Final Project Menu

Content Standards
Content Instruction
Lesson Structure
Assessment of Student Performance
Technology

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Final Project-Technology

For this lesson the classroom needs to be equipped with a SMART board which also requires a computer. The computer will also be used to play music that the students will be singing the song along to. The teacher will use the SMART board to display the song and will also have the it available to display the worksheets which the students will be given as well as the butterfly life cycle. Students will have the opportunity to interact with the SMART board in order to create a visual graphic organizer to practice the concept of sequencing.

Final Project- Assessment of Student Performance

The teacher will cycle through the class during independent/group activity time and check on students' graphic organizers in order to be able to assess where each student is at. The teacher will also use the homework and worksheets in order to asses the child's understanding of sequencing.

Final Project-Lesson Structure

Materials
- The book The Very Hungry Caterpillar
- Butterfly Life Cycle
- Butterfly Life Cycle Song
- SMART board


Procedure
1. Introduce the idea of sequencing; the order of events in a story or in our lives. Explain that sequence helps us to comprehend the story or situation. Explain sequencing through getting ready for school. We don’t come to school and then brush our teeth. Ask students if they can put the routine into the correct order. Students will place routine events in order by using the SMART board. There is a specific order in which we carry out tasks. This is the same idea when we read a book. Understanding the order of events helps us to understand the story.
2. Introduce the book, The Very Hungry Caterpillar, and then ask if the students if any have heard or read this story before. I will explain that the main purpose of reading the book is to listen for the main events in the story in order. Next I will read the story. I will explain to them that in the book there was an order in the story regarding the life cycle of a butterfly. Towards the ending, I will have students participate in the part where it says, “but he was still hungry”.
3. I will introduce a song that goes to the tune of “Up on the Housetop” along with motions that will teach students the life cycle of a butterfly. The song will be displayed on the SMART board for the students. I will first sing through the song and do the motions and ask that they repeat after me. Then we will go through the song twice. This song organizes the stages of the butterfly life cycle. The lyrics are as follows:

First comes a butterfly lays an egg
Out comes a caterpillar with many legs
Oh see the caterpillar spin and spin
A little chrysalis to sleep in
Oh oh oh look and see
Oh oh oh look and see
Out of the chrysalis
My oh my
Out comes a pretty butterfly

Independent/Group Practice
Two activities will be available for students to practice sequencing events from the story. Students will be encouraged to work with their table group so that they can think out loud and learn from each other
Activity 1: Students will recreate their own graphic organizers in groups, of what the very hungry caterpillar ate on each particular day. After students complete their own graphic organizers the class will join as a whole and use the SMART board to display a graphic organizer of all the food that the caterpillar ate and on which particular day.
Activity 2: Students will complete a worksheet that contains two stories, one of a morning routine and one of the butterfly life cycle that they will place in the correct order. After the students complete their worksheets the class will join as a whole and use the SMART board to show the correct sequence of the morning routine and the butterfly life cycle.

Homework

Option 1: Students will color and cut out pictures of their morning routine and place them in correct order and then write a sentence for each picture

Option 2: Students will be given a worksheet that contains different actions that take place in the morning that they will need to place in the correct sequence

Final Project- Content Instruction

Objectives to be attained by the end of the lesson

-Students will be able to sequence any set of events in the correct order (2.1)
-Students will learn the meaning of new vocabulary words (2.4, 2.6)
-Students will listen for a purpose (2.)
-Students will use the SMART board to arrange story events (2.1, ITSE 3)
-Students will learn the life cycle of a butterfly (2b 2nd Grade life science)

Final Project Content Standards

Curriculum Standard


1st Grade Language Arts: Reading Comprehension
2.1 Identify text that uses sequence or other logical order.

Technology Standard

ISTE Standard 3: Model Digital-Age Work and Learning
- Collaborate with students, peers, parents, and community members using digital tools and resources to support student success and innovation.

Planets PowerPoint

YouTube

This video can be used in health class for 6th grade students. It goes along with a lesson using content standards 1.5.M the importance of being empathetic to individual differences, including people with disabilities and chronic diseases. as well as standard 8.2.S Promote a bully-free school and community environment.

Survey Results are in!

Survey, take me!

Facebook in the classroom?

