Virginia

"We are Going on a Field Trip!" March 20

Please identify and describe curricular connections to this trip. If you were planning this trip how would you connect it to the curriculum? – This trip can easily be connected to many different types of curriculum. I would integrate Social Studies because of the study of a culture and geographic location. I would also connect it to math by using the Moravian cooking as a way to practice fractions through measuring and adding. Science could be easily integrated because of the gardens. We could discuss plant growth, the needs of such living organisms, etc.

What sorts of pre-activities would you do? – Before the field trip I would definitely introduce my students to the Moravian culture that is so prevalent at Old Salem. I would split the class into groups and have each group do a little research about a particular aspect of Moravian culture. This may need to be done during computer lab time. Some groups would be asked to research Moravian religious traditions. Other research assignments would include Moravian food, architecture, dress, the arts/trades, etc. The day of the field trip, before departing, I would have each group report their findings to the class in a simple, oral presentation. Then I would have each student write a few predictions about what they think Old Salem will be like.

What would you do while you and your students were traveling to and from the site? – I would instruct students to share their predictions with their seat partner on the way to the site. On the way home, they could reflect on whether or not those predictions came true, and discuss what surprised them about the trip.

What will you do once you are there? Will you rely only on the curriculum provided by the location? - I would definitely want the class to do a tour of the gardens. I think the horticulturalist could be very helpful in making connections between the Moravian culture and what our class learns in Science. I would also want the class to participate in an “Experience Tour” so they could hear about life in the 18th and 19th centuries and also participate in hands-on activities. Lastly, I would want the students to have at least one hour to stroll around with their group leader (parent chaperone) who would be prepared to ask questions and help students make further observations about the people, buildings, food, etc. I would encourage them to try some of the food for a snack.

What will you do when you return to your classroom? - After returning to the classroom, I would have the students write a journal entry about their experience at Old Salem. I would ask for them to describe their favorite part of the trip and explain at least 2 things they learned. I would also hope that they include a reflection about their predictions. Then I would facilitate a class discussion with guided questions.

Virginia McMillan March 8th

CONTENT (Math, Science, Literacy, Social Studies) This math lesson plan is most appropriate for the upper grades of elementary school. The goal of this lesson is for students to accurately estimate and record data, and then present that data in an appropriate way. For this lesson, students will individually estimate/record the amount of time they spend playing video games each week. Then, together we will calculate the total amount of time the class spends playing video games each week, and ultimately calculate how much time the class spends watching video games in a year. I would try to integrate as many other subject areas as well, like Social Studies, Science and Language Arts.

PEDAGOGY: I would start the lesson by facilitating a class discussion about time spent playing video games. (Prior to this lesson, students would have been recording this information each day for an entire week). I would ask students to share how many minutes per day they spent playing video games and then have them calculate (independently) how much total time they spent playing video games that week. I would do a quick review of conversions if necessary, and also help them convert their individual data to time spent playing video games for an entire year. Then, on the board, I would create a table listing all of their data. Students would convert the table to a bar graph on their own papers; using these graphs we could make comparisons between different students’ amount of time spent playing video games in a year. As a class, we would then add all the times on the table to calculate how much total time the class spends playing video games in a year. To elaborate or extend this lesson, I would have students write some conclusions in their math journals. I would prompt their journal entries by asking students to look back at their bar graphs for guidance. We could also reflect on the lesson by reading an article or a book about the impact of time spent playing video games.

TECHNOLOGY: After students convert the table to a bar graph on their own papers, we could use [|Easy Chart] to present create a graph altogether and then analyze the information.

SUSTAINABILITY: This lesson is closely related to sustainability and global awareness because we would discuss how the amount of time spent playing video games impacts the environment. We would discuss the use of energy, and generate ideas about how to spend our time in ways that are better for our long-term health.

Assessment: I would collect the students' individual graphs to assess their understanding. I would also make note of their methods of recording data for the week. Other Media: We could read this [|Article] about the affects of video games on children. This would integrate literacy and also allow for a good transition to our sustainability discussion.

"Please describe your student interview about number sense? What questions did you ask? What did you determine? How did you record their responses? Were you surprised in any way about the their mathematical thinking?"

For the number sense interview I observed and worked with a kindergarten student at Speas Elementary School. recorded my observations in my observation logbook. My student is five years old, and what I learned about him is that he has some number sense, but also struggles to grasp many basic mathematical concepts. I knew he was in "Group C" for Language Arts, but I was unaware that his academic struggle largely included math as well. To elaborate, when provided with a small list of numbers, all between zero and thirty, this student could order numbers least to greatest as well as greatest to least. However, when asked more specifically what each digit within each two-digit number represented, he became very confused. Evidently, he has not mastered the concept of place value. More specifically, when I asked him how many ones were in the number 29, he gave me a blank stare.

