I really enjoyed today's lesson! First we began class with a new "Did you know?" fact. We discussed the goals for the day which included completing the KWL, presenting slides, and writing a final reflection.
Next, students completed the L column of the KWL. I asked for students to write at least three things they learned about dinosaurs while working with me. Some students suggested writing information they learned about computers and I agreed that this would be a good time to share that type of information too.
After students completed the KWL, we discussed HOW we could learn more. Students suggested going to a museum, watching videos online, or researching on the internet.
Each student then took turns talking about their dinosaur slide and fossil. One student asked if his parents could receive a copy of the slide via email, so I am looking into that. After students were finished I asked them to complete a final reflection. Students were asked to answer the following questions: Write one fact that you learned about dinosaurs, What did you like the best about using the computers and the Smart Boards, What was the most difficult part for you, Did you enjoy creating a slide - why or why not, and If Mrs. Miller did this unit again next year, what should she change and why.
Thursday, June 10, 2010
Wednesday, June 9, 2010
IT 573 - Dinosaurs NTeQ Unit Day 7
So much was accomplished today! Yeh!
Before class began, I made sure to have the hotlist open and the template open for students to easily access.
Wednesday is a long day for class. Students are in class until 2:45. I worked with students until almost noon, so we did more than one lesson today!
First we began class with a "Did you Know?" fact. We discussed the goals for the day. These goals included typing information into a Works document, adding an image of the dinosaur, and saving the document.
Second, as a group we created a checklist used to assess the final slide project. Students cooperatively decided on the following criteria: a picture of the dinosaur, a title, a picture of the student, his or her name, 3 to 5 facts about the dinosaur, correct spelling, and complete sentences. This checklist was printed off and students used it to evaluate their own slides.
Third, I used the random group generator to place students into groups of three. Centers were arranged similar to yesterday with two different centers in the other classroom. Students in that classroom did the following activities: squiggle and flashcards. Students at the computer centers typed information into the Works document. Students at the Smart Board participated in online center activities.
The center activities went very well today! Students were much more organized and knew exactly where to go.
After each group visited each center once, I met with pairs of students to complete their slides on the Smart Board. I saved each Works document to a flash drive to easily access each file. I copied the information directly to the Smart Board. Students changed the font, added color to the background, and arranged the images and text the way they wanted. Each student (with my assistance) went through the checklist to make sure all criteria was completed.
Tomorrow students will show the class their slides, finish the L section of the KWL, and complete a final reflection.
Before class began, I made sure to have the hotlist open and the template open for students to easily access.
Wednesday is a long day for class. Students are in class until 2:45. I worked with students until almost noon, so we did more than one lesson today!
First we began class with a "Did you Know?" fact. We discussed the goals for the day. These goals included typing information into a Works document, adding an image of the dinosaur, and saving the document.
Second, as a group we created a checklist used to assess the final slide project. Students cooperatively decided on the following criteria: a picture of the dinosaur, a title, a picture of the student, his or her name, 3 to 5 facts about the dinosaur, correct spelling, and complete sentences. This checklist was printed off and students used it to evaluate their own slides.
Third, I used the random group generator to place students into groups of three. Centers were arranged similar to yesterday with two different centers in the other classroom. Students in that classroom did the following activities: squiggle and flashcards. Students at the computer centers typed information into the Works document. Students at the Smart Board participated in online center activities.
The center activities went very well today! Students were much more organized and knew exactly where to go.
After each group visited each center once, I met with pairs of students to complete their slides on the Smart Board. I saved each Works document to a flash drive to easily access each file. I copied the information directly to the Smart Board. Students changed the font, added color to the background, and arranged the images and text the way they wanted. Each student (with my assistance) went through the checklist to make sure all criteria was completed.
Tomorrow students will show the class their slides, finish the L section of the KWL, and complete a final reflection.
Tuesday, June 8, 2010
IT 573 - Dinosaurs NTeQ Unit Day 6
Today's lesson began as usual with a "Did you know?" fact and a discussion of the day's goals. Students are enjoying the daily facts and a different student has read them aloud each day.
