St. Pius X High SchoolPLP Project
April 28, 2009
Guiding Objectives
• Further develop cohort members’ knowledge of web 2.0 tools and enhance their ability to integrate them into the classroom
• Share with and promote use of web tools with colleagues, while emphasizing their role as merely a piece of the “educating the 21st century learner” puzzle
• Promote interdisciplinary collaboration• Design student-directed curriculum for Pope John Paul II
High School, facilitated by social networking and internet research
• Create a paperless school at Pope John Paul II
Promoting Faculty Awareness
• St. Pius X Faculty Network– Ning designed specifically for use of SPX
faculty• Fosters an environment of professional growth,
collaboration, and innovation– Use modeled by cohort members through collaborative
development of cross-curricular Tour de France lesson plan
• Facilitates more effective inter-personal relationships amongst faculty
Promoting Faculty Awareness
• Pope John Paul II Faculty Network– Ning under
development– Envisioned as a social
and professional bridge between St. Pius X and Kennedy Kennrick High Schools
JPII will be green
• Pope John Paul II will offer students a state of the art educational facility.
• We will utilize technology to the fullest.
• No more papers, no more books…
Goals
• To eliminate paper in the classroom by using technology.
• To enhance learning by using technology based lesson plans using Moodle.
• To use a variety of media to communicate with students effectively.
• To use technology to collect, evaluate and report information
Assumptions
• Moodle will be used as the platform for e-lessons for all modules.
• All activities will be conducted online.
• No paper will be generated.
Cross-curricular model: Tour de France
• Cross curricular lesson plan for a virtual classroom implemented with Moodle.
• Activities for Biology, English, French and Social Studies.
Tour de France Lesson: Essential Questions
• What is the current state of Franco-American relations?
• How can sports facilitate broader cultural, political, and social understanding between nations?
• What makes an athlete a good role model?
• How can knowledge of and dedication to health and nutrition effect one’s wellness?
Tour de France Lesson:Enduring Understandings
• Despite recent cultural and political dust-ups, the French and American people share many common social and moral values.
• International sporting events can simultaneously showcase a nation’s unique cultural heritage and the unifying capacity of athletic competition.
• The greatest athletes exhibit not just superior physical ability, but a strength of character as well.
• Living well and eating right are necessary components of sustained happiness.
The Science of Lance Armstrong
Tour de France Lesson: Biology
Component
Biology Objectives
• Students will learn that science is essential in athletic training, equipment, and competition.
• Students will research and summarize three examples of sports science that could be used by an athlete in a specific sport.
• Students will explain various ways that new technologies have changed sports.
• Students will discover the variety of careers in the field of sports science.
Biology Activities
• Watch video “The Science of Lance Armstrong”.
• Brainstorm about the reasons behind Lance Armstrong’s success.
• Construct a spreadsheet in Google Docs and classify the reasons from brainstorming into one of four categories- Physiology, Equipment, Psychology or Training/Strategy.
Biology Activities
• Students will choose one sport and research three examples of sports science that an athlete in that sport might use.
• Students will summarize their findings in a fictional letter as a coach giving advice to an athlete.
Biology Resources
• Wiki
http://pbwiki.com
• Google Docs. http://docs.google.com/
• NoodleTools. http://www.noodletools.com/
Lance Armstrong: Ultimate
Overachiever
Tour de France: English
Component
English Objectives
• Students will be able to produce a reflective essay.
• Students will demonstrate an understanding of the roles of the English language in written work.
• Students will analyze and revise their work to improve clarity and effectiveness.
English Activities
• Read the article Man in the News: Lance Edward Armstrong; Ultimate Overachiever.
• Develop a timeline of Lance Armstrong’s life using multiple web resources, identifying achievements and difficulties in the life of Lance Armstrong.
English Activities
• Choose one quote to use in an introduction or conclusion to the essay. Annotate your sources in NoodleTools.
• Email the draft essay to a classmate to critique.
• Rewrite the essay and publish to the website.
English Resources
• Litsky, Frank. Man in the News: Lance Edward Armstrong; Ultimate Overachiever. The New York Times – This Day in Sports. 07/26/1999. 04/24/2009. <http://www.nytimes.com/packages/html/sports/year_in_sports/07.25.html>
• Google Docs. http://docs.google.com/
• NoodleTools. http://www.noodletools.com/
Le Tour de France
French Objectives
• Students will be able to read and interpret the meaning of an article in French on a current event.
