Sunday, August 3, 2008

Fianl Project- Assessment

Read this document on Scribd: rubric

Supervisior Presentation

Overview/ Implementation Plan-

This lesson/unit is intended to be taught over the course of three days and further our investigation about trees. We will be exploring what products/ materials we get from trees and how we use them in our daily lives. This ties in nicely with our current unit of study in science about wood. In addition, we will be doing most of our exploring (research) through the use of technology which will be highly motivating. I have created a blog page (www.lindsayteach007.blogspot.com) which will be the hub of our investigation. I have downloaded a YouTube video The Giving Tree and have marked two websites which will help the students further understand what products come from trees. Below is a copy of the lesson plan in which you will find: materials, content objects, standards, time flow, daily schedule, etc. I will serve as the students guide though out the process due to the fact that this is first grade.
In the end students will produce two things: 1. a poster and 2. a class book. The poster will be of items that come from trees and the book will a compilation of students responses to the question: what products do we get from tree? I will be using the class rubric which you will find on my blog. This is the rubric I use for all projects and the students are very aware of the 1-4 system.

Finally, the following resources were used to complete this lesson/ unit:

http://www.youtube.com
http://www.blogspot.com/start
http://www.idahoforests.org/wood_you.htm
http://owic.oregonstate.edu/teachers.php#common





lesson overview- The Giving Tree - Upload a Document to Scribd
Read this document on Scribd: lesson overview- The Giving Tree

Saturday, August 2, 2008

Student Presentation - The Giving Tree

Day 1:

Hello students!

As a class we are now going to watch an animated version of The Giving Tree read by the author Shel Silverstein. Be sure to watch closely because when we are finished I'm going to ask you to write a response to literature. You can write about your favorite part, or tell me about a tree who has giving you a lot of things, or you can about what happened in the story.

Before we begin, who can tell me what they think this story is about? Have any of you ever climbed a tree or swung on its branches?

Now let's watch and see what things the tree gives to the boy!




So, what happened in the story? Who were the main characters? What message do you think Shel Silverstein was trying to send to you about trees?

Ok, it is time to get out paper and pencils and put our thinking caps on. What are you going to write about? Your favorite part? About a tree that you love? Or perhaps you want to tell me the events that happened in the story. Don't forget I love lots of details and remember to take your time, it isn't a race.


Day 2:

Yesterday we watched an animated version of The Giving Tree by Shel Silverstein. We learned that trees can give us a lot of things! Think back and I will show you pictures from the book to help you remember, what things did the tree give to the boy/man? Let's make a class list of all the things the tree gave to the boy/man.

Now, lets see what else we can get from trees. Lets look at these websites below to find out more products that come from trees:


http://www.idahoforests.org/wood_you.htm

http://owic.oregonstate.edu/teachers.php#common


Wow look at all these things we can get from trees! Trees sure are important. Let's add our favorite items to our class list of products we get from trees.


Day 3:

For the past two days we have been learning about some products that trees give us. Let's look over our class list to refresh our memories. Wow that is a lot of items! Now we are going to create posters of all the things we get from trees. I have brought in several magazines for us to look through. We are only going to cut out only items that come from trees. Each group will make their very own poster that we will hang around the class. Don't forget as a group you must label all of the items on the page. When we are finished we will share our posters with the class and i will hang them up around the room.

Let's go over group roles:

Facilitator: Will keep everyone on task and make sure everyone has a voice volume of a #1.

Time keeper: Keeps an eye on the clock and will make sure the poster is done on time.

Presenter: Will present the final poster to the class.

Gofer: Will gather materials and put them away.

Recorder: Will label the materials/products on the poster.

Finally, I will give you a piece of lined paper and I would like you individually to answer this question: What products do trees give us? Here is your sentence starter: Trees give us...
I will put all the pages together to create a class book for the classroom library.

If there are no questions it's time to begin!

