The Grande Finale

From this social studies class, I have gained a lot of knowledge, insight, and experience. I have learned various technological tools to implement in the classroom, the true meaning of social studies, different ways to teach social studies, and how to engage students in the classroom.

I have learned three different types of lessons to teach: direct instruction, cooperative, and inquiry. I have learned about things that worked in my lessons and things that did not. I have learned how to engage students in lessons through interactive technology, such as SMARTBoard activities, Voki, Tellagami, ThingLink, etc. I have learned that social studies is powerful because it is integrative, active, challenging, value-based, and meaningful. I am different today than I was in the beginning of the course by gaining more classroom experience, as well as learning about and implementing various technological tools for the classroom. 

The one thing I had difficulty with in this course was during my fieldwork experience. It was difficult to teach the lessons within the allotted time. I often found myself going over the time limit. This is a weakness that I will continue to work on, until I perfect it. 

As elementary teacher, I will be teaching multiple subjects in my classroom, especially social studies. I plan to make sure all my students academic needs are fulfilled. The social studies class I would like to create in the future, is a fun, interactive, and worthwhile classroom. I want to incorporate technology every chance I get, because technology makes learning interactive, fun, and engaging. I think a worthless social studies class, is one where the teacher just reads to the students and has them regurgitate what was just read. When social studies is taught this way, studies lose focus, become bored, and ultimately, come to strongly dislike social studies.This semester has been a great semester and I am grateful for the technological tools introduced to me by my professor, as well as feedback from both my professor and my peers. 

Mock Interview Trials

In my social studies methods class, I was interviewed by 3 "administrators". I was asked questions by each administrator like I was in a real life interview. Questions were based off of classroom management, inquiry, direct, and cooperative lessons, and social studies methods. 

The most difficult question I was asked was, "If you could relate any animal to your classroom, what would that animal be". For me, this question was very out of the box and open-ended for me. The most inspiring question for me was,"If you could have lunch with anyone, dead or living, who would it be?" This was most inspiring because I chose my great-grandfather who is no longer living and who was an inspiration in my life. All the questions asked were excellent and relative to what we learned in class, as well as a real-life interview. 

Overall, I thought this experience was a great learning experience. I felt prepared and thought I responded well to the questions. I felt this mock interview was a great experience for my future teaching interviews. 

Inquiry Reflective Piece

 

Introduction Engage/Exploratory

• Was the introduction and assessment of prior knowledge using a “think-pair-share” effective enough to engage students and motivate them to solve the problem? (Unfortunately, this could not be completed due to a time constraint. We had to jump right into the lesson.)
• Was using the fictional character Dr. Merriweather an effective and engaging strategy to introduce students to the problem? (Yes, students were focused, paid attention, and thought the tellagmi was awesome.)
• Was using a tellagami an engaging approach to involve students in inquiry? (Yes, students loved the tellagmi and thought it was cool.)

Development - Explore and Explain

• Was using one image and a ThinkLink the best way to model the process students would need to undergo for this lesson? (Yes, students were able to complete the task, see and hearing only one modeling process.)
• Were the images and ThingLink selected to model the process to students engaging and informative? (Yes, the images and ThingLink were imformative for modeling.)

Monitoring Inquiry - Expand

• Were the pictures of artifacts I provided enough for students to make a hypothesis? (Yes,the pictures of artificats were enough for students to make ample hypotheses.)
• Did I create an activity in which students could engage with technology and one another? (Yes, students used Ipads to scan QR codes on websites. Students also had to engage with one another through communicating in groups to complete a task.)
• Were the artifacts students given clear enough for students to understand what their objective was? (Yes, these artifacts greatly linked together, along with the lesson being presented.)
• Was twenty minutes enough time to complete the task? (Since there were not enough Ipads, 20 minutes was not enough. If there were enough Ipads, I believe 20 minutes would be the perfect amount of time.)
• Did I provide enough images and information from the pictures and website links for students to grasp the “big ideas? (Yes, more than enough information and images were provided to students).
• Did the rubric help me to evaluate the student’s inquiry process? (Yes, the rubric allowed me to evalulate student progress because it categorized student progress.)

