Padgett+V.

**__Pedagogy__**: Pedagogically this learning experience was excellent as the outside environment and use of technology stimulates and motivates students. The openness of the assignment also allowed for student exploration and creativity, while keeping them firmly within the mathematical realm. Putting the students in groups also provides an opportunity for teamwork and collaboration. Also, each group will come up with a very different list of “too much” and “too little,” which allows the teacher to assess how her children naturally think. For example, is it abstract, or concrete? Do they gravitate towards nature or people, tangibles or intangibles? The teacher can then push all of the students to examine new ideas and concepts. She can also use the wide variety of responses to direct her lesson and incorporate other subjects as well. **__Technology__**: Incorporating technology into the lesson excites and interests students and allows kids to developed useful 21st century skills. This lesson allows for kids to use picture phones or cameras to take pictures or videos of the things they find at their school. They can also use camera cords or email applications to transfer these images to their school computers. Once downloaded, the images can be put into some type of software like PowerPoint so that the students can increase their knowledge of computer programs as well as share their findings with their classmates. Incorporating mobile applications is also a way to integrate technology. PBS has an iTunes application that allows it to stream many nature shows, which apply directly to the topic of sustainability that I discuss next []. Looking at world maps through iTunes is another way to make global sustainability seem more relevant and real to children []. **__Sustainability__**: Undoubtedly one of the student groups participating in this activity will mention something relating to or affecting the environment. If a child mentions “not enough trees” a teacher can develop the idea of deforestation and its long-term environmental effects. Any comment relating to “too many cars” or “not enough seats” can lead to a discussion of global population growth and fossil fuels overconsumption. Including other forms of media might help to make these concepts easier to grasp for young children. The population growth video that Dr. Klausterman showed in class is a perfect example of a helpful video that is both explanatory and shocking enough to sparks curiosity []. After this discussion it would be easy to assess a child’s understanding of sustainability by asking them to propose several ways to they as students can increase environmental sustainability at own school. By having the students write down their suggestions you can simultaneously asses their writing abilities and comprehension of sustainability.
 * __Content__**: In discussing things that Wake Forest has too much of and too little of, my group initially thought of our lack of minorities, lack of seating in the Pit, the abundance of wealth, the abundance of caffeine, and the abundance of unhealthy food. The homogeneity of our school and its relative wealth lends itself easily to a discussion of social studies topics such as historical racial segregation, or political ideas and laws concerning racial equality. The abundance of unhealthy food could foster a science lesson for younger grades about nutrition and how to eat well balanced meals at their own school. Math is clearly very applicable to all of my group’s findings. Concepts such as percentages are easily applied to nutritional content and school composition, and division works well with student body and pit tables.

02-03-11

How do I tell time and why is it important for me? __ CONTENT __ : To introduce the concept of telling time I would begin with this short YouTube clip that plays a fun, silly song about telling time to engage students’ interest []. I’ll then ask children to brainstorm all of the reasons why telling time is important, and call on students to write their ideas on the Smart Board. Next I would briefly demonstrate how to read a clock by drawing a clock on the Smart Board and explaining how the hour hand shows indicates the hour and the minute hand indicates how long into that hour. After this quick instructional time I would have children craft their own clocks while I scaffold them at the smart board. They’ll use construction paper, stencils, rulers (to divide the clock into 12 sections) scissors and glue, plus markers to write the numbers. Then I would have my students cut out an hour hand and a minute hand and glue it on the clock to represent their favorite time of day. Finally, to assess their understanding I’ll have the students share their clocks with the classmates at their table and explain how it shows their favorite time of day and why they chose that time. I would then be able to listen in on this activity to see how well the students grasp the concepts.

__ PEDAGOGY __ : Pedagogically I think this activity is sound, because it’s interactive and will likely keep kids engaged and help them to construct their own knowledge and understanding while I scaffold them. Showing a video will engage students’ interest and get them excited to learn. Then using a hands-on craft while I complete the activity at the same time from the Smart Board will let kids use their auditory skills, visual skills, and spatial skills to process the information. Working at tables placed in groups allows for collaboration, discussion, and sharing of good ideas. Discussing the importance of telling time before I start teaching is also important because it relates the topic to my students, and if they feel the content is relevant they will be more likely to stay engaged in the learning and then to remember what they’ve learned. This lesson structure also allows me to assess what children know about telling time (brainstorming in the beginning), how well they understand the parts of the clock (watching as the kids create their own), and how well they can actually apply time telling (walking around and listening as the kids share within their groups).

