Final Lesson Plan

Title of Lesson: Literacy Lesson

Name: Megan Hester            Course/Section: EED 509   Date: 4/19/16

School/Grade: Centre Elementary/ 3rd Grade

Date Lesson Taught: 4/19/16                       Estimated Time: 60-90 minutes

Alabama College and Career Ready Standards ACCRS: Reading Standards for Literature 3rd Grade: 1. Ask and answer questions to demonstrate understanding of a text, referring explicitly to the text as the basis for the answers. [RL.3.1] ACCRS: Vocabulary Acquisition and Use 3rd Grade: 40. Determine and clarify the meaning of unknown and multiple-meaning words and phrases based on Grade 3 reading and content, choosing flexibly from a range of strategies. [L.3.4] Technology Standards ·      Engage in learning activities with learners from multiple cultures through electronic means. ·      Find and evaluate information related to a current or historical person or event using digital resources.
Specific Lesson Objectives 3rd grade students will be able to comprehend and answer questions about the narrative passage “Bulbs to Blooms”. 3rd grade students will be able to identify meanings of selected unknown words that are located in the passage while performing a word sort and while reading the passage. 3rd grade students will write a description of the main character’s yard using the selected words and details from the story.
Materials List all the materials you will need throughout the lesson. Copies of “Bulbs to Blooms” passage (3) Selected unfamiliar vocabulary words for word sort and other known vocabulary words Writing paper Markers Written Student Friendly Objective Prerequisite Skills The students will be able to read the story aloud.  They also will have the knowledge about matching the words with their definitions.  They will also be able to identify the main character.
TWIRL: Talk: Students will talk to each other while sorting definitions and their corresponding words. Write: Students will write a description of the main character’s yard using the selected words from the story. Investigate: Students will analyze the selected words within the passage. Read: Students will read the passage, “Bulbs to Blooms”. Listen: Students will listen to each other during the reading, sorting and writing activities. View: Students will view the vocabulary word sort and use it to aid in their understanding of the passage.
Step by Step Lesson Outline BEFORE: The teacher will read the student friendly objective to the students. “Today, I will identify unknown vocabulary words and their meanings by doing a matching activity. I will read the story “Bulbs to Blooms” and look for these vocabulary words within the story to help me understand their meanings, and I will write a description of the main character’s yard using these specific words.” The teacher will say, “Remember how we have been growing vegetables in the garden outside? Turn to the person next to you and tell them what you know about the process that plants go through as they grow.” The teacher will now ask students to share their discussions. The teacher will display the word sort activity and have students match definitions to the chosen vocabulary words from the story. The teacher will say “Here we have some new vocabulary words, and we have some definitions that match these words. Work together, and see if you can match these words with their definitions.” The teacher will observe as students complete the word sort.  DURING: The teacher will say, “Today, we are going to read the story ‘Bulbs to Blooms’. This story has three of the same vocabulary words that you just sorted. As we are reading, really pay attention and see if you can identify our vocabulary words. Later, we will check our word sort to see if we still think that we sorted correctly. Tell the person next to you what you are supposed to be doing as you read this story.” The students will turn and tell each other to identify vocabulary words that they were just previously introduced to. The teacher will give each student a copy of the story. The teacher will say, “Let’s look at this first part of the story. Read it out loud with me. Ready? Read!.” The teacher will now stop students at a preselected place. “Look at this sentence with the word ‘bulbs’ in it. ‘Every fall Mr. Connor plants bulbs in his yard.’ After I read that sentence, I realized that bulbs are something gardeners plant down into soil. If I continue reading, I realize that bulbs do not have flowers on them, yet.” The teacher is modeling how to gather information about a word’s meaning by reading the text.  The teacher will say, “I want you to read the next part of our story to a friend that is beside you. So, (student name) you will read this part to (student name). I will tell you when to stop. Then, I will let (student name) read that same part back to (student name). Be sure to pay attention and see if you read about one of the new vocabulary words.” The teacher will stop the first students at a preselected place and swap readers. The teacher will say, “After reading this far, who is Mr. Connor? What does he do every fall?” Since it is a small group the teacher will allow for an open response without calling on students individually. The teacher will ask, “What does it mean when it says ‘It’s hard to imagine them sprouting roots and stems and becoming plants.’