Lauren

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**Timeline for Project Completion**

**Unit 1** Get into the Project Wiki space. Complete Section 1 of your Final Project Template. **Unit 2** Determine the Unit standards and the ways in which your students can demonstrate those standards to you. **Unit 3** Develop one idea for incorporating the use of a wiki or blog in your unit. **Unit 4** Develop one idea for incorporating the use of podcasting in your unit. **Unit 5** Develop one idea for incorporating video and multimedia into your unit. **Unit 6** Develop one idea for using one or more Google Apps into your unit. **Unit 7** Develop one idea for incorporating instruction on digital citizenship and/or social networking into your unit plans.

Name: Lauren Horsfall Title: 6th Grade Language Arts Teacher SAU: 82 Grade Level: 6 District: Chester Content Area: Language Arts School: Chester Academy Content Domain:
 * Section 1: General Information **

Course Unit: Communication Vocabulary
 * Backward Design Unit Planning **
 * <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Unit 2: Standards and Learning Goals **

<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Source of Standards: <span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">New Hampshire Standards and Benchmarks

<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Source of Standards: <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">What are the standards you want to teach with this unit? Include the entire standard, not just a reference number. <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Brainstorm ideas for how students can demonstrate this standard to you. This should be something that students can either perform or produce for you that convince you they know what you want them to know about the standard.

<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">R:V:6:1.1 Students will identify the meaning of unfamiliar vocabulary by using strategies to unlock meaning (e.g., knowledge of word structure, including prefixes/suffixes and base words; or context clues; or other resources, such as dictionaries, glossaries, thesauruses; or prior knowledge)

<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Brainstorm ideas for how students can demonstrate this standard to you. This should be something that students can either perform or produce for you that convince you they know what you want them to know about the standard.

<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Children will be able to demonstrate this standard through discussion, quizzes, and workbook use. Having the children use the new vocabulary in their everyday language will prove to me that they have mastered their ability to uncover the meaning of unknown words. I would also be looking for the children using their strategies/tools in other areas that we study. Vocabulary is just one piece of the puzzle. I could challenge them to find the prefixes and/or suffixes in other text from other classes and see if they can uncover the meaning of an unknown word. In order for the students to generalize the strategy being taught and carry it over to other areas they will need practice and that can be shown through classroom activities. We do study how to uncover the meaning of an unknown word through context clues and the children could demonstrate how to do that with a fresh read passage and use what they know to help with the meaning of an unknown word. The five steps are read, look, think, predict, and check. Repetition and practice is key!

<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Unit 2 (optional): Assessment Criteria and Measurement <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Design a draft of the assessment you will use to determine students have achieved the standards. <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">List your Criteria for Assessment based on the demonstrations you expect students to know or be able to do if they achieve the standard. These are based on your brainstormed ideas of what students can perform or produce. <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">What are the levels of quality or understanding of content you might expect? Design the measurement scale for the rubric. Consider what constitutes average, then consider what is above and below average performance.

//**Unit 3:**// **Instructional Design: Wikis and Blogs** //**Develop an idea for a learning activity that uses either a wiki or a blog to provide students with experience and practice performing or producing what you indicated would convince you they learned the standard.**// How will students use the wiki or blog? I foresee the students using a wiki in an assessment piece by sharing areas in which they find the vocabulary words that they are studying or by demonstrating how they used a new strategy in another class. For example, Suzie was reading a chapter in her social studies class and came across the word verbose. She might add to the wiki that she found the word in her S.S. text and how it relates to our study of communication vocabulary. Another way might be, Suzie was reading a passage for science and came across a word that she had never seen before like auditory. She can link it to the Latin roots that we studied and say that she knows the word has something to do with to hear because she recognizes audi as meaning to hear. I think that if I can get the kids to participate in this manner to start, I can figure out a way to better the wiki in the future.

How will this activity connect to the performance or product you need to see students demonstrate? I am really looking for the students to generalize the strategies that we learn in class. If they are able to carry that over to another class and start discovering that they can uncover the meaning of unknown words without having to use a dictionary, I am achieving my goal. I want them to realize that many words are related to one another and as they get on in years they will begin to see that is true. Generalization is the key to learning.

