This is the revised ASSURE Method document containing more technology in the classroom activities.

1. ASSURE Method: Holiday Traditions
1. Analyze Learners:
The class for which this lesson was prepared consists of 20 fourth grade students
ranging from 9 to 10 years of age, of which eleven are girls and nine are boys. Several students
come from diverse backgrounds, as two students identify as Muslim, three identify as Jewish,
and two are African American. There are no known disabilities among the students. The
students are very hands-on, visual learners and prefer to do engaging activities rather than
seatwork, since they are so young with short attention spans.
2. State Objectives:
 By placing the fourth grade students in ten groups of two, each group will be assigned a
holiday to research online for 40 minutes on Monday and Tuesday, and will present it to
the class by the end of the week through either a PowerPoint, video, or visual poster that
they will then upload to SlideShare. The groups and their classmates will describe the
traditions of each holiday (common foods prepared for the occasion, the meaning of the
holiday, activities performed during the holiday, and other facts they find interesting) and
present their information to the class on Friday with 95% accuracy. The students and
their fellow classmates will interact with the presentations by preparing a traditional food
for classmates to try, leading a craft, teaching a dance, or choosing any other aspect of
the holiday’s traditions that can involve all students’ participation.
 Using Blogster, each individual fourth grade student will create a blog where they will
record their thoughts and newfound knowledge about the holiday they are researching
with their group as well as the general holiday lessons of the day with 100% accuracy.
Students will have 30 minutes at the end of the day, Monday through Friday, to write a
blog post assessing what they previously knew about the holidays, what they learned,
and what they thought about the lessons each day provided by the teacher.
 Using a short, educational YouTube video in a 10 minute time span on Wednesday, the
fourth grade students will witness the holiday traditions of the main holidays celebrated
within the world’s three most practiced religions – Christianity, Judaism, and Islam – and
will extrapolate what they learned about the holidays with 85% accuracy by playing a
Jeopardy game created through PowerPoint. The students will be divided into teams of
four with five students in each group.

2.  Using Adobe Photoshop, each of the fourth grade students will have an hour on
Wednesday to design a digital image that symbolizes their favorite holiday and describes
their personal family traditions from that holiday with 100% accuracy. The teacher will
explain the basics of Photoshop prior to the assignment, and students will have access
to the classroom wiki that contains videos, Word documents, and slide shows that
describe the techniques in detail. The students will present their digital images to the
class, and they will be uploaded by the teacher to the class Facebook page for parents
to view.
 Using podcast recording software and microphones, each of the groups in the class will
have two hours on Friday after presentations to record a podcast summarizing the basic
elements of the holiday they researched with 95% accuracy. The students will also write
a script using Microsoft Word to aid them in their podcast. The teacher will then post
each podcast on the class Twitter account for parents to listen to.
 During the following week, the groups of fourth grade students will design and program a
robot that symbolizes their researched holiday with 90% accuracy. The groups will have
two hours to work on their robots every day after the teacher explains on Monday how to
program the robots. Students will use recycled materials, such as bottles and cardboard
boxes, as well as craft supplies to create the visual aspect of the robot. The students’
parents will be encouraged to ask the teacher questions through the Zello app to find out
which supplies they can provide for their students and the class.
3. Select Methods, Media, & Materials:
 Computers with PowerPoint, Internet, video editing software, Photoshop, &
Microsoft Word – Student groups will use computers located in a computer lab that
contain internet, Microsoft PowerPoint, Windows Movie Maker, Adobe Photoshop and
Microsoft Word to research their holidays online and create their presentations, either
through PowerPoint or Movie Maker. Students will also use the internet to write their
daily blog posts on Blogster, view the class wiki, and upload their project files to
SlideShare. They will use Photoshop to create their digital image and Microsoft Word to
write the script for their podcasts. The teacher is already familiar with each of these
types of software and is prepared to help students when necessary.
 Podcast Recording Software & Microphones – Each group will use online podcast
recording software and microphones provided in the computer lab to record their
podcast that summarizes their holiday presentations. The podcasts will allow the teacher

