Engaged Learning with Technology
Unit Framework
April 7, 2006
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Title: Making Cookies
Subject and Level: Science, Math, Language Arts; Grades 1–3.
Learner Description – Nineteen English Language Learners, grades 1, 2, and 3, in six separate groups. They attend Eisenhower Elementary School in Prospect Heights, Illinois. The students range in English proficiency from very limited to quite fluent. They speak Spanish, Polish, Korean, Japanese, Bulgarian, and Telugu.
Overview -
What will be taught?
Students will be taught about the process of making cookies and the vocabulary that goes with it. They will be taught how to use the Internet, video camera, digital camera, Kid Pix, Boardmaker and keyboarding/computer skills.
What will students do and learn?
Students will first read several books about cookies (see references). For the Frog and Toad story about cookies, one group will retell the story on a tape recorder, first using their memory and then with picture prompts. All students will discuss and dictate to me how they think cookies are made, and I will write what they say on chart paper to show them. They will learn how to read a recipe and how to make cookies. They will learn the names of baking utensils, appliances, and ingredients. Incorporated into this is learning the use of fractions and measuring.
Next, the students will actually make the cookies. They will be involved with most of the procedures (closely supervised): measuring, sifting, mixing and combining wet and dry ingredients, refrigerating the dough, forming balls of dough, rolling them in sugar, greasing the cookie sheets, baking, removing cookies from the cookie sheet onto wire racks, putting the cooled cookies into containers, and cleaning up. The best part will be eating the cookies and sharing them with their families.
After making the cookies, the students will review the recipe vocabulary, retell and write about how to make cookies, and illustrate the cookie-making process on Kid Pix. Last, they will research more cookie recipes on the Internet and print out their favorites. The students and I will use the digital camera and video camera throughout to record the cookie-making process and follow-up. With the resulting photos and movie clips, I will make an iPhoto slideshow and an iMovie, adding voiceovers and music. I will show these to the students so they can see themselves in action.
Rationale - Purpose for the unit as a whole.
The WHY questions.
Why would you teach this unit?
This unit teaches a part of American food and culture. It reinforces and improves reading, writing, listening, speaking, and drawing skills. It shows students how to read a recipe, measure, mix, form cookies, and bake them. It teaches fractions such as ¾ of a cup, ¼ of a teaspoon, etc. It also teaches temperature (375° Fahrenheit) necessary for baking cookies. I want students to see the scientific process of changing matter by mixing, refrigerating and baking. I also want them to learn how to better follow directions, both written and oral. Another goal is to teach students how to share responsibilities and take turns. In addition, I want students to improve their knowledge and use of technology.
Why would this qualify as an Engaged Learning unit?
The following engaged learning indicators are used:
Vision of Learning:
Responsible for learning: Learner involved in setting goals, choosing tasks, developing assessments and standards for the tasks; has big picture for learning and next steps in mind
Strategic: Learner actively develops repertoire of thinking/learning strategies.
Energized by learning: Learner is not dependent on rewards from others; has a passion for learning.
Collaborative: Learner develops new ideas and understanding in conversations and work with others.
Tasks:
Authentic: Pertains to real world, may be addressed to personal interest
Challenging: Difficult enough to be interesting but not totally frustrating, usually sustained
Multidisciplinary: Involves integrating disciplines to solve problems and address issues
Assessment:
Performance-based: Involving a performance or demonstration, usually for a real audience and useful purpose
Generative: Assessments having meaning for learner; maybe produce information, product, service
Seamless and ongoing: Assessment is part of instruction and vice versa; students learn during assessment
Equitable: Assessment is culture fair
Instructional model:
Interactive: Teacher or technology program responsive to student needs, requests (e.g., menu driven)
Generative: Instruction oriented to constructing meaning; providing meaningful activities/experiences
Learning Context:
Collaborative: Instruction conceptualizes students as part of learning community; activities are collaborative.
