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Google Earth:

I used google earth when I was teaching my third graders about the architecture of ancient Rome. I started out by showing the entire globe and quizzed them from the start to assess their prior knowledge of where we were located. I told them were going on a trip to Rome and they would have to help me out. So I started by asking them what country we lived in. ( I typed in United States, and it zoomed in) I then asked them what state. ( it zoomed into Virginia) and we continued until we traveled to Rome. Once the google earth took us to ancient Rome I typed in the Colloseum. They were amazed and enagaged the whole time. Google earth really is cool because it shows exactly what structures look like today. I allowed some of the students to come up and click on different parts of the Colloseum and we discussed how it changed.

United Streaming:

I never was able to use united streaming in my first placement, and now that I have my own password for it, it definetly was very useful! I used it for every subject, including  my measurement unit in Math. My kids can only sit and listen to instructions and lecture for only a short period of time, so having united streaming in between a powerpoint was very engaging for most students.

Powerpoint Games for Test/Quiz Reviews

I found a website online, where you can create your own games on jeopardylabs.com. I made up a review game for our Geometry test and the kids loved it! You can tell the computer to make any amount of teams you want to adjust to your own needs and they score the points for you. It also allows you to go in at any point and edit what you have made.  The following link goes to my own created game on geometry.

Geometry REVIEW GAME OR http://jeopardylabs.com/play/geometry-review4

Roman Mosaic Lessons using Digital Cameras

This was a really engaging visual arts activity I did with my students when I taught on ancient Rome art. I had them each create their own mosaics using bits of different color construction paper. One of the 3rd grade SOL’s was to have each student understand how to use a digital camera. Therefore, when the students were done with their mosaics, each one had a chance to use a digital camera and take a picture of what they created. I showed them how to zoom in and out, focus, and then take the picture. ( along with safety rules) When the students were finished, I made a powerpoint presentation of all their mosaics.

        Lesson One: Ancient Rome Geography

Standard: 

3.4 The student will develop map skills by

a. locating Greece, Rome, and West Africa 

b. describe the physical and human characteristics of Greece, Rome, and West Africa

CT 3-5.1: Students will demonstrate knowledge of the nature and operation of technology systems

I. Objective:

SWBAT locate Rome on a Map

SWBAT identify the physical characteristics of Ancient Rome

II.                 Materials for Learning Activities

• United Streaming
• Smart-board
• Rome Read-Aloud “Modern Rhymes about Ancient Times.”
• Roman Map worksheets to pass out
• Colored Pencils

III. Procedure for Learning Activities

• Gather students on carpet
• Complete a KWL chart on the board and ask students what they may already know about Rome.
• Ask students what they would like to know about Rome.
• Show United Streaming Video on “Life in Rome.”
• Fill in the L part of the chart to see what they learned.
• Illustrate the location of Rome and surrounding bodies of water to class on a Smart-board slide.
• Have students come up to the Smart-board for an interaction activity to see if they can place the right city and bodies of water to the correct location.
• Have students go back to their seats and make their own map.
• Summarize lesson, explaining to students that they will have more of their “W” questions from the chart answered as times goes by.

IV.              Assessment

• Informal:  Students will be assessed on their participation of labeling the parts of Rome on the Smart-board slide, as well as correctly labeling their worksheet map.

V.                 Differentiation:

• ADHD student will benefit through interaction labeling activity and united streaming video.
• IEP students will have a word bank on their map to help them out.

Extension Activity: Students write a paragraph explain how the Romans had to adapt to this type of physical environment.

Why? Because this is the first day introducing the unit on Rome, I feel it is very important to engage the children in what they will be discussing for the next two weeks. I wanted to do this through a united streaming video to help get their juices flowing on what kind of questions they may have about Rome, and then to see if any of those questions can be answered. I also chose to use a smart-board interaction slide so they could help each other on specific locations in Rome, rather than just seeing it in a book.

