Lesson Plan for

Implementing NETS•S
Template with guiding questions
Teacher(s)
Name Matt McGehee

Position Teacher

School/District Cobb County

Grade Level(s) Mixed

Content Area Social Studies – Current Issues

Time line 3 Weeks

Standards
• What do you want students to know and be able to do?
• What knowledge, skills, and strategies do you expect students to gain?
• Are there connections to other curriculum areas and subject area benchmarks?
• Please put a summary of the standards you will be addressing rather than abbreviations and
numbers that indicate which standards were addressed.

Content Standards Current Issues – Topic 4 Technology and Society

NETS*S Standards: ISTE 1.1 Empowered Learner, 1.4 Innovative Designer, and 1.6 Creative Communicator

Overview (a short summary of the lesson or unit including assignment or expected or possible products)

This is a multiday lesson for my current issues class in which the students will be developing all aspects of a
Podcast. The students have been learning about social media, both the pros and cons of the platforms and how they
can have social-emotional effects on adolescents. During these lessons many of the students felt that “influencers”
or social media personalities just got on a device and recorded. They all felt it was unscripted and unedited. This
was the reason for the lesson. I wanted to the students to understand how much work and development goes into
creating a 10-minute Podcast.

As you will see in the lesson plans the students will formulate and idea for a podcast, something that is a “current
issue” in their life. They will follow the rubric and details of the project and create all the necessary parts that they will
use to create the podcast recording. Once they have developed all aspects of the groundwork for the podcast, they
will begin the recording and editing process that are outlined in the instructions.

Students will use Microsoft Word or Google Docs to submit their overall podcast design and script on CTLS (Cobb’s
Digital Online Learning Platform). They will create their Podcast in Canva or Spotify and use free music applications
and editing applications to complete and submit their final project. Some students have opted to use Garage Band
on their personal Mac for the recording and editing process. I have given students multiple choices on what mobile
applications that can use, which covers the minimum of three that needed to be used for this assignment.

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 Students plan and employ effective research strategies to locate information and other resources for their intellectual
or creative pursuits.

Social issues
1.1 Empowered Learner
Students articulate and set personal learning goals, develop strategies leveraging technology to achieve them
and reflect on the learning process itself to improve learning outcomes.

What’s your Topic

1.4 Knowledge Constructor
Students plan and employ effective research strategies to locate information and other resources for their
intellectual or creative pursuits.

Podcasting
1.5 Creative Communicator
Students choose the appropriate platforms and tools for meeting their creation or communication objectives.

Essential Questions

• What essential question or learning are you addressing?

• What would students care or want to know about the topic?
• What are some questions to get students thinking about the topic or generate interest about the topic?
• What background or prior knowledge will you expect students to bring to this topic and build on?

Remember, essential questions are meant to guide the lesson by provoking inquiry. They should not be answered
with a simple “yes” or “no” and should have many acceptable answers.

EQ: How can technology like podcasting foster connection and understanding between people and cultures in
our increasingly interconnected world?

Many of the students in the class have expressed a desire to “Just be an Influencer and do fun things instead of
work.” They should want to know how much work goes into the production of well-designed Podcasts and how
this medium will allow them to share their own perspective with peers globally. I asked students to share
perspectives on other topics so this would allow them to expand their reach. Many of the students listen to
Podcasts as their primary form of information on various topics.

Assessment

• What will students do or produce to illustrate their learning?

• What can students do to generate new knowledge?
• How will you assess how students are progressing (formative assessment)?
• How will you assess what they produce or do? How will you differentiate products?

You must attach copies of your assessment and/or rubrics. Include these in your presentation as well.

The students will brainstorm a topic they are passionate about exploring then they will be grouped in
collaborative communities to better develop these ideas and determine a path of research to become more
knowledgeable about the topic. Using the peer groups and the research criteria it will allow them to generate
knowledge. The students will be assessed in two parts. Part 1 will be the Topic, Research material, and Script.
Part 2 will be the creation of the Podcast. I will look to see if they have met the criteria of the project but not
evaluate the level of the content that was done in part 1. Part 2 is merely the production product.

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Resources

• How does technology support student learning?

• What digital tools, and resources—online student tools, research sites, student handouts, tools, tutorials,
templates, assessment rubrics, etc—help elucidate or explain the content or allow students to interact
with the content?
• What opportunities did you have to collaborate with your students to discover and use new digital
resources to meet their learning goals? (Note: This meets part of ISTE standard 4.2)
• What previous technology skills should students have to complete this project?

