What have I taken away from this course that will change the way I teach in my classroom?

I have gained so much information from this course.  I have learned about some excellent websites to use such as http://www.rubistar.4teachers.org/, http://www.teachertube.com/ , http://www.edmodo.com/, http://www.surveymonkey.com/, and even this one, http://www.blogger.com/.  I have also learned about various ways to use technology in the classroom like digital storytelling and skype.    At the beginning of this course I felt that my Smart Board was enough for my technology use but now I know there is so much more out there.  I really think this course is going to change me as a teacher.  This course has taught me the importance of engaging my students and ways to do it such as utilizing co-educators, service learning, and community involvement.  As Marzano says, "If students are not engaged, there is little, if any, chance they will learn what is being addressed in class".  Now I feel like I understand what it really means to engage my students.  I appreciate all of your wonderful ideas you have shared.  I am so excited to use them in my classroom this year.  "If you present a topic or assignment with enthusiasm, your students are likely to adopt this same attitude" (Marzano & Pickering, 2010, p. 6)  I think my students and I are in for a fun and engaging year! 

Instructional Unit Plan

Persuasive Letter
(Convincing the Community to Go Green)

Description of the Students:  I will be teaching this unit to my 21 4^th graders.  They have been taught persuasive writing in the past but I am going to incorporate a variety of technological components while involving the community as well.  I know that it is sometimes a struggle to get kids to write but I am hoping to make it very engaging by using technology and a real life connection with their audience. 

Summary of the Plan:  After watching a YouTube video of the book I Wanna Iguana to introduce persuasive letters, I will inform the students that they will be writing their own persuasive letter.  I will then show a Teacher Tube video ("Ways to Go Green"), and allow students to brainstorm ideas that someone can do to help the environment (recycling, conserving energy, stop polluting, etc...).  Using ideas from the video or their own, they will then choose one of these ways and also choose someone in the community (friend, parent, neighbor, etc...) to write a persuasive letter to convince them to do this if they are not already doing it.  They will use Twitter to interact with classmates for ideas as a Think/Pair/Share tool.  They will use an online graphic organizer to organize their introduction, reasons, and conclusion of their letter.  They will also use various search engines on the internet to research their topic along with books from the school and community library.  Once they have written and sent their letters, either by e-mail or mail, we will create a class video "Why to Go Green" that puts a perspective spin on the original Teacher Tube video we had watched ("Ways to Go Green").  We will invite the people in the community who the students had written the letter to, to come view the video and ask for their feedback about the letters and whether they were persuaded to make any changes.  Students will then reflect in their Writing journals about any difference this assignment had made in their life, if any.



 Standards:

·      Students will communicate a purpose through informing or persuading.

·      Students will describe how consumer actions (e.g., recycling) influence

the use of resources and impact the environment by: describing some community activities that promote healthy environments.

·      Students will create a variety of tasks using technology devices and systems to support authentic learning.

Specific Learning Outcomes:

·         Students will be able to write a persuasive letter that includes an introduction, 3 reasons, and a conclusion.

·         Students will be able to post their ideas on a Twitter account and give and receive feedback from other me and other students.

·         Students will be able to research information for their persuasive letters using various websites and books.

·         Students will be able to contribute to creating a video to share their persuasive letters with the class.

Measuring the Success of the Plan:

The success of the plan will be measured in many ways.  I will be using a rubric to score their persuasive letters, Twitter participation, research abilities, and video contribution.  I will also measure success by the feedback of the letter recipients.  Finally, I will measure success by their reflections in their Writing journals. 

