Animal or Plant?

Here is a 1^st-2^nd grade lesson plan that I have created that utilizes the “flipped classroom” approach. In this lesson, students will learn about the similarities and differences between plants and animals.

Take a look at the video, and lesson plan that are uploaded:

- Take a look at the Go!Animate video (Hope you don’t mind Val! What a cool site! Everyone should check it out!)

- Take a look at the lesson plan.

The Connected Educator: Quote # 7

Technology is the future. Currently, I am reading Aldous Huxley’s Brave New World, and I have to say, this novel terrifies me (along with 1984 and Feed)! This quotation reminded me of Huxley’s novel. By utilizing technology is our classrooms, we are definitely preparing our students “for an unknown future.” Technology is changing and progressing faster than anything we have seen before. I mean, the iPad 3 is already coming out! I, on the other hand, do not even own a smartphone. But, that is a completely different topic… With these advancements occurring as fast as they are today, who knows what the future will look like. Maybe we will be driving space cars!

Anyway, I believe that technology has enabled teachers to provide their students with authentic activities. For example, students can practice their writing skills by utilizing blogs. While class journals are only seen and graded by the teacher, blogs can be seen by anyone entering the virtual world! This type of authentic learning encourages students to produce their best work possible. And as an English teacher, I love these types of assignments. My hope is that more teachers begin to learn about and embrace these new technologies in order to prepare our students for an unknown world.

How Can We Help Prevent the Spread of Germs?

This is the fourth lesson in the 3rd-4th grade mini-unit based on “the flipped model” that I am working on. In this lesson, students will watch a video that reviews the importance of hand washing.

- Take a look at the video here.

- Take a look at the lesson plan here.

How Does the Body Respond to Germs?

This is the third lesson in the 3rd-4th grade mini-unit based on “the flipped model” that I am working on. In this lesson, students will study the different physical and internal defenses that the body utilizes to fight invading germs!

- Take a look at the voki here.

- Take a look at the video here.

- Take a look at the lesson plan here.

Where are Germs Found?

This is the second lesson in the 3rd-4th grade mini-unit based on “the flipped model” that I am working on. In this lesson, students will learn about the different places where germs can be found.  Students will watch the video and then complete two lab exercises.

- Take a look at the video here.

- Take a look at the lesson plan here.

What are Germs?

Here is a 3rd-4th grade lesson plan that I have created that utilizes the “flipped classroom” approach. In this lesson, students will learn about the four types of germs that they can come into contact with at school, home, etc. Students will watch the video first, review the video and a brief presentation of images in class, and then work within groups on a Scenario Fact Sheet.

Take a look at the video, PowerPoint, and lesson plan that are uploaded:

- Take a look at the video.

- Take a look at the lesson plan.

- Take a look at the images.

The Connected Educator: Quote # 6

I found this quote to be extremely fascinating. Although we don’t think about it, we really are always learning something new. Learning is a process that continues unconsciously while we engage in conversation with others, tune into the local news channel, read our favorite novels, magazines, or newspapers, and drive around towns, cities, and landmarks. As Dewey said, education really is a social process. I believe that this is a powerful statement that we as teachers can use in order to encourage our students. Learning does not have to come from a textbook or boring lecture; learning is a process that we all utilize in order to prepare, inhabit, and succeed in life. When we learn new things, whether it is to go to the bathroom or to write a formal essay, we are able to apply our new knowledge to help us face obstacles down the road, become a part of the community, and understand new ideas and concepts. I hope that we can instill this message in our students. Learning does not only occur in school. As Dewey stated, “education is life itself.”

The Connected Educator: Quote # 5

I found this quote so interesting! I never thought about the process of “unlearning” something that I have learned. But when I thought about this some more, it actually makes sense. In my opinion, this part of learning is the most difficult part. I work at a home for developmentally disabled adults, and right now we are making this huge transition by becoming a part of Camp Venture. Every week, we are forced to learn something new: change our way of documenting, switch over to a new medication process, participate in new trainings, and learn new task procedures. I must say, this transition has been so difficult. I have been at Tanglewood for over five years, and I have become very comfortable in my job responsibilities. When a person is asked to forget procedures that they have practiced for a good amount of time and learn new procedures, it is hard. I have been practicing this way for so long that I easily become confused and frustrated while I am thrown out of my comfort zone. I definitely have to work on this process myself. And I hope to practice connected learning as a teacher and model this process for my students.

The Connected Educator: Quote # 4

In this quotation Linda Darling-Hammond and her colleagues describe how teachers need to learn how to collaborate. While studies show that collaboration between colleagues leads to “growth of personal teaching practices and student achievement,” many teachers still choose to keep to themselves instead of collaborating with their colleagues. I find this to be a sad fact. Like Rob said in class, there are many teachers who simply do not want people to “steal” their lesson plans and choose to isolate themselves from learning and growing along with other teachers. As teachers, I feel that we have the responsibility to helping our students learn and grow to the best of our abilities. In order to help all students, collaboration is a must! If we have great material that we know works, why not share it! It will help other students! I bet that the teachers you collaborate with will have awesome stuff to share with you as well!

I have always stuck to that famous saying: “two heads are better than one” when it comes to teaching! My hope is that more teachers will be open to this philosophy in order to help their students. My question is: How can we persuade teachers who refuse to collaborate?

The Connected Educator: Quote # 3

We have talked about the “reculturing” of our beliefs about the purposes and appearances of the ideal classroom many times throughout this program, and this is something that I continue to think about and incorporate into my own thinking. I do not remember which class at the moment, probably many of them, where we had a conversation about our views of what a classroom looks like. Unfortunately, many of us stated the “obvious”: Some type of writing board in the front of the classroom, small desks aligned in rows that all face the board, and a computer on the teacher’s private (much larger) desk. This image alone illustrates how the “traditional classroom” has not changed along with the new technologies that are now open to us.

While teaching upstate, I did not have the luxury of having a smartboard, let alone enough copies of A House on Mango Street, but I did attempt to make my classroom unique. Every couple weeks, I would move the desks into a different formation: facing front, large circle, grouped, etc. I also asked for an ELMO to use in my classroom. At Cortland, I was taught to step outside the traditional classroom ways, but I know that it is difficult with the lack of resources available to some as well as the comfort that we all have with the traditional classroom approach. This is something that widely concerns me and that I will continue to work on.