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Portfolio Proposal Student Information

Sidney Ashworth San Diego Regional Center Course: EDUC 526 Capstone Experience in Digital Teaching and Learning Professor: Joanne Gilbreath Rush for Gold February 13, 2014

Type of Project
Rush for Gold is a unit plan designed to meet the Common Core standards for fourth grade and the ISTE standards for technology. Students will learn about the historical and cultural effects the Gold Rush had on California starting in 1849. Students will learn about the discovery of Gold and how this impacted the lives of people all over the world as word spread and gold fever struck. Portions of the unit will also address the people of California during this time including women, 49ers, Chinese immigrants, Native Americans, and Mexican Americans (Californios). Students will understand the lives and culture of these people before and after the Gold Rush and the struggles they faced to survive.

Goals and student learning outcomes of the Portfolio


This portfolio will provide students with an understanding of how people traveled and lived during the 1800s. o Students will understand how people traveled to California, the routes taken and the positive and negative aspects of each. Student will also understand the mining techniques and life style of miners.

o Students will learn this by creating a digital map, mind map, an image collage a FakeBook Page, and a digital brochure. This portfolio will allow students to understand how California developed into a thriving state. o Students will learn how the Gold Rush attracted a new population of men and women that developed new towns, cities, and businesses. o Students will learn this by creating a movie or writing and performing a song and making a newspaper. This portfolio will allow students to understand gender inequality and racism. o Students will learn about the lives of different women and people of different races and how their lives were impacted as well as the struggles they faced and factors they had to overcome. o Students will learn this by creating a news cast and an image video.

Portfolio Outline
The unit begins through various brainstorming activities to activate prior knowledge, set personal learning goals and become engaged in the subject. Students will watch various videos and take part in a read aloud on the subject throughout the unit and take notes using a device and method of their choice. These notes will be transferred to a mind map to categorize the main ideas and events they learn about and to organize information learned. Students will also post summaries and drawings to a personal blog to extend their learning. These are ongoing activities and students will add to the mind map and blog throughout the unit. Students will be able to take notes in a way that works best for their personal intelligence strengths. I added this element to the unit while taking EDUC 522 and learning the importance of planning lessons and activities that meet the needs of each learner. Students will understand the lives of those traveling to the Gold Rush by pretending to be a Forty-niner throughout the unit by documenting their journey and life in California.

Students will create a map showing the different routes to California and create an image collage to show they understand the differences and similarities of each and the positive and negative aspects of the routes.

Using the internet and a panning simulation, students will learn about the different mining methods used during the Gold Rush. They will create a brochure to describe in depth how to mine for gold using multiple methods.

Students will learn about the lives of different ethnic groups through various videos and the read aloud. Students will create a newscast to report the improper treatment of these people and the struggles they faced.

As students learn about the lives of women in California throughout the unit they will select one woman to research further and create a video documenting their life including struggles and accomplishments. Students will use a webquest to guide them through this project. In EDUC 512 I learned how to make a webquest to guide student learning while allowing students to use the internet as a tool to learn independently.

Working in small groups students will write articles about different aspects of the Gold Rush they have learned about and publish these in a newspaper they will make online. Students will end the unit by creating a video or writing a song about the Gold Rush from beginning to end to show their knowledge on the subject. After taking EDUC 514 I learned how to use iMovie and incorporate it into a unit for students to demonstrate their knowledge.

Resources
1. All Videos retrieved from YouTube describe the Gold Rush experience in depth with visuals and music from the time period. These videos give information from the start of the gold rush until it ends and describes the experience of all people in California at that time. Fitz, John. (2011, March 18). The Start of the California Gold Rush (1848) [video file]. Retrieved from http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QxekRM5-uMU

MrRiveraUSHistory. (2012, February 11). 1 of 5 California Gold Rush 1848 [video file]. Retrieved from http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7uFNbwyTiXM MrRiveraUSHistory. (2012, February 11). 2 of 5 California Gold Rush 1848 [video file]. Retrieved from http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=07XVvsk2kSY MrRiveraUSHistory. (2012, February 11). 3 of 5 California Gold Rush 1848 [video file]. Retrieved from http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aXlLYkqFTr0 MrRiveraUSHistory. (2012, February 11). 4 of 5 California Gold Rush 1848 [video file]. Retrieved from http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y6r68ywb1b4 MrRiveraUSHistory. (2012, February 11). 5 of 5 California Gold Rush 1848 [video file]. Retrieved from http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=luuV0X7st7E Karnahan, Partick. (2012, January 10). California Gold Rush Melodies [video file]. Retrieved from http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2GpiljDygWE Steffy, A., Hess, C. *modernmusicworkshop+. (2010, October 25). Adam Steffy & Clay Hess Gold Rush Modern Music Workshop. *video file+. Retrieved from http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KVPovaypgEY 2. KWL Creator is a website that easily allows students to create KWL charts. Students can print, save and send their charts electronically. IRA/NCTE. (2014). KWL Creator. Retrieved February 17, 2014, from http://www.readwritethink.org/classroom-resources/student-interactives/creator-30846.html

