tech project
TRANSCRIPT
Mrs. Nelson’s Third Grade Class
Spanish Oaks Elementary
Technology in the Classroom
By: Carisa Fawcett
lessonobjective
Standard 8: Writing-Students write daily to communicate effectively for a variety of purposes and audiences.
Objective 1: Prepare to write by gathering and organizing information and ideas (pre-writing).
b. Select and narrow a topic from generated ideas.
d. Use a variety of graphic organizers to organize information.
Objective 2: Compose a written draft.
a. Draft ideas on paper in an organized manner utilizing words and sentences (e.g., beginning, middle, end; main idea; details; characterization; setting; plot).
c. Use strong verbs and vivid language.
Objective 3: Revise by elaborating and clarifying written draft.
The main purpose was
to teach the students
how to use a story-
mapping chart to help
them organize
information.
This specifically included
identifying the parts of
a story.
The other objectives
were accomplished in
the process and
helped to enhance the
lesson.
***This lesson took place
over two weeks.
Story-mapping is a way to organize ideas before writing.
selecting a
topic
After the powerpoint, we got together as a class to work
on the first step in the process: selecting a topic.
At this time, I also explained that the students would be
writing this as a class and everyone needed to agree on
the topic. I also told them we would be illustrating the story
and making it into a movie. This got them excited and
helped them begin brainstorming.
It was a challenge because all of the students had ideas
that they wanted to share and we had to narrow it down to
one. We voted and the most popular was “love and
chickens.”
Topics suggested by the class:
•adventure in the desert
•adventure in space
•medieval times
•adventure to disneyland
•the baseball game
•love and chickens
After the topic was
chosen, the class
came up with a
title:
assigning
sectionsEach table was in charge of
a section.
After they were assigned,
they worked as a group to
fill in details for their
section.
writing details
rough drafts----final drafts
As groups, the students put
their ideas together and
wrote a rough draft of their
section.
Once everyone finished the
rough draft, the groups
lined up and read what they
had in order. At this stage,
students revised and fixed
parts of the story.
After they approved their
section with the rest of the
class, they split it up into
different parts so that each
person in the group could
write a section.
illustrating
recording
After I organized the illustrations and text on my
computer, I had the students come out in their
groups and record their sections on my laptop.
The students really enjoyed this part of the
project.
final product
The movie was the final product. The students were excited to see how their story turned out.
The movie is a fun way for students to see how organizing information can lead to writing a fun story. Even when you are working with a large group.
4 principles of technology Student Use of Technology:
In this lesson, I was the main user of technology because I taught the lesson using a powerpoint. However, as I taught I invited student participation by asking questions.
At the end when students recorded their section, they had an opportunity to use the technology and then listen to themselves. I thought this was very beneficial for them because they could hear how fluent or jumbled their reading sounded. I think its important for them to hear themselves because it will motivate them to read more fluently.
Technology Use is Essential:
I don’t think it was absolutely essential, but I think that it increased the amount of learning that took place. They don’t interact with a lot of technology, so this unit was special for them.
Because they don’t have many opportunities to use technology, the technology did act as a motivational factor. But I think that it was a success because the students enjoyed the learning experience.
Focus on Learning Task:
The powerpoint specifically focused on the graphic organizer. It taught them how to use it. As I showed the powerpoint, I modeled by giving an example topic, subtopic and supporting details.
I think the powerpoint is much more interactive than writing on the whiteboard and allows students to have a visual stimulation in the lesson.
Added Value:
It was not hard to use the powerpoint to teach about story-mapping, it did require more time to prepare though.
I think it added value by giving the students specific information to focus on at one time. The lesson flowed more smoothly because the students could read and watch the powerpoint, as well as hear what I was saying to explain the assignment.
I wouldn’t have been able to put a movie together without technology. I think the movie part of the assignment was exciting and helped the students look forward to writing the story.