The idea of using Facebook in the classroom does not directly relate to the age group that I will be working with. However, when I think about it in terms of middle school/high school I think that there are both positives and negatives. Facebook can be a good tool to use in the classroom because, let’s be honest, most kids are on it. So my thought process is, if they are already on it, why not let them use it for educational purposes rather than just social networking. Kids like using technology in the classroom, especially if they know how to work it; therefore I think it would have a lot of positive feedback from the students. I believe that using Facebook in the classroom has the potential to be a highly effective tool, especially for group collaboration. It is great ways for students to post questions and have other students give answers to them as well as just having an open discussion regarding certain topics in class. I have had many classes where I had to be part of an online discussion and often I would be annoyed because I had to figure out how to work another website. By having the students use something that they already know how to work, it takes out the frustration. Despite its positives there are obviously negatives to using this social networking site in the classroom. First, there are parents that do not want their students using sites such as Facebook for safety issues. Social networking sites are scary when used by younger students because they could be communicating with people that they don’t know or they could be bullying/being bullied. Personally, I know a few parents that will not allow their child to have a site such as Facebook. Also, I think that by letting students use Facebook in the classroom that they are more likely than not going to check their own page, comment on others, etc. rather than stay on task. Often when you give students an inch they go a mile, therefore it would be almost opening up a can of worms by allowing the use of Facebook in the classroom. Teachers can also get into trouble with getting involved with their students on Facebook. I think it is not professional for teachers to be friends with their students; however, there are teachers out there that just don’t care. This usually sends out a bad vibe to the parents as well as places their own job at risk. When considering the community, I mainly think back to the parents and I think that if there is a lot of negativity regarding the use of Facebook in education from the parents that it will cause a lot of negative feelings not only towards the teacher but also the school. Personally, I think that even though there are positives towards using this in the classroom, overall I think it is a bad idea to have Facebook used in education, at least for middle/high school aged students. It just seems like an idea that is asking for parents to complain and be angry about. Despite the fact that it could be effective in terms of education, I think the negatives outweigh the benefits. There are different ways to incorporate technology into the classroom such as having a class website that allows for online discussion that isn’t linked to Facebook. Overall, I think that technology is a valuable tool to incorporate into curriculum but obviously the right type of technology is important.

ITSE Standards Reflection

Content standards always make me laugh, just a little bit. Throughout my undergrad I frequently visited the California Content Standards website and I would find myself completely enthralled by all of the standards that are to be completed in the classroom. In particular, I was always surprised by the fine arts standards because I often would reflect on the fact that fine arts are typically non existent in many school districts simply due to funding. What ever happened to helping students become well rounded individuals? I guess fine arts just don't make the cut for being important. I guess I the only reason I am so bothered by this is simply because that is my forte and it makes me so angry to see it being cut out of schools. But just like technology in the classroom, without funding it is nearly impossible to provide the students with what they need in terms of those particular subjects. After reading through the technology standards I felt a bit relieved because part of me thought that they were going to be ridiculous, however, they are all very practical. The one that I enjoyed the most dealt with was the teachers role to facilitate and inspire student learning and creativity. Creativity is so important in the life of a child and I think that it is great to see that being brought into collaboration with technology. As technology becomes more prevalent in our society I believe that it is important for students to have some knowledge on the the subject matter. What I find so great about bringing creativity and technology together is that it allows the students to use systems such as computers in ways that are tapping into their creativity. Another part of the standards that I liked was the fact that it basically is pushing teachers to incorporate contemporary tools in the classroom. I think that the more that teachers use technology in the classroom the more positive experience it is for the children. With so much technology there is not reason to use simply a whiteboard in the class. By incorporating temporary tools it makes the learning process more fun. These standards are not asking teachers to be computer scientists, rather knowledgeable to some degree in technology.

Essential Conditions

After reading through the list there were a few points that stood at to me. It is so very true that in order to have a functional technology program within the school that there is consistent and adequate funding. Without anything consistent, it makes it hard to plan long term curriculum. Also, without funding there would be no way of supplying computers, etc. or employing technology people. Skilled Personnel is also very important because not all teachers are equipped with knowledge of technology making it hard for the program to run smoothly. Along those lines there need to be empowered leaders that run the technology program and make it a priority, not an option. With technology becoming so relevant in our society, we need to train and equip children to be knowledgeable in the realm of technology.

class is overrated

I am hoping to get out of class in the next 30 minutes. Fingers are crossed.
xoxo lauren