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Conversation Tools

 

 

E-Pal was a new and interesting way to communitcate with other people around the world.  We thought that it would be easy for the students and give them real-world experiences they would remember.

 

First step is to log on to http://www.epals.com and find a group to do the project.

We decided on the project “The Way We Are”

This focuses on learning about a different country.  We liked the questions…

What is your daily  life like?

Tell about your culture.

What is the climate like where you live?

What is the geography of your community?

What special holidays do you celebrate and how?

What are you learning about in school?

What activities could we do if we visited your area?

What are typical foods you eat?

What do you do for vacation?

 

Our project would be from September through May and an e-mail would be sent once a month.  This would give our children time to understand what we are asking of the other country and also how to answer the question ourselves.  Students would learn valuable things about the other country and also about their own.

 

 

Semantic Organization Tools

 

Webbing

Kidspiration is a great tool to use, but not everyone has this program.  How can those less fortunate still use this type of idea?

Readwritethink.org has a free webbing tool that is easy to use.

                                          

We thought that having the children sort their spelling words in computer lab would be a great way to introduce webbing and assess if your students understand the word patterns taught in spelling class.

 http://interactives.mped.org/view_interactive.aspx?id=127&title=

Have the students create a web with long a and short a in the center circles.  Students then can place their spelling words in the correct set of circles to sort the words.

This site also has several other semantic organization tools to use.

http://www.readwritethink.org/student_mat/index.asp

  

 

Database

   

 

  

 

Books We’ve Read

This lesson plan creates a classroom database

collecting information on books that students

 have read over a period of time determined by

the teacher and/or students. By sorting and

 filtering, students evaluate the data and can

 later create other products from their findings.

 A lesson plan for grades 3-4 Information Skills

By Mary Rizzo

Learning outcomes

Students understanding of the use and value of a database is achieved by creating, maintaining, and modifying data in a class created database. Students enter data based on books they read and then sort and filter to obtain data that can later be used in a project, (such as creating graphs).

Teacher planning

Time required for lesson

3 – 4 weeks

Materials/resources

 

None

Technology resource

Database program (i.e. Microsoft Works) accessable either from a stand alone classroom computer or from a network.

Pre-activities

Teacher should begin the activity by teaching (or reviewing) the parts of a database to include field, record, etc. Examples of print and electronic databases (encyclopedias, phone books,etc.) should be reviewed and discussed as to their value.

Activities

1. As a class, with the teacher facilitating, students should decide which information they would like to track, thus determining which fields will be established. Examples include Book Title, Author, Rating (ex. 1 to 5), Recommend? (yes or no). If your school has Accelerated Reader, Book Level and/or Number of Points could also be possibilities. Reader Name, Gender, and Month Read may be other choices. The more fields created, the more possibilities for sorting and filtering.

2. At this time, the students and teacher can determine how long data will be collected, whether for a short term (3 to 4 weeks) or all year long.

3. Although the teacher could create the database on the computer, it would best be done by one or several students. Since this is a class database, only one database need be created. It is then saved on the classroom stand alone computer, or saved to a file on the network. If this is a long-term project, you may choose to periodically back up your data on a disk so that in the unfortunate event of a crashed computer or network, your hard work will not be lost.

4. As students finish a book, they record the data for one record in the class database. Each student should have several opportunities to enter his/her own data into the database, depending on how long the project will last.

5. When sufficient records have been entered, students can begin to analyze the data. This will either be done together as a class, or individually in a lab setting. Students could sort Book Titles or Authors alphabetically. If Reading Levels or Points were used, they could be sorted in ascending or descending order. Filters could be created to determine who read the most books (boys or girls?), or which books earned a rating of 4 or better. Which books did the class not recommend? Letting the class choose which filters to create gives them experience in the value of data that can be obtained from a database.

6. The data obtained from sorting and filtering could then be used in a graph incorporating a spreadsheet component. Students could track things like how many books were read each week or month, percentage of books rated 1, 2, 3, etc., or percentage of books by specific authors.

7. Students may find that they refer to the database to help them decide which book they’d like to read next.

 

 AssessmentBecause this is a long-term assignment, individual assessment may not be necessary. If you choose to assess, students could take part in determining how to assess this unit. They could help create a rubric that would be used to assess completion of the requirements. The class could also come up with a worksheet of questions to be answered by the correct use of sorting and filtering functions.Required sorting and filtering results could also be printed as evidence of understanding the concept.

 

 Helping elementary students learn the value and relevance of a class created database tends to be a challenge for many teachers. Often, all a teacher can think to create is a database of fictitious names and addresses created in one lab setting that lends itself to little relevance and value when sorting and filtering. This lesson helps students to see the value of collecting a large volume of data over time.

Note: Although the goals and objectives for fifth grade are not included in this lesson, this could also be a fun and valuable lesson for them.

