I watched:
Beth Duvall, Four Seasons
Nina Wallace, Pond Life
Megan Sorenson, Seasons
Well, I love the idea that technology allows children to go places and see things they never could in a classroom context. Even studying a pond, like in Nina's demonstration, allowed children to see what they could never see without expensive technical equipment.
Megan's idea of using technology to improve data analysis and organization, seems completely applicable to life. In nearly every profession, people us technology to create presentations, organize information, gain knowledge and perform analysis. As a teacher, I cannot imagine passing up the opportunity to use so many valuable tools that relate to science.
Wednesday, October 28, 2009
Tuesday, October 27, 2009
Tuesday, October 20, 2009
Stellarium
In this science challenge, my students will observe, categorize, and make inferences concerning ancient Egyptian uses of constellations. Through the use of Stellarium, they will observe the night sky, record their findings, categorize them and use the links from Stellarium to learn about the cultural significance of each constellation. From the knowledge students gain, they will make further inferences concerning each constellation's possible importance in Egyptian culture and today's. Students will use their knowledge to produce a creative project of their choice. Students will work in groups and finally present their project to the class.
Content
Science, 6th grade:
Standard 4, Objective 2
Describe the appearance and apparent motion of groups of stars in the night sky relative to Earth and how various cultures have understood and used them.
1. Locate and identify stars that are grouped in patterns in the night sky.
2. Identify ways people have historically grouped stars in the night sky.
Pedagogy
We will specifically focus on how the ancient Egyptians identified and used stars within their society by:
Observing
Classifying
and Inferring
These strategies appropriately fit our activity because this project focuses mainly on the accumulation and analysis of information.
Technology
We will use Stellarium to accomplish these purposes. This particular resource aligns with the content and pedagogy because it will allow students to view stars that they would otherwise be unable to see. It also allows them to make sense of the stars they see in a cultural context because Stellarium will portray the constellation art work, if desired, and because Stellarium provides various links to information concerning these constellations.
Content
Science, 6th grade:
Standard 4, Objective 2
Describe the appearance and apparent motion of groups of stars in the night sky relative to Earth and how various cultures have understood and used them.
1. Locate and identify stars that are grouped in patterns in the night sky.
2. Identify ways people have historically grouped stars in the night sky.
Pedagogy
We will specifically focus on how the ancient Egyptians identified and used stars within their society by:
Observing
Classifying
and Inferring
These strategies appropriately fit our activity because this project focuses mainly on the accumulation and analysis of information.
Technology
We will use Stellarium to accomplish these purposes. This particular resource aligns with the content and pedagogy because it will allow students to view stars that they would otherwise be unable to see. It also allows them to make sense of the stars they see in a cultural context because Stellarium will portray the constellation art work, if desired, and because Stellarium provides various links to information concerning these constellations.
Tuesday, October 13, 2009
Viewing and Using Virtual Tours
I watched the following google tours:
1. Megan Sorenson, Lewis and Clarke
2. Beth Duvall, Four Largest Cities
3. Victoria, Battles of the Civil War
I can see that using a virtual tour could be very useful in an elementary classroom. Google Earth provides students the opportunity to see places as they really are. What a great way to build schemata and put things in better context. Using this tool will certainly make curriculum more meaningful for students. Not to mention that it's just awesome!
From a teacher's perspective, however, I can see why a virtual tour might seem unappealing. Creating a quality tour takes TIME. In fact, it takes a lot of time! Teachers have limited time in general, so I think we will have to decided how valuable the tour would be for a given subject and determine if it will pay back enough to make it worth the time.
1. Megan Sorenson, Lewis and Clarke
2. Beth Duvall, Four Largest Cities
3. Victoria, Battles of the Civil War
I can see that using a virtual tour could be very useful in an elementary classroom. Google Earth provides students the opportunity to see places as they really are. What a great way to build schemata and put things in better context. Using this tool will certainly make curriculum more meaningful for students. Not to mention that it's just awesome!