Students will be given a handout with everything they need to produce this product. They will be given a list of
sites approved by the district, or they could use it at home to make the podcast. They will use Canva to aid in
the overall production of the Podcast they will turn in. The instructions and rubric will be accessible online with
links to Canva tutorials and all necessary resources to record and produce the Podcast.

The students will be given a series of prompts to help them develop their topics and aid with the research and
script writing. The prompts are set up to include those who wish to engage in this process alone with an
informative Podcast or students who want to work collaboratively; they can choose an interview-style production.
However, it cannot be someone else in the class; they must pick an outside person. This gives the students
opportunities to collaborate during the research and topic discussions and with other students depending on the
Podcast direction.

Students already possess the skills necessary to complete this project. We have looked at sourcing, biases, and
how opinions tend to fall on a political spectrum. They have used their computers for research, and they use
their phones daily on social media. I am not combining the school and personal uses of these devices to
produce a product that will need to be well thought out but is strictly technology-based due to the delivery of the
final product.

Instructional Plan and Preparation

• What student needs, interests, and prior learning provide a foundation for this lesson?
• How can you find out if students have this foundation?
• What difficulties might students have?

Students are surrounded by technology, but many are not sure how they can easily use it for self-expressive
purposes. They have existing experience on the consumer/customer side and the basic skills to record audio.
We have discussed the use of social media in class during one of the lessons on “Your Screen Time” and what
other activities could be done instead of Social Media. Some students have talked openly about Podcasts they
have listened to and have expressed interest in Social Media Influencing. The students in this class may have
difficulty with the knowledge of the process of Podcast creation, so that is where the scaffolds come in. While
they have done debates and written arguments, they may be anxious about their skills as an interviewer or with
public speaking in this way. The class is small and in an affluent district so access to technology will not be a
factor.

Management-- Describe the classroom management strategies will you use to manage your students and the
use of digital tools and resources.

• How and where will your students work? (Small groups, whole group, individuals, classroom, lab, etc.)
• What strategies will you use to achieve equitable access to the Internet while completing this lesson?
• Describe what technical issues might arise during the Internet lesson.
• Explain how you worked with students to resolve or trouble-shoot them? (This meets part of ISTE
standard 4.2.)

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 • Please note: Trouble-shooting should occur prior to implementing the lesson as well as throughout the
process. Be sure to indicate how you prepared for problems and work through the issues that occurred as
you implemented and even after the lesson was completed.

Students will work in a variety of places for this assignment. Students will have the opportunity in class to work
individually through initial topic generation and research or in small groups while collaborating on ideas of creating
interview questions or with peer feedback on topics or research. When it is time to produce the actual Podcasts, I
have reserved time in the Learning Commons (Media Center) in the smallest private room where they can use the
Podcast Mic and their school laptops to record their project. The recording room will be reserved for 4 periods
each day for a week to allow students multiple opportunities to record. They can use Current issues during class
time or during their lunches if necessary. They can also record with their own equipment at home if they are more
comfortable there. Giving students the options of location, equipment, and software creates an equitable
environment for all students involved in the project.
When it comes to tech issues the ones I have been made aware of are the set-up of the Podcast Mic in the
Learning Commons. I have done this personally, and it is not an easy setup or breakdown. We will do this once at
the beginning of the week and leave it set up for use throughout. The students have been given guides and
resources to help them troubleshoot recording issues or software (application) issues. I have personally used
many of the resources provided and the students only need to create a link to their recordings that can be shared
on CTLS, a platform they use daily.

Instructional Strategies and Learning Activities – Describe the research-based instructional strategies you will
use with this lesson.

• How will your learning environment support these activities? What is your role? What are the students'
roles in the lesson?
• How can you ensure higher order thinking at the analysis, evaluation, or creativity levels of
Bloom’s Taxonomy?
• How can the technology support your teaching?
• What authentic, relevant, and meaningful learning activities and tasks will your students complete?
• How will they build knowledge and skills?
• How will students use digital tools and resources to communicate and collaborate with each other and
others?
• How will you facilitate the collaboration?