Lesson 2: Ancient Rome Contributions Relating to Architecture

Standards:

POS standard 1

3.1: The student will explain how the contributions of Ancient Rome have influenced the present in terms of architecture and government.

Visual Arts: 3.15: The student will compare and contrast architectural styles of ancient cultures, including Greece and Rome.

C/T 3-5.2:  The student will demonstrate proficiency in the use of technology

I.                    Objectives:

• SWBAT examine and describe the contributions of the ancient Romans in terms of architecture and art ( Colosseum, aqueducts)
• SWBAT distinguish between architecture and art
• SWBAT compare contributions of Greece vs: Rome

II.                 Materials

• Access to GoogleEarth.com
• Smart-board
• United Streaming
• Venn Diagram Worksheets
• Pencils for Students

III.                    Procedure for Learning Activities:

• Gather students on the carpet and discuss what Contributions are. (the act of giving or doing something)
• Make a list on the board on what contributions they do at school and home
• Connect to Ancient Rome (The ancient Romans were a group of people who made significant contributions to society in terms of architecture and government) They influenced other people’s lives today.
• Discuss Architecture vs: Art ( buildings vs: pictures, paintings and mosaics)
• Discuss Specifically Aqueducts, Colloseum, and Mosaics by doing the following:
• Show United Streaming Video on Aqueducts
• Read Aqueduct poem from “Modern Rhymes about Ancient Times.”
• Pull up Power-Point and show pictures of Colloseums- explain an arch
• Read Aloud p. 22 “The Ancient Romans.” – emphasize gladiators
• Pull up Google Earth: Show present day Colloseums
• Hand out Venn Diagram and discuss contributions of Greece vs: Rome

IV.              Assessment

• Students will be assessed on their participation and discussion through the difference of architecture and art
• Completion and accuracy of Venn Diagram showing comparisons of Greece and Rome contributions

V.                 Differentiation

• There are many different ways that I am introducing the topic of ancient Rome architecture. Students are able to see pictures online, pictures through books, and real life pictures.
• The ADHD child in my room will benefit through the technology illustration.
• The LD students will have special education teachers in the room to help with the Venn Diagram.

Extension Activity:  Students may go on the computer with a partner to search on googleEarth.com to look at the present day Colosseum themselves.

Why? I thought using GoogleEarth.com would be a great online activity which I could share with the students. Not only will they be hearing about Ancient Rome and how it looked in the past, but they will be able to see the characteristics it has today and what remains the same and what looks different. I think it’s important for students to compare and contrast the past and future of certain architectural structures and using GoogleEarth.com is a perfect way to do that.

Lesson 3: Mosaic Contributions

Standard 3.1 : The Student will explain how the contributions of ancient Greece and Rome have influenced the present in terms of architecture….

C/T 3- 5.2 : The student will demonstrate proficiency  in the use of technology using skills and procedures needed to operate various technologies such as scanners, digital cameras, and hand held computers.

Visual Arts: The student will use various art processes and techniques to produce works of art that demonstrate craftsmanship.

I.                    Objectives:

• Student will be able to create a mosaic
• Student will be able to identify different Ancient Rome art forms including mosaics and sculptures)
• Students will be able to demonstrate knowledge of a digital camera by taking a picture of their artwork and seeing how it is saved on the computer to use again.

II.                 Materials

• An assortment of colors of construction paper
• Glue
• Smart-board to show pictures of Ancient Roman art
• Teacher digital camera to be used by students

III.               Procedure for Learning Activities:

• Gather students on carpet and review the difference in art and architecture
• Tell students that today they will be learning about Art in Rome
• Teacher will show pictures of Mosaics and sculptures on the Smart-board
• Teacher explains that today the students will be making their own mosaics and that they will be using construction paper instead of the real tiles or colored glass that Romans used.
• When students are done with their mosaics, they are to raise their hand and the teacher will come to let them use the camera and take a picture of their work.
• Teacher will demonstrate how to save them on the computer in front of the whole class at the end.
• Teacher and students summarize what they have learned about Mosaics.