We reviewed paleontology. Some students shared their feelings about the dig experience from Day 5. Many students reflected very positively about this experience. Many have asked if they can keep their fossils from the dig.
I demonstrated to students how to use the hotlist. We discussed the importance of writing their research in their own words.
I used the random group generator to place students into groups. I had 6 groups of students working in 6 centers. Two centers were at two different computer stations researching their fossils. Two groups worked on different activities in the other classroom: mapping vocabulary words, completing a word sort. Two other groups worked on the Smart Board completing center activities. I had prepared a slide that linked different centers relating to the study of dinosaurs.
Before I dismissed students to their centers, I discussed the expectations at each center. I demonstrated how to use the center activities at the Smart Board. I also reminded students to bring their pencils, fossils, and think sheets to the computer stations.
I then dismissed the groups to go to work. Mrs. Stewardson worked with students on center activities in the other classroom. Mrs. Pieper assisted me with the two Smart Boards and computer stations.
I had to only warn two students about inappropriate behavior at the Smart Boards. The rest of the students worked rather well. I set the timer for 10 minutes. We rotated through the centers for a total of 60 minutes. This kept students moving.
The only problem I noticed today was organizing where students went when they were finished and the timer went off. Many students were confused as to where to go next. I am going to work today on organizing this better. The random group generator worked very well, but I need to find a way to inform students of where to go next.
I did not have students write in their journals today. We ran out of time. All students finished their research today! I have decided to create a template to use in Microsoft Works. This will help those students that find typing difficult. I will create the template to look like the bottom of the think sheet. They will simply type in the missing information.
Tomorrow I will demonstrate how to use the template and distribute the technical guides for Microsoft Works. I will have students work in centers again to make sure each student gets a chance to work at the computers and complete the document.
We reviewed paleontology. Some students shared their feelings about the dig experience from Day 5. Many students reflected very positively about this experience. Many have asked if they can keep their fossils from the dig.
I demonstrated to students how to use the hotlist. We discussed the importance of writing their research in their own words.
I used the random group generator to place students into groups. I had 6 groups of students working in 6 centers. Two centers were at two different computer stations researching their fossils. Two groups worked on different activities in the other classroom: mapping vocabulary words, completing a word sort. Two other groups worked on the Smart Board completing center activities. I had prepared a slide that linked different centers relating to the study of dinosaurs.
Before I dismissed students to their centers, I discussed the expectations at each center. I demonstrated how to use the center activities at the Smart Board. I also reminded students to bring their pencils, fossils, and think sheets to the computer stations.
I then dismissed the groups to go to work. Mrs. Stewardson worked with students on center activities in the other classroom. Mrs. Pieper assisted me with the two Smart Boards and computer stations.
I had to only warn two students about inappropriate behavior at the Smart Boards. The rest of the students worked rather well. I set the timer for 10 minutes. We rotated through the centers for a total of 60 minutes. This kept students moving.
The only problem I noticed today was organizing where students went when they were finished and the timer went off. Many students were confused as to where to go next. I am going to work today on organizing this better. The random group generator worked very well, but I need to find a way to inform students of where to go next.
I did not have students write in their journals today. We ran out of time. All students finished their research today! I have decided to create a template to use in Microsoft Works. This will help those students that find typing difficult. I will create the template to look like the bottom of the think sheet. They will simply type in the missing information.
Tomorrow I will demonstrate how to use the template and distribute the technical guides for Microsoft Works. I will have students work in centers again to make sure each student gets a chance to work at the computers and complete the document.
Monday, June 7, 2010
IT 573 - Dinosaurs NTeQ Unit Day 5
Today's lesson went rather well, but many students did not show up today. I was disappointed in attendance today. Parents have to bring students to summer school. Bus transportation is not provided, therefore many students do not make it each day. I am hoping that when word gets around about the activities we are doing this week, more students will attend.
