Thursday, December 16, 2010
Wednesday, December 15, 2010
Podcast!!
Using my savvy skills from 5472, I created a podcast (instead of submitting a written form) for a book review for Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone. This was created for a Master's class (CI 5442), Young Adult Literature. I thought this was a much more interactive way to give my book review and definitely plan on using this in the classroom one day soon! I think podcasts are a terrific addition to put on my class website/blog and think it is a great way to market books to my students and hopefully get them excited about reading! Further, I think it would be a much more interactive and personal way to describe assignments( that students may have been absent for) on my class website. Instead of reading the instructions for a worksheet or assignment, students could listen to my voice explain it to them!
** Reader note: I am having trouble figuring out how to upload the file onto my blog (some other classmates had the same problem), but hopefully following this link to media mill works! I cannot seem to find a way to upload an audio file (such as an MP3 to blogger), so if someone knows how to please let me know! Thanks and enjoy!
Listen to my podcast for a book review of Harry Potter!
** Reader note: I am having trouble figuring out how to upload the file onto my blog (some other classmates had the same problem), but hopefully following this link to media mill works! I cannot seem to find a way to upload an audio file (such as an MP3 to blogger), so if someone knows how to please let me know! Thanks and enjoy!
Listen to my podcast for a book review of Harry Potter!
The end of the semester already???
I cannot believe it is the end of the semester already... it is a cliche saying, but time flew by! While the past semester was challenging and stressful, I am more motivated than ever to pursue a career in education. This semester I have learned invaluable methods, tools, and resources that I can incorporate in my future classrooms. I feel that these skills are what will seperate me (and my fellow M.Ed. classmates) apart from other novice teachers entering the work field. I am also excited to announce that I got my student teaching placement at N.E. middle school in Minneapolis... I could not be more thrilled!!!
I am not sure where the next year will lead me, but I am so excited to find out! I have decided that New York would be faaaar to expensive to live in alone (I'm poor now, I don't want to still be poor after I finish grad school!), so instead I am thinking of moving to Chicago! I feel it is the perfect mixture between urban and midwest living and would still allow me to pursue my dream of working in an inner-city school district and working to close the achievement gap.
While I am sad that the semester is coming to a close... I am so excited for a break!!! I hope everyone enjoys their winter breaks and comes back ready for student teaching!
I am not sure where the next year will lead me, but I am so excited to find out! I have decided that New York would be faaaar to expensive to live in alone (I'm poor now, I don't want to still be poor after I finish grad school!), so instead I am thinking of moving to Chicago! I feel it is the perfect mixture between urban and midwest living and would still allow me to pursue my dream of working in an inner-city school district and working to close the achievement gap.
While I am sad that the semester is coming to a close... I am so excited for a break!!! I hope everyone enjoys their winter breaks and comes back ready for student teaching!
Using Storybird in the Classroom!
We did this for another class, but I really enjoyed using Storybird and am looking forward to using it the future in the classroom. I liked this program so much, I thought I would share my silly story with you!
Since the program provides images for the creator (and does not let them upload their own), I thought it would be fun to give pairs of students the assignment to create a Storybird with the same images and have them work independentally. This would be a good creative writing activity, as well as show the students that even when given the same material (such as writing an analysis paper for a novel), there are many ways you can take your writing and form your own arguments based on what you, specifically, bring to a text.
Click here to view my Storybird!
Since the program provides images for the creator (and does not let them upload their own), I thought it would be fun to give pairs of students the assignment to create a Storybird with the same images and have them work independentally. This would be a good creative writing activity, as well as show the students that even when given the same material (such as writing an analysis paper for a novel), there are many ways you can take your writing and form your own arguments based on what you, specifically, bring to a text.
Click here to view my Storybird!
Film Adaptations
Here is a lesson plan that I had originally thought of earlier in the semester, but added onto to incorporate the use of VideoANT as well. I am really interested in using film adaptations of literature as an incorporated tool in my classroom. This activity uses "Alice in Wonderland" and "Through the Looking Glass", but you could use any film adaptations paired with literature.