Closure

• Was using an oral presentation of students finding the best way to allow students to present their conclusions? ( Yes, this allows students to share their findings with their classmates. This also allows students to practice their presentation skills and social skills.)

Independent Practice - Elaborate

• Was using a letter the best way for students to translate the information they learned and the conclusions they came to? (Yes, using a letter allows the student to apply what they have just learned and to make connections with the content.)
• Did the rubrics criteria help me evaluate the student’s ability to write in a clear and concise manner to share information and conclusions? (Yes, the rubric categorizes different aspects that need to be present in the letter, along with a matching grade.
• Was ten minutes enough time for students to complete the task? (Yes, ten minutes was enough time to complete the task. However, if students who need more time, can use more time because this was not a "timed" task since the focus was on content.)

Unit Plan Reflection

This semester, I had to write 3 lesson plans (Direct Instruction, Inquiry, and Cooperative lessons) with 2 other teacher candidates, and implement them in the classroom. I also had to write 3 additional mini-lesson plans individually. These six lessons compiled into my social studies unit plan about the Colonial Hudson Valley.  Here is the link to the outline of my unit plan. This maps the topics and key facts students will learn, as well as how the students are assessed. 

Overall, writing this unit plan was a great experience. By implementing the first three lessons, I was able to receive constructive and viable feedback. I was also able to implement one of my mini-lessons, the artifact bag, to other teacher candidates. I was provided with ample feedback on this lesson as well. Personally, I wish I had more time to write the unit plan, as well as more guidance. However, this experience has been a great one, one that I will carry with me in my future elementary classroom.  

Cooperative Lesson Reflection

     Personally, I thought the cooperative lesson was a great lesson. However there were some aspects of the lesson that I would change. I would change the three historical figures in the lesson because they weren't introduced in the Direct Instruction Lesson. Instead of having each group research each person, I would have one group research one person, and then each group would present and teach their findings to the class.

     Even though some aspects need to change in the lesson, some can remain the same because they worked so well. One aspect of the lesson that worked really well, was the implementation of QR codes. Students love to use Ipads and technology. QR codes allowed the students to scan the code with an Ipad and brought them directly to the appropriate site. This saved a lot of time, instead of having the students search their own websites or try and copy the URL. I also liked the implementation of music as a que for the students to finish up their historical figure and to move onto the next historical figure.

     I have received great feedback on how to better this lesson. After putting much thought and consideration into the cooperative lesson, I modified the lesson. I changed the three historical figures to people who were mentioned in the Direct Instruction lesson. I would also make sure there were more available Ipads, so every student could research and participate. Implementing this cooperative lesson was a great learning experience, one that I will implement in my future elementary classroom.

Global Education

        Another project I had to complete this semester was to use a technological tool to educate others on global education and humanities. Another teacher candidate and I decided to use a tool called glogster. Glogster is similar to a poster, except it is an online, technological tool. The entire page is visibile at one, and you can displat photos, texts, videos, and links. I really enjoyed this tool and it will definitely be something I will use in my future classroom, It is easy to use and highly beneficial. Check out our project about global education using glogster. 

        Global education studies the many different cultures and countries, the issues that they face, and fosters an understanding of the impact that our actions have on them. Global education is an important topic and area to study because the day-to-day lives of citizen around the world are influenced and affected by international connections (What are Global and International Education, n.d.) . Many educators are left to wonder what students should know and understand about the world, as well as skills and attitudes they need to confront future global problems (Weil, 2014).

This project helped me develop content knowledge about global education through researching the topic and coming across various lessons and organizations. Besides becoming knowledgeable about global education, this project has allowed to become more aware about the various organizations and groups that exist to not only educate people about global education, but to make them aware and be contributors to better the world. For example, Unicef is a charity that accepts donations for countries that need the basic necessities of life: food, clean water, clothes, and medicine.

Global education is a power social studies topic to teach in the classroom. It is integrative because it can be used across all subjects. It can be taught with a mathematics lesson, ELA lesson, reading lesson, social studies, and science. It is not restrained to just one subject. It is challenging because it targets ethical decisions. Global education is not a simple concept by any means because it deals with real life and real life situations. It is meaningful because students are able to make a connection with it. It is value-based because it triggers opinions, beliefs, and cultures. It is active because it allows students to be active members of society and donate their time and resources. It promotes civic competence.

