Final Project

 

Final Project

Judy Nunez

Glendale Adventist Elementary School

Second Grade

Title: iPad Mini-Penguin Unit

Objective: To learn about penguins, practice reading, and make a report

Materials:

Books- Ready Freddy Penguin Problem by Abby Klein available in paper back or digital copy  (kindle version)

iPad Mini (one for each student)

Computer with Projector

Apps: iMovie, iBooks, pages, edmodo, kindle

Internet access

Lined poster paper

Map or globe

Online sites www.nothingbutpenguins.com , www.google.com   www.kids.nationalgeographic.com  www.kidzone.ws/animals/penguins/ www.questionpress.com/nunez

Subjects: Reading, language arts (writing), science, art, PE,  and Social Studies

Lesson 1

What do we know about Penguins?

Make a list of facts- have students tell you what they know about penguins- make a list on lined poster paper and save for later use.

Reading: Chap. 1 & 2 in Ready Freddy Penguin problems. (ebook-kindle app or hard copy) After reading have students go to www.questionpress.com/nunez and answer questions.  After the students have answered the questions put the question up on the screen with the projector and review correct answers and essay question. Give rewards for top scores (sometimes a verbal “these kids did great!” is fine).  I usually give tickets to those that got perfect or just one wrong.  Tickets can be used to buy toys at our class store. Acknowledge any kids that you feel may need to feel that they did a great job.

Science: Make a list of facts learned from chapters 1 & 2 on lined poster paper.  Keep out so it can be added to each day. Compare with first poster of facts they knew about penguins.  Are any the same? Different? Wrong?

Language arts: Journal about penguins in their journal.

PE: Play penguins and leopard seals (like they did in the book).  A form of tag where “it” is a leopard seal and the rest that are running away are penguins.

Social Studies: Show a map (or look one up online with iPad) and show kids where the southern hemisphere is. 

Lesson 2

Let’s learn more about penguins.

Reading: Chap. 3 & 4 in Ready Freddy Penguin Problem. (iPad). After reading have students go to  www.questionpress.com/nunez on their iPad to do online quiz.  Repeat the procedure from the previous day.

Science: Continue to add facts learned from the book onto lined poster.

Language arts: Do “fix-it’s” in their language arts journal.  Language arts journal is where students are given a paragraph (DOL) with grammatical errors that they need to “find “ and change.  I usually use something that we have been reading so that it means more to them.

PE: Continue playing Penguins and leopard seal game.

Lesson 3

Let’s adopt!

Reading: Read Chapters 5 & 6 in Ready Freddy Penguin Problem. (iPad) After reading have students go to www.questionpress.com/nunez to do online quiz.  Repeat procedure from day one.

 

Science: Fill in penguin worksheet (below) found at www.kidzone.ws

PE: Continue to play Penguin and Leopard seal game. 

Language arts: Journal what it is like to be a penguin

Social Studies: Go to www.nwf.org or www.defenders.org  and decide on an animal for the class to “adopt”.  I usually have each child bring in $2 to cover the cost of adopting an  endangered animal. 

Art: make a penguin- you will need black, white, and orange construction paper.  Have students trace their shoe on the black paper (this will be the body) Cut out the body and add a white oval for the stomach.  Fold a piece of black paper in half.  Squeeze fingers together like praying hands and trace.  Leave t the paper folded and cut out hand shape.  You now have two wings.  Glue them to the side of the body.  Glue two googly eyes onto face.  Cut out an orange triangle for the beak and glue it under the eyes. Cut a 2-inch circle out of orange paper.  Cut the circle in half to make two feet.  Glue the feet to the bottom of the body. Once children have made their penguin then staple it to the bulletin board for a group picture.  I usually put down white butcher paper over a blue background to look like a winter scene. 

Lesson 4

Let’s pick our penguin!

Reading: Read chapters 7 & 8 in Ready Freddy penguin Problem (iPad). After reading have students go on to www.questionpress.com/nunez to do online quiz. Repeat procedures from lesson 1.

Science: Write a list of the 17 different penguin species on the board.  Give children time to explore on their ipads the different ones to find out which one they would like to do a report on. The best site for penguins is www.nothingbutpenguins.com is a great site for kids to explore the different penguins.   Have each child pick a different penguin to do a report on.

PE: Continue to Play Penguin and Leopard

Language arts:  As a group, decide what questions you would like to cover in your penguin report.  I find that most kids come up with quite a lot of good questions to cover.  Example: Habitat, Name of penguin, country they are found in, what they eat, main predator, size….

