November 15
7:45- 11:15
Fridays in ELA are book share days. The first student who did a book share used PowerPoint. This presentation was more interesting than last week’s as the student used pictures in it. She included a picture of the book and the author. The one thing that needed to be paid more attention to was the completion of the entire slide. One slide was left uncompleted. The students seem more interested in watching the book shares where their classmates presented using PowerPoint; however not all students seem comfortable enough with it to present themselves using it. Some of the students who did not present with technology showed that they did use it through printed pictures on their posters.
After ELA the entire 6th grade watched a movie to emphases plot line. The movie that was shown in the classroom I was observing was Toy Story 3. The movie was shown through the SMART Board. After the movie the different elements of the plot were discussed. The use of the movie was good but because it was long the students stopped being active learners. It would have been better to watch a short clip of a movies or a short film to get a plot to discuss. I think the purpose of the movie was lost on some students due to its length.
Today's Time: 3.75 hours
Total Time: 10.5 hours
Saturday, November 6, 2010
November 11-3
November 11-3
7:45 – 9:15
Everyday attendance is taken throughout the school on School Master. This is a great quick and easy way to communicate with the office who is in school each day. Each student was given a project to create a snow house based on the book they finished last week. The snow houses were to be created out of different objects they found around the house. A way technology could have been used for this project would be to have the students create the snow houses using imaging software or Photoshop. The would of allowed the students to still create the same designed but it would have used technology. Using technology would have also made the project easier to transport. Two projects were presented this morning. After the presentations the class discussed different elements of literature. Then part of a story called “Bud, Not Buddy,” was read to discuss the concept of inference. Ms. Bliss mentioned that all of the stories in the textbook were on a CD but she does not currently know where the CD is located. Listening to the CD would have taken this lesson activity from a normal read aloud to one that includes technology. It would switch the routine of a read aloud up also. The students spent the second half of the period typing a final copy of a story that they wrote. Some of the students stayed in the room and used the computer and others left the room to use them. Some of the students went to the TLC (Teaching Learning Center) where there are more computers plus SMART Boards. I would call it a mini computer lab. For the most part the students were well versed in how to use Microsoft word and how to format in it. The school computers are currently running on Windows XP with Office 2007.
Today's Time: 1.5 Hours
Total TIme: 6.75
7:45 – 9:15
Everyday attendance is taken throughout the school on School Master. This is a great quick and easy way to communicate with the office who is in school each day. Each student was given a project to create a snow house based on the book they finished last week. The snow houses were to be created out of different objects they found around the house. A way technology could have been used for this project would be to have the students create the snow houses using imaging software or Photoshop. The would of allowed the students to still create the same designed but it would have used technology. Using technology would have also made the project easier to transport. Two projects were presented this morning. After the presentations the class discussed different elements of literature. Then part of a story called “Bud, Not Buddy,” was read to discuss the concept of inference. Ms. Bliss mentioned that all of the stories in the textbook were on a CD but she does not currently know where the CD is located. Listening to the CD would have taken this lesson activity from a normal read aloud to one that includes technology. It would switch the routine of a read aloud up also. The students spent the second half of the period typing a final copy of a story that they wrote. Some of the students stayed in the room and used the computer and others left the room to use them. Some of the students went to the TLC (Teaching Learning Center) where there are more computers plus SMART Boards. I would call it a mini computer lab. For the most part the students were well versed in how to use Microsoft word and how to format in it. The school computers are currently running on Windows XP with Office 2007.
Today's Time: 1.5 Hours
Total TIme: 6.75
October 29
10/29 8:30 – 10
Today I observed the second half of ELA and math class. In ELA the students presented their book shares. The class is participating in a 25 book campaign so they are all reading books and present them on Fridays. The students had different options on the way they could present. One student chose to present her project with a PowerPoint. During her presentation she used a pointed to highlight the main points. It was done in the same manner as I saw this summer at FRES. The PowerPoint was fairly basic, as it did not have any pictures or animations. It did however stray from the basic slide format of just the title and some information on the bottom. It utilized the information side-by-side format and some slides did not follow the templates. These changes worked for the presentation and it was executed nicely. The four other students who presented did not use technology.