From a teacher's perspective, however, I can see why a virtual tour might seem unappealing. Creating a quality tour takes TIME. In fact, it takes a lot of time! Teachers have limited time in general, so I think we will have to decided how valuable the tour would be for a given subject and determine if it will pay back enough to make it worth the time.
Thursday, October 8, 2009
Tuesday, October 6, 2009
Virtually Touring Pride & Prejudice
6th grade, Language Arts Core Curriculum
Standard 7
Comprehension-Students understand, interpret, and analyze narrative and informational grade level text.
Objective 2
Apply strategies to comprehend text.
a. Relate prior knowledge to make connections to text (e.g., text to text, text to self, text to world).
b. Generate questions about text (e.g., factual, inferential, evaluative).
c. Form mental pictures to aid understanding of text.
I chose this content area because I particularly love literature. I have always been personally interested in the happenings of Jane Austen's Pride and Prejudice, and I thought this would be a good opportunity for me to discover some locations throughout the book. I believe that teacher enthusiasm for a given topic can in many ways determine the success of an activity in the classroom. I am certainly enthusiastic about Jane Austen and therefore chose to make her work the focus of my virtual tour.
A virtual tour will be a particularly useful means of obtaining these objectives. Google Earth will allow the students to connect text to world. The images will give students a more accurate schemata and context in which to understand the happenings of the story. Through the activities, students will use questioning skills to reflect and make connections from text to themselves. By seeing the literal locations for the four sites from the book, I hope to encourage students to make a mental image of the happenings within the text.
Standard 7
Comprehension-Students understand, interpret, and analyze narrative and informational grade level text.
Objective 2
Apply strategies to comprehend text.
a. Relate prior knowledge to make connections to text (e.g., text to text, text to self, text to world).
b. Generate questions about text (e.g., factual, inferential, evaluative).
c. Form mental pictures to aid understanding of text.
I chose this content area because I particularly love literature. I have always been personally interested in the happenings of Jane Austen's Pride and Prejudice, and I thought this would be a good opportunity for me to discover some locations throughout the book. I believe that teacher enthusiasm for a given topic can in many ways determine the success of an activity in the classroom. I am certainly enthusiastic about Jane Austen and therefore chose to make her work the focus of my virtual tour.
A virtual tour will be a particularly useful means of obtaining these objectives. Google Earth will allow the students to connect text to world. The images will give students a more accurate schemata and context in which to understand the happenings of the story. Through the activities, students will use questioning skills to reflect and make connections from text to themselves. By seeing the literal locations for the four sites from the book, I hope to encourage students to make a mental image of the happenings within the text.
Monday, October 5, 2009
getting ready to take my lit trip!
| Location | Activity Description | Google Earth Content |
| 1.Hertfordshire | Read the linked text, reflect on the pressures to get married at the time of the book in relation to pressures today.
| Include image and link to text for review.
|
| 2.Derbyshire | Watch YouTube video and determine how Lizzy's visit to Derbyshire influenced her relationship with Darcy.
| Include images and YouTube video.
|
| 3.London | Look at street view of Cheapside and discuss the following lines from Jane Austen's, Pride and Prejudice:
"I think I have heard you say that their uncle is an attorney in Meryton"- Caroline Bingley to Jane
"Yes; and they have another, who lives somewhere near Cheapside." Caroline Bingley to her brother, sister, and Mr. Darcy
"That is capital," added her sister, and they both laughed heartily. "If they had uncles enough to fill all Cheapside," cried Bingley, "it would not make them one jot less agreeable." "But it must very materially lessen their chance of marrying men of any consideration in the world," replied Darcy. Consider the difference between life on this street and life in Derbyshire and discuss the following: why would the Bingley sisters mock someone for living in Cheapside? |
Include image of Cheapside and link to outside webpage. |
| 4.Brighton | Reflect, why were the actions of Lydia and Mr. Whickham looked upon so harshly in their day? Why would the author have set such a scene in Brighton? | Include image and link to Wikipedia for information on the old city.
|
Thursday, October 1, 2009
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