Category Archives: computer applications

African-American girl churning butter

Rural Artifact Project

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Standards

CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RH.11-12.7
Integrate and evaluate multiple sources of information presented in diverse formats and media (e.g., visually, quantitatively, as well as in words) in order to address a question or solve a problem.

CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RH.11-12.9
Integrate information from diverse sources, both primary and secondary, into a coherent understanding of an idea or event, noting discrepancies among sources.

Technology required

Students will need a device to search the Internet. This lesson assumes students submit assignments on Google classroom but that is not a requirement.

Time

2 hours, including time for presentation, student research and completing assignment sheet.

Lesson Summary

Students learn definitions of artifacts and their use in understanding every day life during a historical period. Students conduct research on sites such as the Library of Congress and Smithsonian Institute to find images of four artifacts and write a discussion of each.

Lesson

Begin with this presentation explaining what is an artifact, the steps in completing the artifact assignment. The assignment requires finding four artifacts and writing a discussion of each. An example of a completed artifact assignment for one artifact, a butter churn, can be found here.

Allow students 30-60 minutes for research and an additional 30-60 minutes for completing the written assignment for each artifact. To maximize time on task, we recommend having students turn in their draft for at least one artifact by the end of the first class period. A second class period can be used for finding and describing additional artifacts.

Differentiated Instruction

For AP U.S. History and other advanced students, we recommend assigning this web-based lesson on artifacts from the Smithsonian Institute.

Students with writing or language difficulties may be assigned fewer artifacts to research and discuss.

Three Native American soldiers, two men, one woman.

Cross-curricular lesson on Native American vets

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CCSS.MATH.CONTENT.7.RP.A.1 Analyze proportional relationships and use them to solve real-world and mathematical problems.

CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.WHST.6-8.1 Write arguments focused on discipline-specific content.

CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.WHST.6-8.6 Use technology, including the Internet, to produce and publish writing and present the relationships between information and ideas clearly and efficiently.

⏰ Time

Three to four hours. Time varies depending on the time allowed for research online and whether presentation will be submitted in writing or include presentation or video.

📲 Technology Required

Either a project or smart board connected to the computer will be required to view presentation in class and students will need a computer or tablet to conduct research on the web. The game can be played on any computer or tablet with Internet access.

Summary

This cross-curricular lesson includes history, mathematics, English language arts, computer applications and physical education. Students play a game which teaches about Native American veterans in World War I. They are given a presentation on the accomplishments of veteran, Joseph Oklahombi. In P.E. class, students sprint 210 yards to simulate Oklahombi’s attack. They are assigned to create a presentation to nominate Oklahombi for the Congressional Medal of Honor. This may include Google Slides, PowerPoint or video presentations.

Lesson

Presentation in Social Studies

Use the Google slides presentation to teach information about Joseph Oklahombi and Native American participation in World War I. They are given a presentation that includes information on the accomplishments of veteran, Joseph Oklahombi, including the ratio of enemy prisoners captured to American soldiers in his unit. The presentation also discusses the failure of the U.S. government to recognize soldiers like Oklahombi as citizens and the subsequent congressional acts that addressed this issue.

Have students play the Native American veterans game and select the section on World War I veterans.

Screenshot of menu with 5 choices, World War I , Women Veterans, War Stories, Famous Veterans and one, unlabeled, picture of a man in a war bonnet

Writing Assignment

The writing assignment and an outline for a guide are included in the presentation. This can be printed or copied and distributed to students through Google Classroom, Schoology or other CMS.

Physical Education

During P.E., have students measure out 210 yards, set out obstacles to dodge and jump over (backpacks with stacks of books would be a good choice) and sprint down the course, simulating Oklahombi’s attack on the machine gun nests.

Mathematics

Two ratios are computed in the presentation. The teacher may ask students to compute these individually and then present the answer. This lesson may be included as part of the ratio and proportion unit.

Computer Applications

Students will need to access the internet for their research. There are many reputable sites with information on Joseph Oklahombi, including the Smithsonian Museum of the American Indian, Oklahoma Historical Society, Veteran’s Administration and more. Optionally, students may submit their assignment as a video or slide presentation or write it using a word processor.

