Lesson 3: Evaluating Podcasts, Videocasts,Digital Stories


Hello, 3rd graders!



What are we doing today?

Today we have 2 goals:

• Content goal: We will discover more about animal and insect habitats by taking a field trip to the Richardson Nature Center.



• Language goal: We will make predictions about the animals, insects and habitats we think we will see on our field trip to the Richardson Nature Center.
  

..............................................................

REVIEW THESE IMPORTANT WORDS:

• habitat: the place a plant, animal, insect, or other living thing lives in nature

Some examples of habitats are: woodlands, ponds, meadows, marshes, lakes, deserts, mountains, caves, tropical forests, prairies...and many more.

• prediction: a guess about what you think will happen

Examples: I predict it will rain today. I predict we will learn a lot about habitats on our field trip.

..................................................

Your job today:

• Review the important words habitat and prediction above.


• Go to the Richardson Nature Center page on our class wiki.

To get to our class wiki, click on this link: http://mswilsonsellworkspace.pbworks.com/.

Then, go down to Student Response Pages and click on Field Trips.

Then, click on Richardson Nature Center.

• Listen to the podcast about the Richardson Nature Center on our wiki page.


• Follow the steps at the end of the podcast and on the wiki page to make 3 predictions about what you think we will see at the Richardson Nature Center.


• Post your 3 predictions on our Richardson Nature Center wiki page.

......................................................

Excellent work! I am excited to read your predictions for our fabulous field trip to the Richardson Nature Center!
-- Ms. Wilson






---------------------------------------------------------
Lesson Overview:

Students: 3rd grade ELLs, of varying language and cultural backgrounds
English language level: Intermediate ESL
Lesson time: 1 hour in classroom with laptops (one per student, includes one pair of headphones per laptop)
Class location environment: This lesson will be taught in the ELL or mainstream classroom, depending on the ELL model in place (pull out/collaboration). Each student will work individually, and will start by sitting down at an assigned laptop (which will be open to our class blog), reading over the start-up directions and checklist for the day, and getting started.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Lesson Review:

How will you use this resource to meet the needs of your instructional purposes?

Content goal: We will discover more about animal and insect habitats by taking a field trip to the Richardson Nature Center.

Language goal: We will make predictions about the animals, insects and habitats we think we will see on our field trip to the Richardson Nature Center.

The blog/wiki/podcast combination used in this lesson meets the instructional goals by:

• First, the blog provides students with a review and examples of the important words used in this lesson.
• Then, the wiki provides a photo slide show of the Richardson Nature Center to help build some background.
• The link to the podcast is also on the wiki page, as well as a scaffold for students needing support to comprehend the podcast: a link to the podcast’s script.
• The content of the podcast provides background knowledge on what a nature center is, what a pond habitat is, and what a visit to the nature center entails. The podcast also gives explicit instructions for making predictions, and provides sentence frames for students to use as a guide for their predictions.
• The wiki page reiterates the prediction instructions, including the questions and sentence frames. It also lays out the directions for how to post to the wiki page, and offers an example of what the completed predictions should look like.
• By the end of the lesson, students will have posted their three predictions about animals, insects and habitats on the class wiki, thus beginning to discover more about animal and insect habitats.

What handouts or directions will you provide students to focus learning and adapt this resource for your instructional goals?

• Each student will have the start-up directions and a checklist on a half sheet of paper:
• Sit down at your assigned laptop.
• Read the information for Lesson 3. When it tells you to, go to our class wiki page and listen to the podcast about the Richardson Nature Center.
• Make your 3 predictions after you listen to the podcast, and post them on our Richardson Nature Center wiki page.
• Checklist: (to be marked with an “x” when completed) I am sitting at my assigned laptop. I read the goals for this lesson. I understand what habitat means. I understand what prediction means. I read all of the information for Lesson 3. I listened to the podcast about the Richardson Nature Center on our class wiki page. I posted my 3 predictions on our class wiki page.
  

Are the format, organization, design and language level of this resource appropriate for your instructional goals?