References

TeachUNICEF. (2015, January 1). Retrieved April 15, 2015, from http://teachunicef.org/

Weil, Z. (2014, June 10). How Do We Educate Global Problem Solvers? Retrieved April 15,

2015, from http://www.edutopia.org/blog/educating-global-problem-solvers-zoe-weil

What are Global and International Education? (n.d.). Retrieved April 15, 2015, from

http://www.socialstudies.org/positions/global/whatisglobaled

One Door Closed, Another Opened

My time at Bishop Dunn Memorial School for fieldwork this semester has concluded. Throughout this fieldwork experience, I have learned greatly through the creation and implementation of my lesson plans, as well as through seeing other teacher candidates implement their lessons. I have received beneficial feedback on my lesson implementations, as well as provided my peers with honest feedback. In my efolio, I have written and commented on my own work, as well as my peers' lesson plans and some projects. Here is the link to these reflections. I strongly feel that feedback allows teachers to better their teaching instruction so students can receive the necessary education. Reflection is essential and a valuable tool that teachers and students benefit from. 

During this fieldwork experience, I had to create three lesson plans (direct instruction, inquiry, and cooperative learning) with two other peers. These lessons allowed me to see what worked in the classroom, what did not work, and what could work with extra effort. The Direct Instruction lesson allowed me to teach new content to the students, making this lesson a teacher-centered lesson. The inquiry lesson allowed me to teach, as well as allowed the students to use their knowledge ad research skills to answer a question, making this lesson teacher-centered and then transitioning to student-centered. The cooperative lesson allowed students to work in collaborate groups to complete an assigned task and then present their findings to the class. This approach was student-centered. What made this fieldwork experience even more memorable was the students. Every single student wanted to be there and wanted to learn. They were eager to participate, never seeming bored. After my first lesson implementation, a student created a PowerPoint presentation on what she learned from our lesson, all by herself. It is instances and experiences like these that make myself love teaching. 

The teacher candidates I collaborated with on fieldwork, made this experience even greater because we all worked greatly together. We each completed our tasks and were organized. I strongly believe a critical attribute every teacher needs is organizational skills. I believe that through my fieldwork experiences, through the feedback I received, and through my own personal reflections, I will be able to be the best teacher I can be in my future classroom.

Extra, Extra Read All About It!

Current Events

Everyday, different events, phenomenons, and discoveries occur. These current events are portrayed in the newspapers, on the news channels, on websites, and even on handheld devices. Myself and another teacher candidate had to create an activity that we would implement in an elementary classroom. We chose to use the website, NewsELA (which I highly recommend). 

NewsELA is an online website that contains articles of various topics. Each article has different reading difficulty levels, so students on all academic grade levels can read the same article. There are also optional writing pieces and quizzes attached with each article. Teachers can choose articles for students as assignments and students just have to login and begin. 

What's It To You? 

Myself and the other teacher candidate decided to use this article. This article was about how Arizona is the only state to pass a law that high school students must pass a civic competence exam (the same exam that is required for US citizenship) in order to graduate high school and that other states might be passing the same law. We chose this topic because students and teachers can relate and connect to this article because they are both immediately affected. Here is our presentation.

The class divided into two groups to discuss how this article impacts them as a student and as a teacher. They also discussed how this law would impact their families, as well as the world they live in. 

Materials

1) Internet access

2) Youtube

3) Newsela Article 

My Current Events Experience

According to Wise Owl Kids, "Young Americans know less and care less today about what's going on than young Americans of previous generations. It is believed that very few youth are aware of what is going on at the local, national, or international level" (n.d). Current events assist students to becoming more aware of world events and the impact on them as citizens. When students read newspapers and articles, it boosts reading competence through language, vocabulary, and comprehension skills (Wise Owl Kids, n.d.). I believe it is really important that teachers recognize the importance of teaching current events in the classroom. Wise Owl Kids suggests numerous activities to implement current events in the classroom such as: 1) News-mapping, 2) The five w's and 3) What's it to you?. As mentioned earlier, we chose the activity, What's it to you?. 