• Students will demonstrate an understanding of French culture by describing the stage cities of the 2009 Tour de France.
• Students will be able to discuss cycling, geography and the Tour de France in French.
French Objectives
• Students will reinforce their concept of French geography by locating and describing the major French stage cities and major geographic formations along the route of the Tour de France.
• Students will demonstrate an understanding of French culture by discussing and comparing the reasons the Tour de France is so popular in the U.S. and in France.
French Activities
• Click on the BBC Tour de France link and complete the vocabulary lessons and the activities for the Tour de France.
• Click on the French Tour de France link and then history tab and read about the history of the Tour de France. Watch the video of the 2008 Tour de France.
French Activities
• Click on the French Tour de France link and locate the route tab and study the 2009 route. Make a list of the major stage cities and the major geographical formations the riders will encounter.
• Click on the Le Monde newspaper link and search for a recent article on Lance Armstrong.
French Activities
• Select one of the stage cities and create a wiki page for it. Your team will research the culture of the city, the economic impact of the Tour de France on the city and the geographical challenges the cyclists will encounter there.
• Your team will prepare an oral report on your stage city.
French Resources
• BBC – Languages – French – Ma France – Tour de France . http://www.bbc.co.uk/languages/french/mafrance/html/tour_de_france/
• Liège Bastogne – Liège 2009. http://www.letour.fr/
• Le Monde.
http://www.lemonde/fr
France Today
Tour de France Lesson:Social Studies Component
• Are we really supposed to hate the
French?
• Who’s idea was this race anyway?
Social Studies Objectives
• Students will be able to explain the history of the Tour de France.
• Students will be able to describe the French political system, and compare it with America’s.
• Students will be able to compare and contrast the French and American healthcare systems.
• Students will be able to analyze current Franco-American relations.
Social Studies Activities
• Create a mini-documentary about the history of the Tour de France and post it on the project blog/wiki.
• Create a reproducible chart in PDF format comparing and contrasting the major features of today’s French government with today’s US federal government. Publish your chart on the blog/wiki.
• Conduct an interview with friends and relatives about their experience with the US healthcare system. Find (or conduct) an interview with at least two French citizens about their experience with the French healthcare system. Interviews can be recorded, edited, and published on the blog, or transcripts can be published. Student will also write a reflection essay detailing what they learned from the interviews.
• Create a blog which examines French-American relations from after World War II through present day.
Social Studies Resources
• Digital camera, recording device for PC, movie editing software
• Wikispaces
• Blogger
• Major French and American newspapers
• English translation of French history textbook?
Tour de France Lesson: Unified Assessment
• Students will maintain an e-portfolio where they will collect and reflect on their work throughout the unit.
• Portfolio will be published and maintained on a wiki or website which must at least contain: – A blog– List and explanation of relevant web links accessed
during unit– Record of on-line collaboration – Personal reflection on the unit
Tour de France Lesson: References
• Biology activity adapted from: – "The Science of Lance Armstrong". Discovery Education. 04/26/2009
<http://school.discoveryeducation.com/lessonplans/programs/lanceArmstrong/>.
• English activity adapted from: – Vitulano, Julie. "Lance Armstrong: Tour de France". Teachnet.
04/262009 <http://www.teachnet-lab.org/unhs/Armstrong1.htm>. • French activity adapted from:
– Williams, Tom. "Le Tour du Monde Francophone". California Foreign Language Project. 04/262009 <http://www.clta.net/lessons/french/monde.html>.
– Botterbusch, Janine. "Le Tour de France". Dallastown High School. 04/26/2009 <http://www3.villanova.edu/conferences/govinstitutewl/Lesson%20Plans/Botterbusch.pdf>.
Project Evaluation
• Are faculty embracing broader use of technology in the classroom?– Maintain ongoing list and showcase of faculty
created blogs, wikis, nings, etc on the Faculty Ning.
– Observe activity on faculty wiki.– Listen to conversations.
Project Evaluation
• Does the curriculum being designed for Pope John Paul II High School reflect what we already know about the needs of a 21st century learner?– Facilitate and monitor ongoing collaboration
and dialogue between faculty, curriculum designers, and researchers.
Project Evaluation
• Are students engaged in self-directed learning across disciplines?– Ongoing, informal, and collegial classroom
observations.– Continual evaluation of student progress
through alternative means of assessment.
Project Evaluation
• Have we created a truly “green” high school?– Monitor amounts of non-organic waste
created—paper, plastics, etc.
