Week 11

In one of my water lessons, I am creating a Google Earth Tour to show water in its many different forms. I am going to create a virtual tour that starts at Canyon Elementary and moves around to show lakes, rivers, waterfalls, icebergs etc. I think the students will really like seeing different representations about what we have been learning about as well as seeing where they are in relationship to the world around them.

Tech Lesson Idea

My first grade classroom is in the middle of a water unit which I am helping to teach. They are learning all about the different properties of water and how water can change from one state to another. I am hoping to use the digital thermometers to illustrate to the children how the change in temperature causes the water to change states form solid to liquid, liquid to gas etc. The students love doing hands on activities and would love to be able to further explore.

Technology Inventory

After spending 6+ weeks discovering the great variety of technology resources, I was surprised how little technology is available or used in my school and classroom. In my classroom there are only 2 computers, one for the teacher and one for the student. The teacher only used her computer for a few minutes at the beginning of the day to take roll and count lunches. The student computer is set up with a reading program and the student rotates about 10 different students throughout the day to spend time on the program to help with beginning reading skills. Besides this, my teacher hasn't used any other technology. Teachers can check out TV, DVD/VCR, overheads, projectors but they are not found in every classroom.
My teacher however does have a microphone that she uses quite often throughout the day which helps save her voice as well as makes directions from across the room very clear.
The school has 2 computer labs equipped with about 30 computers each. Each computer comes well equipped with many different kinds of software. I found programs for art, science, reading, typing, math, writing, and social studies. Each class is assigned one 30 minute period each week to work in these different programs under the supervision of the lab specialist.

Virtual Tour Link

Here is the link to my Virtual Tour
http://sites.google.com/site/lindseysecosystemtour/my-files

Location	Activity	Google Earth Content
1.Mt Mckinley	Students will read about Mt. Mckinley and learn about mountainous regions	Geographic Web, Panoramio, Weather
2.Redwood Forest	Students will read about Redwood forest and learn characteristics about forest regions, They will watch a short video http://dsc.discovery.com/videos/planet-earth-forests-redwood-forest.html They will make observations of plant and animal found in forest regions	Geographic Web, weather, Panoramio
3.Death Valley	Students will read about Death Valley and learn about desert regions. They will have the weather layer on compare the temperature here compared to other regions. They will also watch a short clip http://video.nationalgeographic.com/video/player/places/countries-places/united-states/us_deathvalley.html	geographic web, weather, pananomio http://www.nps.gov/deva/planyourvisit/upload/Weather.pdf
4. Everglades	Students will learn about the Florida everglades and the plant and animal life found there. http://video.google.com/videosearch?hl=en&q=everglades&um=1&ie=UTF-8&sa=N&tab=wv# and http://dsc.discovery.com/videos/man-vs-wild-everglades-camp-platform.html	Geographic web, panoramio
Details of image overlay / path / polygon:	There will be a path connecting all places interest. There will also be a polygon to give borders of the desert, forest, and everglades regions

Content
Through Google Earth I will be teaching my students about the major ecosystems found in the United States. This lesson comes from 3rd Grade Social Studies Standard 1 Objective 2: Describe the major world ecosystems (i.e. desert, plain, tropic, tundra, grassland, mountain, forest, wetland).
Pedagody:
The lesson will begin with a discussion with the glass about the different ecosystems in the world. I will then have the students engaged in hands on activity as the explore the different ecosysems on Google Earth with the virtual tour I have created. The students will have a fact sheet they fill out that will visually organize and compare the similarities and differences between each region. Students will be allowed to work at the their own pace and explore as deeply as they would like as long as time allows.
Technology:
I will be using Google earth for this activity focusing on hte terrain, and weather layers as we explore land formations. I will also use pictures that have already been posted. I will also use a path to connect the images

Captain Hook!

This is a digital story of Shel Silverstein's poem Captain Hook. I hope you enjoy!

TPACK Storyboard Captain Hook

Content:
In my lesson I am having my students pick a poem from a list of poems I have already approved. Then the students will be able to create a digital story in any form of media they choose including illustration, photo, claymation or torn paper.Students will narrate their own story using appropriate volume, pitch, and tempo. I will be focusing on the following standard from
3rd grade Language Arts;

Standard 1:Oral Language-Students develop language for the purpose of effectively communicating through listening, speaking, viewing, and presenting
Objective 1 Develop language through listening and speaking.

1. Speak clearly and audibly with expression in communicating ideas (i.e., effective rate, volume, pitch, tone, phrasing, tempo).

Objective 2
Develop language through viewing media and presenting.

1. identify specific purpose(s) for viewing media (i.e., to identify main idea and details, to gain information, distinguish between fiction/nonfiction, distinguish between fact/opinion, form an opinion).
2. Use a variety of formats (e.g., drama, sharing of books, personal writings, choral readings, informational reports) in presenting with various forms of media (e.g., pictures, posters, charts, ads, newspapers).
   

Pedagogy
I will use a variety of a pedagogy in this lesson plan. First I will use poetry to help students express themselves. As they read the poem, they interpret their thoughts, emotions and ideas of the emotions through visual representation. Because they are able to choose their poem, they will be interested in making their own interpretations.ry I will also use modeling to show how to read aloud with expression using correct vocal tone, pitch and voice inflection. Students will then be able to practice reading their poems in partners before they narrate.

Technology:
I will be using Photostory to help the students create their photostory. This program is easy to learn and simple to follow along. This is a great technology to use with young students because it is easy for them to be successful. This program is also very interactive. After the projects are complete, we will have a movie party and show the student's final projects to the rest of the class.