? What does that sentence tell us about the word ‘sprouting’? Think to yourself for a moment. Based on the paragraph you just read, was Mr. Connor’s yard usually a beautiful yard full of flowering plants? What part of that paragraph made you think this way?” The teacher will now say, “Tell the person next to why you do or do not think that Mr. Connor’s yard is usually filled with many beautiful plants.” The teacher will regain attention with the 3-2-1 method. After students respond, the teacher will make a point by saying, “If his plants are flowering, we know that his plants have bloomed and opened up. Blooming is also one of our key words to look for.” “Let’s look at the sentence with our vocabulary word ‘recognizing’. What is the meaning of this word in that sentence?” The teacher will allow for a group response. “Why was Mr. Connor’s yard recognized or identified and given an award?” The students will again answer in a choral manner.   The teacher will say, “At the end of that first column, the narrator says that he is glad that Mr. Connor has a sense of humor. When someone says they’re glad you have a sense of humor what are they meaning? Without reading ahead, why might you think that it is a good thing that Mr. Connor has a sense of humor? Make a prediction.” The teacher will allow group answers and response to peers. The teacher will say, “Now I want you to read the rest of the story to yourselves in a whisper voice. Ready? Read!” After students are finished reading, the teacher will now revisit that selected part. “What problem does Mr. Connor face with his next door neighbor’s dog? Our narrator is doing what when his dog causes a problem?” The teacher will say, “Turn and talk to your partner about these two questions.” After a short moment, the teacher will use the 3-2-1 method to gain student attention, again. After a discussion of that part, the teacher will say, “So now that you have read the problem Mr. Connor faced, do you also think that it was a good thing that Mr. Connor had a sense of humor? If he did not have one, how might have he reacted?” The students will discuss chorally. “Why don’t we look back at our sort? After reading our story we realize that we saw three of these words and discussed their meanings as we read along. Work with a partner and make sure you have sorted correctly. Apply what you learned from the story to help you in checking your work.” The teacher will assess students’ learning by monitoring this re-sort. AFTER: After the re-sort is completed the teacher will say, “Now, using some of our vocabulary words and using what you know about Mr. Connor and his yard, I want you to write a description of how his yard probably looks in the spring. What are his plants doing? After Max causes a problem, how might his yard look? Think about these things and write a good description. It does not have to be very long. When you are finished you can draw a picture that goes along with your description.” The teacher will look back at the objectives. “Let’s look back at our objectives for today. Did we read the passage “Bulbs to Blooms” and use the vocabulary words within the story to help us understand? Did we identify these vocabulary words and their meanings in a word sort and in the story? Did we write a description of Mr. Connor’s yard in the spring using these specific words?” The teacher will have the students to go on the quizziz website to have a post assessment.  The quiz will contain matching words from the story, comprehensive question, and True or False questions.
Assessment of Student Learning The teacher will listen for comprehension as students answer questions about the passage “Bulbs to Blooms.” The teacher will observe to see if students are matching the definitions of unknown words correctly during the word sort and will observe for understanding of these words during the reading. The teacher will assess the students’ writing for the use of the selected words in describing the main character’s yard based on details from the passage.
Differentiation to Meet the Needs of All Students (Must include SPED, Gifted, and ELL) SPED: The teacher will pair students in a well-thought out manner so that they are aided throughout the process. The teacher will provide more time for these students if needed. Gifted: The teacher will allow these students to write their own narrative stories about experiences with planting and gardening. ELL: The teacher will purposefully pair these students with an English speaking student and will provide pictures that represent the chosen unknown vocabulary words that are within the text.

