This week I was able to make significant progress in planning for my Five Senses Unit because my Science kit arrived and I now have more resources available to begin teaching this unit to my kindergarten students. I have definitely been able to find the information and resources I need to teach this unit and integrate 21st century skills throughout. I am still on the search for a great virtual field trip that I can do with my students to use to introduce the unit or use as a means of completing the unit and tying it all together on their context.
At this point I do not feel as though I need to modify my action plan because I am finding what I need and I still feel as though my action plan will be effective and the students will be engaged. There is always room for improvement however and I am always looking for ways to improve a lesson or unit even if I have already started the instruction.
Throughout this process of creating a GAME Plan for my Five Senses unit I have learned that there is a world of resources out there but the challenge simply lies in locating them and making them practical and useful in the classroom especially with such young students like mine. That being said, I have definitely learned that even though I do teach young kindergarten students who are not yet independent readers and need a lot of modeling, they are really not too young to try most of the 21st century tools available. They may not be able to try them on their own but I can certainly expose them to these skills and utilize them in the whole group setting. I have learned that these young students are already used to using technology so they are incredibly engaged as soon as any technology is being used.
If anyone has any resources available for young students that would help me in improving a Five Senses unit, I would greatly appreciate and welcome your feedback and ideas!
Thanks!
Tuesday, March 30, 2010
Sunday, March 21, 2010
Carrying Out My GAME Plan
As I continue to explore strategies for integrating technology into my content area of instruction I must look at what resources I may need in order to expose my young kindergartners to the 21st century skills they need in the years to come. In order to carry out my GAME plan I am going to be utilizing a variety of technology tools in the classroom during the instruction portion of my "Five Senses" unit plan. I chose these resources because they were most relevant to and age appropriate for my young students. I am going to utilize and expose my students to using voicehtreads, PowerPoint, and my interactive whiteboard software for my visual and auditory learners. As important as it is for my students to have access to such technology and resources I also feel as though it is equally important for me to also provide "hands on" activities where my students are physically involved and touching. This will help to accommodate my tactile learners as well.
I have been able to gather the information that I need for this unit but am simply waiting for my science kit to arrive at my school this next week. Although I will be using the online tools and computer based resources for much of my lesson, I will still need the "hands on" resources that are included in the kit.
I have created a voicehthread account and have set up the foundations and organized my groups for this activity. I will be working with small groups at a time in order to expose them to this tool. We will be creating a class voicehthread about our five senses. I have also been able to located some of the pictures and sound effects I will need from my SMARTboard software file in order to do the sight and hearing portion of the lesson.
Any ideas as to how I can strengthen my unit with the use of mote technology is always greatly appreciated!
I have been able to gather the information that I need for this unit but am simply waiting for my science kit to arrive at my school this next week. Although I will be using the online tools and computer based resources for much of my lesson, I will still need the "hands on" resources that are included in the kit.
I have created a voicehthread account and have set up the foundations and organized my groups for this activity. I will be working with small groups at a time in order to expose them to this tool. We will be creating a class voicehthread about our five senses. I have also been able to located some of the pictures and sound effects I will need from my SMARTboard software file in order to do the sight and hearing portion of the lesson.
Any ideas as to how I can strengthen my unit with the use of mote technology is always greatly appreciated!
Sunday, March 14, 2010
Developing My Personal GAME Plan
As I develop my personal GAME plan I will be referencing two of the National Educational Technology Standards for Teachers.
Standards:
The first standard is that I will "design or adapt learning experiences that incorporate digital tools and resources to promote student learning and creativity". The second standard is that I will "model collaborative knowledge construction by engaging with students, colleagues, and others in face-to-face and virtual environments".
My GAME plan will include: Goals, Action, Monitoring, and Evaluation
Goals:
I am creating a unit centered around the "Five Senses" for my kindergarten students that incorporates technology. Because my students are very young and not yet independent readers, my goal is to teach them about the five senses while modeling the use of a variety of digital tools in order to engage them and enhance their learning. Another goal of mine throughout this unit will be to facilitate student collaboration while using technology and 21st century tools. Again, I will be doing a lot of modeling and simply exposing my students to these tools and how to utilize them because of the young age and developmental levels of my kindergarten students.
Action:
This unit plan will take action on my part and part of that will include careful selection of the tools in which I choose. I still have some thought to put into this unit and how I want to use the technology resources available but I am considering using voicethreads, virtual field trips and powerpoints to aid in student learning.
Monitoring:
Again, because if the young age and developmental level of my students I will not be able to assess and monitor their progress in a way that you could older students. My monitoring will have to be very informal and it may be simply having discussions in small groups and possibly even creating games on the interactive whiteboard that I can use to assess student learning.
Evaluation:
I am not completely certain at this time how I will evaluate my students on this unit but I am thinking about having a final product that we complete as a class or even in small groups since my students will not be able to do this on their own. Each student will be completing a "Science Notebook" on paper as a product but as for the technology portion, we will most likely be developing something together as a class in order to simply expose my students to the resources they will utilize in the future.
Standards:
The first standard is that I will "design or adapt learning experiences that incorporate digital tools and resources to promote student learning and creativity". The second standard is that I will "model collaborative knowledge construction by engaging with students, colleagues, and others in face-to-face and virtual environments".
My GAME plan will include: Goals, Action, Monitoring, and Evaluation
Goals:
I am creating a unit centered around the "Five Senses" for my kindergarten students that incorporates technology. Because my students are very young and not yet independent readers, my goal is to teach them about the five senses while modeling the use of a variety of digital tools in order to engage them and enhance their learning. Another goal of mine throughout this unit will be to facilitate student collaboration while using technology and 21st century tools. Again, I will be doing a lot of modeling and simply exposing my students to these tools and how to utilize them because of the young age and developmental levels of my kindergarten students.
Action:
This unit plan will take action on my part and part of that will include careful selection of the tools in which I choose. I still have some thought to put into this unit and how I want to use the technology resources available but I am considering using voicethreads, virtual field trips and powerpoints to aid in student learning.
Monitoring:
Again, because if the young age and developmental level of my students I will not be able to assess and monitor their progress in a way that you could older students. My monitoring will have to be very informal and it may be simply having discussions in small groups and possibly even creating games on the interactive whiteboard that I can use to assess student learning.
Evaluation:
I am not completely certain at this time how I will evaluate my students on this unit but I am thinking about having a final product that we complete as a class or even in small groups since my students will not be able to do this on their own. Each student will be completing a "Science Notebook" on paper as a product but as for the technology portion, we will most likely be developing something together as a class in order to simply expose my students to the resources they will utilize in the future.
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