

ELAGSE1RL7: Use illustrations and details in a story to describe its characters, setting, or events.

Learning Objectives:

 Students will be able to answer questions about key details in a text.

Technology Standard(s) Addressed:

3-Knowledge Constructor: Students critically curate a variety of resources using digital tools to construct
knowledge, produce creative artifacts and make meaningful learning experiences for themselves and others.

6-Creative Communicator: Students communicate clearly and express themselves creatively for a variety of
purposes using the platforms, tools, styles, formats and digital media appropriate to their goals.

7-Global Collaborator: Students use digital tools to broaden their perspectives and enrich their learning by
collaborating with others and working effectively in teams locally and globally.

Selected Technology Tool: ScratchJr

URL(s) to support the lesson (if applicable and goes directly to the lesson): N/A

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Type of Instructional Software:

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

Features of this software (check all that apply):

☐ Assessment Monitoring/Reporting

X Allows teacher to create customized lessons for students

X Multi-user or collaborative functions with others in the class

☐ Multi-user or collaborative with others outside the class

X Accessible to students beyond the school day

X Accessible via mobile devices

X Multiple languages

X Safety, security and/or privacy features

Bloom’s Digital Taxonomy Level(s):

X Remembering X Understanding X Applying X Analyzing X Evaluating X Creating

Levels of Technology Integration:

☐ Infusion Level: Students may work at a higher Bloom’s Level, but they do not have any “Voice or Choice”
during the activity and most of the decisions are made by the teacher.

X Integration Level: We would like to see ALL lessons/activities reach this level. The project is student-
driven. Students have “Voice and Choice” in the activities, selecting the topic of study and determining the
technology tool to demonstrate mastery of the standard. The teacher becomes more of a facilitator.

☐ Expansion Level: The projects created are shared outside of the classroom, publishing student work and
promoting authorship. This could be reached by showcasing the project on the school’s morning
newscast, posting the project to the classroom blog, or publishing via an outside source.

Universal Design for Learning (UDL):

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Multiple Means of Expression:

 The lesson provides options for perceptions, as the instructional tools allows students to utilize
multiple features to display information.
 The lesson provides clarification of symbols, as the students will explore one another’s illustrations
and gain explicit understanding of their meanings and how they relate to the text.
 The tool used in the lesson is supportive to English language learners, as it has been translated into six
other languages
 The lesson supports comprehension, as students are activating their prior knowledge about a text,
drawing on aspects/details of the story, and using those details to illustrate and depict events within
the story.

Multiple Means of Action and Expression:

 The lesson provides student access to assistive technology tools, such as tablets and computers.
 The lesson provides for expression and communication, as students will collaborate with peers while,
expressing their creativity skills through the ScratchJr learning tools.
 During the lesson, students will be provided ample time to practice and perform. This will allow
students time for trial and error in reflecting on the story and creating their designs.

Multiple Means of Engagement:

 The lesson is motivating to students, as students have autonomy, student voice, and student choice in
what event they would like to illustrate/create from the story.
 The lesson is motivating, as it is hands-on, imaginative, and increases students’ artistic skills.
 The lesson paves the way for peer collaboration, as students work interpersonally with peers to
achieve a common goal.
 The lesson opens the floor for discussion, as students will be given the opportunity to share and
discuss their creations.
 The lesson enhance social-emotional and coping skills, as students will practice working with others to
achieve a common goal.
 During the lesson, the teacher will provide positive praise and feedback, providing students with a
sense of confidence and appreciation in their work.

Lesson idea implementation: The teacher will open the lesson by introducing the book, “Danny and the
Dinosaur” by Syd Hoff. While reading the book to the students, the teacher will stop to discuss the elements
of the story, the characters, settings, and events taking place. The teacher will then create an anchor,
where he/she will highlight, review, and discuss the elements of the story. Here, the teacher will extend open
ended questions to the students about the book, assessing students understanding of what was read. The
teacher will then engage the students in complete a story map about the book. Here, the teacher will use a
document camera and the Smartboard to display his/her own story map, helping the students to identify and
describe the elements of a story, the character’s actions/feelings, the events that took place, the settings, etc.
During this instructional time, the student will follow along with the teacher by writing and/or drawing on
their own story maps. This part of the lesson is to help the students gain a genuine understanding of story
elements and those relative to the book. This will also allow the teacher to address the standards related to
the book. For the project portion of the lesson, the teacher will introduce students to ScratchJr by displaying
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the software on the Smartboard and thoroughly introducing students to its features and tools. This is
essential to the students being able to utilize the software independently. The teacher will model using the
features, specifically those that the students will use during the lesson.  
  
The teacher will explain to the students that they will work with a partner and use the software to create an
event (of their very own choice) that took place in the story. The teacher will place the students into pairs,
then allow the students to use laptops or computers to engage with the tool. The students will be allowed
ample time to practice, as the lesson will extend over the course of 2 to 3 days, allowing the teacher to fully
introduce the concepts, as well as the instructional tool. Ample time will also give students the necessary time
they need to build their illustrations. As the students are working, the teacher will transition around the
room, monitoring students and facilitating the activity, but allowing students to have control. During this
time, the teacher will take observation and anecdotal notes, which will be used to make further
decisions regarding students’ learning. During this time, the teacher will also walk around and conference
with students about their work, providing students with feedback and praise, and answering any questions
they may have about the book/activity. While conferencing with the students, the teacher will ask the
students to share how their creations relate to the book. This is to ensure that students are directly applying
their knowledge of the book to their creations. The teacher will close the lesson by placing the students’
illustrations into a PowerPoint and displaying the PowerPoint on the Smartboard. This will allow students to
share and discuss their work, as the teacher will allow pairs to come up and briefly explain what they created.
Here, the students will be able to examine one another’s work, where they will apply their knowledge of the
book, by making connections between their peers’ illustrations and the events that took place in the book.
This will be guided by the teacher, as the teacher will extend open-ended and higher-order thinking questions
to access students' feedback about the illustrations and the book. The teacher will write down students’
responses, using the feedback to formatively assess students’ thinking. I will use this information
to determine if students need more practice, one-to-one guided reading, small-group guided-reading, etc.  
  
*To support students with disabilities, the teacher will provide one-on-one support (if needed). For students
will visual impairments, the teacher will ensure that the content on the tablet/laptop is displayed in a clear
and large enough print for students to see. For students with hearing impairments, headphones (if needed)
will be provided. Students will also be provided a quieter space to work and collaborate with peers. The
teacher will also provide touchscreens and special mouses to accommodate students with mobile and/or fine-
motor related disorders

Reflective Practice: I believe that the activities I created are supportive to the development of young children.
I believe the students will learn through collaboration, hands-on practice, and verbal discussions. The
tools involved in the lesson are child-friendly and have the capacity to increase the thinking skills and
academic success of students. This lesson paves the way creativity, applying knowledge, problem-solving,
evaluating, analyzing, and collaborating. These are skills that students can transfer into other areas of
learning. The lesson is engaging and incorporate the components of Universal Design for Learning, which is a
fundamental framework in enhancing student learning. In response to what could extend this lesson, the
ScratchJr tool could be used to encourage students to create their own stories. The students could create a
story about themselves and a dinosaur. Epic is another tool that can be added to enhance this lesson, as
students could create illustrations or stories based on books featured within site. The students could use Epic
to read the books, then use the ScratchJr tool to create a product from the book.

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