Differentiation

For students who have learning disabilities or other limits on writing ability, an oral presentation or video may be submitted in lieu of the written assignment.

Google Classroom

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We know that many teachers turned to Google Classroom while in hybrid or distance learning during the pandemic. However, many teachers still continue to use Google Classroom in schools across the nation today. If you’re curious about Google Classroom, below you will find a video and information on some of the basics to help you get started.

Google Classroom – The Basics (Video)

Google Classroom: The Basics

Getting a Google Classroom

In order to have a Google Classroom, create a Google Account or log in to an existing account.

Sign in to your Google Account or create a new one.

Once you have created or logged into your Google Account, use the Google Apps Menu (located in the top right corner of your browser) to open Google Classroom.

Google Apps Menu
Google Classroom

Google Classroom

Google Classroom is where teachers can create virtual classrooms, add students, create assignments (graded and ungraded), and so much more.

Your stream (dashboard) is where you can see the name of the class, announcements, and assignments.

Your Google Classroom Stream

Adding a Classroom

Click the + sign when in Google Classroom to Join or Add a Classroom. Then add the classroom details and click the Create button.

Create a Classroom
Enter the Classroom Details

Your New Google Classroom

After you have created your class, it should appear on your Google Classroom list of classes.

Your Newly Created Google Classroom

Click on your class and you’ll be taken to that class’ stream (dashboard).

Your Class Stream – name of class, assignments, and announcements.

Adding Students

Under the appropriate class, add students by clicking on the People tab and then clicking on the add person button. Type in the email addresses of your students and invite them or copy the link to your classroom in order to share.

Copy the classroom link to share or type in student emails and invite.

Adding Classwork

Click on the Classwork tab under your class and the “+ Create” button to add classwork. There are different types of classwork that you can create. Click on assignment, quiz assignment, question, or other material to create that type of classwork.

Classwork Tab – Create Assignment
Assignment Types

Add the details of the classwork – title, instructions, class, points, due date, rubric, and attach any documents from your class drive. You will also have the option to have a copy of the document made for each student so that your original document remains unedited. You can view the class drive folder from the Classwork tab.

Enter Assignment Details

Once you are done adding the classwork, you have the option to assign the classwork, schedule the classwork to be assigned at a later date, or save the classwork as a draft.

Student Grades

You can access student grades under the Grades tab when in your class.

The Grades Tab

You can also set whether your students are able to view their overall grade. Click on the gear icon in the top right corner to go to Class Settings. Scroll down to grading and click the switch for “Show overall grade to students.”

Class Settings
Grading Settings for Your Class
computer

Game Design Unit for Middle School

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INTRO TO GAME DESIGN

In this unit, students will:

  • Become proficient in use of Google apps Drive, Docs, Slides and Meet software for editing and sharing documents, presentation and videoconferencing.
  • Use Google Drawings, Chrome extensions e.g., Sketchpad, for creating graphics.
  • Use audio editing software to edit sound files.
  • Use educational software to learn and reinforce skills and concepts in mathematics.
  • Conduct original research on culture and natural environment of our community through outdoor education.
  • Conduct original research on history, culture and natural environment of our community and other Indigenous peoples through Internet and library research.
  • Conduct original research on history, culture and natural environment of our community and other Indigenous peoples through oral histories.

Google slides presentation to introduce unit

Module 1

Introduction to game design: Terms, game review, game design documents.

Module 2

Understanding software enhancement: Game revisions, bug reporting

Module 3

Deeper dive into game design: Breaking down elements

Module 4

Better games, better world: An inside look inside the game design process

Module 5

Real-world applications: Critical thinking and professional skills development

  • Record oral history interviews
  • Edit notes to include ideas from the video and interviews from Module 4.
  • Outline presentation or report to be given/submitted in Module 7. 
  • For those opting to present, craft a brief professional email to request a meeting with the software team to present your feedback and game suggestions.