I took special care when designing this lesson as to not give the students the idea that one version is better than the other, but instead focused the activity on making students realize the different elements and techniques in each version and how those elements and techniques added to the film or literature to make them special in their own ways - whether these techniques were successful or not. I also used it as a tool to show students that they can read film and images in media as just like they can read literature.
Lesson Plan:
Subject Area: English/Language Arts
Grade Level: 10th grade
Unit Title: Through the Looking Glass
Lesson Title: Two Sides of the Mirror
Time: Two class periods totally 80 minutes (or one block class of 80 minutes)
Essential Question: Similar to the literary elements of a story, what are the literary elements of film?
Objectives:
• Students will be able to identify important themes and significant details in the novel Through The Looking Glass.
• Students will be able to identify important themes and significant details in the movie Alice in Wonderland (1951 Disney version).
• Student will be able to identify similarities and differences between the written and film versions and analyze those components in an analytical manner and understand their significance and importance in the both versions.
• Students will learn how to become more consciously literate in film and media as well as reading, learning that there are elements of film similar to how there are elements of literature.
• Students will become more comfortable incorporating technology in their assignments (VideoAnt).
Materials/Resources Needed:
• Book: Through the Looking Glass
• Disney film: Alice in Wonderland (1951) or access to YouTube for this clip: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MBTWE26AeEw
• Notebook and pencil
• Scheduled time in a computer lab and access to VideoAnt
Previous Knowledge: By this point in the lesson, students will already have finished the book Through the Looking Glass and have discussed and analyzed the book critically as a class. They will be familiar with certain elements of fiction such as imagery, word choice, sentence structure, detail, dialogue, character development, tone, and voice etc. The students will also have had a tutorial the previous day on how to use VideoAnt (a video annotation program that allows students to annotate comments while simultaneously watching a film clip). They will feel comfortable to use it on their own.
Procedure:
1. Intro (10 minutes):
At this point, the students would be redirected to turn to the scene in which Alice enters the realm into Wonderland. Students will be divided into small groups and asked to recall the important elements of literature used in this scene. After, the class will come back and discuss what they found/came up with.
2. Watch Film clip (15 minutes):
If the classroom does not allow enough time to see the entire movie, watching just the clip where Alice enters through the door into Wonderland should be just fine (here is a link to the clip: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MBTWE26AeEw). In this lesson plan, we are watching just this clip. Similar to the task after completing the novel, after watching the clip (10 minute clip) we would, as a class, generate and critique specific things that we noticed in the clip, such as detail, music, character voice and pitch, camera angles, tone, dialogue, and drawing technique (since it is a cartoon).
3. Computer lab and VideoAnt (50 minutes):
The class will move quickly to the computer lab and each student will sign-on to a computer. They have already had a tutorial and learned how to use VideoAnt, so no instruction is needed. This time will be devoted entirely to the students creating their own VideoAnt in order to discuss the literary elements of film in the clip. The clip is ten minutes long, so the students will have a whole fifty minutes to work on this. They will be instructed they need at least ten annotations throughout the ten-minute clip. They should be reminded to use their notes to generate annotations. They should also be reminded to stay on task, because they only have this class time to work on the VideoAnt portion of this project (no more computer time in class after this).
4. Closure (5 minutes):
As a wrap-up, they students will sign off their computers. This is a time they can pose any questions or comments to the class as a whole. For homework, they have to go home, look at their notes, and start comparing the similarities and differences between the two scenes (from the book and movie) and come prepared to talk about them in class tomorrow. They will also be introduced to the next assignment of the lesson which will begin tomorrow, which is to create a similar annotation storyboard for the book (as they did for VideoAnt), but this time on paper.
I took special care when designing this lesson as to not give the students the idea that one version is better than the other, but instead focused the activity on making students realize the different elements and techniques in each version and how those elements and techniques added to the film or literature to make them special in their own ways - whether these techniques were successful or not. I also used it as a tool to show students that they can read film and images in media as just like they can read literature.
