MagicSchool & Lesson Creation

 

Using MagicSchool

This week, I’ve been playing around with MagicSchool. There are a lot of tools available, for both teachers and students. I have used it before to make some guided reading worksheets, but this week I was assigned to use the program to make a lesson plan. Creating a lesson plan was fairly simple: select the grade level, enter in your lesson objectives and copy and paste any standards you would like to focus on for the lesson. You can enter any additional criteria you would like to include as well; I entered that students would complete a research project in small collaborative groups. The lesson I asked MagicSchool to create is about the impact of the Great Depression on individuals and society based on the following standards: 

• U.S. II Standard 5.3: Students will explain how economic and environmental conditions, including the Dust Bowl, affected daily life and demographic trends during the Great Depression.

• ISTE Standards for Students: 1.3 Knowledge Constructor

• 1.3.a Effective Research Strategies: Students use effective research strategies to find resources that support their learning needs, personal interests and creative pursuits.

• 1.3.b Evaluate Information: Students evaluate the accuracy, validity, bias, origin, and relevance of digital content.

• 1.3.c Curate Information: Students curate information from digital resources using a variety of tools and methods to create collections of artifacts that demonstrate meaningful connections or conclusions.

• 1.3.d Explore Real-World Issues: Students build knowledge by actively exploring real-world issues and problems, developing ideas and theories, and pursuing answers and solutions.

Below is the lesson that was created:

_____________________________

Understanding the Impact of Economic and Environmental Conditions on Daily Life During the Great Depression

Objective:

Students will be able to explain how economic and environmental conditions, including the Dust Bowl, affected daily life and demographic trends during the Great Depression.

Assessment:

Students will work in small groups to create a multimedia presentation detailing the effects of economic and environmental conditions on daily life during the Great Depression. The presentation should include specific examples and references to support their explanations.

Key Points:

• The Great Depression background and causes

• Impact of the Dust Bowl on agricultural practices and migration patterns

• Changes in daily life and demographic trends during the Great Depression

Opening:

• Engage students with a short video clip depicting life during the Great Depression

• Ask students to brainstorm how economic hardships can influence people's daily lives

Introduction to New Material:

• Discuss the causes of the Great Depression and introduce the Dust Bowl phenomenon

• Highlight the connection between economic struggles and environmental challenges

• Common Misconception: Students may think the Great Depression only affected the economy, not daily life and demographics.

Guided Practice:

• Provide students with primary source documents and photographs related to the Great Depression

• Scaffold questioning from easier comprehension questions to more critical thinking inquiries

• Monitor student performance through group discussions and individual reflections

Independent Practice:

• Assign students to research and create a timeline illustrating the key events of the Great Depression

• Students should include annotations explaining the impact of economic and environmental conditions on each event

Closing:

• Have students share one new thing they learned about the impact of the Great Depression on daily life

• Summarize the key points discussed during the lesson

Extension Activity:

• Early finishers can create a dialogue between two individuals living during the Great Depression, discussing how economic and environmental conditions affected their lives

Homework:

• Research and write a short essay comparing the impact of the Great Depression on urban versus rural communities

Standards Addressed:

• U.S. II Standard 5.3: Students will explain how economic and environmental conditions, including the Dust Bowl, affected daily life and demographic trends during the Great Depression.

• ISTE Standard for Students: 1.3 Knowledge Constructor

_____________________________

Lesson Evaluation

At first glance, this is a solid outline, but it is just that—an outline for what could be a truly great lesson. Part of the lesson planning process involves sourcing all the content and supplies. This lesson needs a video, a presentation, some primary sources, and guided readings. I will also need to identify where to include differentiation and additional supports for students who need them. I like the idea of having students create timelines with annotations, but I would enhance this by assigning cities or regions to groups and having students present their findings to the class. This way, we can collectively piece together a more complete picture of the effects of the Great Depression on the United States.

This lesson has the potential for rigor, depending on the resources used for student analysis and the requirements for the final project—none of which are included in the current outline. There is definitely more work needed to complete this lesson. I would source a variety of primary and secondary materials, including pictures, maps, employment data, news stories, and journal entries. I would need to create analysis questions for each document and provide alternative resources for students without internet access. Having hard copies of all documents and sources for further research is crucial to ensure all students have access to material.

