Lesson 2: Phase 1- Planning Assessment

Rubric:
https://w.taskstream.com/RubricWizard/RubricPrintView/PrintView?encLegacyRubricId=fgf8elf7e9eff6ex&platform=LAT

The goals of the lesson involve creating a timeline with facts from colonial times. They also involve understanding the sequencing of a story and using the outline to create a story sequence that they will use in the next class to write their story. The rubric clearly states what the expectations for the activity will be, as per the goals of the lesson.

The outlines will demonstrate an understanding of what they have learned. They use higher order thinking skills in the creation of their story. The rubric does not get too specific, but does  require that they include realistic facts and events in their story, meaning students will have to use what they learned to create new knowledge and ideas on their own.

They will be allowed to work with a partner in the creation of their stories, meeting the needs of students who may need extra help or require social interaction for learning. The Kidspiration program they will use also has many features to meet their needs as they complete the activity being assessed.

Lesson 2: Phase 1- Designing Instruction

Link to lesson plan:
https://w.taskstream.com/Lesson/View/0CA74B38CDC1DCEF18F8011537AFAFE6

I organized my instruction so the introduction of the stories and topic would draw the students in and they would get to see examples of their final product right off the bat. I will then show them an example of a timeline so they have something modeled, and some events to choose from in the creation of their own timelines. I felt the stories were the more interesting portion and would give them ideas before getting into the technical aspect of their timelines and outlining. All the topics link and overlap, while still giving students separate sections for each activity to be learned. I also thought putting the question portion in the middle may help me assess how much the students are learning, and give them more story ideas and detail at the same time.

There are quite a few instructional methods used. The whole group instruction involves a read-aloud to give auditory learners something to enjoy and learn from. The discussion accesses higher order thinking skills as they must come up with their own questions, not just about the assignment, but to ask a real person about their life. It also allows time for processing of the new information. The timeline building and story planning accesses creative writing skills, and uses Kidspiration which can be great for visual, auditory, and linguistic learners. They get to work in whole group, pairs, and individual settings based on their individual learning styles.

The technology used in the lesson is age appropriate, as it is created for children under third grade. It is integrated into the lesson in a way that enhances learning, rather than disrupt it. One of the keys to technology integration is making sure the technology is something that improves the lesson, not simply something to use because it is there.

There is not a lot of technological etiquette, global awareness, or ethical use of technology. None of these things are entirely applicable with a self-contained program like Kidspiration. There are, however, many ways of meeting diverse needs of learners. The different features in Kidspiration, such as the ear button, meet the needs of all sorts of learners. There are pictures, written words, spoken words, and so much more in Kidspiration. The students will have access to all of these as they build their timelines.

Lesson 2: Phase 1- Plans Instruction

I will explain the goal of the lesson (to create a timeline for the purpose of writing a story) at the end of our pilgrim letters. After talking about pilgrims using my timeline I will reiterate their lesson goal of creating a timeline outline for their story, and explain what their story will be about, and what the requirements are (using at least two facts or events from colonial times).

They are appropriate because the students will have prior knowledge of the Kidspiration and the concept of timelines. It fits with the time of the year (Thanksgiving). And it does not require them to do both the timeline and the story in the same period; it simply gets them started thinking about their story, sequencing it, and preparing their thoughts. This will give them the time they need and a way of organizing and retaining the new information.

The AZ state social studies standards require knowledge of pilgrims and their interaction with Native Americans, recognition that the U.S. began as 13 colonies rules by England, comparison of colonists to people now, the significance of national holidays, placing events chronologically on a timeline, and retelling of stories to describe past places, people, and events. All of these items are covered at least in part by the standards. The students will learn about Thanksgiving as a national holiday and the interaction of pilgrims with Native Americans in this setting and possibly when the Mayflower arrived through this lesson. They will discuss colonial life, indicating knowledge of the 13 colonies and their rule by England. They will use the timeline to place the story events in chronological order and use this to retell stories similar to those of colonists.
The common core language arts and literacy standards require writing of informative/explanatory texts which name a topic, facts about the topic, and provide closure, as well as writing narratives with at least two sequenced events, details of the events, and language indicating the sequence. The students will do this by creating their timelines and will continue to accomplish these standards when writing the rest of their stories in the future.

