Glad to be Finished

Whew! I just finished the final. (Sorry, no hints from me.) I have benefited greatly from this class. I look at curriculum design in a different light now. I see the importance of authentic assessment. I have a clearer picture of how technology can help me increase the depth of my students' understanding. I can also see where too much technology can detract from the goals of any unit.

I am enjoying this so much, I signed up for my next class and I'll finish a total of three before I go back to school in the fall. I cannot say enough about the impact this is having on my professional life. I felt that I had a lot of catching up to do since I entered public school teaching much later than most people do. The courses are helping me not only catch up but also become a leader for improvement.

Thanks to everyone who posted a comment and gave feedback on the unit. You are the best!

This is a gifted group!

I am excited to be able to find so many wonderful ideas among my colleagues in this class. Before it is over, I should have nearly all the lessons in the curriculum showcase downloaded. There has been at least one time in looking over every unit that I have said, "Wow! What a great idea!" I know I can adapt many of these lessons for use in the future.

This class, Designing Technology Rich Curriculum, ended up to be more about designing curriculum than really emphasizing technology for me. The book Understanding by Design was a terrific resource. I got something out of every chapter. The authors' philosophy really hit home with me. The UbD framework can apply to many different educational approaches and styles. That's the beauty of it.

This course was designed with just the right balance of reading and activities. I grew to enjoy my blogging experiences. I find I am contemplating my next post way ahead of time. Colleagues have shared so much wisdom and insight, not to mention websites and activity ideas.
The units all benefited from the input of others. I know I took a look at several blog entries as I reached my final draft. I also decided that next time I do unit planning with my grade level team, I am going to look for online lessons, etc. the way I learned in this class and in Internet in K-12 Instruction during Spring 1.

I am almost to the conclusion of my sixth online class through UF. The classes have been better every time. I appreciate the way the faculty has been responsive to the needs and preferences of the students. I especially like the promptness with which Dr. Dawson has responded to messages and assignment submissions. That must take a big chunk of her time. But she seemed to be online to answer just about any time I asked. That is very reassuring when you reach a frustration point in an assignment. Overall, I'd give the the class an A. Now let's see what I get on the unit I turned in....

So many activities, So little time

Yes, I know my last post had 12 activities. But I want to use this unit so I am thinking about a month-long series. My plan is to detail three technology-related lessons to turn in and leave the rest in narrative form.

The readings in the textbook have got me thinking. Since I tend to think out loud, I have had several conversations recently about backward design with colleagues. Most say they appreciate that we really shouldn't just "cover" the textbook or march through the pages just to get done. But with the TEST always looming, and the textbooks supposedly hitting all the standards on the TEST, what choice do we have? As colleagues were asking that, I was thinking, "Yes, but just skimming through doesn't cause retention. And it surely doesn't promote problem solving skill development that the standards are trying to address." Then I read the last chapter of the book and found the authors have come to the same conclusion. After congratulating myself for being so smart, I began to think yet again how we can change this thinking. From the text and from what I hear from colleagues in this class, I find some schools have embraced the UbD format. Other schools are implementing project based, authentic assessments wherever possible. I just wonder what was the impetus to move the administration to adopt these approaches.
One of my goals is to promote change in my own school. The best way I know to do that is to keep records and show how more constructivist pedagogy can succeed in an FCAT environment. I am fairly new to public school. (I taught my daughter at home for five years.) So I tend to defer to the veterans as to "how things are done around here." I know it is time to step up and try to bring about the kind of changes that can produce true learning gains for all students. Teaching for understanding instead of teaching to the test can deliver the results we all want--student learning. The TEST scores will follow.

Activities for Unit

Here is a rough draft with just a few resources. I still have to create rubrics and some graphic organizers as well as complete the Power Point, animal cards, etc.

The first learning activity for the Wet and Wonderful: Dive into Ponds and Swamps unit will be an introduction lesson. I will read Marshes and Swamps by Gail Gibbons. We will take a true-false pre-test with questions drawn from the essential understandings of my unit. I will briefly describe the activities in the unit. I will send a note home with an outline of the unit and information about how to get to the unit links on our class website.

The second lesson will be an introduction to the performance task. The students will watch a Power Point presentation that I have prepared that shows animals of the swamps and wetlands. I will explain how to use the Power Point presentation as I show it because the students will have access to it in order to create their food chain projects. I will show the students the rubric for the project. I will introduce procedures for gathering and storing materials for the project. I will explain the schedule for doing research.
To conclude the session, I will give students one minute to write a question they would like to have answered during the unit. All questions will be compiled on chart paper for reference during subsequent sessions.