I thought this current events activity went really well. I thought the design and implementation of this activity worked well with the class. The PowerPoint presentation was able to activate the class' prior knowledge, as well as provide background knowledge about current events. A video provided an introduction to the topic about Arizona passing a state law for students to take and pass a citizens test to graduate high school. The NewsELA article provided that content that was being taught. The class was highly receptive. All students were engaged and participated in the discussion. A debate almost occurred because some students agreed with the passing law, while others did not. 

Overall, I strongly believe this activity is a great way for students to become aware of the events that are occurring in the world they live in. First, this activity aligns with the New York State Common Core Standards for both ELA and Social Studies. Students discuss a topic about citizenship and civic competence, as well write their responses. Second, this activity incorporates the five elements of social studies: 1) Challenging, 2) Value-based, 3) Active, 4) Integrative, and 5) Meaningful. Social studies teaching and learning are powerful when they include these five elements (National Council for Social Studies, n.d.). This activity was challenging because it allowed students to use their higher order and critical thinking skills. If a student was on a lower reading level, he/she could change the difficulty level on the article to a lower level and students who were above their reading grade level could raise the difficulty level of the article as well. This article was value-based because it taught students about a topic that is valuable to them; students might have to take another test and pass this test in order to graduate. This article was active because it required student participation. After students read the article individually, they had to participate in a discussion. When students are active in the classroom, they begin to develop their own opinions and become active members of society. When students become active members of society, they begin to become competent as a citizen. This article is integrative because it can be taught in various subjects, and not just in social studies. This article can be taught in ELA, science, or math. This article was also meaningful because students and teachers were able to make a connection to it (National Council for Social Studies, n.d.). Teachers have to prepare students for the tests and are evaluated off of test scores. By having another test to worry about, teachers will have to take more time out of their day to prepare students for another test. Students would have to worry about passing another test, especially students who are not good test-takers. 

Personally, I greatly enjoyed using NewsELA and thought it was very easy to use. The articles were very helpful to read from the site, especially since they allowed different reading levels. I also like how students could take a brief quiz to see if they comprehended the article they just read. I believe NewsELA is a useful and effective tool to use in my future social studies classroom because it has articles for all subjects and topics, which means there is an article that every student can make a connection too. I also believe this site is effective because it tracks student progress. After a student takes a quiz, his/her score is placed on a graph. As more quizzes are taken, the graph obtains more data points. This allows the student to visually see if he/she is understanding the articles and maybe needs to read the articles on a more challenging level or if the student needs help in comprehending the article and needs to lower the reading level. The only improvement I have for this project next semester would be to implement this activity during fieldwork. I think it would be great to see how receptive the students are to this activity, as well as to teach them about current events. 

References

National Council for the Social Studies. (n.d.) Principles of teaching and learning. Expectations of Excellence: Curriculum Standards for Social Studies. Retrieved March 20, 2015 from

Wise Owl Kids. (n.d.) Current events. Retrieved April 2, 2015 from http://www.ncwiseowl.org/ss/Current/activities/default.htm

Let's Learn About the Past

As a teacher, it is my responsibility to make sure all my students learning needs are met, as well as to make sure my classroom is fun. Particularly in social studies, sometimes it is necessary to bring the past to the present. Some students just simply cannot grasp concepts about the past, because they cannot physically see or feel the topic that is being presented. They have difficulty taking abstract concepts and making them concrete. To help students to develop thinking historically and to learn about the past, a fun activity that teachers can implement in their classroom is called, artifact bags. 


In order for the artifact bags to be effective for student learning, certain aspects need to be completed. The teacher should model good classroom practices and treatment of unrelated artifacts. Students need to know that artifacts are extremely delicate and important to history and must be handled with care. Next, the teacher can distribute an artifact bag to each group and students can examine the artifacts. Students are using the inquiry process and asking themselves questions such as: 1) What is this?, Where is this from?, What was this used for etc?. Students can write down their questions and responses on paper as they examine clues to organize their though process. Next, students can unwrap the book and make connections from the book with the artifacts. The book should be able to answer whether the students' hypotheses' were correct. 