Format and design:

I think the blog’s reading format is appropriate for the goals of this lesson because it is separated into short, thematic text sections with pictures and text size to scaffold and aid in comprehension. The format of the Richardson Nature Center’s wiki page also includes photos, the podcast, and short text sections, which I think help guide ELLs in completing the assigned task.

Organization:

The blog’s organization is very sequential, based on the goals and background knowledge needed to complete the prediction assignment. The organization of the wiki is fairly straight forward; however students do need to follow a few links to finally arrive at the Richardson Nature Center page.

Language level:

I think the language level of the blog, wiki pages, and podcast is appropriate for the targeted students, as most of the words are tier 1 or tier 2. More challenging words or concepts, such as habitat and predicting, are scaffolded with definitions, examples and visual aids.

What are the potential problems, either language based or technical, that you may need to troubleshoot or prepare for?

Language-based problems: The success of this lesson depends on students’ listening and reading comprehension of the podcast, podcast script, and the directions. Although the podcast is not very long and includes a lot of voice inflection and questions to hold students’ attention, it is still possible for students to zone out or get lost while listening (even if they have the script in front of them). However, I think assignments that require independent work can be great practice for ELLs because they can go at their own pace, and have the option to listen to all or part of the podcast as many times as they need to.

Technical problems: Posting to the wiki page could still pose a challenge for some students because it requires so many steps: first you need to login, then find the next available posting space by going to the very bottom of all of the posts, then change the font/color/size/style, then perhaps comment on a friend’s post, then publish. It could be easy to get confused or lost in the middle of all of those posting steps. I will be around to help students who have trouble, and hopefully after the first few times posting, students will get the hang of it.

Lesson/Review 2: Evaluating and Using Web 2.0

Lesson/Review 2: Evaluating and Using Web 2.0


Hello 3rd grade students!

What are we doing today?


Today we have two goals:

Content goal: We will write a reflection to tell about our field trip to the Como Zoo.

Language goal: We will summarize our thoughts using a 3-2-1 thinking map.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
But first...... what is a reflection?

A reflection (or reflecting) is thinking about your experiences.

When we reflect about something, we can ask ourselves questions, like:

• What did you like about it?
  
• What didn't you like about it?


• Did you make any connections between this new experience and something you already knew or had done before?


• Would you want to have this experience again?
  
• How did you feel while you had this experience?


• If you could go back and change something about this experience, what would you change?

When we reflect on our experiences, it helps us to make sense of what we think and feel.

When some people reflect on an experience, they visualize looking into a mirror and seeing their thoughts written out in words. Does that help you? Try it! Think about how you are feeling today. Pretend you are looking into a mirror and that you can see your thoughts in words. What words would you see? Happy, sad, mad, tired, hungry....?
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Did you ever notice that you have LOTS of ideas and thoughts in your mind?
For example, if someone asks you what you did yesterday, there are probably many things you could say. But, you don't always need to or have time to give all of the details.

That's why we use summarizing!


Summarizing means telling only the most important part(s) of something.

When you are reflecting on an experience, it can be helpful to summarize your thoughts or ideas into three, two or even just one important point.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Here is your job for today:

We will use summarizing to help us reflect on our field trip to the Como Zoo.

1. First, think about this question: What did you enjoy about the field trip?


2. Now, summarize your thoughts by picking 3 things you enjoyed the most.


3. Share those 3 things with your partner.


4. Next, think about this question: What did you learn at the Como Zoo?


5. Now, summarize your thoughts by picking 2 of the most important things you learned.


6. Share those 2 things with your partner.


7. Last, think about this question: Would you change anything or do anything differently if you went on this field trip again?


8. Now, summarize your thoughts by picking 1 thing you would definitely change about the field trip.
   
9. Share that 1 thing with your partner.

******************************************************

You are ready to post your reflection on our class PB Wiki page!

Click here to go to our PB Wiki: http://mswilsonsellworkspace.pbworks.com/

• Go down to Student Response Pages


• Look for Field Trips


• Click on the word "here". This will take you to a new page.


• Then, click on Como Zoo. This will take you to our Como Zoo page.
  
• Read the instructions, and post your reflection. :-)
  

Happy Reflecting!!

