Geonarratives: Second Lesson Idea

Lesson Title: “Celebrating Our Nation’s Diversity”

Subject: Social Studies

Grade Level: PreK-2

Purpose: Through the use of a real-world experience, students communicate in a variety of ways, and retrieve, organize, and synthesize data to develop an understanding of diversity. Students develop an understanding of what a census is, why it is conducted, and the procedure for doing so.

Description: In this lesson, students conduct a class census to measure diversity. The lesson is aimed at having a discussion of the key concepts associated with diversity and then writing or drawing abut current impressions, thoughts, observations, and questions before looking at actual statistical data.

Note: Depending on developmental level and technology experience, students may need parental or volunteer assistance to complete tasks.

Key Activities: Using a Google Earth navigating software, teacher will point out various countries and discuss their location in relation to the United States; Using a globe students will point out various countries and discuss their location in relation to the United States..; Teacher will facilitate a discussion about the definition and concept of a country, differences and commonalties, including ancestors and heritage…; As the activity progresses, have student gain an appreciation for obtaining factual information about the United States using a Census Bureau Website…; Discuss the information collected in the last activity in light of measuring conclusions and testing the accuracy of the census data collection…; Each group examines actual questions asked by the Census Bureau in the census report…; Students present the questions they have developed to the rest of the class…; Collect all questionnaires and enter data into data base…; When the census questionnaires have been completed, students summarize and present the information in various forms. Discuss the diversity of the United States. Explore pictures in Google Earth navigating software…; Each group creates a multimedia presentation based on the information collected on the assigned theme…; and Students hold an international festival that includes natives food dress, literature, music, and multimedia presentations. Students write abut the festival and the information they have learned about the countries of their ancestors and other countries…

Social Studies Standards for this lesson are: I, II, III, IV, V & IX

NETS Performance Indicators for Grades 3-5 are: 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, & 10

Assessment: The teacher can take anecdotal records while observing students throughout each activity and create rubrics to evaluate the electronic or print journals, graphs, multimedia presentations, and group presentations.

Resources: Computers with audio recording capability, word-processing, multimedia-authoring, mapping (e.g., MapMaker Toolkit, Neighborhood Map Machine); http://www.cnets.iste.org/

Web sites: Google Earth: www.googleearth.com; MapQuest: www.mapquest.com/; Cartography by Hammond, Inc.: http://19.41.39.5/hammond20.html; National Geographic: www.nationalgeographic.com/

Geonarratives: First Lesson Idea

Lesson Title: “Navigating by Landmarks”

Subject: Social Studies

Grade Level: Intermediate Grades 3-5

Purpose: Students to examine and apply the relationship between concrete landmarks, abstract written directions, and graphic representations on maps, and then develop their own landmark map for classroom use.

Key Activities: The key activities of this lesson include navigating and preview landmarks at the Earth Google Web site, Preview the MapQuest Web site, create both directions and maps, locate local map websites, such as the Guam Visitor’s Bureau or Chamber of Commerce, assemble necessary technology tools, gather a selection of local and [village] maps.

How Technology Enhances the Unit: This unit will be enhanced by geonarratives and Google Earth in the following ways: Students will visualize, construct and use mental maps of locales, regions, and the world that demonstrate understanding of relative location, direction, site, and shape; interpret, use, and distinguish various representations of the earth, such as maps, globes, and photographs; use appropriate resources, data sources, and geographic tools such as atlases, data bases, grid systems, charts, graphs, and maps to generate, manipulate, and interpret information; estimate distances and calculate scale; locate and distinguish among varying landforms and geographic features, such as mountains, plateaus, islands, and oceans; describe and speculate about physical system changes, such as season, climate and weather, and the water cycle; describe how people create places that reflect ideas, personality culture, and wants and needs as they design homes, playgrounds, classrooms, and the like; Examines the interactions of human beings and their physical environment, the use of land, building of cities, and ecosystem changes in selected locales and regions; Explore ways that the earth’s physical features having changed over time in the local region and beyond and how these changes may be connected to one another; Observe and speculate about social and economic effects of environmental changes and crises resulting from phenomena such as floods, storms, and drought; and consider existing uses and propose and evaluate alternative uses of resources and land in home, school, community, the region, and beyond.