Realtime Board Link:

https://realtimeboard.com/app/board/o9J_k0ikdcY=/

Module 3: 21st Century Tool Review

Brainly is a fantastic app.  Got a question about an assignment or class discussion? Post it and within minutes receive a clear answer from another student. If you know your stuff down cold, you can share your hard-earned knowledge by answering questions of other students. The more you answer, the more you get, like ranks from Beginner to Genius that give you instant street-cred. Brainly’s all about giving and getting the right answer. Brainly is the place to learn, for students, by students. • Free - using the app is absolutely free of charge, • Superfast - get your answers within minutes, • 24h - unlimited access no matter where and when you need it. Download Brainly and join the world's largest social learning network!

Class Cards is an easy-to-use yet extremely effective app for boosting student engagement during lessons and discussions. Based on the book I wrote by the same name, this indispensable teaching tool will put your students in the palm of your hand. After entering the names of your students—or importing a text file list of students for each class—the app will display a randomly generated list of students. You’ll see the name of the student to call upon at the top of the list and the names of the next four students to call upon below that. (Knowing who is next enables you to better meet their needs.) There's even a holding area where you can move the name of any student who would like more time to develop a response. The six score buttons displayed on the screen enable you to easily record the quality of each student's response. Cumulative scores—shown as a percentage—can be checked at any time and can even sorted from high to low so that you'll know who deserves a pat on the back and who needs a bit of encouragement. Note: A privacy screen allows you to share scores with a student without him seeing the scores of other students.  An added feature is the ability to export scores to the secure ClassCardsApp.com website for viewing or printing. You can also email yourself scores for all classes or a selected class.

Module 3: Quality Questioning Realtime Board

Realtime Board was very beneficial when taking notes while reading through your chapters.  This is an organized way of keeping up with all thoughts, quotes, charts and much more.  I did like that there was an option that you could write a note and then cover it up with a new note.  Once you got the hang of taking the notes, it was very easy to keep reading and type the important information in one area.  You could move it around if necessary and also could show where two chapter tie together by placing a post-it in between two columns. I will definitely use this in my classroom for getting my lessons together for each unit.

Module 3: Quality Questioning Responses

Chapter 1: From the chart on page 8, which specific teacher behavior will you commit to for your future classroom? Why? Justify your answer.  I will have to commit to allowing students wait time after the question is asked and allow wait time after the student answers the question given.  This will give the other students time to understand what is being asked as well as how the question was answered.  This gives all students time to understand and comprehend the lesson going on in class.  It is important that you are always able to listen for questions because this is how students tell you if they are confused or curious about the specific topic being talked about.

Chapter 2: As a beginning teacher, explain how you might use this rubric in designing lessons and assessments in future work.  This is a very detailed rubric not only for my students to follow but allowing me to make sure that I'm asking quality questions when teaching my lessons.  This rubric gives a clear and precise concept of how to give and receive quality questions and answers.  This scoring rubric has been designed for use by teachers seeking to improve the quality of the questions they pose in the classroom.  As such, it is intended for self-assessment and improvement only.  This rubric is generic and may be adapted by individual teachers to specific content areas and/or grade levels.

Chapter 3: Which two response ideas most resonate with your teaching style?  Describe how you will implement these in your future classroom. Myself being a physical education teacher currently, I use work samples and numbered heads together.  When introducing a new topic, I allow the students to answer questions about remembering information, understanding the information being taught, and how they can apply the information.  I then offer the students individual practice on what was just taught.  For the numbered heads together, I like to put students in groups and let each other teach themselves (peer teaching). I then hold students accountable in a cooperative learning activity (group activities).  We then all review all concepts taught by giving a visual prior to testing.  We then allow the students to activate prior knowledge and experience at the beginning of a new lesson or unit.

Chapter 4: Now bring your thinking to your future classroom.  Explain how you might set these norms in your own teaching. In my classroom, I would want my students to engage and ask more question about new topics.  The more they ask, the more they learn and help other students learn.  I will be aware of the wait time after I ask a question as well as the wait time after the student answers. This is to ensure all students understand the question being asked and you're able to think about what your peer has just said.  I want my classroom to be open for discussion at any time.  They need to be able to make comments to each other digging in to what they are all trying to learn and grasp.

Chapter 5: As a new teacher, which of these responses do you think will prove most challenging in your classroom?  Explain how you will purposefully implement this challenging approach.  I think that the follow-up question to "correct" student's answers will be trying at time but it's doable.  Making sure you ask the right follow up question is crucial because it clears up any concern about the students making the connection.  This is very important because this ensures that students can expand or extend thoughts, going deeper or making new connections with their peers.