The third lesson will start with a look at the chart of questions submitted by the students. We will discuss ways to get information to answer the questions: books, videos, Internet, observations, etc.
I will pass out cards with pictures of animals on them. Students should watch for their animal and raise up their card when they see it during the ponds section of the Eyewitness video Ponds and Rivers. After the video, see if the information answered any questions on the chart.
Give students time to look in books and review the Power Point presentation for the food chain project.

The fourth lesson will be a demonstration of how wetlands work. First, we will talk about the compound word “wetlands” to brainstorm what that might mean.
I will tell them wetlands absorb excess water to prevent flooding. We will work with dry and wet sponges to see which absorbs more water as the water flows over them. See if the conclusions answer any questions on the chart.
Give students time to look in books and review the Power Point presentation for the food chain project.

In the fifth lesson, we will visit Green Swamp on the Internet during computer lab time. I will demonstrate what students are to do with the site before we go to the computer lab. Students will use the animal cards again to identify the animals found in the “Natural” section of the site. Students will have time to go on Kids Click! to search for more wetlands information. See if the information answered any questions on the chart.

In the sixth lesson, we will talk about what kinds of plants live in wetlands. We will read the care instructions for an aquatic plant and for a cactus. Then we will submerge both in water and begin an observation chart. Make predictions about what will happen to both plants. Plan to have students record observations daily.
Give students time to look in books and review the Power Point presentation for the food chain project.


In celebration of Earth Day, on April 21 we will view the online book Earth Day for Kids. Then we will have a discussion about the effect that people can have on the environment and specifically on the animals in the swamps and ponds. I will observe the discussion closely for misunderstandings of the way the living organisms interact in the habitats. As a group, we will write a pledge to take care of the local ponds and wetlands. I will enlarge this to poster size and use as the center of our bulletin board.

In the eighth lesson, students will begin sharing their completed food chains. They will be given a rubric and description of the poster they are to complete as part of the bulletin board project. If available, we will use a drawing program on the computer to create the posters. Otherwise, students will draw and label a wetlands plant or animal. Then they will add facts they have found about it as details in the drawing and in sentences on the poster. Early finishers will help cut out and prepare the background for the bulletin board as well as assist other students with research.

In the ninth lesson, we will begin a series of worksheets describing the life cycles of wetlands animals. For the frog, we will read Tadpole to Frog by Oliver Owen. Then we will complete a cut and paste worksheet putting the stages in the correct order. We will complete the same type of worksheet for the dragonfly and the otter. At the end of each of these sessions, time will be given to complete projects and present finished projects. We will consult the chart daily to see how many questions we have answered and brainstorm how to find the remaining answers.

In the twelfth and culminating lesson, we will review the chart for answers. In groups, students will create question cards for a review game. They will take the pre-test which has been modified to allow students to restate false statements to make them true.

My Thanks

Thanks for all the good comments on my first unit post. I am writing this so it will be ready to use in my classroom. I only have one computer with PowerPoint and it is only available to the teachers. Kidspiration is not available to the students. I actually will to have the students post their work on a public bulletin board--the old fashioned way!

In the meantime, I am trying to get the tech resource teacher to agree to give me Power Point on the student side of my computers so that they can review a presentation. At this time, we don't even have a simple "paint" program on the computers. I know there are some free ones that I can download. I will have those in place before I start the unit. I just wanted to be working from reality instead of my dream world.

My first grade class had a visit today from a soldier from Iraq. His sister teaches Kindergarten at our school. We wrote him letters and cards throughout the year. His surprise visit thrilled the kids. They asked a million questions about his guns and his friends and how he got the photos he showed us. I had a tear in my eyes when he described Saddam as a bad guy who killed lots of people. "He's in jail now," he said. "We're helping the people." He showed pictures of dusty, shoeless children they had given their water to.

We saw flat-roofed shacks in the "good" neighborhoods. Then he showed photos of one of Saddam's nine palaces. The opulence was so outrageous even my first graders noticed it. We had looked at a virtual tour of the White House earlier this year. I asked them to compare what they had seen. Those who recalled both agreed that Saddam's house was much fancier. They even expressed anger that Saddam had such a nice place while the people have shacks.

I am very thankful to Spc. Ryan Drury for his service to our country. I am also proud to see that he appreciates our young people enough to take precious time from his leave to come say thanks for the cards and letters. I am sure some of you have a relative or friend serving. If so, let me extend this to express my gratitude for the dedication of all our troops, wherever they may be.