Lesson 2: Blog Phase 1- Assessing Prior Knowledge

1. I will assess some prior knowledge in the question and answer portion, as well as assessing what they are learning throughout the lesson. I will also look back at previous times the students have used Kidspiration to assess what may need to be reviewed there.
2. I would hope to learn how familiar they already were with the topic of Pilgrims and the colonization of America. I would also hope to find out if they had used the timeline feature on Kidspiration before and how well the program itself aided in past learning.
3. This information would help me in focusing my content. I could learn whether to focus more on timelines or more on Pilgrims. If their first grade teacher or their parents talked a lot about Pilgrims and the colonies I would focus more on timelines. If they had done story sequencing using timelines in the past I would focus more on the Pilgrims. I would also be able to tell where I needed to focus my social studies content. If the students already knew a lot about Thanksgiving we could focus more on why they left England, rather than what happened when they got here.

Lesson 1: Blog Phase 2- Assessment of Learning

I have photos of all three dioramas and the students who created them. The photos are evidence that the students achieved the goal of showing all three components of a habitat through the creation of a diorama. To add some validity to the diorama pictures, I have the checklists used to assess each student's diorama. All three students met the requirements on the checklist.

The notes I took on their answers support the level of success in my teaching. The students were asking thoughtful questions and answering their fellow students. They also answered my questions thoughtfully. However, the final discussion was less productive and seemed to skim the surface of the concepts a lot more than the introductory discussion; indicating that I could have gone into more depth with the lesson.

• In my reflections I talked about needing to be more prepared in the individual lecturing portion of the lesson because I often focus a bit too much on activities and forget what to say when it is just me explaining the concepts to them. I also explained that I thought the second discussion was a bit less productive than the first one. Both of these support my feelings that I could have added some depth. The idea for the unit I talked about in my reflections is a good option for improving this.

Lesson 1: Blog Phase 2- Assessment Examples

I used the checklists to document that each student had the correct components in their habitats.

I also took pictures of each student with their diorama, so I could easily refer back to the pictures and know which student made which diorama.

Caitrin made a white tailed rabbit habitat.

Tarah made an octopus habitat.

Shawna made a whale habitat.

Lesson 1: Blog Phase 2- Instructional Decisions/Teaching

The teaching process went alright. I had the discussion and showed the video. They seemed very interested and engaged in the first part. I introduced the dioramas before I had talked more in detail about what a habitat contains, so I had to explain what was expected in the diorama in a little more detail than I normally would have. The books did not have all of the information the students needed, so I recommended using google to supplement their sources. The dioramas were a success, and the discussion after went well as well. The students were less forthcoming in the second discussion, which I found surprising.

I learned that I need to be a little more prepared in terms of what I am going to say in the individual teaching portion. I was very prepared for the discussions, but less prepared to teach the main part of the lesson, in terms of what exactly to say.

I also learned that I need to be a bit more specific about the resources available to the students. They were not aware that they could use google at the beginning of the activity, so I some of them felt that they did not get all the information they needed early enough in the process of creating their diorama.

I think I did a good job keeping aligned with goals and objectives. They learned what a habitat is, why it is important, how it interacts with other habitats, and the details of it. I could have supplemented their learning with more resources and details about each component of a habitat. I would definitely make this lesson part of a larger unit. It was a good introduction to habitats, but it needs a little more to have kids fully grasp the concepts in my objectives and the standards.

Not a lot of accommodation was necessary in this lesson, however, some students were having some difficulties finding and understanding information, so google was used as a sort of accommodation. One of the comments from my feedback was that I could have allowed them to draw instead of creating the diorama. I think in a class of actual first graders that would be a great idea, and I would definitely use it. For these students, I feel they are old enough to make a diorama and branch out from their comfort zone a bit. There was a suggestion of using a computer program to create their product instead of a diorama, for students who feel less confident in visual/spacial settings. If I were to redo this lesson I would offer that as an alternative.

