Teachers are the backbone of Arizona’s educational system; they create the curriculum and deploy lesson plans that excite and instruct Arizona’s school children. The Arizona Experience Teachers’ Center invites teachers to build and share lesson plans as part of our Imagine Arizona Lesson Plan Contest.

Eligibility—Who Can Participate

The contest is open to full-time Arizona teachers of grades 4 through 12 at any accredited public, private, charter, alternative, or tribal school.

Entries will be judged in two categories: individual teachers and teacher teams. Lesson plans can pertain to any subject approved by the Arizona Board of Education. Entries are subject to all applicable federal, state and local laws and regulations.

Contest Objectives

The contest objective is to construct a multi-day lesson plan unit that incorporates content from The Arizona Experience multimedia materials.

Material developed for the contest should accommodate state education standards, include two content areas (e.g., English language arts and biology), and result in a lesson plan unit deployed in the classroom over three to seven days. Teams are urged to adopt a cross-disciplinary approach leading to a broader, multi-dimensional lesson plan.

Subject matter is solely at the discretion of the teacher but is expected to conform to state education standards.

View the Sample Lesson Plan for a rough idea of what you can do.

Getting Started

The best place to find educational material is right here at the Teachers' Center. The Student Resources page provides a handy list of our top educational pages. But we offer more than that! Look around the site and determine the material that works for YOU! There are no restrictions on the maps, images, videos, or articles on the site that can be used to build your lesson plan.

Use of outside resources, including citizen science data or building on state or national events such as the Arizona Science Technology Festival, is encouraged. You can also find a list of lesson plan ideas and activities on the Teacher Resources page.

Participants can choose from any of the hundreds of The Arizona Experience images, videos, interviews, interactive maps, historic time lines, and oral histories to use individually or in juxtaposition. Ideally, contestants will use data visualization software such as Microsoft Research’s Layerscape (Worldwide Telescope) to add visualization or maps to the learning unit.

Entry Requirements

Each entry should include a one-page description of subject, content matter, and how The Arizona Experience content was incorporated. Lesson plans should strive to present an engaging and interactive learning experience that involves students in creative and analytical thinking through inquiry, investigation, and exploration of content.

Lesson plans must be classroom-tested prior to submission to the contest. Only one entry per teacher is permitted, either individually or as a team.

Download Entry form.

Each entry should include the following:

• Name of teacher(s)
• School(s)/Department(s)
• Project title
• Grade level(s)
• Subjects
• Statement of the objective, scope and strengths of the proposed lesson plan
• Statement of how and which Arizona Experience content is incorporated into the lesson plan
• Reflection paragraph about the effectiveness of the lesson in your classroom.
• Detailed description of the lesson plan
  • Lesson description—describe the objective(s) and procedure to accomplish the objective(s)
  • Content standards—note which of Arizona state standards are addressed in the lesson plan
  • Concepts—identify the concepts engaged by the lesson plan
  • Objectives—student-oriented, observable, measurable and descriptive of a learning outcome
  • Materials—worksheets, student activity forms, assignments, assessment tool(s), and other materials used in the lesson plan
  • Time—In-class time required to complete the lesson

Nominations must be received by 5:00 pm on Sunday, March 10, 2013. The entry must comply with the guidelines outlined on the application form. The Imagine Arizona Selection Committee reserves the right to disqualify entries that do not comply with the guidelines.

Winning curriculum will be publicized on the Teachers’ Center at The Arizona Experience.

Judging Criteria

Entries will be judged by a Selection Committee including Arizona Experience team members and individuals from the education community. Entries will be judged on the following criteria:

• 25 points—Incorporating The Arizona Experience materials (e.g., publications, Web site, multimedia resources, etc.)
• 15 points—Arizona standard-based education approach
• 15 points—Evidence of exemplary teaching methods and effectiveness
• 15 points—Lesson originality and creativity
• 15 points—Ease of replication or adaptation (across curriculum, age groups, and schools)
• All decisions of the Selection Committee are final and are not subject to appeal.

Prize Details

Cash prizes will be awarded for 1^st, 2^nd, and 3^rd prize in both the individual and team category and for honorable mention(s).

This contest appears on GetEdFunding.com, a free site that lists funding opportunities for educators in Arizona.

Conditions and Limitations

• The Arizona Experience is not responsible for lost, late, or misdirected entries, including problems arising from network failure
• Participants retain copyright ownership of submitted lesson plans; however, as a condition of this contest, participants must agree to release the material according to the Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial license. (This allows submissions to be revised and republished while acknowledging the original author(s).)
• Awardees grant The Arizona Experience the right to publicize and broadcast their name, voice, and likeness, the fact that they won, and all matters incidental thereto.
• An entrant is not a winner unless and until entrant’s eligibility has been verified and entrant has been notified that verification is complete. In the event that a winner is determined to be ineligible, his or her prize will be forfeited and The Arizona Experience reserves the right to select an alternate winner from among remaining eligible entries.

Site Background

Conceived to commemorate one hundred years of statehood, it celebrates Arizona’s past, present, and future. Students, residents, and tourists will find compelling stories and practical information presented with the latest technology and web applications. Learn more about the Arizona Experience.

The Arizona Experience team includes experienced digital cartographers, information specialists, and meticulous researchers. Scientists and computer programmers in The Arizona Experience content management team offer expertise in qualitative and quantitative research methods. These skills have guided evaluation of content from hundreds of entities and presentation of information to create an original narrative about Arizona’s land, people, institutions, companies, and agencies.

Whether the topic is mining, agriculture, biosciences, renewable energy, space exploration, high technology or preparing the twenty-first century workforce, Arizonans are working to sustain and improve the state, its resources, and its quality of life for future generations. Engaged and tech savvy students will make this future possible.