Module 6

Getting your point across: Preparing presentations/reports

Module 7

Game design in action: Insights, enhancements and feedback

  • Prepare feedback/enhancement presentation using Powerpoint or Google Slides. Five-minute presentation plus five-minutes of discussion. For those who prefer not to present, draft a 1-2 page game design report.
  • Present to software design team via Google hangout, Zoom or Microsoft Teams
Multiple choice question asking at what age a boy became a buffalo hunter

Math Assessment and Lakota Culture

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Standard

CCSS.MATH.CONTENT.8.EE.A.1
Know and apply the properties of integer exponents to generate equivalent numerical expressions. For example, 32 × 3-5 = 3-3 = 1/33 = 1/27.

CCSS.MATH.CONTENT.5.NBT.B.7
Add, subtract, multiply, and divide decimals to hundredths,

NOTE: Although the examples in this assignment primarily use scientific notation, it could be easily modified to include any area of mathematics above the fourth-grade level.

⏰TIME

120 minutes – including time to play game and create problems and activities.

📲TECHNOLOGY REQUIRED

A projector and computer in class or a computer, phone or tablet at home is required to watch the videos, see the Google slides and play the Making Camp Lakota game. It is not required but strongly recommended that students have access to Google apps or Office 365 to edit and store their notes.

📃LESSON SUMMARY

This is the second in a multi-lesson unit designed to assess student mathematics proficiency by playing games that teach about Indigenous cultures that have embedded math problems. It also requires students to create their own math activities and math problems.

📚LESSON

Introduce today’s lesson with slide presentation

This lesson assumes your class did the previous lesson, Math Assessment and Ojibwe culture, where they were introduced to the purposed of the unit and (recommended) created a Google slides or doc file where they are taking notes.

To introduce today’s lesson with Making Camp Lakota, use this PowerPoint on Math Assessment and Lakota culture, with examples of new, more difficult problems using decimals and scientific notation.

Play a Game

Multiple choice problem from game asking the minimum age for a buffalo hunter
Question after culture video on Dakota boyhood

The Making Camp Lakota game teaches Lakota culture and division with single-digit divisors. Even older students should enjoy the game play aspects and the videos on Lakota history and culture. Middle school students should breeze through the math problems. These are recorded in the database for teachers to review student progress.

Each game in the series in this unit is gradually more difficult math problems.

Students create their own, grade-level math problems

The slides presentation instructs students, for each math activity, to create an example that could be used at their grade level. Most of the examples in this presentation are using scientific notation, but students should be instructed that they can use any math problems beyond simple division. That could be fractions, decimals or even long-division. Teachers can modify the slides at the end of the presentation to require a specific topic, for example, adding fractions without a common denominator.

ASSESSMENT

Making Camp Lakota teacher reports are available for assessing student answers in Data and Reports. Students also write their own problems and answers that the teacher can use for assessing abilities at application and creation levels of Bloom’s taxonomy.

Related Lessons

For students who need an introduction to Google apps and Google doc, the lesson Google Apps Basics for Hamsters is recommended. (You don’t need an actual hamster.)

Individualization

This lesson is appropriate for students whose math is from fourth- through eighth-grade level. The mathematics in the game is at the fourth-grade level but student assignments can be as simple as long division or as complex as multi-step equations with negative exponents.

Financial Literacy: Budgeting

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📖Standards
NBEA.PF.3   Develop and evaluate a spending/savings plan.

⏰Time
90 minutes

📲Technology Required
Teachers will need a computer connected to a projector or smart board to show the presentation or video. Students will need access to Excel, Sheets or other spreadsheet software.

📃Summary
Students will participate in a class discussion on the importance of budgeting and be presented an example of a personal budget. Students complete a personal budget using estimated or actual expenses and income. The lesson concludes with students watching videos that guide them through deciding on a long-term purchase using a spreadsheet.

LESSON

Introduction to budgeting discussion

Use this presentation to lead a class discussion on what budgeting is and why it is important.

During or after the presentation, ask these questions

  1. Why is a budget important?
  2. Name a short-goal.
  3. Name a long-term goal.
  4. What are 3 things on which you need to spend money?
  5. Name 3 things on which you want to spend money.

Project: Complete a personal budget

Introduce the personal budget project using this slides presentation that explains the purpose of the project and gives an example of a completed budget.