Here is a sample of the questions my students from last year came up with:

1. Name of penguin
   2.main predator
   3. What does it eat
   4. Where does it live
   5. Habitat
   6. What they look like
   7. size
   8. Interesting fact
   9. another interesting fact
   10 Don't forget to put an ending!!!!

Social Studies: On a map start having the students mark where their penguin is found. Post map where everyone can see it.

Art: tongue depressor penguin puppets- Have each student create a stick puppet using a tongue depressor.  They can either use scrap paper and come up with their own design or you can download a picture they can cut out, color and glue.

Lesson 5 & 6

Let’s make a movie!

Using the questions the students came up with, have children search for answers about their penguin. Write the answers down in compete sentences. After students have been check on their writing then they need to go online to look for pictures for each fact. 

Create a movie in iMovie. Each report should be at least a minimum of 11 slides long.  For example slide

1- Introduction (either video or picture with words) Penguin report by Judy Nunez

Slide 2- name of penguin

Slide 3- main predator

Slide 4- what does it eat……

Don’t forget to add music

After the movie is done (this usually takes around three days) students can then upload it to www.edmodo.com and turn it into the teacher. 

Students are graded on :
1. Did they cover everything (10 points) 
2. Did they spell everything correct (10 points) 
3. Did the pictures they pick go with the text (10 points) 
4. Did they add music and have an introduction and ending (10 points)   
5. Did they turn it in on time. (10 points)

At the end of the week have a viewing of everyone’s movie. Have popcorn and invite parents to come.

 

Additional art activities:

On line Safety

Being a teacher for the younger children,  I am constantly worrying about online safety.  I worry about the sites children may go to.  I worry that they might come across pictures that are inappropriate. Parents worry about the same thing.  One of the things I tell parents is that we need to teach children how to use the Internet correctly.  We can't just depend on the schools filters to keep our students safe from bad sites.
I really enjoyed reading Cybersmart's Safety and security online: lesson Plans and Student Activity Sheets. I was glad to see that there was a great program out there that helps teachers teach about online safety.  Sometimes parents leave it up to the teacher to teach students right from wrong.  This site is great because it gives many lessons on online safety geared to different age levels.  They even have worksheets and videos that we can use for the class.  I love it!  I can't wait to use it in my class. 
I wish more parents would be involved in monitoring what their child is doing online.  Having two teenage boys, I realize that many parents have no idea what their child is up to online. Children have  gotten smart about hiding their online activity using fake names and multiple accounts for many social sites. 
I am hoping that if I start teaching children at a young age the correct and safe way to use the internet, then hopefully when they get older they will remember what they have been taught.  Unfortunately there is no guarantee that children will not go to wrong sites or misuse the internet.  Parents along with teachers need to constantly watch and teach out students correct and safe online practices.   Just like we teach our children that God wants us to keep our minds and lives pure in what we read and watch on tv, we also have to start including online and technology. It needs to be a joint effort between school and home.  I feel very lucky that I work at a christian school.  I can remind my students that even if their parents don't know what they are doing, God is always watching over us and knows what we are up to. 
Another site that has many ideas on online safety is Federal Trade Commission, Social Networking Sites: Safety Tips for Tweens and Teens. I found that this site was great for all ages.  I plan on giving all of my parents a copy of this at back to school night.  Our children's safety should be all of our concerns, not just teachers or parents. If we work together, we can start to teach our students to use the internet safely and properly.  We can still have fun and be safe at the same time!

Game and Lesson Plan

 I spent a lot of time looking for that "perfect" game to show everyone.  I don't have access to a computer lab or computers in the class.  What I do have (soon) is iPad minis for each student in my class.  Because I will be working with iPad minis instead of computers I looked for apps that I could use. I decided that since learning to write(and create) at an early age is important, I would highlight a writing app.
 Of course I found many apps but the one that I using for today is one that I have used in the past.  This will be the first time that I have done a lesson plan for it.  The app toontastic is free but it has a lot of in app purchases.  The free version is great to get you introduced with toontastic but you may want to eventually buy the full version.
 This is a sample video about toontastic.  They used the Shrek version, but I like the original one better.  The second sample shows how to start using toontastic.