We began with a "Did you know?" fact of the day and the goals for the day's lesson. Students watched two videos about paleontogy that I had previously loaded onto my wiki. We discussed the content of each video focusing on the career of paleontology, the tools they use to do their work, and places they may work. Students shared prior knowledge of paleontology and the study of dinosaurs with the class. Many students shared information learned from the guided reading texts we read last week. I thought that was impressive! They definitely connected today's material with last week's materials!
We then discussed the day's activities. First students would be given a mission to find a fossil, determine what type of dinosaur it belonged to, and share this information with the class. I had 6 boxes of dirt set up in another classroom with different clay fossils in each box. I also had 6 paint brushes available for students to use in the dig. I demonstrated the dig and how to use the paint brush to gently brush away sand and dirt from the fossil.
Students were given think sheets to guide their research. I explained how students would make predictions based on their observations of the fossil. I told students that the fossils were of dinosaur teeth. We then discussed what paleontologists gather about a dinosaur based on their teeth.
I briefly discussed the hotlist of websites used to find information about the fossils.
Second graders were the first students to dig for their fossils. This group did rather well, but a few needed extra help determining where to put their predictions on the think sheet. A few others wanted to keep playing in the dirt.
Third and fourth graders went next. This age group did very well! I kept a few of the fourth graders behind to begin researching their fossils using the hotlist. I wanted to take advantage of extra time I had with them today. My intentions are to have this group of fourth graders help the third and second graders research tomorrow.
I took pictures of each student with his or her fossil to be used later on the slides.
It definitely helped to have small groups participate in this activity at one time. Mrs. Pieper and Mrs. Stewardson had students in the other classroom work on center activities while they waited their turn with me. Tomorrow I plan to demonstrate the hotlist and allow each student to begin researching their fossil. I am spending time today making sure center activities are ready for tomorrow for those students to work on in the other classroom while they wait their turn.
We began with a "Did you know?" fact of the day and the goals for the day's lesson. Students watched two videos about paleontogy that I had previously loaded onto my wiki. We discussed the content of each video focusing on the career of paleontology, the tools they use to do their work, and places they may work. Students shared prior knowledge of paleontology and the study of dinosaurs with the class. Many students shared information learned from the guided reading texts we read last week. I thought that was impressive! They definitely connected today's material with last week's materials!
We then discussed the day's activities. First students would be given a mission to find a fossil, determine what type of dinosaur it belonged to, and share this information with the class. I had 6 boxes of dirt set up in another classroom with different clay fossils in each box. I also had 6 paint brushes available for students to use in the dig. I demonstrated the dig and how to use the paint brush to gently brush away sand and dirt from the fossil.
Students were given think sheets to guide their research. I explained how students would make predictions based on their observations of the fossil. I told students that the fossils were of dinosaur teeth. We then discussed what paleontologists gather about a dinosaur based on their teeth.
I briefly discussed the hotlist of websites used to find information about the fossils.
Second graders were the first students to dig for their fossils. This group did rather well, but a few needed extra help determining where to put their predictions on the think sheet. A few others wanted to keep playing in the dirt.
Third and fourth graders went next. This age group did very well! I kept a few of the fourth graders behind to begin researching their fossils using the hotlist. I wanted to take advantage of extra time I had with them today. My intentions are to have this group of fourth graders help the third and second graders research tomorrow.
I took pictures of each student with his or her fossil to be used later on the slides.
It definitely helped to have small groups participate in this activity at one time. Mrs. Pieper and Mrs. Stewardson had students in the other classroom work on center activities while they waited their turn with me. Tomorrow I plan to demonstrate the hotlist and allow each student to begin researching their fossil. I am spending time today making sure center activities are ready for tomorrow for those students to work on in the other classroom while they wait their turn.
