Melissa: February 2009

Tuesday, February 24, 2009

What is the content you’ll be using in your lesson?

4th Grade Social Studies
Standard 1
Objective 2: Analyze how physical geography affects human life in Utah
Part C: compare the development of industry and business in Utah as it relates to it's physical geography (eg minding, oil, agriculture, tourism).

Students will be able to explore the State through Google Earth.

What is the pedagogy you’ll be using and why is it a good fit with the content?

Using Google Earth, students will work individually on this assignment. They will use/develop their critical thinking skills to answer the questions. If students have questions they will be able to ask questions to other students and myself. I will be able to see where students are strong and what we need to work on.

What is the technology you’ll be using and why is it a good fit with the content and pedagogy?

We will be using Google Earth for this assignment. It is a good fit because students will be able to discover and visit various parts of Utah while staying in the classroom. Each students will be able to use it on their own at their own computers.

Location	Activity	Google Earth Content
1. Kennecott Utah Copper Mine	Based on what you see on Google Earth answer the following question: Why would people live here? Learn what Kennecott Utah Copper Mine is.	Wikipedia Tool, Panoramio Tool, Populated Places, Terrain
2. Park City	Based on what you see on Google Earth answer the following questions: Why would people visit this area? Why are businesses strong here?	Wikipedia Tool, Panoramio Tool, Populated Places, Terrain
3. Utah Desert	Based on what you see on Google Earth answer the following question: Why do you think there is little business and small populations in this area?	Wikipedia Tool, Panoramio Tool, Populated Places, Terrain
4. Salt Lake City	Based on Google Earth answer the following question: Why would this be the state capitol? Consider Salt Lake's physical geography.	Wikipedia Tool, Panoramio Tool, Populated Places, Terrain
Details of image overlay / path / polygon:	The polygon tool will be used to outline these places in Utah.

Tuesday, February 17, 2009

Video

This Video is a poetry interpretation.

Tuesday, February 10, 2009

Storyboard TPACK

Content:

Language Art's Core Curriculum Standard 1 Objective 2: "develop language through viewing media and presenting" and Standard 7 Objective 2(c) "form mental pictures to aid understanding of text".

Pedagogy:

Students do not learn most effectively through reading. For this reason we will start out reading. Then however, we will dig deeper. We will discuss the poem. Next, we will visualize the poem by watching a movie of the poem. The pictures will make the poem and its meaning come to life.

Technology:

To make the movie I will use PhotoStory. This is an easy way to teach the content in an understandable manner. Students will be able to visualize the poem while hearing it.

Storyboard!

Wednesday, February 4, 2009

TPACK

1. Content:

The content for my lesson is taken from the Utah 4th grade Standard 5 Objective 1. It states that students will be able to "describe the physical characteristics of Utah's wetlands, forests, and deserts."

2. Pedagogy:

In my lesson we worked as a class and in small groups. This was interactive. Students learn from each other and their experiences. They also learn through teaching what they know.

3. Technology:

The technology I used was Google Earth. This fit what I was teaching because my students were able to stay engaged. They were able to see parts of Utah without leaving the classroom.

Tuesday, February 3, 2009

The Tech Savvy Teacher

Technology has become a driving force in our society. Every day we spend a lot of time using technology. This is not different for our students. They have grown up using computers, the internet, and other technology. Because of this, it takes more than lecture to stimulate children. Technology must be used in our classrooms.

We have been learning about the physical environment of Utah in my 4th grade class. Standard 5 Objective 1 states that students will "describe the physical characteristics of Utah's wetlands, forests, and deserts." This is the objective we worked with in this lesson.

We began our lesson with a class discussion about Utah. Students described parts of Utah that they have been to. They named the wetlands, forest, and deserts. The descriptions they give were all verbal.

After my students shared where they had been, we looked at pictures of these areas on Google Earth. Students were able to really visualize what these areas look like because they saw pictures. Rather than students picturing what the state looks like in their mind, this helped students get to know their state visually. Using this technology kept the students involved and stimulated.