 North Carolina Curriculum Alignment

     

Grade 3

  Computer Technology Skills

  (2005)   

 

Objective 4.10: Evaluate the product.

Goal 4: The learner will EXPLORE and USE research processes to meet information needs.

    Objective 4.03: Develop a search strategy which includes the continuous evaluation of the research process and the information gathered.

       

Objective 4.05: Gather information.

Objective 4.07: Organize and use information.

Objective 4.10: Evaluate the product.

 

     

   

Goal 2: The learner will demonstrate knowledge and skills in the use of computer and other technologies.

 Objective 2.03: Use prepared databases to search/filter and sort alphabetically/numerically in ascending/descending order. Strand – Database

 

 

 

       

Objective 2.04: Modify prepared databases to enter/edit additional information and cite the source. Strand – Database

 

 

 

 

Dynamic Modeling Tools

Spreadsheet

 

As an extension of a weather unit, second grade students will use the book Cloudy With a Chance of Meatballs by Judi Barrett to explore compound words using an introduction to spreadsheet.

A lesson plan for grade 2 English Language Arts

By Mary Rizzo

 Learning outcomes

Students will use a spreadsheet to organize compound words they find in the book Cloudy With a Chance of Meatballs. After entering the data, they will sort the columns by alphabatizing the words. As a fun ending activity, they will re-sort, using only one column of words, thus creating “new” compound words. Students will write a sentence with their new compound word.

Pre-activities

The teacher will read the book Cloudy With a Chance of Meatballs. Students will compile a list of 10 compound words from the story. There are over 15 compound words throughout the story. The teacher will decide the best way for students to compile the list. For example, the story could be read aloud again and students could write down the compound words as they hear them, or the students could make a class list as the teacher rereads the story. Also, the book(s) could be made available to the students who would be responsible for reading it and recording the words during appropriate work times. Several days may be needed to allow for this option.

Activities

Part I:

1. Students would bring their lists of compound words to a computer lab where each student should have access to a computer and a spreadsheet program.
2. If the teacher has not already introduced the parts of a spreadsheet, s/he would do so before entering any data. Make sure that ‘row’, ‘column’, ‘cell’, and ‘entry bar’ have been defined.
3. Students will enter data into two columns. For this exercise, they will not have a column heading.
4. Each cell in one row will have part of a compound word. Example: ‘meat’ and ‘balls’ for ‘meatballs’. Go down to the next row for the next word.
5. Students should save no later than after having entered the fifth word. Encourage them to save early and to save often.
6. Once all 10 compound words have been entered, save again.
7. Students will select all the cells (both columns) and sort them in ascending order (alphabetically).
8. Save

Part II:

Just for fun, students will now create ‘new’ compound words by mixing up the order of the word parts.

1. Select all the words in only one column and sort them in descending order. This will create ‘new’ and silly compound words.
2. Students should then choose one ‘new’ compound word and type a sentence using the new word. Encourage them to be creative and have fun. In Microsoft Works 4.0 (spreadsheet), students can type a sentence using the Text Tool in the Tool Palette.
3. Save
4. Students should make sure their name is on their document. Print.

Assessment

·  As students enter their compound words, the teacher(s) circulates and observes that the students understand how compound words are formed by noting that they are divided correctly into the two columns on the spreadsheet. Individual assistance is given if needed.

·  The printed copy of the spreadsheet will be evidence of the student’s ability to separate the word parts in a compound word.

This language arts extension for compound words is good practice (or a starting point) for students to enter data into a spreadsheet. After this exercise, they are ready to enter data into a speadsheet and then create a graph. Maybe they’ll collect temperature data and graph its changes!

North Carolina Curriculum Alignment

Computer Technology Skills (2005)

Grade 2

• Goal 1: The learner will understand important issues of a technology-based society and will exhibit ethical behavior in the use of computer and other technologies.
  • Objective 1.08: Identify and discuss spreadsheet terms/concepts (e.g., sort, classify, line graphs). Strand – Spreadsheet
• Goal 2: The learner will demonstrate knowledge and skills in the use of computer and other technologies.
  • Objective 2.03: Enter/edit data in a prepared spreadsheet as a class/group and observe the changes that occur to make predictions. Strand – Spreadsheet
  • Objective 2.04: Use spreadsheet software in content areas to enter, display, and identify sources of data as a class. Strand – Spreadsheet

English Language Arts (2004)

Grade 2

• Goal 1: The learner will develop and apply enabling strategies and skills to read and write.
  • Objective 1.01: Use phonics knowledge and structural analysis (e.g., knowledge of syllables, suffixes, prefixes, root words) to decode regular multi-syllable words when reading text.

 

 

For more great resources for K-12 teaching and learning, visit us on the web at www.learnnc.org.