Assign the budget worksheet to students. This sheet can be opened and completed in Google Docs or downloaded and completed as a Word file. If students prefer, they can create a table in Sheets or Excel.

Project: How Good is Your Budget?

NOTE: This activity is part of the Applied Digital Skills curriculum through Google for Education. You do NOT need to create a classroom in the Applied Digital Skills program to complete this lesson. The only activity that requires sign-in is submitting a quiz at the end, which is really just an evaluation of how well the student liked the lesson.

In the previous activity, students completed a budget. In this activity, students complete the research a long-term purchase using a spreadsheet. Although the videos are done by Google and use Google sheets, the steps in creating and duplicating a formula work identically in Microsoft Excel. The video examples use selecting a cell phone and phone plan but students can use any other expense that interests them, including renting an apartment or buying a car. Teachers can copy and paste the instructions below into their Google classroom.

Instructions to Students

  1. Watch the Google for Education videos that you will find here on researching a long-term purchase.

https://applieddigitalskills.withgoogle.com/c/middle-and-high-school/en/plan-and-budget/develop-a-budget/develop-a-budget.html

2. Create a spreadsheet following the instructions in the videos. You can follow the video example of selecting a cell phone or use another long-term purchase, such as a car.

3. Submit your spreadsheet.

4. Submit a document in Word or Google doc explaining which option you picked and why.

ASSESSMENT: 

Students will participate in a class discussion and complete the two budget worksheets for teacher review.

Differentiation:

You may wish for students to play the Crossroads: New Decisions game budgeting module.

The game can be downloaded here. 

IMPORTANT NOTE TO TEACHERS: As this game was developed for youth in high-risk situations it includes game levels on making a safety plan, the Adverse Childhood Events Scale and other topics not normally covered in the classroom. It would be most appropriate for students in a therapeutic setting or in a life skills class where topics such as abuse are discussed. If you are not familiar with the ACES, please check the questions here. 

ND STATE STANDARDS: 

ND 5.12.1.0   Develop and evaluate a spending/savings plan..

Teaching frequency tables with Indigenous communities’ data

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STANDARD

CCSS.MATH.CONTENT.6.SP.B.4 Display numerical data in plots on a number line, including dot plots, histograms, and box plots.

CCSS.MATH.CONTENT.6.SP.B.5 Summarize numerical data sets in relation to their context.

Technology Required

Students will need either a computer or tablet to play the game. Teachers will need a computer connected to a projector or smart board to show the presentation or video.

Time

60-75 minutes including presentation, analysis, and game.

Summary

With a Google slides presentation, students are introduced to the concept of answering a question with data. A video is also provided for review. Using a data set of all tribal leaders in 2019, they are walked though an example of using Google Sheets to create frequency table and plots of data. Students then use the data set to create their own tables and plots. Students finish the lesson by playing a game where they learn about computing distributions in Mayan history.

Lesson

1. Presentation on primary sources and frequency distributions with Google sheets.

Give students a slide presentation that asks the question “How wired are tribes?” . This also gives the definitions of data, primary sources, secondary sources and frequency table. Students will learn how to create a frequency table with Google sheets.

Differentiated Instruction: If needed, students can review the information by watching this video on their own.

You can also assign students who were absent to watch the video on their own.

2. Assign Students to Create Their Own Frequency Distribution

A Google doc with the assignment and link to video.

You’ll need the 2019 Tribal Leaders Data Set to complete this assignment. Copy the link into Google classroom for students to access.

Here is the answer key for the teacher

If your students completed the assignment correctly, it will match the answer key here.

Differentiated Instruction: For more advanced students

You may wish to have them compute an additional frequency distribution to show the frequency distribution of tribal entities by BIA region. That answer is also provided in the file above.

3. Play a game that teaches distributions

When students have completed their assignments that can play AzTech: Meet the Maya, a game which teaches statistics, including frequency distributions.

Assessment

Two types of assessment are available, their answers to the assignment with Google sheets, and their responses to the in-app math challenges in AzTech: Meet the Maya, which are graded automatically with data available from the. teacher reports.