3. to assess how well each group grasped the overall themes of the holiday they
researched, and the teacher is knowledgeable about the software and microphones in
order to assist the students.
 Handouts – Using Microsoft Word, the teacher will prepare handouts for the holiday
presentation assignment describing in detail the expectations for students’ research, the
whole-class activity, and the overall presentation. The handouts will ensure students
stay on track and know the expectations of the teacher. The computer paper and printer
needed for the handouts can be found in the teacher’s room or a copy room in the
school.
 Video Cameras – The teacher will allow students to borrow school-owned Flip video
cameras and iPads to record the video for their projects. The video cameras can be
found in the main office or in the computer specialist’s office. Students will be allowed to
check out a camera during the days they work on their projects and will return the
cameras when their allotted time to work on the projects is over.
 Projector, Computer, & Speakers – The teacher will need a computer and projector in
order to show a video about religious holidays, display the jeopardy review game, and
allow students to present their holiday projects through PowerPoint or videos. The
computer, projector, and speakers can be found already supplied in the classroom.
 Flash Drive & Poster Printer – After the students finish designing their posters, the
teacher will transfer the files to her flash drive and use a printer designed for printing and
laminating posters. This machine can be found in a copy room in the school. The
teacher will ask another teacher who is an expert at printing from the poster printer to
ensure she prints the students posters correctly.
 Recycled Materials and Craft Supplies – The students will use recycled materials to
construct their robots, and these materials will come from home as well as the teacher’s
reserve of materials she has collected over the year. The craft supplies can be found in
the teacher’s cabinet that contains art materials such as colored paper, markers, glue,
and other craft items.
 Twitter, Facebook, & Zello – The teacher will create an account for each of these
social media platforms and encourage parents to communicate with her and interact with
the class through these tools. The teacher will use her smart phone for Zello and will use
both the smart phone and computer for Facebook and Twitter. She will send a note
home describing how parents can find the class accounts as well as how parents can
create their own accounts.

4. 4. Utilize Media & Materials:
The teacher will preview the video about religious holidays, think of 10 different holidays
for student groups to research, and gather a sufficient amount of art supplies for all students.
The teacher will then reserve the computer lab for each day of the week and create and print
her handouts which outline expectations for the students’ presentations. The teacher will
connect the projector to the computer and arrange desks in four groups of five to prepare for the
Jeopardy game. She will divide art supplies into their respective bins for easier access and
cleanup. To prepare the learners, the teacher will pass out the handouts, explain the schedule
for the week, and explain the proper ways to create a slideshow, video, and visual poster, as
well as how to present the research. The teacher will also create a Facebook page, Twitter
page, and Zello account for the students’ parents to stay connected to the class and view some
of their work. A handout will also be given to students with instructions pertaining to the blogs,
and she will set up the microphones for each group when they begin their podcasts. The
teacher will need to update her wiki with videos and documents that describe basic Photoshop
techniques that the fourth grade students can follow, and she must obtain a flash drive in order
to save the posters that need to be printed. Before the students present their holidays on Friday
using SlideShare, the teacher will connect the projector to the computer and arrange the desks
in a semicircle formation to allow students to do their whole-class activity.
5. Require Learner Participation:
 Small Groups: Students in groups of two will work together to research a holiday, create
a presentation using PowerPoint, Movie Maker, or a visual poster, and present their
findings to the class. The entire class will also become involved during the presentations
as each group engages their fellow students with an activity pertaining to that holiday.
Each group will then create their own podcast to summarize the most important aspects
of the holiday they researched. The students will also work in their groups to design and
program a robot that symbolizes their researched holiday. The small group size will allow
students to split the work evenly and stay on task by not having numerous group
members to distract them.
 Large Groups: Sitting in groups of five, students will all watch a video about religious
holidays and will then work as a team to correctly answer questions which relate to the
video through a Jeopardy style activity. Knowing that the questions will come from the
video, students will be more likely to pay attention in order to help their team.

5.  Individual Work: Students will have time to create a digital image of their favorite holiday,
and they will then quickly present it to the class by summarizing what they made. This
activity will give students the opportunity to know more about their classmates’ beliefs
and preferences, as well as allow them some time for creativity. Students will also write
a blog post each day to discuss previous knowledge, what they learned, and what they
thought about each of the class activities.
6. Evaluate & Revise:
Assessment of Learner Achievement:
 Overall Presentation – 50 points
o Research depth/accuracy - 25 pts.
o Whole-class activity – 10 pts.
o Appearance of presentation – 5 pts.
o Presenting style – 10 pts.
 Jeopardy game – Extra credit points
o 1st
place – 5 pts.
o 2nd
place – 4 pts.
o 3rd
place – 3 pts.
o 4th
place – 2 pts.
 “Favorite Holiday” digital image – 25 points
 Blog Posts – 25 points
o Five total blog posts – 5 points each
 Podcast – 20 points
 Arts and Bots – 40 points
o Programming – 30 points
o Explanation of how appearance pertains to holiday – 10 points
Evaluation of Media & Methods:
After each session in the computer lab, the teacher will ask students how their research
is coming along, and will mentally assess whether the activity is too challenging, too easy, or
just right. At the end of the week, the teacher will ask the students what they enjoyed about
researching their holiday and what they disliked. Before beginning the Jeopardy game, the
teacher will have a class discussion about the religious holiday video to see if students found it

6. interesting and easy to understand. The teacher will consider the attitudes of the students for
each assignment and will then adjust the activities based on what she discovers. The students’
blog posts will also provide the teacher with more detailed descriptions of what the students
thought about the activities, as well as what they learned throughout the week. She can then
reflect upon this information to make any necessary changes in instruction for her future
classes.