Friday, June 4, 2010
IT 573 - Dinosaurs NTeQ Unit Day 4
Today was a review and assessment day. We began class as usual with a "Did you know?" fact and a discussion of the day's goals. We then broke up into our two guided reading groups. Students again took turns completing different matching, fill-in-the-blank, and multiple choice quiz activities at the Smart Board. We also sorted statements as fact or opinion on the Smart Board. The random name generator was used again to decide what order students would work at the Smart Board.
Next, I passed out our comprehension quizzes. I read each question aloud to the group of students. I walked around the room to make sure each student was on track and I stopped to answer any question that a student may have had. After the completion of the quiz, I assigned a journal reflection. At the completion of the reflection, students were asked to return to the other classroom.
I sat down to grade the comprehension quizzes right away. I was eager to see how students scored on this assessment. The average score was an 83 %. I also averaged the scores on the rubric used to assess the guided reading activities. Skills assessed were participation, comprehension, vocabulary, and fact/opinion. Students scored an average of 15 out of a possible 20 on this rubric. This results in a B average. Both comprehension and guided reading assessments were lower than my goal of 90 to 100 %. Although my expectations were set very high, I am not at all disappointed with the average score. The average reading level for this group of students is 2.6. It is my belief that the activities students are participating in are helping their comprehension.
The activities are most certainly increasing their motivation and interest. Mrs. Stewardson, the head summer school teacher, made the comment today that attendance for the first week has been the highest yet! Mrs. Pieper commented that when students are finished working with me they often ask why I cannot stay all day and work with them. They also want to write in their journals later in the day about activities they have participated in with me. I credit this positive energy, not only to the integration of technology, but also to the comfortable and caring learning environment I work to establish each and every day.
After grading the comprehension quizzes today, I read through all of the journal entries written so far. I wrote positive comments back to each student to provide timely feedback and continue communication. The majority of the students are writing rather positive notes in their journals about the content and technology tools. I am looking forward to student efforts next week as we tackle our research project.
This weekend I plan to bury the prepared teeth fossils in boxes of sand and rock. Students will participate in a dig on Monday. Last night I spent time organizing the hotlist of websites by the type of dinosaur to make the research process much easier.
Next, I passed out our comprehension quizzes. I read each question aloud to the group of students. I walked around the room to make sure each student was on track and I stopped to answer any question that a student may have had. After the completion of the quiz, I assigned a journal reflection. At the completion of the reflection, students were asked to return to the other classroom.
I sat down to grade the comprehension quizzes right away. I was eager to see how students scored on this assessment. The average score was an 83 %. I also averaged the scores on the rubric used to assess the guided reading activities. Skills assessed were participation, comprehension, vocabulary, and fact/opinion. Students scored an average of 15 out of a possible 20 on this rubric. This results in a B average. Both comprehension and guided reading assessments were lower than my goal of 90 to 100 %. Although my expectations were set very high, I am not at all disappointed with the average score. The average reading level for this group of students is 2.6. It is my belief that the activities students are participating in are helping their comprehension.
The activities are most certainly increasing their motivation and interest. Mrs. Stewardson, the head summer school teacher, made the comment today that attendance for the first week has been the highest yet! Mrs. Pieper commented that when students are finished working with me they often ask why I cannot stay all day and work with them. They also want to write in their journals later in the day about activities they have participated in with me. I credit this positive energy, not only to the integration of technology, but also to the comfortable and caring learning environment I work to establish each and every day.
After grading the comprehension quizzes today, I read through all of the journal entries written so far. I wrote positive comments back to each student to provide timely feedback and continue communication. The majority of the students are writing rather positive notes in their journals about the content and technology tools. I am looking forward to student efforts next week as we tackle our research project.
This weekend I plan to bury the prepared teeth fossils in boxes of sand and rock. Students will participate in a dig on Monday. Last night I spent time organizing the hotlist of websites by the type of dinosaur to make the research process much easier.
Thursday, June 3, 2010
IT 573 - Dinosaurs NTeQ Unit Day 3
Today's lesson went very well! The students were very eager to use the Smart Board today!
