my project and classroom management

My project went wonderful! I had a 1st grade class about 20 students.I worked in the classroom for two daysThe class was divided into two groups that rotated back and forward.
On the first day,I asked the students what they knew about the ocean and "if they could be an ocean what would live inside ?" I wrote their responses on the board and then we read a book called "Way Down Deep in the deep Blue Sea" by Jan Peck and "Hello, Fish visiting the coral reef" by Sylvia Earle. After reading the two book we discussed habitat and stuff that lives in the ocean. We used kidspiration on the smart board to put item in the correct habitat. While one group completed kidspiration assignment on paper and the smart board, the other group completed an activity with their teacher from pbskids.org/bigbigworld that I altered to fit the ocean theme.

On day two ,we read another book about oceans by Kristin Pratt called "A swim through the ocean."we reviewed with a worksheet and powergame that allowed them to answer questions about what animals live near or in the ocean?

Classroom Management

I did not have a game board for the powerpoint game for fear of classroom management issues. Each student answered a powerpoint games question and recieved coins for each correct answer. The coins are used by the teacher and is called fun coins and students can trade thier coins at the end of the day a prize. I feel that the coins , teacher, and her assistant and the activities fun created class behavior great. I think the topic was interesting to the children. The teacher had the class already divided into groups the red group and the yellow group. I feel like the most help thing that was done was explaining the assignment completly. Before my project I really did not think about classroom management aside from the game board issue.

Classroom Management Tips

-small groups are great

-explain the assignment before hand

What's New?

When I viewed the blogspot adress http://plcmcl2-things.blogspot.com/ , I quickly found some topics that where and caught my eyes. The topic that viewed where Image Generators, Flickr, and "So what’s in a wiki?".
First I when to the image generator and learned how to use image generators to make cool pictures. I found some free image generator sites and made a few. i got my dress from lane bryant


Next , I when to flickr and discovered the many task that can be completed on this site. You can upload, sort and share photos. This site is free and it allows you to tag your photos.

last, I visited "So what’s in a wiki?" I chose this one because I did not know what a wiki was. I have learned that a wiki is a website and that allows users to easily add, remove and edit content. For example Wikipedia, is the largest on in the United states. (I guess I did know what a wiki consist of!) The resouce states how wiki can be good for library and other communities.

Online Resources

I have decided to teach a unit on the ocean. The unit will be a two or three weeks where the entire class will be based around the ocean theme. The best way to teach my unit is to use a many different methods! I don't know if a webquest is something that i want to use for my unit. I do believe that a powerpoint game will be appropriate for my theme. I may use kidspiration for students to learn about what goes in the ocean and lives underwater!
I have decide to teach a unit on the ocean! The standards for this unit include:

Science Standards:

http://www.georgiastandards.org/DMGetDocument.aspx/Kindergarten%20Approved%2007-12-2004.pdf?p=6CC6799F8C1371F686051581A57C00EFAA54D05B49121695BB450C9A9B9CC3FA&Type=D

Math standards:

http://public.doe.k12.ga.us/DMGetDocument.aspx/Standards%20K%20-%202%20July%202006.pdf?p=6CC6799F8C1371F61C554E6689B2EED97A50D88D28116A0806905B1EE582EBE3&Type=D

Social studies standards:

http://public.doe.k12.ga.us/DMGetDocument.aspx/Kindergarten.pdf?p=6CC6799F8C1371F6FAE0A7AE3FDB4E6780E94DAF80C22E619FB74853E389A3A9&Type=D

Language Arts Standards:

http://public.doe.k12.ga.us/DMGetDocument.aspx/Kindergarten.pdf?p=6CC6799F8C1371F60C241F380A78403D2FB58A623AA958FC45B5EA0DF46BEA0A&Type=D




I plan to use most of the online resources that I found as a reference guide to help me devolpment my unit on the ocean.They are higher in grade level content so i will have to make adjustments. I found many online resource for my unit:
http://www.thinkfinity.org/


1. Safari Touch Tank
http://www.miamisci.org/tank/html/tank.htm
Description
The site provides a unique opportunity to see exotic underwater animals in both simulated and real-world environments. Mousing over the creature brings up a description, a link to Webster's online dictionary definition, and a 3-D animated movie. Students learn about the creature's scientific name, eating habits, and its typical weight and size. Using the Resource
Students from grades K-8 will enjoy seeing simulated movements and characteristics of a variety of sea creatures. The clips can be useful foreground information before visiting an aquarium, and can also be incorporated into a Hyper Studio presentation. A dictionary offers additional information about the creatures.

