I chose this particularly lesson plan because it explores key topics in American history: stereotyping and multiculturalism. It's important as educators that we openly discuss the racial and cultural histories we share.
From this lesson plan I learned that having students create their own original content, you can facilitate their learning far more than if you simply present them with someone else's original content. The idea of having students create a YouTube video (or DVD in this lesson plan) requires the student to gather source material but also to interpret it. Too often, students simply cut and paste source material into their papers and never delve deeply into their own thoughts on the subject. The video, teamed with the poem "Where I'm From," is a nice tool for getting students to think critically.
I believe this lesson plan aligned its curriculum goals, teaching strategies and technologies beautifully. It was clearly written a while ago, but have student immediately write their reactions to class material in ClassPress, then having them follow that up with their own video and poetic interpretations of the material is perfect synergy. At every step of the lesson plan, the teacher is developing students' abilities to interpret stereotypes and discover their patterns, while also relating these stereotypes and patterns to their own personal experiences.
I think I could use Google Sheets for limited applications in my classroom; for example: I could have the students create graphic organizers for the material we read together in class, focusing on the key players and events in the events we study.
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