Knowledge-building: Learning experiences set up to bring multiple perspectives to solve problems such that each perspective contributes to shared understanding for all; goes beyond brainstorming
Empathetic: Learning environment and experiences set up for valuing diversity, multiple perspectives, strengths
Grouping:
Heterogeneous: Small groups with persons from different ability levels and backgrounds
Equitable: Small groups organized so that over time all students have challenging learning tasks/experiences
Teacher Roles:
Facilitator: Engages in negotiation, simulates and monitors discussion and project work but does not control
Guide: Helps students to construct their own meaning by modeling, mediating, explaining when needed redirecting focus, providing options
Co-learner/co-investigator: Teacher considers self as learner; willing to take risks to explore areas outside his or her expertise; collaborates with other teachers and practicing professionals
Student Roles:
Explorer: Students have opportunities to explore new ideas/tools; push the envelope in ideas and research
Teacher: Learning is situated in relationship with mentor who coaches students to develop ideas and skills that simulate the role of practicing professionals (i.e., engage in real research
Producer—Students develop products of real use to themselves and others
Why is technology an important component of this unit?
The unit utilizes Internet websites containing cookie recipes. The scanner is used for pictures; Boardmaker is used for storing and organizing pictures; Graphic Converter is used for manipulating pictures; Kid Pix is used to make illustrations. Microsoft Word is used to type the recipe and the students’ dictated sentences and to teach keyboarding and other computer skills. Word and Boardmaker are used to create the assessments. Smart Sound is used to edit music. The digital camera, video camera, iPhoto and iMovie are valuable for capturing the students in the cookie-making process.
Why is this project authentic, meaningful, and challenging for students?
It helps the students learn the popular American activity of making cookies. Students make the cookies and take them home to share with their families. They are challenged to learn about recipes, ingredients and utensils. They are also challenged to read and remember stories about cookies and to write about cookies.
Goals - Content, Cognitive and Social - The WHAT questions
What new attributes (knowledge, skills, attitudes) do you expect students to gain?
I expect the students to learn about the entire cookie-making process: measuring, mixing, and baking. I expect the following skills to be learned or improved: following written and oral directions, sequencing, using the Internet and Boardmaker, using a digital and video camera, and keyboarding. I expect to see significant improvement in reading, writing, speaking and listening. I also expect students to learn to share responsibilities and take turns, developing an attitude of cooperation and ownership.
What school, district, state and national standards/benchmarks are addressed?
The following Illinois Learning Standards are addressed:
1A1a—Apply word analysis skills (e.g., phonics, word patterns) to recognize new words.
1A1b—Comprehend unfamiliar words using context clues and prior knowledge; verify meanings with resource materials.
1B1a—Establish purposes for reading, make predictions, connect important ideas, and link text to previous experiences and knowledge.
1B1c—Continuously check and clarify for understanding (e.g., reread, read ahead, use visual and context clues, ask questions, retell, use meaningful substitutions).
1B1d—Read age-appropriate material aloud with fluency and accuracy.
1C1a—Use information to form questions and verify predictions.
1C1b—Identify important themes and topics.
1C1d—Summarize content of reading material using text organization (e.g., story, sequence).
1C1e—Identify how authors and illustrators express their ideas in text and graphics (e.g., dialogue, conflict, shape, color, characters).
2B1a—Respond to literary materials by connecting them to their own experience, and communicate those responses to others.
2B1c—Relate character, setting and plot to real-life situations.
3A1—Construct complete sentences which demonstrate subject/verb agreement; appropriate capitalization and punctuation; correct spelling of appropriate, high-frequency words; and appropriate use of the eight parts of speech.
3C1a—Write for a variety of purposes including description, information, explanation, persuasion and narration.
4A1a—Listen attentively by facing the speaker, making eye contact and paraphrasing what is said.
4A1b—Ask questions and respond to questions from the teacher and from group members to improve comprehension.
4A1c—Follow oral instructions accurately.
4A1d—Use visually oriented and auditorily based media.
4B1b—Participate in discussions around a common topic.
5A1a—Identify questions and gather information.
5C1b—Use print, nonprint, human and technological resources to acquire and use information.