Lesson 1: Blog Phase 1 -Planning Assessment

My assessment is the following checklist assessing the diorama as a check for understanding:

The habitat has food the animal eats: 

The habitat has a water source available:

The habitat has shelter for the animal:

The habitat has space relative to the animal's size:

The habitat is consistent with the chosen animal's actual habitat:

The performance linked goals are to demonstrate and understanding of the components of a habitat. This checklist assesses the child's diorama as it pertains to the areas clearly listed in the checklist. The other objectives are based in group discussions which are assessed through observations. For these I would add anecdotal notes in student portfolios.

I will demonstrate the gaining of higher order thinking skills through anecdotal notes on the discussion at the end of the lesson. Students are required to discuss their learning and research in a group discussion, encouraging them to reflect on what they learned and how they came to their conclusions. This will indicate whether or not they used higher order thinking and how in depth their understanding of the subject is.

I believe my lesson covers all student needs, but I will make sure to ask students if they have any concerns or difficulties during the end of class discussion as well in the individual discussion of their product. I will be observing and talking to students as I walk around the classroom throughout the lesson. I would also trust that my students feel comfortable enough to come to me if they need additional help.

Lesson 1: Blog Phase 1 -Designing Instruction

Click here for my lesson.

I tried to organize my lesson beginning with movement and rhythm so students would be instantly engaged and they could get energized and ready to learn. Brain science shows that the brain works better with exercise. From there I drew on previous knowledge to get students thinking, and asked them to make some hypothesis. The research was to help them learn on their own as independent learners, and the creation of the diorama was supposed to expand on that as they produced a project from the knowledge they gain. I wanted them to reflect on their learning in a group setting, and to learn from their classmates in the end. The lesson was really designed to use all aspects of the research based learning I hear about in my own classes.

The research and artistic components of the lesson address higher order thinking skills. Research promotes investigation and independent thinking. They had to think about what kinds of facts they were looking for as well as the best strategies for finding them. The artistic component was a non-traditional way of expressing their understanding of the content. It uses divergent thinking as opposed to a test with definitive answers.

There was not a lot of technology in my lesson. It was not appropriate for this lesson, so I did not add in unnecessary components. I did use a youtube video for the song and dance component of the lesson. Giving students visuals is important, and I used youtube to fullfill that. The song and movement were also research based and again, the youtube video covered those two items.

My lesson did not address safe, legal, and ethical use of digital information and technology. It did not address digital etiquette and responsible social interactions. Nor did it address global awareness and digital-age communications. None of these were applicable in my lesson. It did meet the diverse needs of students through learner-centered strategies and equitable access. There were many different aspects of this lesson that met the needs of all types of learners. The entire lesson is student run and teacher facilitated. The youtube video addressed three types of learners through technology and demonstrated a useful technological tool for learners.

Lesson 1: Blog Phase 1- Plans Instruction

My goals and objectives are clearly stated within the lesson plan. I used the ABCD technique to help in creating and checking the effectiveness of my goals and objectives. A- Audience, being the student. B- Behavior, which in the case of my first objective would be showing the components of a habitat and explaining. Behavior for my second objective would be demonstrating their understanding. C- Condition, would be the creation of the diorama for my first objective, and creating a specific animal's habitat for the second. Finally, D- Degree, which is all three for the first one and at least one animal's habitat for the second objective.

The lesson objectives make the expectations clear for students, but not too complicated or difficult to accomplish. They also include multiple ways to demonstrate understanding of the content. The goals are attainable and fit the lesson very well, making them great objectives for students to strive for.

The state standards require the comparison of habitats, which takes place in the creation of their diorama which is a part of the standards, and listening to other children explain how they met the goals required of them. The second state standard on habitats requires the knowledge of how animals and plants effect each other within a habitat, which is covered by the third lesson objective about discussing habitat relations and interactions.