After ELA was math. Math started off with the students organizing their portfolios for their student led conferences. After the portfolios the students did a warm-up using the SMART Board. The students then used the white boards to show the class their work. The SMART board could have been used to solve these problems. She could of also hidden the answers on the board so that the answer could be revealed after the students showed their work. After the warm-up the board was used to do practice problems.
Today's Time: 1.5
Total Time:5.25
Today I observed the second half of ELA and math class. In ELA the students presented their book shares. The class is participating in a 25 book campaign so they are all reading books and present them on Fridays. The students had different options on the way they could present. One student chose to present her project with a PowerPoint. During her presentation she used a pointed to highlight the main points. It was done in the same manner as I saw this summer at FRES. The PowerPoint was fairly basic, as it did not have any pictures or animations. It did however stray from the basic slide format of just the title and some information on the bottom. It utilized the information side-by-side format and some slides did not follow the templates. These changes worked for the presentation and it was executed nicely. The four other students who presented did not use technology.
After ELA was math. Math started off with the students organizing their portfolios for their student led conferences. After the portfolios the students did a warm-up using the SMART Board. The students then used the white boards to show the class their work. The SMART board could have been used to solve these problems. She could of also hidden the answers on the board so that the answer could be revealed after the students showed their work. After the warm-up the board was used to do practice problems.
Today's Time: 1.5
Total Time:5.25
October 28 7:45-11:15
The teacher that I’m observing teaches both 6th grade ELA and math at Marcus Whitman. The day started out with ELA with an organization check and then it moved to a circle chat on the book Maroo. Without knowing how else the book was taught I think that this was the best way to share the students thoughts and journals. To add technology to this lesson I would have had the students keep an online journal instead of in their notebooks. With an online journal or a blog it would be easier for the students to make changes to their writing. During the second half of the ELA class the students created a Venn diagram comparing the characters in Maroo to the lives of Early Man. The diagram was done as a class on the SMART Board. The SMART Board worked well for this activity despite its current technical difficulties. The board is currently not aligning properly. Ms. Bliss said that they have had a technician in to look at the board but they have not been able to fix it yet. I watched her align the board and it became worse than it was before the alignment. The students were split between whether they used their fingers to write on the board or whether they used the pens.
After the ELA double period was math and the SMART Board was used in this lesson to do the warm up question and notes. After the students completed the warm up questions in their seats they were called up to do it on the SMART Board for the class. This activity allows different students to interact with the technology. After the warm-up questions the SMART Board was used for instruction and notes. It was the first day that 2 step equations were covered. The students’ notes were pre typed and Ms. Bliss added to them during the period.
The last group that I observed was the same class as the first one, ELA with different students. The class followed the same format as the first one and started with the discussion circle. During the circle the students discussed the difference between the characters in the book and the lives of people today. The topic of technology today came up in the discussion and students mentioned that early man would not know what to do with today’s devices. Then the class moved onto the Venn diagram. This time the SMART board acted up even more after it was realigned and this caused the students to not be able to write on the board. Until this problem with the board is fixed the students are not able to fully use the technology that is present in their classroom.
Todays time: 3.75 hours
Total Time: 3.75 hours
After the ELA double period was math and the SMART Board was used in this lesson to do the warm up question and notes. After the students completed the warm up questions in their seats they were called up to do it on the SMART Board for the class. This activity allows different students to interact with the technology. After the warm-up questions the SMART Board was used for instruction and notes. It was the first day that 2 step equations were covered. The students’ notes were pre typed and Ms. Bliss added to them during the period.
The last group that I observed was the same class as the first one, ELA with different students. The class followed the same format as the first one and started with the discussion circle. During the circle the students discussed the difference between the characters in the book and the lives of people today. The topic of technology today came up in the discussion and students mentioned that early man would not know what to do with today’s devices. Then the class moved onto the Venn diagram. This time the SMART board acted up even more after it was realigned and this caused the students to not be able to write on the board. Until this problem with the board is fixed the students are not able to fully use the technology that is present in their classroom.
Todays time: 3.75 hours
Total Time: 3.75 hours
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)