iPod+Unit+Plan

Duration: ** 2 ½ weeks Unit Plan Objective: ** Students will learn about landforms, history, climate, government and economy of the U.S. This unit also spends 2 days looking at and exploring our local State of Wisconsin. Materials needed: ** Student notes, class set of lab tops with audacity, class set of iPods and wireless Internet access. State Standards/Benchmarks addressed: ** · Analyze information generated from a computer about a place, including statistical sources, aerial and satellite images, and three-dimensional models.
 * Title of Unit: ** Geography of the U.S.

· Interpret the past using a variety of sources, such as biographies, diaries, journals, artifacts, eyewitness interviews, and other primary source materials, and evaluate the credibility of sources used.

· Summarize major issues associated with the history, culture, tribal sovereignty, and current status of the American Indian tribes and bands in Wisconsin. Procedures: ** I plan on incorporating iPods into the unit about the Geography of the U.S. I cover this material with my Freshman Geography class and have come up with a few ideas about how I can blend in the use of iPods.

· When studying the state of Wisconsin, I typically have the students use Wisconsin road maps to complete a map challenge sheet. Students need to search for and find cities throughout Wisconsin and identify the County that they are located in. They also need to follow road directions and figure out where the final destination is. Another part of the challenge sheet is to figure out the distances between several cities throughout Wisconsin. Instead of using the old road maps for this challenge sheet, students will __use an iPod and the “Maps” application__ that they have. Students can also use the Internet on their iPods for this challenge sheet.

· This unit will also dedicate one day to having the students __explore YouTube on the iPods__. After learning about the history of the U.S., students will have to find a YouTube video that relates to a key historic event that occurred in the U.S. Students will have to post their YouTube video with a brief explanation about it onto the class Wiki.

· Finally, students will also be required to use the lab tops and audacity to create a pod cast. __The pod cast will explain the American Indian tribes that were in Wisconsin__ before it became a state in 1848. The pod cast will have to be at least 2 minutes long and converted to an mp3 so it can be put onto the iPods. Creating a pod cast will require them to research the tribes and learn about them. I also like the fact that students will have to know how to correctly pronounce the difficult names of some tribes. 
 * Assessments:** Students will be assessed by the quality of their work in the above assignments. They will also take a unit test that will check their knowledge about the geography of the U.S. The test will require them to have a good understanding of the material covered in class notes and assignments.