A Nearpod Exploration: How are Organ Recipients Chosen?

Title: A Nearpod Exploration: How are Organ Recipients Chosen?

Overview:  Students will explore the issue of organ transplants, recipients and donors, through the use of the interactive digital platform Nearpod.

Content/Context: Science content with a reading and language arts context.

Length of lesson: 1 hour

Digital Literacy Standards addressed: Basic Computer Skills and Internet basics

College and Career Readiness Standards (CCRS) and/or Transitions Integration Framework (TIF) Standards addressed: TIF: EC1: Engage positively and actively with individuals in both one-on-one and team settings to accomplish goals.

CCRS: RI.6.7: Integrate information presented in different media or formats to develop a coherent understanding of a topic or issue.

CCRS: W.5.1: Write opinion pieces on topics, supporting a point of view with reasons and information.

Lesson Objective(s): At the end of this lesson, students will be able to: critically explore a topic using different text and digital sources and integrate that information to write an opinion essay with supporting reasons and evidence.

Assessing Mastery of the Objective(s):  At the end of this lesson, students will show mastery of the objectives as evidenced by. Participation in discussion and group activities, individual opinion writing rubric.

Materials/links: https://nearpod.com  You will need to create a free account to access this lesson.

Lesson Outline:

Introduction: We have been reading about science topics and controversial issues of a scientific nature. This week we have been exploring the question of how do organ recipients get chosen. Previous Word Generation Reading and vocabulary lessons.

Explanation/Modeling: Nearpod digital interactive presentation.

Guided Practice: Nearpod digital interactive presentation.

Independent Practice:Students will debate the issue in teams and then use the information from all sources to write an opinion essay.

Student Reflection on Learning, Closure, Connection:  After Nearpod lesson, students will complete an exit ticket about what they learned and if they liked the Nearpod application/lesson format. Students will then write an opinion essay integrating all of the information from the various sources presented using the Nearpod app.

Teacher Notes:  I created this lesson on Nearpod. It was a learning curve but very fun and useful. It is a great teaching platform that allows users to integrate various forms of digital sources and allows student interaction and collaboration. Once I got the hang of it, it was also very user friendly for both teacher and students. 

I did this lesson with my students today, and it went really well. It was fun using the new digital platform, Nearpod. I was able to present various media, text and digital sources on an integrative format. It helped me continuously assess students’ understanding of the material, and I believe it kept them engaged and interested. I look forward to seeing their writing tomorrow as they pull all the information from the various sources to formulate an opinion essay.