IV.              Assessment:

• Students will meet the objective stated if their artwork displays a mosaic. ( used construction paper to create an art-work)
• Students will also be assessed on their participation during the Smart-board activity of identifying mosaics and sculptures.
• Students will be given full credit for technology if they have properly handled the camera and have taken a picture of their artwork.

V.                 Differentiation:

• LD Students: May look at books to get ideas on what they would like their mosaics to represent.
• Differentiation by interest: Each student is allowed to choose any type of illustration they would like.

Extension Activity: Have students share what they chose to make with their mosaics to the rest of the class.

Why? I chose to integrate an art activity with technology for this lesson plan. One of the SOL’s actually mentions that 3^rd grade students need to understand the basics of using a digital camera. Therefore I felt the students would feel very proud of their work if they were to take pictures of what they have. Not only that, but demonstrating to the students how to actually take a picture, save it on the computer, and pull it up again for future use would really benefit them in the future if they needed to pull up artwork to support text

              Lesson 4: Ancient Rome Government

Standards: 3.1 : The student will explain how the contributions of ancient Rome have influenced the present in terms of architecture and government. (Direct democracy)

3.6: The student will interpret geographic information from maps, tables, graphs, and charts.

I.                    Objective:

• SWBAT to describe ways in which our government in the U.S. is similar to Ancient Rome.
• SWBAT create a graph on the smart-board to report results
• SWBAT describe that Romans had a democratic republic by participating in a mock election.

II.                 Materials for Learning Activities:

• United Streaming video “Elementary Video: Adventures: Life in Ancient Rome”
• Smart-board Power-point slides on Ancient Rome Government
• Pencils for students

III.               Procedure for Learning Activities:

• Gather students on carpet
• Show United Streaming Video
• Discuss with students what they learned from the video
• Show power-point slides on what direct democracy is and what representative democracy is)
• Students will participate in a mock election pretending they are in ancient Rome.
• Each table group will elect a representative.
• Table groups will vote on a specific topic
• Teacher and students will then graph the results on a smart-board
• Conclusion: A Venn diagram comparing Greece, Rome, and the United States.

IV.              Assessment

• Completion and accuracy of Venn Diagrams
• Participation in the mock  election
• Participation to help create the graph

V.                 Differentiation:

• Because the graphing part of this lesson plan, is a shared activity between the class and the teacher, the LD students will benefit from the input of all peers and the teachers help as she is showing the process.

Extension Activity: Roman Song using the tune of “Mary Had a Little Lamb”. They can come pick up the worksheet and practice singing it to themselves to help them remember information about the Roman government.

Why? Although I am still using united streaming and smart-boards throughout my lesson plans, I feel it still provides a strong foundation for engaging the students on any given topic. The idea of showing students how to graph on Microsoft Word will increase their skills in technology for future projects.

Standard:

3.1: Students will explain how the contributions of ancient Greece and Rome have influenced the present world in terms of architecture and government.

3.4: The student will develop map skills by locating Rome and describing the physical and human characteristics

MUSIC 3.7: The student will create music through a variety of experiences including creating new verses to songs.

MUSIC 3.14: The student will exhibit respect for the contributions of self and others in a music setting.

I.                    Objective

• SWBAT describe facts about Ancient Rome
• SWBAT work as a group to create new lyrics based off a familiar song.

II.                 Materials for Learning Activities:

• Copy of the song they will be using will be given to each student to use as a reference
• Chart Paper to write down Roman facts and new lyrics
• CD player
• Marker
• Digital recorder on camera

III.               Procedure for Learning Materials:

• Teacher explains how a song will sometimes be used for poetry.
• Teacher will explain that today they will make their own song based off what they have learned about Ancient Rome.
• Teacher explains to students the expectations of making a song and will go through the steps on how it is done.
• First Step: Brainstorming: Students will turn and talk to the person next to them about important information they know about Ancient Rome and write their ideas down to eventually bring to the carpet.
• Students gather on the carpet.
• Students share what they have learned about Ancient Rome while teacher writes them on the chart paper with a marker.
• At the end of their idea sharing, the teacher will also add important details that have not been mentioned yet.
• Teacher will now explain the next step which is to look at the real song lyrics and change those lyrics to fit what they know about Ancient Rome.
• Teacher and students start sharing ideas and write the song together.
• When the song is produced, it will be recorded on a digital camera to be uploaded for future use.  

