Week 8 - Science Activity Analysis!

I commented on the actual voicethreads for Natalie, Whitney, and Ashley in my group.

I really enjoyed learning about the different science tools in technology that are available to teachers. I particularly thought that Kidsperation is a fantastic tool that I could use in my classroom to teach various subjects, notably science. I will be teaching the very young grades, and Kidsperation I think caters more to the younger grades than the upper. There are engaging activities on it that make the work seem like fun, or even like a video game, for the students, even though they are learning at the same time. This is why the science lesson activity I planned would be especially useful in my classroom; the students would look forward to this activity because it seems like fun to them. However, the only downside of this activity would be the fact that many computers would be needed in order for the whole classroom to complete the assignment at the same time, which is the most ideal situation. It could be hard to schedule computer lab time into the day in order for all the students to have a computer. Other than that one obstacle, I think this would be a valuable activity in the classroom and would be very enjoyable for both the teacher and the students.

Science Technology

Science Challenge Preview

For this unit, we will be studying different animals. The ultimate goal will be for the students to be able to determine between reptiles, mammals, and carnivores, herbivores, and omnivores. During the week, each day we will study one of the above categories. On Friday, after we have learned about omnivores, is when we will use a technology-enhanced activity as a cumulative review of what we have learned throughout the week. I will have my class log onto kidsperation in the computer lab. They will click on the science section and then go to the activity to write about animals. From that section, they will identify the following animals from the left side of the screen: dog, dolphin, tiger, rabbit, bear, and lizard. After they click on each animal, a screen will pop up that allows them to type facts about that animal. On the board I will write the words reptile, mammal, carnivore, herbivore, and omnivore. I will also have a bank of words on the board for them to copy with descriptive words such as plants, meat, berries, jungle, woods, etc. These words will be used to describe the eating habits, habitats, and characteristics of these animals. After the students locate each of the animals from the list on the left, they will practice their typing skills to write in the information about them, labeling and describing them correctly from what we have studied all week..During this activity, I will be walking around, supervising their progress, reminding them of the words, and answering questions.

a) The content my lesson is focused on comes from Standard 3, Objective 2a) Observe, describe, draw, and compare familiar animals. This comes from the Utah state science core.

b) The teaching pedagogies being used are observing, classifying, and processing data through describing relationships (comparisons). I will observing the students as they are working on the labeling activity. This is significant because I am letting it do it on their own without interfering, unless I need to. The students will be classifying the animals based on the material that we have studied all week. They will be processing data through comparing the animals to discriminate between the various categories they are trying to identify.

c)The technology I will be using is kidsperation. This is a great fit for my class because it especially is friendly for young grades, and mine is kindergarten. It allows the students to identify through pictures of the animals and is an easy way to introduce typing skills.

d) This material is represented through kidsperation in a way that is going to make is very easy for the students to do and complete. It is going to make this activity easier for the students to understand because it uses pictures. These pictures will help the students make connections between the present activity and the pictures that they were shown throughout the weekly lessons. When they make that connection, it will be easier for them to remember the information and proper label that should be given to the animal.

Virtual Tour Final Response

I was able to comment on Ashley, Natalie, and Whitney's virtual tours.

I think that a virtual tour has some redeeming qualities in the classroom, as well as some challenges. First of all, it is a great tool to use in showing context of location. It is even better that it is possible to add pictures, text, and videos to a certain location that would help teach a topic further. This is important for young students because it helps them make connections to locations or people in relation to where they are on the map. I would have loved something like that in elementary school.

However, this would be a challenging project to do in my future classroom. This required a lot of technical skill and work to put the project together. Since I am going to be an early childhood teacher, the highest grade that I will teach will be 3rd, but mostly likely I will have a younger classroom. I don't believe most young students would be able to complete a project such as this. If I were to use this in the classroom, I would have to put it together and then show the class the finished project. I also think it would be too advanced for them to do activities at each pin, unless I made them much simpler. I would need to find some accommodations for this before I used it in my future classroom.

Google Earth Virtual Tour - Climates and Animals

Google Earth Tour Plan

For this virtual tour, I am sticking to second grade core curriculum, since that is the general age of students that I will be teaching. I will be doing:

Health education, 2nd grade
Standard 3: Students will develop an understanding of their environment
Objective 2c) Describe how weather affects people and animals

I thought this would be a fun virtual tour to do with second graders because the content is something that they can relate to. Most young students appreciate animals. By showing animals in different climates, and how their bodies are adapted to these climates, it allows the students to learn a lot about climates themselves. This shows how weather affects people and animals. The representation of this topic is going to help the students learn better because they will be able to see pictures of the different climates, combined with videos of the climates and animals interacting. This will help them make a visual connection to what they are reading and learning. I think this will be a very valuable tool, as well as engaging, to use in the classroom that the students will really enjoy.