Personally, I enjoyed presented my artifact bag to my group of teacher candidates. I was able to receive excellent feedback as to what was great about my artifact bag, as well as what I need to work on. I enjoyed aligning the artifact bag project with a corresponding book and website because it allows students additional ways to learn the material. 

Artifacts allow students to observe, question, and to use their higher order, critical thinking skills. Students carry out the scientific method and inquire about the artifacts.Using artifacts also allows students to make a tangible and kinesthetic connection. Students are able to hold the object and examine it, which is a motivational strategy that brings a period of history to present day life. 

Microeconomics.....? Macroeconomics.....?

Macroeconomics vs. Microeconomics

Microeconomics 

1) small

2) Study of particular markets and segments of the economy

3) Examples: individual consumer behavior, individual market, individual household, individual firm, individual industry

Macroeconomics

1) BIG

2) Study of the economy as a whole

3) Examples: economic growth, unemployment rates, inflation, interest rates

Similarities

1) Microeconomics effects macroeconomics and macroeconomics effects microeconomics

Teaching in the classroom

Since microeconomics and macroeconomics are complex subtopics of economics, I would teach them separately. I would have the students complete a Venn diagram and list the differences between microeconomics and macroeconomics, as well as list the similarities. Since this will be taught at the elementary to middle school grade level, I will have the students complete an activity after learning about and establishing a concrete foundation of understanding for both topics. I would choose a cause and effect activity. I would split the class into 2 groups: 1) business owners and 2) homeowners. Homeowners would be assigned a certain monthly budget and bills and business owners will be assigned when to increase and decrease their prices. Unbeknownst to students, students will lost their "jobs" and will have to figure out a new budget. The point of this activity will be to see how losing a job causes a domino effect by households being effected, then businesses, then the economy (microeconomics to macroeconomics). This activity also allows students to relate a concept they are being taught to a real life scenario or issue.

References

Difference Between Microeconomics and Macroeconomics. Retrieved April 2, 2015, from http://www.economicshelp.org/blog/6796/economics/difference-between-microeconomics-and-macroeconomics/

Technological Tools and Websites

Through reading and learning about teaching social studies and geography in the classroom, I have stumbled upon numerous websites and tools that engage students in the classroom and contribute to their learning.

Website:

Maps of the states and capitals- this website allows students to view different maps, to make maps, and to take quizzes to self-assess their own learning. This website is more of a practice, review, and self-monitoring website.


Tools:

QR Code Treasure Hunt: Students can scan a qr code that contains a hidden clue or hint. QR codes can be used for any grade level and provides a way for students to interact and participate. QR codes can also contain articles, videos, or even websites. It is a quick and fun way for students to access information that the teachers want accessed.

Primary Sources with DocsTeach: DocsTeach allows teachers and/or students to find and create interactive learning activities with primary source documents that promote historical thinking skills. DocsTeach allows the past to be taught and understood in the present.  

Primary Sources allows students to make a connection with something that has happened in the past. It is the original version of an object, and not a copy. Primary sources are an essential part of history and student learning. This video was great because it provided different ways and ideas of how other teachers use primary documents in the classroom. 

10 Ways to Engage Students in Exploring Geography with Technology

Geography is essential for student learning because it assists students in learning and expanding their vocabulary. Geography is divided into five different themes: 1) Location, position on the Earth's surface, 2) Place, natural and cultural characteristics, 3) Relationships within places, humans, and environments, 4) Movement, humans interacting on the Earth, and 5) Regions, how they form and change.

There are numerous innovative ways to teach geography in the classroom. One way is through current events. Students can look through a local, national, or international newspaper to look at current geographic events. Students can also browse the Newsela website. This website has current articles that allows students of all learning levels to participate. If students are on a lower reading level or have reading comprehension difficulties, they can switch the text level to a lower level. 

Teachers can also teach geography by displaying a picture. Students can look at the picture and talk about what they see in the picture and what the picture is trying to say; one picture can display a thousand words. 

