Technology Lesson Plans

One of our computers isn't working and this one does not have Word. I saved my lesson plans as a PDF from my Mac program.

http://docs.google.com/fileview?id=0Bw_kbhTI6FBcYjkyNDFiNWEtODEyZi00MGJlLTlmMjgtNDQ1MTU4N2VjMTI1&hl=en

The most important reason I can see for technology in the classroom is that it inspires the students. I have seen this time and time again. They are attracted to technology because it is so much a part of their culture. This week the Promethean Board was set up in our classroom and it has made such an improvement. The students love it. It is new and exciting, so they will do anything to get a chance. I have never seen them so quiet and attentive before during math! Technology makes them want to learn. And unfortunately, our class is geared to a math program that has a strange set-up. It has been hard to get students to grasp the concept in a way that prepares them for their tests and workbooks. Now we are able to set up our lessons to be taught in the way that they are being assessed so students better understand the material. Technology is a great motivating tool in the classroom.

We got our Promethean board today. I am really excited, so now I get to figure out how to use it alongside my mentor teacher. She was showing me a little bit of what she has created for it, and we are almost as excited as the students to use it in class. They were oohing and aahing as soon as the peered into the classroom and saw it replacing the white board. As soon as the cables are all wired safely into the wall, we will begin using it for instruction and I will get to experiment with it.

I did all of this week's assignment.

Technology in Science

6th Grade Science

CONTENT

Standard 3-Students will understand the relationship and attributes of objects in the solar system. Objective 2- Describe the use of technology to observe objects in the solar system and relate this to science's understanding of the solar system.

And I will be tying this curriculum in with Social Studies Standard 1-Students will understand how ancient civilizations developed and how they contributed to the current state of the world. Objective 2-Evaluate how religion has played a central role in human history from ancient times to today.

PEDAGOGY

Students will be working in parnerships to explore the night sky using Stellarium. After completing their partner work they will be sharing their projects with the rest of the class. This is a good fit for the content because students will get time to explore the objects in the solar system. They will choose which constellation or object to focus their group project on. Many of these stars tell the stories of the ancient Greek mythologies. Their group projects will tell the story of a specific myth/constellation, about it's location in the sky, and how/if we will be able to see it.

TECHNOLOGY

Stellarium is a great resource for this lesson/project. It allows for students to explore and to be intrigued by the constellation pictures with the overlay. The pictures are intriguing and will help students to select the one they want to discuss. Students will also be able to find out how to locate this constellation in the night sky; some will be only seen in the southern hemisphere. This technology will make the project fun and more applicable to the students.

Malorie- her tour made me want to go to New Zealand even more than I already do!

Ashley- she made an ancient civilizations tour. I bet 6th graders would really enjoy this ancient civilizations tour!

Whitney- she created a tour of health services in the area. It was really useful and well put together. I appreciated that it was so different than anything else I saw.

Human Rights Tour.kmz