Technology Involved:

• YouTube video that shows the story I Wanna Iguana: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7PgUqbBqYeI
• Teacher Tube video that discusses ways to help the environment:  http://www.teachertube.com/viewVideo.php?video_id=168436&title=Ways_to_go_Green__
• Twitter (for a Think/Pair/Share tool)  http://twitter.com/
• Online Graphic Organizer: http://www.readwritethink.org/files/resources/interactives/persuasion_map/
• Various Research Websites:

http://www.awesomelibrary.org/

http://www.kidsclick.org/

http://www.factmonster.com/

• Microsoft Word (to type persuasive letter)

• Email (may be used by some students to send letter)
• Video Recorder (culminating class activity)

Partner with Co-Teachers Plan

Plan Elements

Co-Teacher #1: 

1)  a)  Name:  Hedi Scheidel

     b)  Position:  Children's Outreach Specialist at the Campbell County Library

     c)  Contact Information:  hscheidel@cc-pl.org

                                           859-781-6166  ext:  33

2)  Description of Plan: 

     a)  Our plan that we have developed will begin before the students are to write feature articles in Writing about animals and their adaptations.  This will also occur while the students are learning about animal adaptions in Science.  Hedi will come into the classroom to discuss how to use the library catalog and databases to research information in the most effective way possible.  She will also demonstrate the best way to search for resources on the internet and explain internet sites that are accurate vs. inaccurate and ways to tell the difference.  Hedi will use the Smart Board for the students to actually view her using these resources online and allow the students to come up to practice using them on their own.  Once the students have chosen the animal they are going to research, we will walk to the nearest library to allow the students to utilize these resources and choose 2 books to check out in order to research their animal.

     b)  Technology that will be used:  Smart Board and some of the following websites:

           www.cc-pl.org/

           http://www.kids.yahoo.com/

           http://www.factmonster.com/

          http://www.kids.nationalgeographic.com/

         www.kidsites.com/sites-edu/animals.htm

         www.goodsitesforkids.com/Animals.htm

3)  Standards that will be addressed:

• Students use reference tools such as dictionaries, almanacs, encyclopedias, and computer reference programs and research tools such as interviews and surveys to find the information they need to meet specific demands, explore interests, or solve specific problems.
• Students will  compare the different structures and functions of plants and animals that contribute to the growth, survival and reproduction of the organism
• Students will communicate a purpose through informing or persuading.

4)  How will the students be assessed?  Students will be assessed throughout the program.  They will be assessed on their research skills and their abiltiy to find accurate information that relates to their topic.  They will also be assessed on their feature article and the information they have chosen to include.

Co-Teacher # 2

1)  a)  Name:  Karen Venetian

     b)  Position:  Coordinator for Programs on Wheels at the Cincinnati Museum

     c)  Contact Information:  kvenetian@cincymuseum.org

                                           513-287-7000 ext:  7204

2) a) Description of Plan:  Programs on Wheels is a program that brings information in a hands-on approach from the museum to your classroom.  There are a variety of topics in various subjects.  Our topic will be Awesome Animal Adaptions to go along with our feature articles in Writing and the unit we will be studying in Science.  Once we have finished our feature articles, the Programs on Wheels will visit our school to give us even more information about this topic.  We will explore various habitats and adaptations, meet and touch live animals, and learn about their adaptations that allow them to survive in their habitat.  Various internet sites will be used to assist in explaining these adaptations and there will be interactive activities on the Smart Board.  Students will later create a powerpoint to present information they had learned from the program.  If possible, we will try to visit the museum at a later date to identify more animals and their adaptations. 

b)  Technology that will be used:  Smart Board, Power Point, and some of the following websites:

www.sheppardsoftware.com/content/animals/kidscorner/gamesforkids.htm

.library.thinkquest.org/J001644F/

www.ecokids.ca/pub/eco_info/topics/climate/adaptations/index.cfm

animals.pppst.com/adaptations.html

3)  Standards that will be addressed:

Students will  compare the different structures and functions of plants and animals that contribute to the growth, survival and reproduction of the organism

Students will communicate a purpose through informing or persuading.

4)  How will the students be assessed?  I will have the students take a pre-assessment about animal adaptations before the program and take another assessment after the program.  I will also assess the students based on their information in the powerpoints they have created about animal adaptations.