After viewing this slideshow, I learned additional ways to engage students in exploring geography with technology in the classroom. I chose ten ways that I felt would most engage students and that I would use and implement in my future elementary classroom:

1) Picture Reveal: Students have to answer questions. Every time a question is answered correctly, a part of the picture is revealed. Each revelation will entice the students to try and answer the questions correctly because they will want to know the image hiding behind the picture. 

2) Map from Memory: Students work in groups and have 20 seconds and view and study a map or diagram. They then return to their group and draw what they remember. This is a great way for students to retain an image in their mind because they are forcing themselves to concentrate and practice memorization through seeing and drawing. 

3) 5 W's: Students look at an image and and ask a series of questions that contains: who, what, where, when, and why. The lesson is focused on the students answering those questions. This exercise allows students to analyze and make predictions about an image based on clues.

4) Noughts and Crosses: The teacher divides the class into two groups and asks nine questions. Using a tic-tac-toe board, whenever a group answers the question correctly, they place an x or an o on the board. This a fun and educational way for students to learn and review. Students get really competitive among one another too.

5) Stop Disasters: This simulation games allows students to prepare for natural disasters while on a budget. It really teaches students about the devastation and costs that natural disasters impose to the world, as well as the reliability certain areas of the world have on certain products or objects to survive.

6) Survey Monkey: This surveying device allows the teacher to obtain immediate feedback. Students can answer questions and the teacher can see which responses are the most popular.

7) Model: Physical features can be molded and modeled with plasticine. This model allows students to visualize a concept or object that is being taught and is also tangible. 

8) Bingo: This activity can be used for review. The teacher can read vocabulary definitions and the students have to mark their boards if they have the correct vocabulary word. 

9) Dominoes: This activity allows students to see that one thing causes another event and is a continuation. A teacher can set up dominoes and label each domino as a certain cause that leads into a specific event.

10) GeoTube: These are geography videos that are on youtube. These provide students with another way to obtain geography information. 

Teaching Channel: Formative Assessment

I believe exit tickets are great ways to assess students. It is quick and can be used during any point throughout the day. Not only does it provide the teacher with immediate feedback, it also allows students to visually see if they are understanding the material and if they need to ask the teacher for additional help. Throughout my fieldwork experience and my substitute teaching experience, I have seen more and more teachings use and implement exit tickets in their classroom. I also strongly agree when April Pforts compared formative teaching and exit tickets to taking students on a trip. The teacher needs to pick the destination in where she wants to take her students in learning, the route to get there, and anticipated stops and detours. This is a great analogy. 

Active Learning

After watching the Annenberg Learner video about engaging students in active learning, there are various strategies I feel are beneficial to student learning in the classroom. These active learning strategies are cooperative learning, authentic instruction, questioning, engaging activities, and presentations. 


Personally, I really enjoy cooperative learning. Cooperative learning allows all students to participate and engage in discussion. Cooperative learning also contributes to students' social skills. 

Authentic instruction is another active learning strategy. This strategy contains: Higher-order thinking (critical thinking), depth of knowledge (comprehensive learning), connections to the world beyond the classroom (applies concepts), substantive conversation (meaningful discussion), and social support for student achievement (encouragement/inclusion). Authentic instruction allows students to connect their learning to what they know and see/do in the real world. It allows students to receive encouragement to continue engagement and success in learning, to think critically and discuss the topic, and to learn comprehensively. 

Questioning is another great active learning strategy. Questioning is quick and simplistic. It allows the teacher to informally assess what the students already know and what they need help on. It also keeps students engaged. 

Engaging activities are extremely beneficial to students. When engaging activities are hands-on, it allows students to take abstract concepts and make them more concrete. This will allow students to comprehend and apply the concept correctly. 

Presentations allow for students to share with the class what they have learned, as well as for the teacher to assess student learning. It is a great way for students to practice social skills, as well as display all their hard work. 

Jigsaw Activity

Today we had to present our jigsaw activity project. A jigsaw activity is when the class is divided into two groups. Then, those two groups separate into further groups to complete a task. Our task was to create a presentation on social skills and face-to-face interaction. 

Here is our presentation. 