Friday, July 18, 2008

Welcome To First Grade (assignment 4)

Hello students and parents!

I hope you are enjoying your summer and reading lots of books! I look forward to being your teacher and I hope you are excited about becoming a first grader. Over the summer I want you to check out this website and share it with your family. The website is called Starfall and I really think that you will have lots of fun using it. With your mom, dad, or another adult, log on to the website (see below) and click on what looks interesting to you, and follow the directions the computer gives you. Try as many things as you can on the website and be sure to let me know which section is your favorite.

Your Task:
Once you have finished exploring I want you to go back to the section that says I'm reading! (with the little dragon) and look through the stories. I would like you to create your very own comic. If you would like you can use this fun comic creator website to help you:
http://www.makebeliefscomix.com/.

Also, I would like you to write your own story. Make sure you have a beginning, middle and end. Use the fiction section to guide you. Be sure not to copy the stories on the website. You are all creative thinkers and need to create a story that is your very own! Please bring both of these assignments with you to class on the first day of school 9/2/2008.

I can't wait to see you in September!
Ms. Tuttle

http://www.starfall.com/

Friday, July 11, 2008

Check out these podcasts for children!

My Baby Monsters: http://mybabymonsters.com/stories/archive/podcasts - From My Baby Monsters Storytelling Library of Kids' Stories & Children's Art
This website has really cute story telling podcasts for children (elementary level). It’s user friendly and free! It’s a mix of adults and children reading the stories and it’s almost as if you are listening to a play they way that they read it, it’s very interactive between the adults and children. Most of the stories are silly and fun. They aren’t really meant to enhance curriculum but there is some real world situations (like going to the dentist) that could be incorporated into Social Studies. It could also be used for listening practice for students, nursery rhymes or responding to literature.

Radio Willow Web:
http://www.mpsomaha.org/willow/radio/listen.html-
Radio WillowWeb is produced by students and teachers at Willowdale Elementary School.

This is a website created by Willowdale Elementary School in Omaha, Nebraska. I liked this podcast a lot because it revolves around academic topics. All the elementary grades (K-5) are represented on the website and there is a wide range of topics the students can learn about (mostly informational). I also liked that it was produced by the children. They are narrating and it is obvious they are the ones who have developed it. This website is also free and easy to use and contains other information for teachers which maybe useful in your classroom.

Kid-cast.com:
http://www.kid-cast.com/wordpress/ -
This site is run by John Woodring

If you’re looking for a variety of podcasts for kids, created by kids this is your site. The website is free however you have to sign up and adhere to the policies before listening to a majority if the podcasts. The website doesn’t look very child friendly and it can be confusing to navigate. They have mixed podcasts with blog articles so at times you think you will get a podcast however it turns out to really be a blog. It wouldn’t be my first choice to go there to listen to blogs however it does give children freedom to express themselves through a podcast and have it heard by other children. This would be a nice place for teacher’s to have their students try blogging and listen to what other children have to say.

Wednesday, July 9, 2008

Blogging

Blogging is something that is brand new to me. I have heard the term, however I have never created a blog or ever thought about incorporating them into my teaching. From reading the two articles and watching the video on YouTube, the authors made very convincing arguments as to why to incorporate them into your teaching. It appears it could be modified to fit the needs of all students. My question is: at what age would blogging be appropriate to begin? I teach first graders and they seem proficient in completing tasks on children’s websites, but would they be able to type? Also, with lack of resources (especially computers) in New York City, how do you make this a reality?

Being a special education teacher, I’m always looking for new ways to differentiate learning in my classroom. ESL and special education are closely linked in the strategies used to help students be successful. If blogging has been successful in helping ESL students be successful with academics, then perhaps it will work for special education as well. I also really like the idea of my students learning different cultures from each other and learning about other countries through blogging. I’m also big fan of student based learning where I am the students guide to their own academic path and I think this would be an excellent way to foster that student based learning and really let the students explore.