//**Unit 4:**// **Instructional Design: Podcasting** //**Develop an idea for a learning activity that uses podcasting to provide students with experience and practice performing or producing what you indicated would convince you they learned the standard.**// How will students use podcasting in this unit? I think that podcasting could be used in a few ways, but I see it as being used in a way to help children use new vocabulary properly. I am not sure if this would work, but have them create a story using their vocabulary words in it. I would then create a podcast and as a challenge have them decide whether the words are used correctly or incorrectly. They could post their response in a blog and I could see how they are understanding what I am teaching. They could choose one word that they know is not used correctly and correct its use on the blog.

How will this activity connect to the performance or product you need to see students demonstrate? I think that by having the activity be more interactive and allowing them to 'correct' the teacher they will become more interested. Children always like to correct a teacher and they also like to listen to computers. Using a podcast is another way to access the students interests and strengths. It will also allow me to see their understanding of the new vocabulary by having them post the corrections.

//**Unit 5:**// **Instructional Design: Videos and Multimedia** //**Develop an idea for a learning activity that uses video or multimedia resources to provide students with experience and practice performing or producing what you indicated would convince you they learned the standard.**// How will students use the video or multimedia in this unit?

Each of my vocabulary units have a theme. I would have the children search for the theme using videos and see if they can find uses of the words or other words that fit the theme. For example, we are studying time vocabulary. I would see if they can add to the 30 words that we study and explain how that word is related to the theme and why it belongs. Does the word have a common root, prefix, or suffix? Can the word be used in a different way? What other information can they find out about the word from the video or multimedia resource.

How will this activity connect to the performance or product you need to see students demonstrate?

I would be looking for the students to be able to use some of the new vocabulary in daily conversation. Are they able to use the words? Can they use the words correctly? Can they add to my word wall? The students should be gaining strategies through the use of the words and start generalizing the commonalities between the words. Is there a word that is unknown that has a common root that the time words have? Allow the children to explore different types of literature to see if they can make connections on their own.

//Unit 6:// <span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif';">Instructional Design: Google Apps <span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">//Develop an idea for a learning activity that uses one or more Google Apps to provide students with experience and practice performing or producing what you indicated would convince you they learned the standard.//

<span style="color: black; font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 10pt; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">How will students use the Google App in this unit? <span style="color: black; font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 10pt; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">How will this activity connect to the performance or product you need to see students demonstrate?

<span style="color: black; font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 10pt; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">//An alternative to developing an idea for your students is to develop an idea for using one or more Google Apps with your colleague.//

**<span style="color: black; font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 10pt; font-weight: normal;">How would you and your colleagues use the Google App? ** **<span style="color: black; font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 10pt; font-weight: normal;">I can see myself using Google Calendars for planning events. There are many times that we have meetings and coverage for those meetings. Posting them in a common place would be very helpful because then we would not have to check different locations and if there was a change to an event it would be updated once for all to see. ** **<span style="color: black; font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 10pt; font-weight: normal;">How would this help or enhance your professional life? ** **<span style="color: black; font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 10pt; font-weight: normal;">I find it very hard to communicate to so many people what is happening and feel as though I spend a fair amount of time 'updating' people on events, schedule changes, and or coverage. If we all had one place to check we could eliminate the need for frequent e-mails, that all might not receive or check and this is a sure way to keep us all in the loop. Quick and easy! I like that! **

//**Unit 7:**// **Instructional Design: Digital Citizenship** //**Develop an idea for a learning activity that teaches some aspects of digital citizenship that might apply to the student use of the various Web 2.0 tools you chose above and social networking.**// How will this activity give them a better learning experience using the Web 2.0 tools? Times are changing and children are too. It is very difficult to have a student sit and listen to a lecture for a long period of time. By integrating Web 2.0 into our everyday lives it grabs the attention on the 20 or so students we have in a classroom at time. Through the use of these tools children have a lot more answers right at their fingertips. It cuts down on time it might take to 'research' a question when they get home. It allows me to explore other options for teaching methods and integration units. I am allowing the children to use a hands on approach to learning and in the long run I find that learning this way allows the children to explore at their own pace and have more meaning to learning.

How will this activity relate to the internet policies already in place at your school? I believe that it follows the internet policy that is in place at my school. Children are using the internet to explore educational information, but in with a different approach to learning. I don't believe that social networking should be a part of an in school lesson other than teaching the children to 'be safe.' It is eminent that children will use social networking at some point in their lives, so it is important to teach them the 'right' way to use it, but I don't believe there is a use for it right now in the classroom. It is important for children to learn what a reputable website is and how to use it appropriately and it is partly my job to teach that use. Using Web 2.0 tools is a great way to enhance teaching and with time we will all feel a lot more comfortable using it ourselves.