21st Century Tools

Nearpod is an app that can be used on many platforms.  It will work with Android, iPad, iPhone, iPod Touch, Nook HD, Chrome, Apps for Windows.  With a device in their hands, students are able to move through teacher-directed or self-directed interactive presentations. Immediate feedback on assessments and polls increases buy-in.  Interactive features make it possible to deepen the learning during direct instruction; assigning presentations as self-paced assignments empowers students.  The site provides real-time results and reports to monitor student progress and modify instruction. Nearpod support is extensive for all users. The company wants teacher feedback and offers regular webinars and updates on new features.  The presentations provide opportunities for skill development across the curriculum and multiple ways to improve student learning. Students can see immediate results when they draw on a map, respond to a poll question, or take a multiple-choice quiz. In addition, students can review key concepts when they watch videos or read over notes. Whether students draw key locations on a map of China, respond to a poll question on tropical forests, watch a video on how to solve a quadratic equation, review notes on the different parts of speech, or submit an open-ended response analyzing a primary document, they're interacting with the content in a meaningful way. For situations where direct instruction is a necessity, Nearpod offers a fantastic way to increase student involvement. It would be nice to see some collaborative features like a backchannel or group annotation capabilities. Also, it would be great if students could make presentations as well (the tool is only set up for teacher creation).


Write About This is an app that can be used only on IPads, this might be a downfall in some schools.  You can use this app for a substitution to their daily journals. It provides the students with a wide variety of topics to write about and they love the pictures that go along with each prompt. The app provides many different categories such as food, family, animals, places, hobbies, seasonal, careers, culture, etc. all which include numerous prompts with full-color pictures. There is also a choice to select a random prompt each day, create a prompt, and a helpful search bar to see if a prompt is already created. They create a prompt feature is easy to use and allows you to add your own picture, text, and voice recording. Students can listen to recordings if the prompt is difficult for them to read. The prompts you create are easily accessible and saved in a custom folder in the categories tab. Once the student is done responding to their prompt they can record audio, share it by email (you must select this choice in settings), or publish it. The app also has a web page to provide further support using app features, videos, and blogs with lesson ideas.

Write About This

Fun pictures and prompts are great for getting kids to start writing

Nearpod

Interactive, multimedia slideshows engage students and provide feedback

"How does instructional design impact P-12 student learning?"

My experience with instructional design is put in play daily.  Me being a physical education teacher, I demonstrate new skills while giving them precise knowledge and background.  One any particular day I will show my students skills, have them tell me if they have experienced this, and then send the students off in groups to practice.  I would then go around and assess them for their understanding of the new skill taught.  I did my PP on direct instruction and I promote this often in my classes.  As we have all gone over a lot of different instructions in this assignment, we have been exposed to many different ways of teaching.  There is not a cookie-cutter way of teaching.  Being a teacher has taught me that you have to give details or things could be missed.  I make sure my students are being taught accurately and understanding what is also being taught to them.  When you see the lightbulb go off you know you have done your job and it's so rewarding.

Direct Instruction Model

Here is the link to my presentation:

http://www.slideshare.net/secret/tAgqGXv6KHrEoN

Tool Review

In the TPACK model, you have three main domains the CK, PK and PCK and all other four are these that include technology. It is important to understand what each of these mean. In order to be a successful teacher, you have to have all these qualities about you that are represented in the TPACK model. Quizziz is a new tool I have just become acquainted with and it's super cool for the students and makes it easier on the teachers for assessments. This is a website that you can have up on your SmartBoard in your classroom. You can create different types of assessments for students. This would be a good website to use for elementary students. Each student would have their own iPad or Chromebook and be able to take the assessment and have the results in front of them after each question. Look into this, super cool. Another great tool for the classroom is SMART Boards. These combine multimedia functions with internet access and offer educational, interactive programs for teachers and students.

What is 21st Century teaching and learning?