I prepared an interactive concept map and a short interactive multiple choice quiz in order to engage students in today's lesson. I also created a random name generator to use today. This was a suggestion made by one of our students. I thought this was a great idea!
We began with our "Did you know?" fact and our goals for the day. We broke into our guided reading groups. First each student took turns reading aloud a paragraph at a time. We would stop after each person read to discuss important information or vocabulary words. When we came to the part of the text that discussed different types of dinosaurs, students took turns completing the concept map on the Smart Board.
At the end of the text we discussed fact and opinion. Students helped sort statements as fact or opinion on the Smart Board. I then assigned students to identify fact and opinions in the book they were reading. While students were working, I randomly chose students to work at the Smart Board. Some students wanted to work with a partner, while other chose to work independently at the Smart Board.
Overall I believe that the activities went rather well today. The majority of the students still comment positively on using the Smart Board. Tomorrow I will give a quiz over the guided reading books. Before I give the quiz, students will review concepts on the Smart Board. These concepts include vocabulary and comprehension.
I am hoping that the majority of students do well on the comprehension quiz. The small group setting is working well, but there are a few students having trouble staying on task. Many students in this summer school program have attention problems and they must be engaged constantly to stay focused. I am revising next week's lesson plans a little bit due to this issue. Next week we begin our research project. I would like to use Google Docs instead of letting students work independently at the Smart Board. This gives me a chance to work with 6 students at a time at the computers. The rest of the students will work in centers in another classroom with the other teachers. Groups will be organized by grade level. This will make accommodations easier. I will ask the higher leveled students to add more to their research projects than the lower leveled students.
So far I have positive feelings toward this unit plan. As with any work in the classroom, I must be flexible with my lesson plans and accommodate my learners. I enjoy greeting the students each morning and working with them in a small group setting.
I prepared an interactive concept map and a short interactive multiple choice quiz in order to engage students in today's lesson. I also created a random name generator to use today. This was a suggestion made by one of our students. I thought this was a great idea!
We began with our "Did you know?" fact and our goals for the day. We broke into our guided reading groups. First each student took turns reading aloud a paragraph at a time. We would stop after each person read to discuss important information or vocabulary words. When we came to the part of the text that discussed different types of dinosaurs, students took turns completing the concept map on the Smart Board.
At the end of the text we discussed fact and opinion. Students helped sort statements as fact or opinion on the Smart Board. I then assigned students to identify fact and opinions in the book they were reading. While students were working, I randomly chose students to work at the Smart Board. Some students wanted to work with a partner, while other chose to work independently at the Smart Board.
Overall I believe that the activities went rather well today. The majority of the students still comment positively on using the Smart Board. Tomorrow I will give a quiz over the guided reading books. Before I give the quiz, students will review concepts on the Smart Board. These concepts include vocabulary and comprehension.
I am hoping that the majority of students do well on the comprehension quiz. The small group setting is working well, but there are a few students having trouble staying on task. Many students in this summer school program have attention problems and they must be engaged constantly to stay focused. I am revising next week's lesson plans a little bit due to this issue. Next week we begin our research project. I would like to use Google Docs instead of letting students work independently at the Smart Board. This gives me a chance to work with 6 students at a time at the computers. The rest of the students will work in centers in another classroom with the other teachers. Groups will be organized by grade level. This will make accommodations easier. I will ask the higher leveled students to add more to their research projects than the lower leveled students.
So far I have positive feelings toward this unit plan. As with any work in the classroom, I must be flexible with my lesson plans and accommodate my learners. I enjoy greeting the students each morning and working with them in a small group setting.
Wednesday, June 2, 2010
IT 573 - Dinosaurs NTeQ Unit Day 2
Today was a much better day! I spent some time yesterday revising today's lesson a bit (I relate this to Dewey's philosophy - the development of our own plasticity).
After yesterday I felt like I knew the students much better! Four more joined us this morning.
The lesson began with a new "Did you know?" fact followed by today's goals. I informally surveyed students about yesterday's vocabulary activities at the Smart Board. Again I received very positive feedback.