Overall, I thought the presentation went really well. All group members participated and we presented the information greatly. Through this activity, I learned a lot about social skills and face to face interaction in just a short period of time. I enjoy the jigsaw activity and believe it is a great way for students to cooperatively learn individually, as well as, as a team. 

Personal Insight

I had to complete a questionnaire to see which grade level I prefer to teach. According to the questionnaire, I prefer to teach students of ages 7-8, followed by ages 5-6, and then 9-14. I completely disagree with this questionnaire. I enjoy teaching students in all elementary grades, but have a slight higher preference for 4th grade and up. This is only because at this age, students begin to identify who they are and develop opinions. They know what subjects the love and have interests outside of school.

Direct Instruction, Cooperative Learning, and Inquiry-Based Learning!

The three types of lesson plans that our class is required to teach in fieldwork are direct instruction, inquiry, and cooperative lesson plans. There are numerous components that make up each type of lesson.

Direct instruction is explicitly teaching content through lectures, demonstrations, modeling, and explanations. This type of instruction is more teacher-centered and fast-paced. Direct instruction is composed of goals, standards, objectives, and an introduction. The introduction contains review, a rationale, and a focuser. The introduction acquires students' prior knowledge and warms them up for the start of the lesson. Then the development occurs which is composed of an explanation, demonstration, modeling, visual aids, examples, non-examples, and comparison with something that the students know. Guided practice then takes place and includes prompting and student consequences. Closure then occurs along with a type of evaluation of student learning. Finally, an independent practice is distributed to students.

Inquiry learning is when students are faced with a problem or scenario and need to use their higher order thinking skills and critical thinking to carry out the process of solving the problem or scenario. This type of lesson is indirect and is more student-centered. An inquiry-based lesson is composed of goals, standards, and objectives, as well as the 5 E's (explain, explore,expand, elaborate, and evaluate). Students begin the lesson with exploration in the introduction. Next, they continue exploration and explanation in the development. The students then expand through monitored inquiry. Students elaborate through their assigned independent practice and the lesson is summed up in closure. Students are finally evaluated on the content they learned.

Cooperative learning is when students work with each other to develop social skills, as well as learn new content. This type of lesson is also student-centered and contains various parts.Cooperative learning is composed of goals, standards, and objectives. Students are pre-assessed in the introduction and then the development of the lesson occurs. The development involves group work. Students are also given an independent practice and the lesson is summed up in closure. Students are finally evaluated.


These three lessons are contain the same components. However, the difference among these lessons is whether the lesson is student-centered or teacher-centered, working independently or in groups, and how the material being learning is presented.


The lesson plan that I compiled together was the Direct Instruction Lesson Plan. Before teaching the lesson, I had to put together reflection questions that assessed each part of the lesson. The purpose of these questions was to assess how effective the components of the lesson plan were regarding academics and student engagement. The questions and answers are as follows:



Introduction


Did the video, word cloud, and pictures activate the students' prior knowledge and capture their attention?

I believe the video, word cloud, and pictures all activated student's prior knowledge and captured their attention. Students were fully engaged because their eyes were always on the teachers or the SMARTboard. They were actively participating by answering questions. When a teacher would ask the students what they knew about the video, the picture, or the word cloud, students immediately responded and began to pour out all of their knowledge, which was correct.


Development


Was a Prezi presentation the best way to present the material? Were students able to follow along and become engaged with the Prezi?

I believe so. Students were focused on the presentation. We never had to refocus a student or tell them to pay attention. They all followed along and never asked to go back or clarify anything. The Prezi theme chosen for the presentation was perfect for the lesson being taught.


Were the videos and pictures in the Prezi sufficient for student learning and understanding?

Yes. The videos provided visual and audio representations. They are a great way to target learners with disabilities, as well as for students without. They keep students engaged and provide another way for instruction instead of the teacher talking all the time. They students loved the pictures and figured out what each picture was and represented.

Guided Practice
Did the vortex, picture, and video activities allow the students to practice what they just learned?