2. This links were not on marco polo but includes OCEAN THEMES ACTIVITIES FOR STUDENTS :
http://www.dltk-kids.com/animals/ocean.html
http://www.teach-nology.com/worksheets/science/ocean/if/



3.I even located webquest about the ocean!
http://education.nmsu.edu/webquest/wq/ocean/

http://www.kmuska.com/ocean/oceanx.html

http://www.gailsresourceguide.com/oceans.html

4. Songs about the ocean

http://www.teach-nology.com/worksheets/early_childhood/songs/oceans/


5. activities on the ocean and beach

http://atozteacherstuff.com/pages/266.shtml

http://www.libsci.sc.edu/miller/ocean.htm

6. ocean unit developed by others
http://www.coreknowledge.org/CK/resrcs/lessons/PreK98Oceans.htm



7. Books that can be used for the Unit:

http://pt3.sbu.edu/VFTs/Sea/childrens_books_about_the_ocean.htm


A Swim Through the Seaby Kristin Joy Pratt


Big Blue Oceanby Bill Nye


A Drop Around the Worldby Barbara Shaw Mckinney


The Magic School Bus on the Ocean Floorby Joanna Cole,

Sharks and Other Sea Creaturesby Leighton Taylor



http://www.aqua.wisc.edu/WaterLibrary/kids/booklist_ocean.html

Pringle, Laurence and Michael Chesworth. Come to the Ocean's Edge: A Nature Cycle Book. Honesdale, Pa.: Boyds Mills Press, 2003. The occurrences at the ocean’s edge over a 24-hour period are explored in this book with simple prose and gorgeous watercolor illustrations. Gr.K-3.


Cole, Joanna and Bruce Degen. The Magic School Bus on the Ocean Floor. New York: Scholastic, 1992. Ms. Frizzle leads her students on an adventure to the floor of the ocean in her magic school bus-submarine. The funny but informative text gives readers a lighthearted but well-researched introduction to ocean ecology. Librarians will appreciate Ms. Frizzle's parting advice: "Ask at your library for more good books about oceans."Gr. Preschool-2.



White, Nancy. Scholastic's The Magic Schoolbus Takes a Dive: A Book About Coral Reefs. New York: Scholastic, 1998. Ms. Frizzle leads her class on a trip to a coral reef in search of a lost treasure, and students learn much about the importance of partnership both in the life of coral reef inhabitants and between the children themselves. Gr. K-3.



National Wildlife Federation. Diving Into Oceans. Philadelphia, Penn.: Chelsea House Publishers,1998.An activity-centered resource book on oceans for children, this book makes learning about oceans fun with experiments, games, crafts, songs, and more. Gr. K-3.


Gray, Susan H. Oceans. Minneapolis, Minn.: Compass Point Books, 2001. From the deepest point in the ocean to its shallow reefs, this book covers general topics such as ocean life, the continental shelf, pollution, and explorers. Gr. K-3.



Wright-Frierson, Virginia. An Island Scrapbook: Dawn to Dusk on a Barrier Island. New York: Simon & Schuster Books,1998.An artist/naturalist and her daughter set out one September morning to sketch images and collect specimens for a scrapbook about life on a North Carolina barrier island. There are plenty of details to entertain even the most exacting young naturalists in this book. Gr. 2-5.



Lionni, Leo. Swimmy. New York: Pantheon, 1963.Swimmy, the lone black fish in a school of reds, uses ingenuity to overcome the others' fears about swimming in open water and exploring the wonders of the sea. A Caldecott Honor Book. Gr. Preschool-2.




Florian, Douglas. In The Swim. San Diego: Harcourt, Inc., 1997.Water-dwellers from salmon to manatees are featured in another wonderful Florian creation full of poetry and delightful illustrations. Gr. Preschool-3.



McDonald, Megan. Is This a House for Hermit Crab? New York: Orchard Books, 1990. Children will enjoy being involved in a hermit crab's search for a new home. A great read-aloud story with sandy textured photographs to compliment the story.Gr. K-1.




Relf, Patricia. The Magic School Bus Gets Eaten: A Book about Food Chains. New York: Scholastic, 1996. Join the fashion-challenged Ms. Frizzle and her students in an ocean adventure about food chains. The Magic School Bus becomes part of the food chain when eaten by a tuna – but, of course, everything turns out OK in the end. Gr. Preschool-3.


http://www.childrenslit.com/th_beach05.htm


More Resources:

pbs.org/teacher is a great resource for lesson plans! I'm no sure if any of these apply to my unit. I kind of confused! I feel like may be going for more of a theme than a unit.Am I suppose to sticking to one standard or is multiple standards o.k ? I did find a lesson that may work well with my unit.

http://pbskids.org/bigbigworld/parentsteachers/activities_08.html

The standard idea : To learn habitat is the environment or area where a living thing or community makes its home, providing food and shelter. Many plants and animals can share the same habitat.
i even found a video on the site that may be relavant to my Unit:

1. Sea Ya! Seashore Surprises: Examining Seashells

Source: Reading Rainbow

Join LeVar on the beach as he examines shells--some with the animals still inside and some without. Learn about the animals that make the shells, how they protect themselves and how they grow.

Grade Level: PreK, K-2

Topics: Life Science

I feel that resources may be used by teachers, students and parent. I would use these activities as part of my lesson and to make my lesson interesting for students. I could a video on this site to introduce my unit or a lesson that I may teach along the way!
With my grade level, Curriculum Enrichment Strategy is the best for many reasons.allowing kindergartners to surfthe internet may not be the best idea! intergating online resource into my unit will work!