Making a Calendar with Google Slides

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📖 Standard

CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.WHST.6-8.6 Use technology, including the Internet, to produce and publish writing and present the relationships between information and ideas clearly and efficiently.

CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RH.6-8.1 Cite specific textual evidence to support analysis of primary and secondary sources.

⏰ Time

200 minutes (approximately 5 class periods)

📲 Technology Required

Students will use the Internet to find a minimum of 12 appropriate images to represent their topic. Students will need access to a device with Google Slides to create calendar.

📃 Summary

This lesson plan allows students to explore a topic of interest to create an informational calendar. Students are to pick a topic, include an image for each month, brief explanation and source for that image. At the end of the project, students perform a self-assessment.

📚 Lesson

Introduce Assignment to Students

Calendar Assignment

In this assignment, you will be creating a personalized calendar using Google slides. Your calendar must consist of a minimum of 13 pages an include the following:

  1. A title slide with introduction of the topic.
  2. A page for each month with:
    1. An image related to your topic
    2. Text explaining the image and its relationship to the topic.
    3. A link to a source for the image and information on the page.

Presentation to Explain Modifying Template

Use this brief presentation to explain how to change the background on a slide and how to add images. It uses the 2022 calendar template as an example.

There are many, many Google Slides calendar templates you can find on the web. Many of these are great, some cost money, some are for 2021 and some have broken links. So, we added an example here that you, on the topic, “Indigenous”, that you can copy into your Google classroom and modify, just to make sure you would have a free template that is available and up to date. It uses a variety of methods of citing sources, from a simple web link in January to APA style in May.

The sample calendar as a PDF is found here.

Make a personalized gift

Janna Jensen, IT specialist from North Dakota, laminates each page in the calendar and binds the pages for a personalized gift from students to parents or other special people in their lives. If you have limited funds, you can just laminate the first and last page for durability, or skip lamination altogether if you don’t have a laminator.

If, like me, you don’t have a binding machine, you can just use a 3-hole punch and twist ties from cables or bags of bread. Ask the lunchroom staff to save some for you.

My first time ever using a laminator.

Make this assignment your own!

I highly recommend encouraging your students to improvise with this assignment. They can find another template on line, insert pages in between months so that each month has a large scale image at top – the possibilities are endless.

Assessment 

Students perform a self-assessment shown below. 

Related Lesson

You may wish to use this lesson to introduce students to the concepts of primary and secondary sources.

Differentiated Instruction

Advanced students may wish to complete these six online lessons to become more proficient with Google slides.

State Standards: North Dakota

K-5.IAI.9 Organize information using technology and other tools.


TE.K-5.MTL.11 Use technology to gather and share information with a variety of audiences in ways that others can view, use, and assess.

Calendar example with grazing lands

Making a Calendar with PowerPoint

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by Janna Jensen

📖 Standard

CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.WHST.6-8.6
Use technology, including the Internet, to produce and publish writing and present the relationships between information and ideas clearly and efficiently.

⏰ Time

200 minutes (approximately 5 class periods)

📲 Technology Required

Students will use the Internet to find appropriate images to reflect tasks typically accomplished during a specific month. Students will need access to a device with PowerPoint to create calendar.

📃 Summary

This lesson plan allows students to explore agricultural subjects of interest to create an informational calendar. Students are to pick a field in agricultural and create a calendar outlining the big tasks performed each month. At the end of the project, students perform a self-assessment.

NOTE: While this assignment focuses on agriculture, it could be modified for any subject – science, social studies, literature, and, certainly, art.

Don’t have PowerPoint but you use Google Slides? Check out this lesson.

📚 Lesson

Introduce Assignment to Students

Calendar Assignment

In this assignment, you will be creating a personalized calendar using PowerPoint. Your calendar must consist of a minimum of 13 pages an include the following:

  1. A title slide with introduction of the topic.
  2. A page for each month with:
    1. An image related to your topic
    2. Text explaining the image and its relationship to the topic.

See the Agriculture Calendar for an example.

Video or Presentation on Creating Calendar with PowerPoint

Classroom Presentation

Use this PowerPoint of Instructions on how to create a calendar with PowerPoint. It is a brief 3-5 minute explanation. Instructions are also available in Google Slides format.

