{ Blended learning unit: 7 th grade world geography Kasey Spencer, Megan Unger, Michael Kramer

DAY 1DAY 2DAY 3DAY 4DAY 5 Discuss Natural Resources (Maps) Current Events in South America (stations) Current Events in South America (stations) Current Events in South America (stations) Discussion over Events South America Station- Rotation Model Flipped Classroom

 Why do it the way we did?  Make sure its “need to know”  Engaging Model  Technology  Reflection  Time and Place  “Every time you have students watch a video, just like you would with any instructional activity, you must build in reflective activities to have students think about what they learned, how it will help them, its relevance, and more.”  Five Best Practices for the Flipped Classroom, Andrew Miller  Why use a flipped lesson?

 Assignments to be completed before class:  XtdL3YMHyTI XtdL3YMHyTI XtdL3YMHyTI   320/ 320/ Day 1: Flipped Lesson

  Begin talking to the students about natural resources in the United States.   Ask them what kind of resources they think that we have.   discuss natural resources that they have, and then ask the students to predict what natural resources are found in South America.   Make sure to emphasize Peru, Brazil, and Columbia. Starting the lesson

  Learning Sequence:   The students will open up their books to page and look at the key terms that they need to know.   A discussion will take place over the physical geography of South America and how the natural resources have a connection to them.   A discussion will take place over the key terms on page 24, and also over the natural resources and the key to the map on page 25.   Have the students break up into pairs (groups of 2) and look at the Map Master Activity on page 25.   The students will list off the resources that are located near the waterways.   They will then discuss in their groups why those locations make the natural resources useful. In Class Lesson

- - Objectives: - - Identify recent news about a given country by reading an article provided by the teacher. - - Synthesize the article into what is believed to be the main points. - - Given what is already known about the given country (culture, natural resources, etc.), as well as the recent news developments, predict the potential impact that country might have on the world as a whole. Days 2-4: Station- Rotation Model

  Explain to students that following news around the world enables them to put what they are learning into context. Then, begin explaining the activity. 10 minutes. Station - Rotation Model

  The classroom will be set up in 5 stations.   2 stations will have paper versions of some of the articles   2 stations will have an online version of some articles (including the video)   1 station will have computers set up so that students can find other current events from South America/ the world and make connections. Station Rotation

  Begin with the instructions o o Each group is to view the article/ video and answer the questions about the articles. They need to compile information on each article in preparation for the final discussion.   Appoint each group a country (Brazil, Colombia, or Peru) and explain that they will be viewing the articles from each country so they do not need to get attached to their country..   Have the articles set up if they are on the computer/ laid out if it is in text.   Ask students to provide three pieces of information: 1.) What is the title of the article? 2.) What is the main point of this article? 3.) Based on this story, what impact do you believe this country will have around the world in the future?   Students will have about fifteen minutes to read, discuss, and write their answers. And then they will rotate. Learning Sequence:

  As an exit activity, students are to write a short response (1-2 sentences) explaining a piece of information they found especially interesting in one of the articles (other than their own).   Compile the interesting piece of information and go over it to set up an opening question for the polleverywhere discussion. Closure:

  Brazil : World Cup: cup-rio-soccerex-cancelled cup-rio-soccerex-cancelled Gay Marriage: churches-to-discriminate-against-lgbt-people/ churches-to-discriminate-against-lgbt-people/   Peru :   Killing of Dolphins: slaughter-dolphins-shark-fishing slaughter-dolphins-shark-fishing   Women in the Workforce: reaches-25-of-gdp   Colombia:   Railway Bombing: cerrejon-railway-idUSBRE99C09K (it might be better to assign this to one or more gifted students) cerrejon-railway-idUSBRE99C09K   Indigenous Protests: march-throughout-colombia-onic/ (another more higher level thinking one) march-throughout-colombia-onic/ Articles for Current Events

1. 1. What is the title of this article? What is the article about? After reading, what types of questions do you have? How is this story important for the country’s future? How does this article suggest potential impacts around the world? Questions for Each Article

After students finish with articles assigned, they will need to go online, do some research, and find another current even relating to the topic. They will answer these questions:   1. What is the internet website that you found your current event on?   2. Is this source trustworthy? Why or why not?   3. What is the title of this article?   4. What is the article about?   5. After reading this article what questions do you have?   6. What are the potential impacts on the world based on this story?   7. Has anything else like this ever happened? Continuation

  Objectives   Construct their own opinions on natural resources and their importance by giving solid evidence based on their research.   Collaborate anonymously through polleverywhere about the connections between economy, trading, and influences. Day 5: Closure for the Unit

 Question on polleverywhere  Gives students a chance to showcase what they have learned in a manner where they can feel comfortable sharing  Use these questions to facilitate a group discussion Group Discussion

 Sum up what was discussed with each articles  What did they learn?  How do the articles relate?  How might what we discussed be a major part of geography?  Have students create an exit slip with what they liked/disliked about the activity Round out the lesson

  An Investigation of Varied Types of Blended Learning Environments on Student Achievement: An Experimental Study, Dr. Wei-Fan Chen   beaa-48bc-850f-d62149c84978%40sessionmgr4&vid=6&hid=17  Five Best Practices for the Flipped Classroom, Andrew Miller    Blended Learning and Teacher Preparation Programs, Dr. Devon C. Duhaney   beaa-48bc-850f-d62149c84978%40sessionmgr4&vid=6&hid=17  Enhancing the Blended Learning Curriculum by using the “Flipped Classroom” Approach to Produce a Dynamic Learning Environment, C. Thoms  Works Cited