__ TECHNOLOGY __ : I can use the Smart Board in several ways, beginning with showing the video clip, and then allowing kids to write on it at the start of the class as they brainstorm reasons for time telling. I’ll also use the board to show how the actual positioning of the clock hands works, as well as narrate the craft activity. The following applications for iPads is another way to incorporate technology into time-telling practice. [] []

__ SUSTAINABILITY __ : I can incorporate sustainability by insisting that we recycle all of the paper from our craft, and briefly explain why this is important. I can also talk about how most clocks are battery powered, so they don’t use any energy that harmful to our environment, but then we can discuss the proper way to dispose of batteries.

Music and Math!

In regards to math content, number sense can be explored musically by having children count the number of beats or notes they hear in a certain musical sequence. Multiplication can aided with the concepts of musical measures. For example, if each measure has 4 beats, and there are 6 measures, how many beats are there in all? (This indicates 6 groups of 4 beats, which is different than 4 groups of 6 beats.) Music and musical instruments can also be used to simply add relevance and appeal to math facts. For example, if a guitar has 6 strings, and you have a band with 4 guitars players, how many guitar strings are there in all? Fractions can also be taught using music reading, by looking at how many measures (out of a total number of measures) have a certain note, or lyric. One particular website does a great job of incorporating visual representations of fractions to sounds, and allows kids to create “fraction melodies” []. I also tried to think of a way to incorporate time signatures with fractions, but I couldn’t think of a simple enough way, as reading music is very advanced and complicated!

There are many great technological resources that a teacher can use to help music enhance math teaching, including virtual pianos! Playing the piano by skipping 2, 3, and 4 notes at a time will help students practice skip counting while also connecting the sound differences to the differences in numbers. []

Kids can also use technological devices like computer microphones, cameras, and video recorders to record songs or raps that they’ve written involving math concepts or facts. In fact, having kids create their own music is a great way to assess understanding of a topic. Garage band is an ipad application that lets kids create music with any instrument they choose! []

One particular way to assess both a conceptual math idea and a sustainability concept is to have kids create a public service announcement (song or rap) about what would happen if all of the kids in their class were to throw out a certain number of bottles or other garbage item (required to multiply the object by the number of students) and then what they should do instead. This is one way to incorporate content, technology, sustainability, and music! Performance assessments require a lot of time and planning (much more so than paper and pen tests), but they’re much more authentic and engaging for children.

Math and music are very much related in everyday life. In fact, music can’t exist without mathematics. One very simple but effective way to improve a learning environment (particularly math), is simply to play soothing music while children are being instructed and/or doing guided and independent practice. Numerous research studies have proven that brain functions improves when people are exposed to calming music, particularly classical music. Another pedagogical technique for enhancing math learning is to actually create and use songs that incorporate math principles or basic facts that need to be simply memorized. Many children, particularly those with attention disorders, have difficulty with rote memorization, but putting facts to musical tunes is a wonderful device for enhancing memory. Unfortunately, some math facts just have to be memorized, and setting them to music, rhythms, and raps make them not only more fun to learn, but also easier to remember!

CHEEP!!

One very simply way to connect, birds, music, and fractions, is through reading music! The teacher could provide the sheet music for a very simple bird song, and have her students begin by counting the number of notes in the song. If the whole song is comprised of 16 notes, then how many of those notes fall on the middle line (a "B" on the treble clef). If 3 of those notes are "B's", then 3/16 of the notes sound like ... the teacher could then play a "B" for the students using a virtual keyboard. Another way to use sheet music to teach fractions is to explore whole notes, half notes, and quarter notes. A teacher can play another simple bird song, and then explain that each measure is comprised of 4 beats (in 4/4 time that is), and then ask her students to clap out four beats. By explaining that a half note takes up 2 beats, it is taking up half of the measure in this case, and is twice as long as a quarter note. By actually hearing and clapping out the notes the students can relate fractions to a kinestheic movement as well as a sound. Allowing children to write their own bird music, where one fourth of the notes need to be "A's," or they need to use specific rhythms, the students can see the variety of music they can create, as well as practice a practical application of fractions.