6A1b—Identify and model fractions using concrete materials and pictorial representations.
7A1a—Measure length, volume and weight/mass using rulers, scales and other appropriate measuring instruments in the customary and metric systems.
7A1b—Measure units of time using appropriate instruments (e.g., calendars, clocks, watches—both analog and digital).
11A1a—Describe an observed event.
12C1a—Identify and compare sources of energy (e.g., batteries, the sun).
12C1b—Compare large-scale physical properties of matter (e.g., size, shape, color, texture, odor).
13A1a—Use basic safety practices (e.g., not tasting materials without permission, “stop/drop/roll”).
13A1c—Explain how knowledge can be gained by careful observation.
19.A.1—Demonstrate control when performing fundamental locomotor, non-locomotor and manipulative skills.
19.B.1—Understand spatial awareness and relationships to objects and people.
22A1b—Identify methods of health promotion and illness prevention (e.g., obtaining immunizations, hand washing, brushing and flossing teeth, eating practices, sleep, cleanliness).
24A1a—Differentiate between positive and negative behaviors (e.g., waiting your turn vs. pushing in line, honesty vs. lying).
24A1b—Identify positive verbal and non-verbal communication skills (e.g., body language, manners, listening).
28A1b—Respond appropriately to simple commands in the target language (English).
28B1a—Respond to and ask simple questions with prompts.
28B1b—Imitate pronunciation, intonation and inflection including sounds unique to the target language.
28C1a—Recognize the written form of familiar spoken language and predict meaning of key words in a simple story, poem or song.
28D1a—Copy/write words, phrases and simple sentences.
28D1b—Describe people, activities and objects from school and home.
29C1a—Identify main characters, settings and events from selected samples of children’s literature using audio and visual cues.
LearningActivities - The activities required to achieve the goals.
The HOW questions
StudentAssessment- 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 unit?)
I want to measure how well the students understand the process of making cookies. I will give them tests which assess vocabulary and sequencing. An important outcome is that they know how to follow a recipe with adult supervision.
What will indicate that students are novices, practitioners, or experts?
I will give three different leveled tests: one for novices, one for practitioners, and one for experts. On each test the students must score at least 80% to reach their target. (See table below). I would informally assess how well the students did on answering questions about cookie making. I would also observe how well students were able to follow directions and take turns.
0 – 50% |
51-79% |
80-100% |
|
Level 1 |
Not yet—try again |
Emerging |
Novice |
Level 2 |
Emerging |
Novice |
Practitioner |
Level 3 |
Novice |
Practitioner |
Expert |
How will I measure and communicate student progress on the goals?
I will compare their first dictations to their final dictations or writing and give an informal score for progress. I will also grade their tests and give stickers. They will be able to take their tests home to show their families the progress they have made.
How can students be involved in establishing goals and criteria for the assessment?
Students can decide which pictures and words they want to be tested on. First graders can also choose which test they would like to take.
How will the assessments be implemented to ensure that they are generative? seamless and ongoing? equitable for all students? an authentic task?
The assessments will have meaning for the learners because they will learn how to actually make and eat cookies. Students will be assessed throughout the teaching process and they will learn during the assessments. The assessments are culture fair. They are authentic because they test what students can use in real life. Students choose how they want to summarize what they have learned.
How will students demonstrate their knowledge and skills?
The novices will have a picture-word matching test with 25 words. They may have the test read to them and picture-word mini posters to look at. The practitioners will have the same test but will not have the posters to look at. They will read the test themselves with minimal help. The experts will be given a cloze test and a word bank with 28 words. They will not have the test read to them or have pictures to look at.
Management
How will you manage student work individually and in groups?- What resources will you need to do this unit?
I will sit down with students at the table and read and talk with them. I will help each one as needed with questions, reading and writing. I will closely supervise each step of the cookie making process. For the first graders I will draw smiley faces for each student as I observe them following directions. I will award stickers at the end of the unit for the students to put on the cover of their notebooks.