3. Tagxedo is a website that allows students to create word clouds on any topic by easily typing words into the program or copy and pasting from other websites. Word Clouds can then be edited to a persons liking and then be saved, printed or sent electronically. Tagxedo. (n.d). Retrieved February 17, 2014, from http://Tagxedo.com

4. Mindmeister is a site that allows students to create mind maps to organize, display and share information. This website allows students to comprehend information through its visual organization and make connection from one topic or idea to another. MeisterLabs, (2014). Mindmeister. Retrieved February 17, 2014, from http://www.mindmeister.com/ 5. Blogger is a website that allows students to easily set up a personal blog or participate in a classroom blog. This site allows students to share thoughts and ideas with others and receive feedback from peers, teachers and experts. Google. (2014). Blogger. Retrieved February 17, 2014, from http://www.blogger.com 6. FakeBook is a social networking site where students can pretend to be a character and share information with peers and reply to their class mates characters. Students can share thoughts, ideas and facts with others and get a better understanding of this characters life. Tarr, Russel, ActiveHistory.co.uk Limited. (2014). Fakebook. Retrieved February 17, 2014, from http://www.classtools.net/FB/home-page 7. Weebly is a website that easily allows one to set up a website for free. Student will be using Weebly in this unit to conduct a webquest and gather information on the internet. Weebly, Inc., (2014). Retrieved February 17, 2014, from http://www.weebly.com/ 8. Animoto is a website that allows students to create videos online using still pictures. Students can then add music, text and visual effects to the videos to share information on a topic. Animoto, Inc., (2014). Retrieved February 17, 2014, from http://animoto.com/ 9. Lucidpress allows students to create a digital brochure or newsletter that can be shared with others. Students can print, save and share the newspaper digitally.

Lucid Sofware, Inc., (2014). Lucidpress. Retrieved February 17, 2014, from https://www.lucidpress.com/ 10. Map Maker is a website that allows students to create a map of any region in the world. Students can add lines, text and markers to their map. Students will be using this site to show the three routes miners took to the Gold Rush. National Geographic Society. (2014). Map Maker Interactive. Retrieved February 17, 2014, from http://education.nationalgeographic.com/education/mapping/interactive-map/?ar_a=1 11. Fodey allows students to create a digital newspaper that can be shared with others. Students can print, save and share the newspaper digitally. Fodey.com. (2014). Retrieved February 17, 2014, from http://www.fodey.com/generators/newspaper/snippet.asp 12. Drawing Desk allows students to draw digital pictures that can be shared and saved. Students will be using this app to draw a picture of the people traveling to the gold rush to understand their life before the journey begins. 4 Axis Solutions (Pvt) Ltd. (2013). Drawing Desk- Draw, Paint, Doodle. (2.1) [Mobil application software]. Retrieved from http://itunes.apple.com

13. FiftyThree is an app that allows students to write digital notes, picture or sketches. Students will be using this app to record information they learn throughout the unit. FiftyThree, Inc. (2014). Paper by FiftyThree. (1.5.3) [Mobil application software]. Retrieved from http://itunes.apple.com

14. S Memo is a note taking app available on Android devices. Students can use this app to record information throughout the unit by typing or recording voice. Samsung. (2012). S Memo. (12.01.18.4717) [Mobil application software]. Retrieved from https://play.google.com

15. Evernote is a note taking app available on Apple devices. Students can type information they learn throughout the unit and organize it easily to refer to a later time. Evernote. (2014). Evernote. (7.3.1) [Mobil application software]. Retrieved from https://play.google.com

16. Quick Voice Recorder is an app that will allow students to record notes throughout the unit by recording their own voice and be able to refer back to this information in the future. nFinity Inc. (2013). Quick Voice Recorder. (2.5.6) [Mobil application software]. Retrieved from https://play.google.com

17. Pic Jointer is an app that allows students to create a digital collage using still images. It also allows students to edit the images and collage and share it with others. RUI JIA. (2013). Pic Jointer- Picture Collage, Camera Effects plus Photo Editor. (1.6) [Mobil application software]. Retrieved from https://play.google.com

18. iMovie is an app that allows students to create and edit a video. Students can insert video, still images, add music and text and record audio. Apple. (2013). iMovie. (2.0) [Mobil application software]. Retrieved from https://play.google.com

19. Songify is an app that allows students to create their own music, edit it and share with others. Smule. (2013). Songify by Smule. (2.2.0) [Mobil application software]. Retrieved from https://play.google.com

20. GarageBand is an app that also allows students to create songs, edit, and add music. Apple. (2013). GarageBand. (2.0) [Mobil application software]. Retrieved from https://play.google.com

21. The Great Horn Spoon is a novel students will read about the experience of a young boy traveling to California during the gold rush and his experience in California during this time period. Fleishman, S. (1963) By The Great Horn Spoon. New York, N. Y: Little, Brown and Company.

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