We then separated into our two guided reading groups. Our discussion began with a quick review of our vocabulary words. Each student took his or her turn at the Smart Board matching the correct vocabulary word with its definition. I then passed out our guided reading books. Ours was titled Dinosaurs. Students took a picture walk. We discussed the genre of the text based upon our picture walk. One student suggested that the book was based on facts about dinosaurs. The rest of the students agreed, but they had difficult deciding if that was non-fiction or fiction. We spent some time discussing the difference.
We discussed different parts of the book: table of contents, index. I read the text aloud. We stopped to discuss our vocabulary words when we came across them. We highlighted context clues in the text. At the end of the text, each student shared one fact he or she learned about dinosaurs. The most difficult part for students seemed to be remembering how to pronounce the dinosaur's name.
I passed out a slip of paper to each student. Each slip of paper had a discussion question on it. Students took turns asking the entire group the question on the sheet of paper. After our group discussion, students wrote a reflection into their journals. Their journal entry was a response to the following questions: What did you learn today from the book your group read together? What surprised you about dinosaurs?
When students finished they took turns matching vocabulary words and completing a crossword puzzle on the Smart Board.
I am going to spend some time later today creating a concept map. I am planning to make the concept map interactive. I would like to use the concept map as a review of the text after tomorrow's lesson. Mrs. Pieper suggested creating cloze sentences for her group to use tomorrow as a review.
My goal is to help students comprehend text and understand vocabulary by using the Smart Board.
Tomorrow we will use the rubric to assess student participation in the guided reading discussion.
After yesterday I felt like I knew the students much better! Four more joined us this morning.
The lesson began with a new "Did you know?" fact followed by today's goals. I informally surveyed students about yesterday's vocabulary activities at the Smart Board. Again I received very positive feedback.
We then separated into our two guided reading groups. Our discussion began with a quick review of our vocabulary words. Each student took his or her turn at the Smart Board matching the correct vocabulary word with its definition. I then passed out our guided reading books. Ours was titled Dinosaurs. Students took a picture walk. We discussed the genre of the text based upon our picture walk. One student suggested that the book was based on facts about dinosaurs. The rest of the students agreed, but they had difficult deciding if that was non-fiction or fiction. We spent some time discussing the difference.
We discussed different parts of the book: table of contents, index. I read the text aloud. We stopped to discuss our vocabulary words when we came across them. We highlighted context clues in the text. At the end of the text, each student shared one fact he or she learned about dinosaurs. The most difficult part for students seemed to be remembering how to pronounce the dinosaur's name.
I passed out a slip of paper to each student. Each slip of paper had a discussion question on it. Students took turns asking the entire group the question on the sheet of paper. After our group discussion, students wrote a reflection into their journals. Their journal entry was a response to the following questions: What did you learn today from the book your group read together? What surprised you about dinosaurs?
When students finished they took turns matching vocabulary words and completing a crossword puzzle on the Smart Board.
I am going to spend some time later today creating a concept map. I am planning to make the concept map interactive. I would like to use the concept map as a review of the text after tomorrow's lesson. Mrs. Pieper suggested creating cloze sentences for her group to use tomorrow as a review.
My goal is to help students comprehend text and understand vocabulary by using the Smart Board.
Tomorrow we will use the rubric to assess student participation in the guided reading discussion.
Tuesday, June 1, 2010
IT 573 - Dinosaurs NTeQ Unit Day 1
I began my NTeQ Unit of instruction today. The internet was down yesterday, so I did not sleep well last night. I did have a plan B - pick up a dinosaur movie from the school library rather than watch a clip on the internet. Luckily, the internet worked well this morning. I arrived at school one hour early to make sure all our materials were prepared and ready to go.
My first thought, after all materials were prepared and ready, was to be sure and create a comfortable learning environment for my students. I made sure to greet each student and initiate conversation with them. My goal before I taught my lesson was to know every student by name.
