Lesson Planning Cooperative

Lesson planning is often a solitary concern, after all, nobody knows your class like you do. However, what if you were constantly looking at essential learning through backwards design, asking what you really wanted your students to remember long after you taught. I have recently been enjoying work with my creative arts colleagues designing a new unit for sixth grade Digital Media students: Lost Civilizations

We are interested in a number of concepts, but we want to have our students be creative, collaborate and communicate (sounds familiar…).

Here is the elevator description:
It is near the turn of the century, 1898, in a parallel history where there is rudimentary technology (difference engine), steam-driven dirigibles, trains and submersibles, and all is right with the world. The San Francisco Historical Society (a world class organization due to the prominence of San Francisco as a world class city, rivaling London, Paris, Budapest, Tokyo, Shanghai and Moscow) is sponsoring a contest. Recent explorations have revealed a dozen potential sites around the globe that could be hiding evidence of lost civilizations. The SFHS will reward $1,000,000 to the premiere explorer team presentation of artifacts from a site and attendant theory as to the nature of the civilization the artifacts represent.

We have our own ideas of where this goes from here, but your assignment is to suggest activities that would engage our students in technology rich lessons in this themed unit. I look forward to your responses.