Social Studies Standards for this lesson are: III, IV & VII

NETS Performance Indicators for Grades 3-5 are: 1, 4, 5, 6, 7, 9, 10

Assessment: The teacher will assess student multimedia maps using a rubric jointly created by the teacher and the students; Teacher will assess student understanding of the relationship between the student-created maps, the printed map, and the MapQuest maps, either through brief written journal entries or individual student-teacher conferences. Criteria for an informal assessment might included: Sufficiency of detail; use of landmarks as opposed to cardinal direction; Different ways to get the same place Different scale and perspective, Conceptual understanding, Efficient and effective use of the Map Quest Website, Degree to which maps are base don landmarks, Efficient and effective use of the Google Earth Web site, Degree to which maps are based on landmarks

Resources: Computers with audio recording capability, word-processing, multimedia-authoring, mapping (e.g., MapMaker Toolkit, Neighborhood Map Machine) http://www.cnets.iste.org/

Web sites: Google Earth: www.googleearth.com; MapQuest: www.mapquest.com/; Cartography by Hammond, Inc.: http://19.41.39.5/hammond20.html; National Geographic: www.nationalgeographic.com/

Potentials That Transform Into Opportunities

Whew! Now I know why Dr. Wallace placed this podcast after everything else on the agenda. Of course I still recognize the value of listening to podcasts, but the interview session with Steve Hargadon and Michael Russell was quite informative; an extensive one too - if I may say so. Maybe I should have emulated Michael, and listen to podcasts while exercising. Naturally, I would be burning calories, and at the same time my critical thinking skills would still be functioning.

But since this is a listen, contemplate critically, then compose your thoughts on the blog type of assignment, it would be unsafe and impractical to work out and listen to the podcast, then stop every so often to capture my thoughts in writing. Exercise will surely do my body a whole lot of good, but I doubt if listening to podcasts would motivate me to exercise. Honestly, I need motivating music to inspire me to exercise.

Just like finding the magic to motivate someone to exercise, teachers too can tailor instruction to inspire students to learn by means of technology. As maintained by Michael during the interview with Steve Hargadon, “…Computers hooked up to the Internet is a toolbox with a whole world of opportunities. Children have the potential to personalize learning by opening up these opportunities. Children are able to experience the writing process. The writing process is a transformation which allows students to write more. Writing more translates to better writing skills.”

I am so grateful that I am able to utilize technology as a means of capturing and expressing my thoughts, and then storing it in a secure place. Having the knowledge and experience to operate a computer is such a convenient skill to possess. Not only do I have the capability of editing my entire document, but I also have the option to research more about a particular topic at the click of a mouse. When I decide to take a breather away from the computer, I can rest assure that when I come back, my work would still be in tact on my screen. There’s no need to search for the most currently edited version from loose pieces of paper lying around somewhere.

At any rate, as I navigated around cyberspace in search for additional information, I found an article in the Northwest Regional Education Laboratory website http://www.netc.org/earlyconnections/pub/sec3.pdf entitled “Meeting the Needs of Diverse Learners”. This article highlights some of the learning skills that the Internet offers classroom access to primary source material and other resources previously unavailable to most researchers. This article draws attention to the fact that, “…Teachers are finding that technology can support and enhance effective classroom strategies to build language and literacy skills for students with a variety of needs, including English language learners, struggling readers, and students who would benefit from more varied assessments of their learning… The use of technology adds to the motivation and interest, as well as to the quality of the final product.”

Clearly the value of technology in education if tailored to students’ needs potentially can open up a whole world of opportunities. But if the institution is unable to provide the essential tools to enhance the opportunity for transformation, even new teachers have no choice but to resort to traditional means of instruction.

Second Lesson Plan Idea

My second lesson plan idea is called “Wall of Fame”. The key activities in this lesson deals with evaluating the life stories of famous individuals. Since reading biographies is one way reluctant readers can be motivated to read and comprehend, the story of a real person’s life is often more interesting to students then a fiction character with a life that is too good to be true.

So in this learning activity, students will read and do research in the biography genre to look for common characteristics and actions that make famous people great. I will assign students to analyze the person’s life for his or her outstanding contributions to society, and then develop a symbol to represent the contribution as part of a grade-level artistic representation of famous people.

The photograph on my Flickr photosharing Web site depicts former presidents of the U.S., as well as former first ladies. I will ask the students if they recognize and can identify the former presidents of the U.S., as well as some of the first ladies.The other photograph on my Flicker photosharing account is Miss Universe 1992’s beautiful look. I am sure the students would enjoy researching about the obligations and responsibilities of beautiful ladies during the reign of Miss Universe. You may view the original version of “Wall of Fame” lesson plan located at Web site http://www.cnets.iste.org/.

First Lesson Plan Idea

The key activities for my first lesson plan idea is to prompt the students to complete sentences such as: “Today is _____,” “Tomorrow will be _____,” “The day before yesterday was _____,” “Yesterday was _____,” “Tomorrow will be _____.” I will use numerals with each date as well as the word: for example, “Today is Tuesday, June 20th.”

Then I would like to facilitate a discussion about the numbers that represent the date. I will ask students to express the number in many different ways and relate it to things in the classroom (e.g., number sentences and equations, number of students with siblings, a birth date, the number on a football jersey, how to say some numbers in a different language, the dates on money, etc.). When the students are finished, I will have students record these ideas using a whiteboard or chart paper, or using drawing or painting software.