Field Trip to Taylorsville, NC Solar Farm (03-25-11)

**I believe a field trip to Taylor Solar Plant would be most effective in a fourth grade classroom.** 1) After the trip and the lesson that follows it, TSWBAT:  · describe solar energy    · draw a solar panel    · create a plan of their own city powered by solar energy    · list two advantages and two disadvantages of solar energy over oil, coal, gas, and nuclear energy    · divide a 4 digit number by a 3 digit number using a calculator    · draw a graph based on an equation (constant(x)=y)    · multiply a two digit number by a 2 digit number   2) The standards met include: Review of 3rd grade science objectives- 3.01 Observe that light travels in a straight line until it strikes an object and is reflected and/or absorbed. 3.02 Observe that objects in the sky have patterns of movement including:  · Sun.  · Moon.  · Stars. 4th grade math objectives- 1.01 **Develop number sense for rational numbers 0.01 through 99,999.** 1.02 **Develop fluency with multiplication and division:** 4.01 **Collect, organize, analyze, and display data (including line graphs and bar graphs to solve problems.**

4th grade literacy objectives- 4.02 Use oral and written language to:  · present information and ideas in a clear, concise manner.  · discuss.  · interview.  · solve problems.  · make decisions. 2.02 Interact with the text before, during, and after reading, listening, and viewing by:  · setting a purpose using prior knowledge and text information.  · making predictions.  · formulating questions.  · locating relevant information.  · making connections with previous experiences, information, and ideas.

= 3) Outline: The day will begin with a re-reading of the book “Solar Power” by [|Tea Benduhn], in order to re-familiarize my students with the concept of solar power, get them focused, and engage them. Luckily this book as bright pictures, as well as with basic knowledge put in simple language.  =

While the students are being guided through the solar farm, I will have them keep a science “journal” where they can sketch a panel, take notes on anything interesting they learn, and write down any questions they would like to ask. If the guide takes questions, I will encourage my students to ask him/or her, otherwise we will just take our journals back to school and research our unanswered questions. [] Once back at school I will have the students discuss their experience in groups, and then come up with a group list of the advantages and disadvantages to solar power. I also ask that the students work together to create a detailed drawing of a solar panel.

4) Finally, the students will work individually to do the following math activity:

According to EnergyUnited, the Taylorsville Farm has 4,224 photovoltaic (PV) panels that can generate enough energy to power 150 homes. About how many are needed per home? How many are needed for 19 homes? 58 homes? Graph the number of panels (y axis) as it relates to the number of homes (x axis) and write an equation for the graph of the line (constant(x) =y). Get back into groups and look at the following websites to design your own city using solar power. Draw a sketch of it. How many homes are there? How many schools? How many solar panels do you think you’ll need? Where are they located?

I can even use technology and have the kids create their city online with the following website: []

03-30-11 The Stiggins article really made me realize the novelty of formative assessment. As a current college student studying education (at a University that stays at the forefront of research) I have already been “drilled” with the importance of formative assessment, as well as the necessity for teachers to manufacture success for low-achieving students, to increase their self-concept and in turn, their performance. Therefore it seemed strange to me that using assessments to alter instruction to better meet students’ needs (rather than naturally letting students either sink or swim) is a new concept as of the late 1960’s. Perhaps it just seems natural to me because of what I’ve been taught here at Wake, but I can’t imagine using the same instructional methods for all students, each year, as each child in each class is unique, and instruction clearly should be modified and formed to best fit my students. I also learned that summative assessments can be used formatively throughout a school year, rather than relying on just one or two major summative assessments given by the state.

In both my science and math lesson I use informal formative assessment though teacher questioning, when I ask students to discuss their knowledge of the needs of living things in groups, and I walk around from group to group, listening to conversation. This allows me to assess how well the students understand this first grade competency goal, before I move on to the first second grade competency goal. In my science lesson I also use a performance assessment (in a formative way) when I ask my students to put flashcards of animals at different stages of development into chronological order (pictorial interpretation assessment). K-W-L charts are also a great way to see what students are learning on a day-to-day basis, and I plan to use them in one of my science lessons. With a K-W-L chart I can to gauge students’ prior knowledge, as well as make note of what they took from the lesson.