Additionally, I would need to develop clear directions for the final project and create a rubric for student self-assessment, which is a requirement for my classes.

While this tool is excellent for generating ideas, it is not the final step in creating comprehensive lesson plans. I like this lesson concept and will likely use it in the future, but it will take more time to refine and gather all the necessary resources for the actual lesson.

More than Lesson Plans

As I mentioned earlier, I have used MagicSchool before. One of the tools I frequently use is the Text Dependent Questions tool, which allows me to create guided reading questions from an uploaded PDF. This is particularly useful for making last-minute sub plans. The tool lets you choose the number and type of questions, such as comprehension, theme, or literary devices. I also utilize the YouTube Video Questions tool in some of my classes. This tool is great because it provides timestamps, enabling me to quickly create an EdPuzzle video or leave notes for substitutes to pause the video for discussion. You can select multiple choice, free response, or true/false questions with this tool.

This week, I tried a new tool called Real World Connections. I used U.S. II Standard 5.3 for the lesson: "Students will explain how economic and environmental conditions, including the Dust Bowl, affected daily life and demographic trends during the Great Depression."

The tool provided two connections for class discussion:

Real World Connection #1: Understanding how economic downturns like the Great Depression can impact daily life is crucial for future financial planning. By learning about the Dust Bowl and its effects on people's livelihoods, students can better appreciate the importance of saving, investing wisely, and being prepared for economic uncertainties in their own lives.

Real World Connection #2: Recognizing the link between environmental conditions and demographic shifts during the Great Depression can help students understand the significance of sustainable practices today. Studying how the Dust Bowl forced many people to migrate in search of better opportunities highlights the importance of environmental conservation and responsible resource management to prevent similar crises in the future.

These are excellent examples, but to truly engage my students, I would need to include additional resources, such as news stories. This approach could be a valuable addition to the lesson and serve as part of a final unit assessment. It would also allow me to incorporate another ISTE standard: 1.7.d Local and Global Issues: Students explore local and global issues, and use collaborative technologies to work with others to investigate solutions. 

There are numerous tools available, and I plan to utilize some of them in the coming weeks as I prepare for the upcoming school year. I intend to try the Syllabus Generator and the Rubric Generator. Having used other online rubric generators before, I am always open to trying new ones. Additionally, I will likely try the Make it Relevant tool, which a colleague of mine loves when working with freshmen.

Final Thoughts

MagicSchool is a tool I frequently use and have shared with my colleagues. I was introduced to it at a Rural Schools conference last summer, and it has saved me considerable time in creating sub plans and last-minute lessons when class schedules get shuffled around. While I don’t use the lesson planning tool extensively for my ELA or U.S. History classes, I see potential for its application in the new classes I’m teaching this year. The lesson plans generated by MagicSchool may not be complete, but they significantly reduce brainstorming time, which is invaluable given my busy schedule.

I view MagicSchool and other AI tools as valuable resources, each with a specific time and place for use. While I don’t rely on AI daily, I do use it weekly for various tasks. AI is poised to transform our classroom practices, so I strive to stay ahead of my students. There are challenges, such as the numerous AI-generated essays I caught last year, and I am seeking a tool that provides equitable access and tracks student usage. Last year, our district blocked AI tools, yet students with smartphones had access, creating an imbalance. I want all my students to have equal access and for their input to be monitored, whether they ask for "an essay about the Great Depression" or "examples of thesis statements for an essay about how the Great Depression affected people in Chicago."

While I won’t be using MagicSchool with my students, it's not due to opposition but because our district is exploring other AI tools. I fully support teaching students the proper use of AI. They need to understand how to leverage these tools to stay competitive in their future careers. Our students will always live in a world with AI, so it’s crucial to ensure they know how to use it correctly and ethically.

References

MagicSchool AI. Retrieved July 17, 2024, from https://app.magicschool.ai/tools

ISTE Standards for Students. (n.d.). ISTE. Retrieved July 16, 2024, from https://iste.org/standards/students#1-3-knowledge-constructor

USBE. (n.d.). Social Studies - United States History II Core. Utah Education Network. Retrieved July 16, 2024, from https://www.uen.org/core/core.do?courseNum=6450