Ms. Wilson





ooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

Lesson Overview:

Students: 3rd grade ELLs, of varying language and cultural backgrounds
English language level: Intermediate ESL
Lesson time: 1 hour in classroom with laptops (one per pair of students for reading, then one per student for reflection posting)
Class Location environment: This lesson will be taught in the ESL or mainstream classroom, depending on the ESL model in place (pull out/collaboration). Students will be paired with another student of their choosing, since it is important they feel comfortable with their partner for paired sharing of thoughts and ideas. Laptops will be open to the class blogs, but students will start the lesson in whole group to receive instructions/checklist handout and choose a partner. Once at the laptop stations, students will follow instructions as laid out on handout. When students are ready to go on to the class wiki page, each student will be given their own laptop to work on.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Lesson Review:

How will you use this resource to meet the needs of your instructional purposes?
Content goal: We will write a reflection to tell about our field trip to the Como Zoo.

Language goal: We will summarize our thoughts using a 3-2-1 thinking map.

The blog/wiki combo of this lesson meets the instructional purposes by:
· First, providing students with background knowledge on reflecting and summarizing to prepare them to do both (info on blog).
· Then, providing students with directed questions to help them think about their experiences, time to practice summarizing their thoughts into 3, 2, or 1 main point(s), and an opportunity to share their summarized reflective thoughts out loud with a partner. (blog)
· After students have used think-pair-share to help them summarize and reflect upon their experience at the Como Zoo, an example of a 3-2-1 reflection is provided on the wiki Como Zoo page to model what their posted reflection could look like. Explicit instructions are posted on the page to guide students through posting their reflections.
· By the end of the lesson, students will have summarized their thoughts both orally and in writing, and will have posted their reflection on the class wiki.

What handouts or directions will you provide students to focus learning and adapt this resource for your instructional resources?
· Each student will have the start-up directions and a checklist on a half sheet of paper:
o Choose a partner to work with, then go to a laptop.
o Read the information for Lesson 2. When it tells you to, share your ideas with your partner.
o When you get to the end of the blog, raise your hand and I will bring you another laptop so both you and your partner can post your reflections.
o Checklist: (to be marked with an “x” when completed) I have a partner and we are sitting at a laptop. I read the goals for this lesson. I understand what reflecting means. I understand what summarizing means. My partner and I read all of the information for Lesson 2. My partner and I shared our “3-2-1” ideas about Como Zoo out loud with each other. I posted my reflection on our class wiki.

Are the format, organization, design and language level of this resource appropriate for your instructional goals?
· Format and design: I think the blog’s reading format is appropriate for the goals of this lesson because it is separated into short, thematic text sections with pictures and text size to scaffold and aid in comprehension. The Como Zoo wiki page’s format also includes photos and short text sections, which I think help guide ELLs in completing the assigned task.
· Organization: The blog’s organization is very sequential, based on the goals and background knowledge needed to complete the reflection assignment. The organization of the wiki is fairly straight forward; however students do need to follow a few links to finally arrive at the Como Zoo page.
· Language level: I think the language level of both the blog and wiki pages is appropriate for the targeted students, as most of the words are tier 1 or tier 2. Harder words or concepts, such as reflecting and summarizing, are scaffolded with definitions, examples and visual aids.

What are the potential problems, either language based or technical that you may need to troubleshoot or prepare for?
· Language-based problems: This lesson is very text-heavy, so students who are less-confident readers or who have trouble with reading comprehension may struggle to complete the reading section. I would love to be able to record myself reading the Lesson 2 info from the blog, and have audio buttons students could click on the blog itself. I hope to find a tool or plug-in that makes this possible soon!
· Technical problems: Posting to the wiki page could be tricky, because students will need to login, then find the next available posting space by going to the very bottom of all of the posts, then they will probably want to change the font/color/size/style, then perhaps comment on a friend’s post, then publish. There are a lot of steps, and lots of potential to get confused or lost. I will be around to help students who have trouble, and hopefully after the first few times posting, students will get the hang of it.

Lesson 1/Review 1: Evaluating and Using Websites

Butterflies and Word Chunking Lesson

Hello students!