Game: Toontastic
Grade: 2
Objective: Students will plan a story using the
Storyboard Template then animate their
stories in Toontastic. Finally, students will
use their storyboards and cartoons to craft a
final written draft of their stories.

 Materials: iPads
Toontastic app
computer/projector to show off students works to the class


Start: Begin the lesson by asking students to discuss what makes a great story.  Together, make a list of great stories. Then, create a chart of characteristics of a great story for students to refer to during the lesson. Finally, read a book with a good storyline, such as Dogku by Andrew Clements, Frog and Toad Together by Arnold Lobel, or Make Way for Ducklings by Robert McCloskey. After reading, discuss with students if and why the story was good.

Next, pass out the Toontastic Storyboard Template for pre-writing.

 Students should complete the outline before animating their stories. Allow studnets to share ideas if time permits. Finally, have students animate their stories in Toontastic. Be sure to point out the importance of choosing an emotional energy level for each scene.
After animating their stories, have students craft a final written draft of their story.  Remind students to look back at both their templates and cartoons as they write their final drafts. Encourage students to think about how these pre-writing activities help their stories.
To wrap up the project, upload students’ cartoons to ToonTube and host a story premier for students and parents.
During the premier, have students read the final drafts of their written work and share their cartoons.  Encourage students to reflect on each others’ writing and cartoons. Remind students to connect their critiques back to the characters of a great story they identified at the start of the lesson.

Gaming and Gamification- Let the Games Begin!

What kid doesn't like games? Right? In fact, don't a lot of adults like games?  Educators are always trying to find that perfect mix.  How do we get children motivated to learn?   Many believe that games can be the solution.
Michael Brit gave a podcast of Gamification.    He gave several reasons that games can be good for children.
Here are some of the positive characteristics of Gamification:

• Feedback – they have that with the gauge but it’s not instant feedback
• Goals – try to get this (efficiency) score. You win!!
• Rewards or points: – give drivers badges or of course discounts
• Levels: if/when they reach a certain accomplishment (number of points or badges) the driver levels-up (use normal distribution
• Conflict/Competition/Challenge – “drivers of this truck typically get X score” See if you can get Y score”
• Real-time competition: use geolocation 
• Leaderboards: see where you fit among others (kind of feedback)

But Some people just aren't buying it.  They say that it is insulting, silly and manipulative.

I teach young children.  As long as I have been teaching we have used games to reinforce concepts.  Bingo is used for things like math, reading, and many other subjects.  We are always trying to find ways to motivate children to practice what they know and keep learning.  Why not use games?  Children love games and they can be a great motivation to learn.  I work in a summer camp during the summers.  I bring along my iPad for the early birds(kids dropped of early) to use.  I am surprised to see these children really enjoying a lot of my educational apps.  I am watching children practice their states and capitals then switch to practicing their multiplication facts.  I remember trying to get my own boys to do "work" during the summer only to be told "No" or complaining that they didn't want to work on their vacation. The difference is that these kids want to play these games and can actually learn.  It doesn't replace completely the learning or teaching process but games can be a great motivator for many children.
Some games can be really motivating for children.  In the young grades, games that reinforce learning (stack the states, math bingo..) and inspire children to create (puppet pals, toontastic) can be great in the elementary classroom.  But online games that allow children to "talk" to others around the world make me a little more worried and cautious.  How do we know that these people are actually children?  Do they hold the same values that we are trying to teach our students?
My own teenage boys tell me that if used wrong(games), people can be "banded" from these games- not allowed to continue playing.  In fact my own son was banded from a game for saying "Free Tibet"in a statement.  He laughs about it, but as a parent, I worry about what they may be exposed to.  You can't undo something in their mind that they have already read.
Games like Mindcraft really attracts a lot of young people.  Using these games for educational purposes can be very attractive. But as longs kids are communicating with people that I don't know then I have to still be hesitant to use it. 
Teaching young children we tend to use games that reinforce things that we have been teaching. But watching the Jane McGonigal I have seen that gaming with older children using online gaming can be educational in it's own way too.

I am not a big fan of games like world of Warcraft.  I have two teenage boys.  One boy can care less for online games and the other loves them.  I have watched my youngest son play with people across the country.  He has made friends in different states that he has never met.  I as a parent am always a little nervous about my son talking to people I don't know.  These games have really developed his love for computers.  I hear about things that I never knew existed.  I am still trying to figure out what he means when he says that he and his friends are developing different mods for one of his games so that they can play together.