My Flickr photosharing Web site will depict several football players wearing their jerseys. I will ask the children to identify the numbers on the shirts and ask if they know how to say particular numbers in the Spanish language.

After that, I would guide the class in visiting a Web site that further explores the numbers. As the class exhausts its own ideas, I would facilitate further exploration by demonstrating or pointing students to various Web sites that show the day’s number from different perspectives so that they can enjoy finding ways to express numbers that are similar to their own.

I would keep a visible record of student discoveries. Periodically I would have students examine their results as a group to see if any patterns emerge in the ways to represent numbers. By discovering patterns, students will link some of the more complex mathematical concepts to real information, earlier than scheduled on the scope and sequence.

Finally, I would make connections to other curriculum areas, including history. For example, although primary grade children have not studied Egyptian culture, the mathematical connection to the contributions made by this and other cultures can be simplistically introduced to building understanding about the rich contributions many peoples have made to mathematical understanding. I would have students display their finding about numbers, patterns, and history by drawing pictures, creating multimedia presentations, and any other method or activity that is appropriate for the developmental level of the students. You may view the original version of “A Number a Day” lesson plan idea located at Web site http://www.cnets.iste.org/.

A Passion That Developed Into a Career

After listening to the EDTechLive podcast with host, Steve Hargadon and guest, Sheryl Nussbaum-Beach on the subject of the 21st Century Learning, I thought to myself; this lady really has her plate full, and them some. In fact, I wondered in greater length about the proverbial expression “…having too much on their plate”, and tried to make sense of the way it is figuratively applied to many situations. But is there really a set limit as to how much one plate can hold?

Obviously, plates come in different shapes and sizes. A person usually finds out whether or not there is “too much on their plate” when things start falling off. Then again, the type of items and how the items are arranged determines whether or not the plate is sufficient to handle the load.
Sheryl’s informative response during the interview clearly speaks volumes of how she maintained her full plate. I listened attentively as the sound of her wisdom technologically navigated its way through the built-in speakers of my computer.

After Sheryl revealed her extensive work experience of 23 years from a varied background, I some how knew that I would enjoy listening to the “21st Century Learning” podcast. She had so much to share about technology, and spoke so openly about what she went through during the course of her professions. For instance, one thing that I can relate to is how Sheryl perceived technology in the beginning.

I use to feel so restricted when I started working with computers. For example, at the onset of my experience with computer technology, I used the word processor (only) at work to compose business correspondences, as well as forms. Operating a facsimile machine was considered an added aspect to ingenuity. I was too scared to venture too deep into the broad spectrum of technology. Yet, it has always been my aspiration to find a way to confidently embark beyond the boundaries of my comfort zone.

Except, along came the University of Guam, where comfort is not even a prerequisite. Now, I have Internet access and three computers at home just in case one or the other decides to be on the blink at the most inopportune time. My most recent purchase is a laptop with all the modern amenities. I really like the new and improved Windows Vista Home Basics. At first, the 2007 version of Microsoft Word scared me, but with the amount of assignments lately, I must have clicked the help key more than the years I’ve spent in undergraduate school – just joking.

Seriously, college life has definitely changed my whole outlook on life. Many of the things I never really took the time to do or dreamed of being involved in happened at UOG. They say that freedom is all about making choices, but sometimes my college professors had to reinforce some of my choices for me in order to increase my passion for learning with technology. Now, I also have experience working with LiveText Portfolio, Power Point Presentations, Blogging, MOODLE, Wiki, Flickr, and who knows what other great exploits are in store for me. Oh yes, and I also know what a podcast is, as well as the technology denotation for the acronym RSS. Whew! I better stop my self-indulgence before my head swells beyond the scope of intellectual capacity.

I certainly am amazed at how far I have come, since the Lotus 123, and Word Perfect era. Even Sheryl mentioned that she started off with Bulletin Board collaboration where students used technology to enhance learning and to interact with peers. But despite her initial uncertainty as to the development of technology, Sheryl embrace ambiguity, persevered and she was determined to face new challenges by studying, engaging, reading and writing – the skills which technology has made possible through the vast amount of information and services provided.

What I enjoyed most about listening to the podcast, was when Sheryl eloquently spoke about how she had a passion with technology and how technology eventually became her career. And though I still get anxious about learning and experimenting with new things in the computer, I hope that one day, perhaps I can find my passion with technology. In the meantime, I will continue learning as much I can to be an effective teacher, because it sure helps to have reassuring and supportive colleagues, as well as competent instructors at UOG. This certainly encourages me to be a better person. It also gives me no excuse to tell anyone that I have a full plate.

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