The learning environment for this project is a combination of Project-based learning and Cooperative learning.
The project is student-driven with the creation of the podcast, but collaboratively driven in that students can share
topics, research, and process in small groups. My role is to guide the project and provide the resources
necessary for student success. The promotion of higher-order thinking is ingrained in the overall process.
Students were challenged to analyze current Podcasts for stylistic or production reasons and evaluate those for
use on their own. Ultimately, the creation of the Podcast will synthesize all they have learned from this project
since it will incorporate the research, scriptwriting, design, and finally, recording.
The technology itself supports teaching and learning. In Current Issues, the students generate the topics of
discussion and the way in which they want to deliver their points of view. I have just implemented a piece of easily
accessible technology to help in the facilitation of planning, recording, editing, and finalizing their product. This will
lead to long-term knowledge by developing interviewing skills, research skills, revision of content, and production
of a product. The collaboration and use of digital tools will be during the investigation of the many tools necessary
to produce the podcast. Students will use small groups to critically review the tutorial videos and answer
questions for each other to help improve overall understanding from a peer-to-peer relationship. My role in this is
to provide the tools and time necessary to help support the process of research skills and Q & A skills and assist
with any specific questions of content design and creation.

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Differentiation

• How will you differentiate content and process to accommodate various learning styles and abilities?
• How will you help students learn independently and with others?
• How will you provide extensions and opportunities for enrichment?
• What assistive technologies will you need to provide?)

To differentiate this process, I have provided:

• Provide text/video tutorials on technical skills for visual/auditory learners.
• Allow choice in podcast topics to tap into interests & strengths.
• Use flexible grouping so students can work independently or collaboratively.
For support, I have broken the assignment down into chunks for daily work and have broken the entire
assignment into two parts. The extensions and enrichment are provided with the encouragement of deeper
research or looking at opposing viewpoints on your topic. I have not provided any assistive technologies.

Reflection
• Will there be a closing event?
• Will students be asked to reflect upon their work?
• Will students be asked to provide feedback on the assignment itself?

Also answer the following questions:

• How will you know if the students found the lesson meaningful and worth completing?
• In what ways do you think this lesson will be effective?
• Why do you think this?
• What problems do you anticipate and why?
• How would you design and/or teach this lesson differently if you had more time?
The students will submit the podcast as their midterm final for this semester. I will see them again when we
return from break, and I will then ask them to reflect on their podcast and how they felt it went for them. I will
get verbal feedback from the students on what they felt worked well and, in their reflections, give me feedback
on what resources worked best for them. I will then take the feedback from my current issues class to develop
a similar assignment for my honors or on-level U.S. History class for a future project.
I am lucky to have a class of only 16 people, so I am able to get a lot of one-to-one time working with each
student on this project. I have already noticed as the project has progressed that students are changing their
topics, by discovering different directions they want to take their ideas. Many of the students were reluctant to
make on outline of what they needed to address, but as they began planning many of them realized they will
need something to keep them from rambling or going way off topic. This project has already engaged the
students by making them think through processes, use time management skills to plan and execute the
assignment. They have realized this is more than just an hour’s assignment and are beginning to take the
planning sessions seriously. They will begin recording next week using a podcasting mic and quite room in
the media center. They may also record at home or wherever they feel most comfortable. While I do not
anticipate many problems with this assignment, I am interested to see how long the students record. They
have a limit of 10 minutes and I feel some may go longer and have trouble editing these down.
When it comes to time, I have about three weeks to complete this assignment and will look for ways to shorten
it down to about 3-4 days. I will have to see how the recording goes as that will be the slowest process, as
individuals will need alone time to record if they choose the media center option. If I have 50-60 students in
other classes taking this type of project on that process will not work, however I feel that is not as serious of an
issue given the overall project.

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Closure: Anything else you would like to reflect upon regarding lessons learned and/or your experience with
implementing this lesson. What advice would you give others if they were to implement the lesson? Please
provide a quality reflection on your experience with this lesson and its implementation.
At first I was very apprehensive with creating my own podcast. I hated it but saw the value. At first it was a fight
with the students as this was a totally new process that took them out of their comfort zones. Then next struggle
was getting the students to understand that podcasting as a profession/lifestyle take a lot more work and effort
then they see in the final product. My advice to anyone who is thinking about doing a project like this is: Go for
it!! There are templates online, resources from this class, and I will attach my instructions packet that can be
modified for a multitude of uses. My students are only doing audio for this semester, but I may have them try this
again in groups using audio and video but want to make sure that is allowed with my school. Now that I have
been thinking about how this type of technology could be used in classrooms, I have thought about students
becoming “content experts” on specific topics or units and they can produce short tutorials that I can later embed
in our online platform to help students who are struggling with content. The applications are limitless once you
get a good, streamlined system in place for future work. I am excited to see how this turns out and how I can
improve and streamline it for future lessons. Maybe even record some myself when I teach my AP classes next
year.

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