They met in the Art Room where breakfast was served. While the students ate their breakfast, I went around and introduced myself, asked their names, and initiated conversation. By the end of breakfast I knew everyone's name. I believe that this is a vital to creating a comfortable learning environment. Seventeen students showed up for the first day.
Next, Mrs. Stewardson, the summer school teacher, took care of some summer school procedures. She then introduced me to the class and let me take over. I began by first reintroducing myself and discussing with them my excitement to use the Smart Boards and computers during summer school. I then informally surveyed the students as to how many of them enjoyed using computers. All students raised their hands!
We then proceeded into the Title classroom. They watched a video clip from National Geographic about dinosaurs. Students seemed to enjoyed the video clip. It lasted about 4 minutes.
I introduced the KWL. Students were separated into two small groups - each meeting at a different Smart Board. Students were asked to add information to their KWL (only the K and W columns). Students added their information to the Smart Board. This took longer than expected. Students seemed to enjoy adding information to the KWL. Since it took longer, we did not meet again as a large group to discuss the KWLs. We proceeded to the vocabulary words. Both groups participated in word wall activities and mapped the words. Students added information to the Smart Board.
My group proceeded with the matching game and crossword puzzle. Mrs. Pieper's group did not get a chance to complete the matching game and crossword puzzle. They will do this activity tomorrow.
Both groups completed the journal entry. I read through them quickly. For the most part, students are sharing very positive feedback in using the Smart Board. A few have given suggestions of tools to use tomorrow for the Word Wall Activities. One students suggested to use a sorter tool to determine the order students take turns adding information to the Smart Board.
Today's activities went much longer than expected. I used 90 minutes of instruction time for today's lesson. Students enjoyed adding information to the Smart Board, but this took a long time.
We will begin tomorrow by discussing the day's goals. We will then break up into guided reading groups. Groups will begin by reviewing the previous day's vocabulary words. After guided reading activities, students will write in their journals.
My first thought, after all materials were prepared and ready, was to be sure and create a comfortable learning environment for my students. I made sure to greet each student and initiate conversation with them. My goal before I taught my lesson was to know every student by name.
They met in the Art Room where breakfast was served. While the students ate their breakfast, I went around and introduced myself, asked their names, and initiated conversation. By the end of breakfast I knew everyone's name. I believe that this is a vital to creating a comfortable learning environment. Seventeen students showed up for the first day.
Next, Mrs. Stewardson, the summer school teacher, took care of some summer school procedures. She then introduced me to the class and let me take over. I began by first reintroducing myself and discussing with them my excitement to use the Smart Boards and computers during summer school. I then informally surveyed the students as to how many of them enjoyed using computers. All students raised their hands!
We then proceeded into the Title classroom. They watched a video clip from National Geographic about dinosaurs. Students seemed to enjoyed the video clip. It lasted about 4 minutes.
I introduced the KWL. Students were separated into two small groups - each meeting at a different Smart Board. Students were asked to add information to their KWL (only the K and W columns). Students added their information to the Smart Board. This took longer than expected. Students seemed to enjoy adding information to the KWL. Since it took longer, we did not meet again as a large group to discuss the KWLs. We proceeded to the vocabulary words. Both groups participated in word wall activities and mapped the words. Students added information to the Smart Board.
My group proceeded with the matching game and crossword puzzle. Mrs. Pieper's group did not get a chance to complete the matching game and crossword puzzle. They will do this activity tomorrow.
Both groups completed the journal entry. I read through them quickly. For the most part, students are sharing very positive feedback in using the Smart Board. A few have given suggestions of tools to use tomorrow for the Word Wall Activities. One students suggested to use a sorter tool to determine the order students take turns adding information to the Smart Board.
Today's activities went much longer than expected. I used 90 minutes of instruction time for today's lesson. Students enjoyed adding information to the Smart Board, but this took a long time.
We will begin tomorrow by discussing the day's goals. We will then break up into guided reading groups. Groups will begin by reviewing the previous day's vocabulary words. After guided reading activities, students will write in their journals.
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