Week 4 - Gaming Lesson Plan

Simple ELA Lesson Plan                                                Game: A Google a Day

Description of game:

"A Google A Day helps keep the cobwebs away! Engage your gray matter and sharpen your web searching skills to find the answer for each day's head-scratching query. Read the question, and then race the clock to see how quickly you can Google the answer. There's no right way to solve it, but there's only one right answer! Learn something new every day when you play A Google A Day! "

Grade level: 6-8

Common Core ELA STANDARDS

Reading Informational Text: RI 4

4. Determine the meaning of words and phrases as they

are used in a text, including figurative, connotative,

and technical meanings; analyze the impact of

specific word choices on meaning and tone,

including analogies or allusions to other texts.

Writing: W,6,7

6. Use technology, including the Internet, to produce

and publish writing and present the relationships

between information and ideas efficiently as well

as to interact and collaborate with others.

7. Conduct short research projects to answer a

question (including a self-generated question),

drawing on several sources and generating

additional related, focused questions that allow for

multiple avenues of exploration.

Speaking and Listening: SL 1,2

1. Engage effectively in a range of collaborative

discussions with diverse partners, building on others’ ideas and

expressing their own clearly.

a. Come to discussions prepared, having read

or researched material under study; explicitly

draw on that preparation by referring to

evidence on the topic, text, or issue to probe

and reflect on ideas under discussion.

b. Follow rules for collegial discussions and

decision-making, track progress toward

specific goals and deadlines, and define

individual roles as needed.

c. Pose questions that connect the ideas of

several speakers and respond to others’

questions and comments with relevant

evidence, observations, and ideas.

d. Acknowledge new information expressed

by others, and, when warranted, qualify or

justify their own views in light of the evidence

presented.

2. Analyze the purpose of information presented

in diverse media and formats (e.g., visually,

quantitatively, orally) and evaluate the motives

(e.g., social, commercial, political) behind its

presentation.

 Language: L 2,4,5,6

2. Demonstrate command of the conventions of

standard English capitalization, punctuation, and

spelling when writing.

a. Use punctuation (comma, ellipsis, dash) to

indicate a pause or break.

c. Spell correctly.

4. Determine or clarify the meaning of unknown and

multiple-meaning words or phrases based on grade

8 reading and content, choosing flexibly from a

range of strategies.

a. Use context (e.g., the overall meaning of a

sentence or paragraph; a word’s position or

function in a sentence) as a clue to the meaning

of a word or phrase.

b. Use common, grade-appropriate Greek or Latin

affixes and roots as clues to the meaning of a

word (e.g., precede, recede, secede).

c. Consult general and specialized reference

materials (e.g., dictionaries, glossaries,

thesauruses), both print and digital, to find the

pronunciation of a word or determine or clarify

its precise meaning or its part of speech.

d. Verify the preliminary determination of the

meaning of a word or phrase (e.g., by checking

the inferred meaning in context or in a

dictionary).

5. Demonstrate understanding of figurative language,

word relationships, and nuances in word meanings.

a. Interpret figures of speech (e.g. verbal irony,

puns) in context.

b. Use the relationship between particular words

to better understand each of the words.

c. Distinguish among the connotations

6. Acquire and use accurately grade-appropriate

general academic and domain-specific words

and phrases; gather vocabulary knowledge

when considering a word or phrase important to

comprehension or expression.

NETS-Technology Standards

1. Creativity and Innovation

Students demonstrate creative thinking, construct

knowledge, and develop innovative products and

processes using technology.

a. Apply existing knowledge to generate new ideas,

products, or processes

2. Communication and Collaboration

Students use digital media and environments to

communicate and work collaboratively, including

at a distance, to support individual learning and

contribute to the learning of others.

a. Interact, collaborate, and publish with peers,

experts, or others employing a variety of digital

environments and media

b. Communicate information and ideas effectively

to multiple audiences using a variety of media

and formats

3. Research and Information Fluency

Students apply digital tools to gather, evaluate,

and use information.

a. Plan strategies to guide inquiry

b. Locate, organize, analyze, evaluate, synthesize,

and ethically use information from a variety of

sources and media

c. Evaluate and select information sources and digital

tools based on the appropriateness to specific tasks

d. Process data and report results

4. Critical Thinking, Problem Solving,

and Decision Making

Students use critical thinking skills to plan and

conduct research, manage projects, solve problems,

and make informed decisions using appropriate

digital tools and resources.

a. Identify and define authentic problems and

significant questions for investigation

5. Digital Citizenship

a. Practice safe, legal, and responsible

use of information and technology

b. Exhibit a positive attitude toward using technology

that supports collaboration, learning, and productivity

c. Demonstrate personal responsibility for

lifelong learning

d. Exhibit leadership for digital citizenship

6. Technology Operations and Concepts

Students demonstrate a sound understanding

of technology concepts, systems, and operations.

a. Understand and use technology systems

b. Select and use applications effectively

and productively

c. Troubleshoot systems and applications

d. Transfer current knowledge to learning

of new technologies

Instructional activities:

      This is a reading and vocabulary do-now activity. Students are directed to log on to their computers when they arrive to class and go to the game. They will use Google to solve the problem. In this timed game, students learn to use a full range of search techniques to answer riddles, questions and solve problems. Most often it involves vocabulary puzzlers. 

 http://agoogleaday.com/#date=2012-02-19 

or access it through Shockwave at  http://www.shockwave.com/gamelanding/googleaday.jsp

 

      Sample question #1: I can grow my body back in about two days if cut in half. Many scientists believe I do not undergo senescence. What am I?

      Sample question #2: If you were in the basin of the Somme River at summer’s end in 1918, what language would you have had to speak to understand coded British communications?

Sample question #3: Two future presidents signed me. Two didn't because they were abroad. Despite my importance, modern viewers seem to think I have a glaring spelling error. What is it?

Sample question #4: In April 1896, I shot and killed a man. Eight months earlier, that man shot and killed a man who 17 years prior was famously reported to have killed 42 men. Who was the man I shot?

Assessment:

      Teacher will check the student’s answer in their class journal. Students will be expected to write down the question, the answer and the search path they chose, and why. They will also be expected to reflect on what subject area the question falls under. 

Debriefing:

      A vote will be taken among the class once a week and one question chosen for discussion. In order to develop meaningful learning, the chosen question will be reviewed. The class will discuss how a good search could take place. The class will discuss the relevance of the question, any unknown vocabulary terms and the process of conducting the online search in a productive way, relative to the question chosen that week.

What cognitive skills do this game help to cultivate?

      Players need to be able to read and understand the information presented in the questions. They get feedback and are offered help and must be able to read the hint and decipher how it can help them. The hints are a form of scaffolding. They must understand the main idea of the textual information and are then involved in what is called a “transactional process’ in the article we read, whereby they process the knowledge they find in their initial search to help them move forward towards discovery (finding the correct answer). Students must access prior knowledge in many cases to help them use the correct search terms. So, players must analyze textual information and bring prior knowledge to help answer questions. 

What new literacies skills do this game help to cultivate?

From the journal article we read that new literacies “generally means being able to use information and communication technology tools to “identify questions, locate information, evaluate the information, synthesize information to answer questions, and communicate the answers to others” (Leu, Kinzer, Coiro, & Cammack, 2004, p. 1572). 

This quick daily ELA lesson cultivates all of those new literacies skills.