<span style="color: black; font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 10pt; line-height: 115%; margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">There are several ways I can document the information I get from formative assessments, but my science methods book encourages the use of a checklist to monitor and keep track of students’ use of process skills, attitudes, and procedural skills. For example, when I listen to student communication to informally assess understanding, I can make note of student ability to communicate, use evidence to make a prediction, and critically evaluate others’ ideas (and change current perceptions if there is enough evidence!). For my performance assessment task I can create a scoring guide, and assign a certain number of points to each critical component of the assessment (order of pictures, explanation of order, etc.). If each and every student does the activity with little to no difficulty, I will know that I can move very quickly, and cover more within one lesson, but if many of the students struggle, I know that we need to read more about growth and development before moving forward. I can record this information with a smart phone application that can provide me with an average score for my students so that I know how the majority of the class did on the assessment. [] This will help me to formulate my next lesson plan!

<span style="color: black; font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 10pt; line-height: 115%; margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"> Teaching Tremendously Lesson 1 <span style="color: black; font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 10pt; line-height: 115%; margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"> I was surprisingly nervous to teach my first lesson on Tuesday, even though I was overly prepared only presenting to my classmates. However, I was very anxious to see whether the theoretical plans I had made would actually translate into a real lesson with fluidity. And now that I’ve “taught tremendously” twice, I realize that it really requires physically “doing” a lesson or two before you’re able to “get the hang” of both writing and performing them effectively. <span style="color: black; font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 10pt; line-height: 115%; margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"> Overall I was slightly disappointed in how my lesson turned out, but that’s just because it didn’t go perfectly, and I was expecting perfection! In reality, I ran into a few roadblocks, but my classmates were able to help me make small modifications that made the lesson much easier to follow. I realized that in my initial review of the needs of living things (a competency from the year before) I didn’t provide enough scaffolding for students, while I provided slightly too much at the end of the lesson when I presented the new material. <span style="color: black; font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 10pt; line-height: 115%; margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"> To give my students more support at the introduction of the lesson, my classmates suggested that I provide my students with the specific three needs listed in the competency goal (food, space, and air), rather than asking them to come up with those based on the book I read to them. There are just too many “needs” that children would come up with (including shelter, water, clothes, etc.) if they are given free reign. Therefore I decided to make a simple worksheet with the words food, space, and air, and ask my students to be brainstorming // throughout // the book, rather than after, about when the character mentions these things. <span style="color: black; font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 10pt; line-height: 115%; margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"> In order to allow for // more // constructivism at the end of the lesson, my classmates and I decided that after the students had put the pictures of the life cycle in order, they would be able to come up with the labels for the stages (birth, growth, reproduction/having babies, and aging) on their own. My classmates also had very positive feedback about my literacy integration as well as the collaboration and kinesthetic movement required for the flashcard activity. This feedback was very encouraging! Essentially I learned that I need to be able to adapt my lessons on the spot once I see if students need more or less scaffolding! <span style="color: black; font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 10pt; line-height: 115%; margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"> Teaching Tremendously 2 <span style="color: black; font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 10pt; line-height: 115%; margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"> My second lesson plan went much more smoothly than the first, particularly since I modified it after trying one. I read back through the lesson and realized that at several places where I asked students to write something down, or keep track of data in a chart, it would be much more time efficient to provide a handout that my students could just fill out. The point of the lesson was to practice measuring using a ruler, but I realized that it would become more about making a chart if I were to ask students to write them on their own. For some reason, in my mind I had associated worksheets with direct instruction, and dull, passive learning, but this doesn’t have to be the case! It’s the way that you use worksheets in a lesson that determines the quality and type of instruction. In this instance, I used a worksheet to simply scaffold an inquiry based kinesthetic lesson plan. Similarly with assessment, just because students were required to use paper and a pencil (as well as a ruler) to do the assessment I provided, doesn’t mean that it wasn’t engaging, effective, or interdisciplinary (as I assessed both math and science objectives). <span style="color: black; font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 10pt; line-height: 115%; margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"> I did run into one minor problem however, simply because I hadn’t physically done the lesson myself. When measuring using a nonstandard unit, such as string, students will need to have some sense of fractions; however fractions come later within my instructional unit. I looked backed over my unit, and it still makes the most sense to keep my lessons in the current order, so I decided that I would just have to address the issue within the lesson. I can just tell my students to simply write “3 strings and part of another” when recording their measurements with strings, as their actual measurement doesn’t particularly matter, just the simple incongruity of the string measurements will prove my point. <span style="color: black; font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 10pt; line-height: 115%; margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"> I was very pleased with the way my inquiry based math centers activity worked out, and so with a minor addition to the instructions I give about string measurement, I’d like to teach this lesson at Meadowlark!