I think 21st Century teaching is all about being very versatile when teaching the young minds of today. Our schools this day and time are multicultural and multilingual. We as teachers have to teach on an individual basis because there isn’t just one way of teaching. All teachers teach differently and some students learn differently. There’s not a cookie-cutter way of teaching. In the majority of elementary classes you, will encounter students who speak English as their second language. It’s important for you to learn about their culture so you can get to know all of your students. You must have a close relationship with all of your students so you will be able to distinguish their strengths and weaknesses. For teachers today, you have to be very technical savvy because that’s all this generation is used to. You as a teacher no longer tell the students to get their books out and answer the chapter questions. This technique should be history. In every subject today, there should be multiple ways of teaching it. It’s very important to have your students relate to the subject matter so their understanding is enhanced. Teachers today have to be very passionate about what they do because it isn’t an easy job. There are tons of responsibilities for teachers to uphold throughout every school year. Some students will have IEPs and 504s with benchmarks that you as a teacher have to make sure you are meeting these criteria. 

Essential Question

Part I - Essential Question

What is 21st Century teaching and learning?

I think 21st Century teaching is all about being very versatile when teaching the young minds of today. Our schools this day and time are multicultural and multilingual. We as teachers have to teach on an individual basis because there isn’t just one way of teaching. All teachers teach differently and some students learn differently. There’s not a cookie-cutter way of teaching. In a majority of elementary classes, you will encounter students who speak English as their second language. It’s important for you to learn about their culture so you can get to know all of your students. You must have a close relationship with all of your students so you will be able to distinguish their strengths and weaknesses. For teachers today, you have to be very technical savvy because that’s all this generation is used to. You as a teacher no longer tell the students to get their books out and answer the chapter questions. This technique should be history. In every subject today, there should be multiple ways of teaching it. It’s very important to have your students relate to the subject matter so their understanding is enhanced. Teachers today have to be very passionate about what they do because it isn’t an easy job. There are tons of responsibilities for teachers to uphold throughout every school year. Some students will have IEPs and 504s with benchmarks that you as a teacher have to make sure they are meeting.

Evernote Strategy

Part II - Evernote Strategy

Evernote impacted my learning because it shows teachers and students and easier way of taking notes.  This app. gave me a new way of getting notes together swiftly for class on a daily basis.  It’s also a very interesting way to show your students how to take quality notes during class.  If you teach at a middle or high school they might even let you use your phone and it will automatically be on your laptop when you get home too.  This helps you share notes with other teachers too.  This is to ensure that all teachers are teaching the most important and crucial information to their students.  The website and app. are very user-friendly.  It gives you options to take notes or take a photo of the text that you want to save in your notebook on Evernote.

Evernote was very interesting.  This was the first time using the app. and I found it very useful.  You are able to have all of your important notes at your fingertips instead of writing and typing what information is important for you to use on a response.  For your classroom, you are able to share important information through Evernote easily.  Just snap a photo of important information and you will have it in a specific notebook readily available at your fingertips.  It is so much quicker to go through the text and choose only the most imperative things to go over with your class.  I’m glad we were introduced to the new app. because I had never heard of it.  This will save teachers a lot of time getting notes together for class every day.

Introduction

Hello all!!!  My name is Megan Hester and I grew up in Calera, AL.  I am married and have a very loving and energetic daughter named Aubri Lane.  She is my world.  Currently, I am getting my Master’s in elementary education. I graduated from UAB in 2013 with a BS in Physical Education.  I have the honor to work at Centre Elementary as the physical education teacher.  I have been there for almost three years and love it!  I love teaching my kids.  My career aspirations are to give my students a positive experience in my classroom, be a positive role model, encourage their little minds, and always continue learning.  I’m interested in learning new technology to bring in my classroom. I do have a twitter account only because I had to set one up while at UAB.  I really don’t know a lot about twitter but the upcoming assignment should put things into perspective for me.  I do have Facebook to keep up with my friends and family.  I would like to learn about Smart Boards because I know that classroom teachers really enjoy them.  I do use technology in my classroom (the gym).  I have a projector and 15x15 screen that allows me to show my students anything I need to from my computer.  We are able to play the Wii fit, dance to videos, listen to music, or show them instructional videos.  I have a MacBook Pro and love it.  I also have an iPad, iPad mini for my daughter, and an iPhone.  I’m excited about this semester!  Good luck everyone!