Video

This video is only 1:33 and shows using PowerPoint to create a calendar

Students can watch the video above, which has only music, no voice over, so it will be usable even if your students don’t have headphones or your computers don’t have speakers. It is also a good review if students are learning at home or need an extra reminder.

Make a personalized gift

I laminate each page in the calendar and bind the pages for a personalized gift from students to parents or other special people in their lives. If you have limited funds, you can just laminate the first and last page for durability, or skip lamination altogether if you don’t have a laminator.

If you don’t have a binding machine, you can just use a 3-hole punch and twist ties from cables or bags of bread. Ask the lunchroom staff to save some for you.

Assessment

Students perform a self-assessment shown below.

State Standards: North Dakota

K-5.IAI.9 Organize information using technology and other tools.


TE.K-5.MTL.11 Use technology to gather and share information with a variety of audiences in ways that others can view, use, and assess.

Google Slides and Math

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📖Standards

CCSS.MATH.CONTENT.6.SP.B.5.C Giving quantitative measures of center (median and/or mean) and variability (interquartile range and/or mean absolute deviation), as well as describing any overall pattern and any striking deviations from the overall pattern with reference to the context in which the data were gathered.

CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RH.6-8.7 Integrate visual information (e.g., in charts, graphs, photographs, videos, or maps) with other information in print and digital texts.

⏰ Time

120 – 180 minutes (You may wish to use 2-3 class periods)

📲 Technology Required

The games used here require a Chromebook, Windows or Mac computers or iPads.

📃 Summary

Students play three games that teach fractions and statistics. Students learn enhanced features of Google slides. They then create a Google slides presentation stating which is their favorite game and why.

📚 Lesson

0. Optional: Google Slides Basics

If students are not familiar with Google Slides, begin with the Google Slides Basics lessons. If students know how to create slides document, select a theme, add text, images, transitions and animations, you can skip this step.

1. Introduce the assignment

Explain to students that they will be playing three different educational games and making a recommendation for future classes. If there is only time to play one of these games, which should the teacher choose. A copy of the assignment is here with both Chromebook and iPad games included. Save to your Google classroom or other system and delete whichever device is not available to your students. If your students have access to both devices, no editing is required. Since their presentation will be made with Google Slides and they want it to be as convincing as possible, they should include images and video to support their points.

2. Play AzTech: The Story Begins

This game teaches fractions and basic statistics, integrated with social studies terms and Latin American history.

Allow students 10 -15 minutes to play the game.

3. Learn about Google Slides Advanced Features

This presentation has links to six videos beyond Google slides basics.

Click on the links on the left side of the screen to learn about:

  • Modifying the theme
  • Inserting video
  • Adding effects to text and images

Allow 10-15 minutes to watch videos and start on their presentations.

4. Play Forgotten Trail or Fish Lake Adventure

Students play Fish Lake Adventure (iPad) a game that teaches fractions or Forgotten Trail (Chromebook), a game that teaches fractions and statistics.

Allow 10-15 minutes to watch videos and continue their presentations.

5. More Google Slides Advanced Features

Continue with more Google slides basics. Watch three videos on the right side of the screen on :

  • Customizing with Word Art
  • Publishing to the web
  • Presentation notes

Allow 10-15 minutes to watch videos and continue their presentations.

6. Play AzTech: Meet the Maya

Allow students the option of playing AzTech: Meet the Maya or continuing one of the two previous games. Meet the Maya continues the game series that teaches fractions and basic statistics, integrated with social studies terms and Latin American history.

Allow 10-15 minutes to play and continue their presentations.

7. Finish !

It’s decision time. Students will select one game to finish for their presentation. Students who finish ahead of the class may play the other games.

Allow 30 minutes to finish the game they have chosen and continue their presentations.

8. Optional (extra credit) Present or publish

Depending on your class and your own objectives, you may want to end this lesson with students either publishing their presentations to the web or presenting in class and trying to convince their classmates that the game they have chosen is the one students should be using to learn next year.

Allow 30 minutes to finish the game they have chosen and continue their presentations.