Extension Activity: To think of movements that goes along with the song

IV.              Assessment:

• Students assessed on how they participated in the creation of the song
• Students will be assessed informally on whether they have accurate facts written down during their brainstorming time.

V.                 Differentiation:

• Producing the lyrics to the song is a whole-group activity in which ideas will be shared, which will evoke other responses in which ideas may not come so quickly.
• Differentiation by interest- all students’ ideas will be accepted.

Why? I decided to add the technology part at the end to this lesson because it enables students to see the real product of a long thought out process of producing a song in which they wrote together.

http://www.ascd.org/publications/educational_leadership/mar09/vol66/num06/Reader_Responsiveness_2.0.aspx

After reading this article, I thought of some ways I could use blogging in my classroom with third graders. In writing workshop, we devote a lot of time to journaling, story writing, and author’s chair. I feel like a lot of my third graders do not volunteer to share their writing on the carpet  because they are too shy like the students discussed in the article, or they feel they do not meet the standards and will be embarrassed. Therefore, I defintilty agree that having them blog will allow the shy students to share on a regular basis without the fear they would have in a classroom.

I also know that a lot of my students feed off of what other students say and are interested in what their other classmates are reading and writing about. This could help motivate them and give them ideas of what they could read or write.  Also, just the aspect of incorporting technology like this in the classroom will really engage them unlike just sitting at their desks waiting for a teacher to come by and look at their work. And if students are done early, they can still look at other people’s blogs and respond and reflect with eachother.

My special need student of choice will be called, “YK.” YK is a fifth grade student.  He is considered as a non-categorical LD student with his own IEP. ( Individualized Education Program) YK is below reading, writing, and math levels. English is spoken at his home, and although in his paper work he is considered white, he looks Afghanistan. He seems to be middle to upper class and his special education teacher pointed out that his parents are very supportive of him and are very involved with his program. His strength throughout the day is is reading. He loves to read books and enjoys going to the library to pick out what he wants and quickly rushes to get back to D.E.A.R. time to read.

Behaviorally, YK is a joy to have in class and is very sweet. Every time before he asks a question, he will say, “Ummm excuse me Ms. Anderson?” He does respect most authority figures and is aware of school rules and behavioral expectations. However, YK does have difficulty controlling his impulses in the classroom, including staying in his assigned seat to complete a task, blurting out inappropriate verbal responses, and engages others in off-task behaviors.

The Classroom:

There is a total of 23 students in this 5th grade classroom. 35% of the students have an IEP. 52% are Asian, and 26% are white. Although there are 6 students in the class that are in a GT class, they are not above grade level.  Including YK, there are 7 students below reading level. There is sometimes more than just one special educuation teacher in the room at once.  About 1/4 of the students take tests in a seperate room and recieve extra help on the side.

2/5/08- Areas of Strengths and Needs

In reading, YK is able to decode words fluently and is showing greater ability to read with appropriate expression. He is able to identify the characters and setting of a story and can answer comprehension questions but only when the answers are stated explicitly in the text.  These particular strenghts in YK’s reading are probably most due to the fact that he loves to read.

YK will sometimes reply to questions in a silly way without using strategies that he has learned to help him find needed information in the text. He needs more practice with the fundamental elements of writing a paragraph. He struggles to add detail to his writings.

I have noticed that YK works hard mostly when he knows there is a reward for good behavior at the end. He is very proud of himself when he recieves good grades and likes to tell his special education teacher when he does well and likes giving high fives.

