Engaged Learning with Technology

Engaged Learning with Technology

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Title: Weather in the ELL Classroom

Subject and Level: Science/Social Studies/Literacy – English Language Learner (ELLs) in first grade

Learner Description –

The students are English Language Learners (ELLs) in first grade at Ross Elementary School. Students are from about 6 different countries speaking 6 different languages.

Overview -

What will be taught?

The unit focuses on literacy building on weather. Weather vocabulary will be taught through the Big Book, Manipulative Chart, Picture Cards, and CDs. Students will compare and contrast the weather conditions in students’ countries with the conditions in the U.S. Students will also be taught to identify weather conditions by relating weather conditions to appropriate clothing.

Students will also develop an understanding of the seasons by naming the seasons of the year, considering physical change over time, and analyzing environmental change. Students will search for images of the seasons from the Internet and will learn the meaning of new vocabulary words relating to the four seasons. Creating a diagram with captions for images to describe the physical changes over time will provide an opportunity for the teacher to assess students’ understanding on the concept.

What will students do and learn?

Students will read the Big Book with CDs and books that are related to the weather conditions in both countries. Students then will use the Internet and related books to identify weather conditions in their home countries. Using a Venn Diagram students will record their findings and compare/contrast their findings. Students will be able to compare and contrast the weather conditions in students’ countries with the conditions in the U.S. Students will also be able to identify weather conditions by relating weather conditions to appropriate clothing.

Students will be able to learn the meaning of new vocabulary words in relation to the Seasons. Students will draw a diagram for the four seasons with captions to summarize what they have learned about the seasons.

Students will use the Internet to search for images of the seasons. Books will also be used to obtain more information on the topic. Students will create a diagram using Kidspiration. Students will write captions for the images to describe the changes in each season.

Rationale - Purpose for the Lesson as a whole. The WHY questions.

Why would you teach this Lesson?

Our current ELL curriculum guide specifies that we study weather. The concept of “weather” has always been a difficult concept for English Language Learners (ELLs) to grasp. Incorporating technology into this lesson will enhance students’ understanding of the concept and build a lifelong passion for learning.

Why would this qualify as an Engaged Learning Lesson?

Learning through hands-on experience with technology will energize students and foster students to become strategic learners who actively develop in thinking/learning strategies. The concept of “weather” has always been difficult concept for English Language Learners (ELLs) to grasp. Incorporating technology into this lesson will enhance students’ understanding on the concept and build a lifelong passion for learning.

Why is technology an important component of this Lesson?

As a teacher and facilitator, my role is to provide rich learning environments, experiences, and activities for students to actively engage in learning. In this kind of learning environment, students take pleasure in learning and derive excitement from learning. Technology keeps students actively engaged in learning. These “hands-on” learning experiences will help them to develop a lifelong passion for learning, our ultimate goal for our primary students.

Why is this project authentic/meaningful, and challenging for students?

This lesson is meaningful and authentic to the students by allowing students to research the weather conditions in their home countries. Students will take part in doing their own research and collecting information.

The lesson can be challenging since these are English Language Learners. These students are still acquiring a second language, English. Using the Internet, finding materials, and not to mention reading and recording information can be very challenging.

Goals - Content, Cognitive and Social - The WHAT questions

What new attributes (knowledge, skills, attitudes) do you expect students to gain?

Students will become collaborative, responsible, multidisciplinary, and interactive learners by working together using technology.

What school, district, state and national standards/benchmarks are addressed?

ELP Standard 2 : The Language of Language Arts (Sequence)

ELP Standard 4: The Language of Science (Weather)

Learning Activities - The activities required to achieve the goals.

Students will start the unit by using a K-W-L chart from Kidspiration to brainstorm what they know about the weather conditions in the U.S. Students will also use books and the Internet to research the weather conditions in their countries. Books they read, they will be taking notes (important facts) from the books. Using a Venn Diagram students will record their findings by comparing and contrasting the weather conditions in the U.S. with the conditions in their countries. Then, students will be writing a report on the topic using Kidspiration.

As a culminating activity students will end this unit by creating a diagram for the four seasons using Kidspiration or MSWord. They will write captions for images. Using the Internet students will search for the images of the seasons of the year. They will also watch videos and read books to obtain more information on the topic. Books they read, they will be taking notes (important facts) from the books.

The How questions.

Student Assessment- Enables student and teacher to measure student's attainment of goals.

What are my scoring characteristics? (What do I want to measure? What is an important outcome of this Lesson?)

Observation, interview, and WIDA Rubrics for students’ writing

The lesson focuses on writing skills. The WIDA will be used to assess students’ writing pieces.

What will indicate that students are novices, practitioners, or experts?

Students’ writing pieces – reports

How will I measure and communicate student progress on the goals?

Observation, anecdotal records, one-on-one interviews can be used to measure and communicate student progress on the goals.

How can students be involved in establishing goals and criteria for the assessment?

Students can generate self-assessment and peer editing on their reports.

How will the assessments be implemented to ensure that they are generative? Seamless and ongoing? Equitable for all students? An authentic task?

Assess students’ progress by their language proficiency in English.

How will students demonstrate their knowledge and skills?

K-W-L, Venn Diagram, notes from books, written report, diagrams with captions, and group oral presentations

Management

How will you manage student work individually and in groups? - What resources will you need to do this Lesson?

Desktop computer/laptops, overhead/DVD projector, Venn Diagram Wipe-Off Poster, Kidspiration (K-W-L, Venn Diagram, & Writing Template), CDs/DVDs, and books

Observation, class participation, and one-on-one interviews

How will the room(s) be arranged

Three students in each group – groups of three

Groups by language proficiency

Where will equipment and materials be located to promote maximum use?

Equipment and needed supplies will be located throughout the classroom and the supplies will be accessible at all times.

Where will students need to work and how can they be accommodated?

In the classroom as groups of three (heterogeneous grouping: high and low)

How will students with special needs be helped?

In the classroom as groups of two or three by language proficiency

Lesson Evaluation

What will I need to do, be aware of, and/or gather while teaching the Lesson in order to answer these questions:

What was effective?

Overall, I think my unit was successful. Students were actively engaged in learning and actively participated in class discussion. The use of technology and getting hands-on experiences clearly enhanced students’ understanding of the topic and increased students’ participation in class discussion. Heterogeneous grouping worked really well in completing this unit. Each student in each group had a job to complete in this project by working together. Each student took ownership and took pride in their work. Seeing their work being displayed on the bulletin board also made them proud of their work.

What wasn't effective?

Finding appropriate materials and web sites for English Language Learners (ELLs) was extremely difficult. With the help of our school librarian, I was able to find some appropriate web sites for our English Language Learners to use and to find images. Finding the highest and the lowest temperature in graphs was also difficult for most of my first graders. Some of them were not able to count to 100 yet. This delayed the unit a little.

What will I do differently next time?

Next year this unit will be a two-month project instead of one month. I will use more planning time for student research and more planning time for myself as well. Due to time constraints, I felt that I had to rush a lot of times. It would have been much more effective if I had broken down the unit into several mini lessons. Additional “ELL appropriate” materials for students to use would be beneficial.

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Authors: Jo Williamson, Kristin Ciesemier

Created: February, 1997, Updated: July, 1997

For: Area One Learning Technology Hub