Now if we can take this idea of online gaming and use it to our advantage for learning, I believe we can reach children that we would have missed with traditional methods of teaching.
I watch my youngest son, knowing how much he dislikes school and wonder- can games like these motivate him to learn?  Could he be enjoying school instead of hating it so much?
It takes a special teacher to be able to use these games for educational purposes in the correct way. Where learning and motivation go hand in hand.

class video on polygons

This is my video that I made about Polygons.  I had a really hard time uploading it to You Tube.  I made it on my iPad so I'm not sure if it was the iPad or me that was really having a difficult time.  I started with Keynotes and then went into iMovie. I think my students would like quick little movies like this.  Now all I have to do is find an easier way to upload videos.

Flipped!

One of the new trends happening in education is the Flipped Classroom.  I have heard a little about this before and really haven't thought much of it. Watching the video Teaching for Tomorrow: The Flipped Classroom, helped me to understand a little of the idea behind the Flipped classroom.  Lectures that teachers would give are videoed and recorded for the students to watch.  Instead of doing the teaching lesson in the classroom, students watch them at home so that more classroom time is spent practicing and doing more of the experiments.  Students watch the lessons at home for homework instead of spending hours doing hours of busywork.  This then frees of the teachers time to devote more classroom time to reaching each child at their own level.  The students that mastered the subject can do more challenging work while the teacher can still review for those that still didn't understand.  This would really help keeping kids from being really bored reviewing material that they already mastered.

Watching the video Flipped Class 101 really helped with understanding how to start.  It showed two science teachers who are now using videos that they made to flip their classroom.  I really liked when one of them said that you should not just look at where you can add a video.  It's not just showing a video that makes a flipped classroom work.  They showed a picture of blooms Taxonomy.

The videos show at home would cover the bottom two areas of understanding and knowledge. That would leave the rest of the class time to reach the higher levels of learning.

I did really enjoy watching and learning about the flipped classroom.  I teach second grade and most of what we do is a lot of repetition.  I love the idea of spending more time with creating.  Every year I have at least two or three children that don't have access to computers at home.  This year will be the first time that our library at school will have computers for the students to use.  But even if I have all of my students on line I still have parents that are very reluctant to let their child have too much screen time.  They are worried about their eyes and in my opinion really don't want to reduce the actual tv time since that is free baby sitting for them.
The one thing that I would really find helpful if I did this would be for the parents to see what their child is learning and how I am teaching it to them.  The parents are often worried about helping their child or confusing them by showing them another way.  They want to be consistent with the way their child is taught.  I thing my biggest thing would be that I really am a little camera shy.  I would have to have my students watch videos that didn't have me featured.  Now it's time to find some to use with second grade.

Collaboration

I was really enjoying this weeks topic because I really want to do more collaboration projects with my class.  Ellen Lupton is a museum curator that wrote an article title Why Collaborate?  She wrote
 "It can be frustrating, however, when a few people are doing the heavy lifting and the others are there only to “insure consensus” or “weigh in” on concepts."
I really understand that frustration.  My two sons are in high school and are often given group projects to work on.  As a parent, it is frustrating to watch my son do the majority of the work because some kids are too busy and can't meet to work together. Or my favorite excuse is that no one in his group knows how to edit a video (so they say). Then he's left with writing, filming and editing a joint film along with trying to find a time they all can meet. I see him doing most of the work while others just float by doing very little.   

Luton wrote,  " Collaboration is becoming more important across many fields of creative work"

I believe that the goal of collaboration is  not only reaching children academically, but also to help them with gaining the needed skills for future jobs.

Ellie Ashford  wrote "Educators are increasingly seeing the value of having students collaborate in small groups on classroom projects—and whether such projects involve producing a written or multimedia presentation, solving a math problem, or creating a video, technology can facilitate the group process" 
With my second grade students I am try to find good ways to have students collaborate.  They love working together.  I think one of my favorite times was when my students had made stick puppets at Christmas time and they broke up into groups writing and making a little skit that they filmed and put into a short movie.  They would take their "scrips" outside to work on and practice with during recess instead of playing. 
 In Mind Mapping in Education  they wrote about the benefit of graphic organizers as:
 

• Improve reading comprehension
• Benefit students achievement levels
• Enhance thinking and learning skills
• Increase retention
• Support cognitive learning theory

 This year I am going to do more collaboration and graphic organizers with my class. I think my second graders will really enjoy it and gain a lot from each other.