Assessment

Assessment is not the most fun part of teaching but i has to get done. The article discuss topics that are fairly new to me. The knowledge that I have obtained on rubrics, assessment,artifacts, portfolios, and test will help choose the best way to make assessments of my unit.

First Article:
The first article talks primary about assessment. I will try to include to some type of artifact the students can contruct in some way to show what they have learned. I learned about different types of artifact that can be used as assesment. For example, physical model, theory, multimedia projectWeb site, video or radio program, a computer program or a robot. I feel that planing this type of assessment will be really hard to make the assesment good and not just a really fun activity.
Second Article:
From reading the second article I learned that the best way to assess is with mutiple assessments
Third Article(website):I just reinforce the idea that test are not the only way to make assesssments.
For my students I will create a rubric and a portifolio to assess their progess . I will maybe use an artifact as a portion of the student's portofolio.

Project Based Learning! 2/12/07

Project based learning!

I choose the first article because the graphics got my attention! The title of the article is very catchy. the title of the article is " Pump Yourself up with PBL Learning." The article does really express project-based learning in great detail. The article states many stumbling blocks that will occur when using Project-based learning and serves as a resource guide for teacher that want to learn more about the subject.The article talks about the technology aspect of project based learning. It list books, websites, cd-roms, and conferences that could be used to learn more about project based learning. The one resource that caught my attention was a website titled "Project Approach in Early Childhood and Elementary Education." This resource provides reading and online certitification course for teachers. I found the website and it is link here: http://www.projectapproach.org/
The website includes example kindegarten projects and links to them example: Purposeful Learning :A Study of Water http://ecrp.uiuc.edu/v3n2/dixon.html
The website describes the different phases of devolping a project. This website can service as a reference to help me devolp ideas for my unit. The website and article has made me aware of the different ways that others have created projects and how the project worked out for them.
The second article i choose is called "Designing to Learn." I choose this article because I like the way the author broke the article into section. The article talks about knowing your audience, the standards, great planning, and design skills. The articles expresses the needs that I will need to devolp to create a (PBL). The article explains a need for students to be included in the planning process. I feel that this concept can help keep students engaged. In a kindergarten class, may giving students different options example money game vs. power point game. One student may prefer one option over another. Choosing the option that most interest them will keep them engaged.The article states that you should know your audience! While completing my unit, I should think about the different audience that my exist in a kindergarten class. The article also expresses using templates for the project. I feel that have a template for the unit is an excellent idea!
On the edutopia site, I read an interview by Patty Vreeland, a kindergarten and first-grade teacher at Newsome Park Elementary School. In this interview she describes the way she achieved project-based learning. In her interview she reinforces what the articles stated about project based learning. She states that you should follow standards. She states simply that project based learning is more exciting for the teacher and the student!

Patty Vreeland on Project-Based Learning

Teaching Scrapbooking!

1. Based on the content standards you have chosen, what are the educational goals for your unit? What are the origin of the goals?

I have not finalized my unit yet but I have narrowed my unit down to two options. I have narrowed by units down to Time or Money. I want to use
Based upon the units that I have chosen, the educational goals for my unit on time includes Students learning to tell time to the nearest hour and half hour and understand the movement of the minute hand and how it relates to the hourhand. They will begin to understand the relationship of calendar time by knowing the number of days in a week and months in a year. If I choose the unit on Money, students wil have to identify coins by name and value (penny, nickel, dime, and quarter).Students will count out pennies to buy items that together cost less than 30 cents. Students will have to make fair tradesby involving combinations of pennies and nickels or pennies and dimes. This goals are at important in any person's life. Being able to count money and tell time very important skill that need to carried through out my life.








2. Look over the activities you listed in your parent letter - do they promote engaged learning? What is engaged learning? Think about a time when you were engaged in an activity. Why were you engaged?
The activities listed in my letter to the parents will keep the students engaged! The activities in my letter included games, online work




What is your favorite hobby or something you are particularly good at:


Scrapbooking!



How would you plan your lesson? I would plan my lesson based around all of the thing that got me interested in scracpbooking.


To plan the lesson on scrapbooking


What will you do to keep them engaged?



Find several examples of people, groups, etc engaged in some type of learning activity - includes these links on your blog.


http://ed.fnal.gov/lincon/el_project_intro.shtml example of question you need to ask yourself to ensure engaged learning!

http://www.intouch.cornell.edu/modules/evaluation.html student engaged in science learning


http://images.google.com/imgres?imgurl=http://www.cps-k12.org/general/discipline/codes/tchrpt.jpg&imgrefurl=http://www.cps-k12.org/general/discipline/Codes/CodeConduct.htm&h=307&w=200&sz=18&hl=en&start=46&tbnid=MXq7hCqy40BADM:&tbnh=117&tbnw=76&prev=/images%3Fq%3Dengaged%2Bin%2Blearning%26start%3D40%26ndsp%3D20%26svnum%3D10%26hl%3Den%26sa%3DN Teacher and student engaged in learning!


http://www.ncrtec.org/pd/lwtres/ewl/images/ewl.jpg chart about engaged learning!!!!!!


http://www.royalsociety.org/downloaddoc.asp?id=1441
teacher and student engaged in learning!!!!!