He mostly needs help in controlling his outbursts in class about things that bother him. He does not like it when people get in “his space.” but he will always ask that person in a nice way to back off. In class we have what we call a “bug box” where we write down things that are bothering us to go over later in class meetings. Sometimes he hates going to these meetings because he thinks people are going to talk bad about him and he will sit in some of the meetings while covering his ears.

2/9/09

Ways in Which Instruction is Differentiated:

Because Yk has an IEP and needs conistent help throughout whole group discussions and classwork, he has a special education teacher help him in all his subjects. For math and reading, YK, along with two other low IEP students go into a different room to be taught. For subjects including writing, science, and social studies, he is in the main classroom. However, for these three subjects, his special education teacher sits in the room at all times and helps him with the assignments. Sometimes, the special education teacher will have YK come over to a table in the classroom with two other students so she can better assist him face to face.

Yk’s special education teacher keeps him organized. ( as his desk is always a mess) Most of the assignments that Yk turns in, will be assisted work which the main teacher is always aware of. YK will try and write out most things by himself and his handwriting has improved since the beginning of the year, but sometimes the special education teacher will write out what he is saying.

YK’s IEP allows him to have extended time on tests and frequent breaks from the classroom. As said before, he works best in small groups and will sometimes have shortened assignments, more positive reinforcements for behavior, and extra assistance when using technology to type assignments.

2/10/09

Because YK sometimes has trouble controlling his impulses and outburts in class, he must bring a specialized behavior sheet which his special education teacher makes for him each day. He has a number goal for points that he must reach by the end of the day. The sheet lists all his classes for the day (including lunch and specials) He actually likes carrying this around and after each class, he brings it up to the teacher and the teacher fills out whether he stayed in his seat, did not call out, followed directions, and finished his work. He recieves one point for each category if he behaved well. Then at the end of the day the points are added to make sure he reached his daily goal. If the goal was not met, YK and his special education teacher discuss why it was not met, what went wrong, and how he could of prevented his inappropriate behavior.

One example of his inappropriate behavior was when a student said that YK got mad that a student liked McCain instead of Obama. YK is very passionate about Obama and was so mad at this student, that he took a piece of clay, said it was McCain’s face and threw it on the ground. Yk must be consistently reminded to keep personal beliefs to himself and that calling out will cause points to be lost on his behavior sheet.

2/12/09

My thoughts/what I learned

The classroom of YK is definitely a unique one because it actually has about 6-7 IEP/LD student’s in it. ( a lot more than the other 5 fifth grade classrooms) Therefore, sometimes there has to be about 3 or 4 adults in there at once. Which in some aspect, may help the actual teacher out a lot. But overall, I thought it was a great experience to observe everything going on at once, and to see how those students in particular, have different classes, recieve so much more assistance, and have different behavioral systems. It will definitely prepare me one day as a teacher to see how to organize it all and deal with it.

I do have to say though, that I often wonder if YK’s self-esteem ever goes down becuase of this? I know that because he learns differently, he has to be taught differently, but you have to wonder if its hard for him to be one of the only one’s that has to leave the classroom for 3 subjects during the day and always have someone at his side.

Of course we all need to learn how to differentiate as teachers, but it goes so much farther than that. I would think as a teacher, I would try my best on my part to still make it work for him to be more apart of the actual group for those three classes. And thats something I think we all need to think about as upcoming teachers.

2/15/09

YK’s special education teacher also mentioned that YK really likes to go on the computer. If I were his teacher, and knew that Math was one of the areas he recieves additional help, I would use the computer for math games like the ones we did in class. According to Smith & Throne (2007) students will build and master skills content via software.  Smith and Throne also stressed the importance of Graphic Organizers. This will help YK make better predictions while reading, link new material to past material, and will foster his logical thinking.

“Differentiating by readiness means turning your student’s varying degrees of ability in order to create activities that match their skills and levels of understanding. At the same time, you want to challenge them to move beyond their learning comfort zones to even greater successes.” ( Smith & Throne, 2007, pg. 50)

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