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!
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Jenny,
ReplyDeleteI love doing a unit on the Five Senses. And you are right there is a wealth of material out there in cyberspace on it. I am so much in favor of a 4 day week for students and let the 5th day be where teachers work in their classrooms preparing these fantastic technology lessons. I just don't have or make the time as I should. During the summer, I really try to work on projects that I will use during the year but that is my time to read books that are not on first grade level so I procrastinate.
Good luck with your project! Sounds great!
Kathy
Jenny,
ReplyDeleteIt sounds like you are making some really great progress towards meeting your GAME plan! I hope that your lesson goes great! I can't even imagine teaching Kindergarten and having students that were not somewhat independent (this is why I teach high school!). I love that you are exposing them to technology at such a young age also! I hope that my child will have as dedicated of a teacher as you are!
Good luck!
Anna
I have to agree, there is so much out there but it all seems to be aimed at children who are no longer in the primary grades. Most everything is aimed at third grade or higher. I have had some limited success with adjusting the 3rd grade stuff but I am adjusting to 2nd grade, not kindergarten. Good luck,
ReplyDeleteSusan
Jenny your GAME plan seems to be coming right along. I can only imagine how much modeling your very young students need when including technology into a lesson. I teach seventh grade and they need a lot of modeling too. I must say though you are very right about how familiar yougn children are when using computers. I think you will be pleasantly surprised with the outcome of your students work. Best of luck to you.
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