The resources that I need include the following books and websites:
Biggest Cookie in the World, The by Linda Hayward
Doorbell Rang, The by Pat Hutchins
Frog and Toad Together: Cookies by Arnold Lobel
Gingerbread Man, The--Jamestown Heritage Readers
If You Give a Mouse a Cookie by Laura Numeroff
Tasting Things by Allan Fowler
http://www.verybestbaking.com/recipes/
http://us.mms.com/us/baking/recipes/cookies/
http://parentingteens.about.com/od/recipesforkids/r/kids_recipes78.htm
http://www.recipezaar.com/73960
http://baking.about.com/cs/rolledcookies/a/sugar_3.htm
Supplies: oven, refrigerator, electric mixer and beaters, 3 large bowls (wet ingredients, dry ingredients, refrigerated dough), 1 small bowl for sugar, small custard dish for egg, rubber spatulas (large and small), 1 cup, ¼ cup, 1 teaspoon, ½ teaspoon, ¼ teaspoon, knife (to cut butter & level flour), sifter, big spoon, wax paper, over gloves, timer, tub for dirty dishes, dish soap, sponge, dishtowels, cookie sheets, wire racks, metal spatula, gallon-size Ziploc bags with zippers, small baggies, containers for sharing with others.
Ingredients: butter, brown sugar, molasses, egg, flour, baking soda, salt, ginger, cloves, cinnamon, nutmeg, white sugar, Pam Spray.
How will the room(s) be arranged?
It will be arranged with a round table and chairs in the middle of the room and a computer and chairs on one side of the room.
Where will equipment and materials be located to promote maximum use?
They will be on the tables and drawers in the classroom.
Where will students need to work and how can they be accommodated?
The students will work at the table or at the computer. No special accommodations are needed. The tables and chairs can be easily moved in order to fit everyone in.
How will students with special needs be helped?
All English language learners and one learning-disabled student will be helped with new vocabulary and concepts by using sheltered English (slower, simpler language.) and by repetition. On the tests they will be given matching questions or cloze sentences (with a word bank) rather than open-ended questions. The novices will have fewer words to learn.
Unit Evaluation
What will I need to do, be aware of, and/or gather while teaching the unit in order to answer these questions: What was effective? What wasn't effective? What will I do differently next time?
I will need to observe students interacting with each other and be aware of how they are helping each other. I will look for understanding of the vocabulary and concepts throughout my teaching and assessment. I will see how well the students complete the tasks in the time given them.
What was effective?
The unit went very well. The students were very eager to learn and to make the cookies. They were cooperative and followed directions well for the most part. I was pleased to see how seriously they took their work. They cleaned up after themselves. I think they were especially happy to eat the cookies and share them with their families!
What wasn't effective?
The main reason the unit wasn’t as effective as I wanted it to be was lack of time. My time with each group was very limited because I was in their classrooms most of the time. I tried to pack a lot into each lesson with them during my pullout times. I didn’t officially document how the students were doing since I was too busy making the cookies or doing related activities with them. I was just informally observing and helping them.
Another reason, also due to lack of time, was that I was unable to go through the entire cookie-making process with all but one student. Each group was involved in only one part of the process and wasn’t able to see the big picture. It was also energy consuming (unavoidably) to make the cookies five different times in one day with the different groups. It would have been easier (but impractical) to make the cookies once or twice.
The students with lower English proficiency were unable or reluctant to write.
What would I do differently next time?
First, I would allow more time, several more weeks if possible. I would use a different recipe (probably chocolate chip cookies, their favorite) that didn’t involve sifting, refrigeration, forming balls, or coating the cookies with sugar. I would have the students make cookies for people in the school and in the community. I would use Power Point to demonstrate the cookie-making process and to have students show what they have learned. I would have students research the history of cookie making, and compare American favorites with those of other countries. I’d ask students to bring recipes from home and try comparing and contrasting different kinds of cookies. I would also teach polling and graphing to indicate favorite cookies. I would give a pretest and a posttest assessing the same material. Finally, I would have students present their newfound knowledge with others in a large or small group setting.