Furthermore, he had difficulty with the concept of “adding on”. For example, when we were using counters, if I added or took away counters and asked the student what the new amount was, he would start counting again from one, rather than adding or taking away from the number we had already established. Lastly, he does not have the ability to estimate reasonably, especially with larger numbers. Significantly large numbers seemed to mean nothing to him in terms of estimation. For example, when I showed him two pictures, (one of a full gumball machine and one of a pile of pennies) he hesitated and obviously struggled to guess whether there were more pennies or gumballs. Ultimately, he guessed that there were more gumballs than pennies, which was correct, but I would have expected him to easily come to that conclusion, which he did not. This outcome was surprising to me.

Overall, I was not surprised that this student struggled so much in mathematics, given that he also struggles to read and write. However, my observations led me to ask several questions. How can a student already be so far behind his classmates at such a young age? I have to believe that the lack of parental involvement in his household is the main contributor to his struggle. This student entered Kindergarten with hardly any previous exposure to math skills, and it is evident in his work. I hope that after my math methods course, I will walk away with the tools and skills that will allow me to confidently approach the problems that arise with such a student.

"Establish a question first...What is?...How do? and then answer/talk about how you would scaffold students in answering it in your connections below." February 6, 2012

Question: How many hours per week do you spend eating?

CONTENT: Competency goal #2 of the standard course of study for 1st graders in North Carolina requires that students develop an understanding of the concept of time. The question “How many hours per week do you spend eating” is related to competency goal #2 because through answering this question, students would hopefully be able to solve problems involving applications of time (clock and calendar). This lesson involves real-world application of knowledge and would allow for the integration of other subjects such as science (nutrition) and literature.

PEDAGOGY: To guide my students toward reaching an answer to this question, I would first attempt to activate prior knowledge by asking them to write in their journals what they ate for breakfast. Depending on their success with this task, I would then challenge them to write down what they ate for dinner the night before. I would also want to activate their prior knowledge about telling time. This assignment would help to initiate a class discussion about our daily meals and how much time we spend eating. This discussion would provide an opportunity to introduce nutrition in several different ways such as reading a book or watching a Magic School Bus movie ( [|Nutrition Book] or [|Nutrition Book 2] ). I would explain to the students that I wanted to find out how much time each of them spent eating each week.

Throughout the course of a week, students would record their time spent eating. They could either time their meals or record the starting and stopping times (rounded to the nearest half hour) of each meal. I would also ask them to make note of every time they had a snack. I would promote creativity for this part of the assignment by allowing students to record their data however they like: in a chart, table, a journal, etc. Throughout the data collection process, I would continue with a unit on nutrition involving activities about where our food comes from and how we should approach the different food groups. At the end of the data collection process, students would turn in their data and use their knowledge of adding and subtracting time to determine their total number of hours spent eating. Then we would combine our total amount of time spent eating and create a way to present our findings as a class.

TECHNOLOGY: To incorporate technology, students could use the [|Easy Charts HD] application on the iPad to present their findings. They could also develop greater technological skills with the basic calculator as they add up their hours spent eating.

SUSTAINABILITY: Sustainability can easily become an important part of this assignment because of the ability to emphasize nutrition. By learning about where food comes from and how it is grown and transported across the country, students learn about the environment and our resources. As a class we could focus on the impact we have as consumers of food.

Assessment: To assess the students’ work, I would collect their data sheets and evaluate the accuracy of their addition of time and their methods of recording and displaying their data.

Mobile Apps: []

Other Media: This [|game] would be a great way to activate prior knowledge at the start of the lesson/unit and review how to tell time. Another more challenging way to engage the students and activate their prior knowledge is by playing this word problem [|game]. Lastly, a Magic School Bus movie about nutrition and food would add to this unit.

"Less Than, More Than- Abundance and Scarcity"

Math Methods, January 31, 2012

The information from our “Less Than, More Than” assignment can easily be transferred to an elementary classroom and relate to many different subject areas. One way to implement the topic of scarcity and abundance into elementary math is to have students make observations and gather data regarding the scarcity and abundance of objects or resources in their classroom or school. This assignment will promote a better understanding of numbers and their relation to one another. Students can use “Create a Graph” to create data tables or bar graphs to represent what they observed on their campus ([]). It may also be beneficial to ask the students to represent material on a number line.

Furthermore, this assignment can integrate science because students could make predictions about what would happen if there was less or more of a certain resource that they observed. For example, they could make predictions about how the fish population in their class fish tank would change depending on the amount of food provided. Regarding the literacy component, students could write journal entries about their predictions or they could read articles about resources and fish species and populations such as this one ([]).

I think the topic of scarcity and abundance allows for a great unit in the classroom. It enables students to engage in collaborative and hands on activities. The material in the lessons relates to sustainability because students can make observations over time and continue to reflect on those observations as the unit progresses. They can discuss or write about ways for populations to sustain with or without given resources. Lastly, a good way for the students to reflect on their discoveries and knowledge is to create a way to express their knowledge to others. One way to do this is through Prezi ([]). Sharing knowledge with others promotes greater interest and pride for a student in his or her own work and enables students to consider alternate perspectives or outcomes to what they’ve concluded.