Unfortunately because of time limitations, we were unable to do the picture activity. We were able to do the video and vortex activity. We played a video that was previously shown in the beginning of the lesson, except this time, the video was on silent. The students were fixated on the video and were engaged. They answered questions that we asked about what they noticed in the video. The students absolutely loved the vortex activity. Each student was able to come up to the SMARTboard and answer a question. They were fully engaged and each student enjoyed the activity.


Was the student praise and/or consequence provided lacking, too much, or sufficient enough to contribute to student confidence and learning?

I believed student praise was sufficient enough. When students responded correctly we told them, "Good Job!" or "Excellent Answer!" These responses would contribute to their confidence and want them to answer questions.


Closure
Did student groups asking other student groups questions allow the teacher to assess who really understood the content and who did not?

I thought this was a great way to assess students. Each group came up with a question that they had to ask another group. Some questions that were asked were basic, while others required students to critically think and use their higher order thinking skills which was excellent.

Independent Practice


Was the socrative fun for students, as well as provide practice for them? Did the socrative quiz allow the teacher to summatively assess the student?

Unfortunately because of time limitations, we were unable to perform the Socrative quiz. The Socrative quiz was given to the teacher to implement in her classroom that we are still waiting for results back.

It's More Than Just Working in Groups

Cooperative learning is more than just working in groups; it enhances students' critical and higher order thinking skills. After reading numerous articles about cooperative learning, I have quickly learned an abundant of useful information.

• "In extensive meta-analyses across hundreds of studies, cooperative arrangements were found superior to either competitive or individualistic structures on a variety of outcome measures, generally showing higher achievement, higher-level reasoning, more frequent generation of new ideas and solutions, and greater transfer of what is learned from one situation to another." (Barkley, et al, 2005: p.17-18)

The five key elements of cooperative learning are positive interdependence, group processing, individual accountability, face-to-face interaction, and interpersonal/small group social skills. I strongly believe that all these aspects contribute to the enhancement of critical and higher order thinking skills. When students develop these skills, I believe they are able to retain information effectively and are able to apply their knowledge.

All About Me Part 2

Yesterday in class, everyone presented their About Me projects, as well as the tool they used to create them. It was great to see the different types of technology that could be used in the classroom.


Some of my favorites were Pinterest, Tagxedo, Voki, and Tellagami. 


Each student was recorded to see what they do great and what they need to work on. I know I need to work on moving around the classroom a little more and try to stop saying "um".


I used Prezi. Prezi is like a Microsoft PowePoint presentation, except it is more mobile. I relate it to a map. There are various themes you can choose from, as well as endless pictures and videos to upload. The slides move around the screen instead of remaining stationary. Prezi is also FREE =) Here is my Prezi presentation. Enjoy!

So What is This Thing Called....Social Studies?

Today I did a lot of reading on what social studies is, the curriculum standards and different types of assessments and assessment methods. From reading these papers, I have learned a great deal about
social studies in a short period of time.

Social studies promotes civic competence so students can obtain the knowledge and skills as a successful citizen. Social studies conveys the changing nature of knowledge through integrated approaches to resolve significant issues of human, as well as assists students in viewing reality. To incorporate these aspects into the social studies curriculum, NYS created ten themes to outline the social studies framework. These themes are:
                                      Culture
                                Time, Continuity, and Change
                                People, Places, and Environments
                                Individual Development and Identity
                                Individuals, Groups, and Institutions
                                Power, Authority, and Governance
                                Production, Distribution, and Consumption
                                Global Connections
                                Civic Ideals and Practices
                                Science, Technology, and Society



Understanding is the ability to think and act with what you know. Here are important vocabulary words to know about knowledge and understanding:
                 explain, apply, compare and contrast, 
                 context, generalizations, justify,
                 examples. ritual knowledge, inert
                 knowledge, and naive knowledge.

There are various ways to assess student learning and understanding. Here is a short quiz I created on the different methods and ways to assess.

All About Me :-)

One of our first assignments was to create an About Me project using a type of technology. I decided to make a Prezi, which is like a mobile, modern PowerPoint presentation. I enjoyed using Prezi because there are an assortment of themes you can choose from for your slides. It is an awesome way to visually teach a topic. Personally, I never like to write or really talk about myself. However, Prezi made this experience fun and tolerable :-).