Here is what we are doing today:

• First, watch a video to show you how to “chunk” a word. Click here to watch the video: http://www.starfall.com/n/skills/chunking/load.htm?f
• Click the Back arrow as soon as the video is over to come back to this page.


• After you watch the video, practice “chunking” these words out loud with a partner:

-Ba / na / na --> banana

-Colorful

-Monkey

-Computer

-Students

• Now work with your partner to read the Butterflies handout out loud.

When you come to a word you don’t know, underline it with a colored pencil, and then “chunk” it! Use your colored pencil to draw lines in the word to show how you “chunk” it, like this: ba/na/na.

• Both you and your partner should read out loud and “chunk” the words. You will each have your own paper to write on.


• When you finish reading, write 3 of the new words you learned how to read on your word wall.


• Then, turn your Butterflies paper in to the teacher.


• Last, you can play the Blending Bowl game to make words. Click here to play: http://pbskids.org/lions/games/blending.html

------------------------------------------------------------------------

Overview:

Students:

1st grade ELLs, of varying language and cultural backgrounds

English language level: Intermediate ESL

Lesson time: 1 hour in classroom with laptops (one per pair of students)

Class Location environment: This lesson will be taught in the ESL or mainstream classroom, depending on the ESL model in place (pull out/collaboration). Students will be paired with another student at a similar or slightly higher reading level for this activity. Laptops will be open to the class blogs, but students will start the lesson in whole group for modeling of the lesson. Once at the laptop stations, students will click on video link, and then follow the remaining steps to complete the lesson.

----------------------------------------------------------------------------
Review of Lesson and Web Resource:

How will you use this resource to meet the needs of your instructional
purposes?
Starfall’s video on chunking words is a great activity to build phonemic awareness and reading fluency among emergent readers because it models the strategy and offers opportunities for interactive guided practice. Students then use the chunking strategy to help them read a nonfiction text on butterflies as a part of a unit on insects.


What handouts or directions will you provide students to focus learning
and adapt this resource for your instructional resources?
I will provide a handout of the Butterflies reading to each student, so they can demonstrate how they are chunking words by drawing separator lines between chunks (ba/na/na). Students will also have their personal word wall handouts out, so they can add 3 new words from the reading. After they turn in their reading handouts, I will look over how well they used word chunking, and will use this information to modify/adjust the next day’s lesson. The students will then get their reading handouts back, and will add them to their insect unit resource folder, so the information is accessible to them at any point in the future.

Are the format, organization, design and language level of this resource
appropriate for your instructional goals?
The resource I chose for this lesson is Starfall, which is a website geared towards emerging readers. The video on chunking words provides audio and pictorial scaffolds for students, and is interactive. The video’s introductory song has a very fast tempo, and will probably be difficult for many intermediate ELLs to understand, but the speed of the rest of the video is determined by the student’s mouse clicks. The video includes some of the words students will see in the Butterflies reading, as well as other common Tier 2 words, which helps students practice the skill.

What are the potential problems, either language based or technical that
you may need to troubleshoot or prepare for?
One potential language based problem that could arise is that emerging readers may have difficulty independently reading and understanding the lesson directions posted on the blog. I would love to include audio clips of me (or a student) reading the directions for each step. I will also model each step for students on a projector prior to sending students to their partner work stations.

One potential technical problem is that the Starfall video opens in the same window as the blog, so students need to click the back button on the browser to return to the blog after the video. Also, at the end of the video, there is an arrow that brings the viewer back to a page filled with Starfall stories and other videos. I will have to explicitly communicate what students should do as soon as the video ends to continue with the day’s lesson.

Hello and Welcome!

Hello everyone!

My name is Andrea and I am an ESL teacher at an elementary school, where I work mostly with kindergarten through third graders. I really enjoy my students, who come from many different language and cultural backgrounds. The largest language group represented among my students is Spanish-speaking, with high numbers of students also speaking Somali, Russian, Vietnamese, Laotian, and several North African languages.

In my ESL classes, we focus on learning academic English language skills through science and social studies content. We have had a lot of fun exploring the five senses, life cycles, and global communities. I am looking forward to learning more about how to use technology to enhance and support student learning.

Thanks for visiting my blog! :-)