Lesson Plan:
Subject Area: English/Language Arts
Grade Level: 10th grade
Unit Title: Through the Looking Glass
Lesson Title: Two Sides of the Mirror
Time: Two class periods totally 80 minutes (or one block class of 80 minutes)
Essential Question: Similar to the literary elements of a story, what are the literary elements of film?
Objectives:
• Students will be able to identify important themes and significant details in the novel Through The Looking Glass.
• Students will be able to identify important themes and significant details in the movie Alice in Wonderland (1951 Disney version).
• Student will be able to identify similarities and differences between the written and film versions and analyze those components in an analytical manner and understand their significance and importance in the both versions.
• Students will learn how to become more consciously literate in film and media as well as reading, learning that there are elements of film similar to how there are elements of literature.
• Students will become more comfortable incorporating technology in their assignments (VideoAnt).
Materials/Resources Needed:
• Book: Through the Looking Glass
• Disney film: Alice in Wonderland (1951) or access to YouTube for this clip: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MBTWE26AeEw
• Notebook and pencil
• Scheduled time in a computer lab and access to VideoAnt
Previous Knowledge: By this point in the lesson, students will already have finished the book Through the Looking Glass and have discussed and analyzed the book critically as a class. They will be familiar with certain elements of fiction such as imagery, word choice, sentence structure, detail, dialogue, character development, tone, and voice etc. The students will also have had a tutorial the previous day on how to use VideoAnt (a video annotation program that allows students to annotate comments while simultaneously watching a film clip). They will feel comfortable to use it on their own.
Procedure:
1. Intro (10 minutes):
At this point, the students would be redirected to turn to the scene in which Alice enters the realm into Wonderland. Students will be divided into small groups and asked to recall the important elements of literature used in this scene. After, the class will come back and discuss what they found/came up with.
2. Watch Film clip (15 minutes):
If the classroom does not allow enough time to see the entire movie, watching just the clip where Alice enters through the door into Wonderland should be just fine (here is a link to the clip: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MBTWE26AeEw). In this lesson plan, we are watching just this clip. Similar to the task after completing the novel, after watching the clip (10 minute clip) we would, as a class, generate and critique specific things that we noticed in the clip, such as detail, music, character voice and pitch, camera angles, tone, dialogue, and drawing technique (since it is a cartoon).
3. Computer lab and VideoAnt (50 minutes):
The class will move quickly to the computer lab and each student will sign-on to a computer. They have already had a tutorial and learned how to use VideoAnt, so no instruction is needed. This time will be devoted entirely to the students creating their own VideoAnt in order to discuss the literary elements of film in the clip. The clip is ten minutes long, so the students will have a whole fifty minutes to work on this. They will be instructed they need at least ten annotations throughout the ten-minute clip. They should be reminded to use their notes to generate annotations. They should also be reminded to stay on task, because they only have this class time to work on the VideoAnt portion of this project (no more computer time in class after this).
4. Closure (5 minutes):
As a wrap-up, they students will sign off their computers. This is a time they can pose any questions or comments to the class as a whole. For homework, they have to go home, look at their notes, and start comparing the similarities and differences between the two scenes (from the book and movie) and come prepared to talk about them in class tomorrow. They will also be introduced to the next assignment of the lesson which will begin tomorrow, which is to create a similar annotation storyboard for the book (as they did for VideoAnt), but this time on paper.
Rock My World: Incorporating Popular Music in the Classroom
There are many genres of music I like and artists and bands that I enjoy listening to and support; however, whenever this question is posed to me, my first and instinctual response is: Dave Matthews Band. I am a HUGE fan of Dave Matthews Band. I love the organic feel of their music and enjoy the underlying political messages – probably because I agree with them. I have been a fan of Dave since middle school, even before I was old enough to really appreciate the music for all of its aspects; yet, it is something I have grown into and still love! My fondest memories are of going to outdoor Dave shows at Alpine Valley in Wisconsin - eating and drinking with my friends before the show as the hot summer sun sets behind us, and then going in to see an amazing show by DMB under the stars.
I chose to share the video “Don’t Drink the Water” by Dave Matthews Band and incorporate it into a lesson because I actually began thinking about this a couple of weeks ago while tutoring in AVID at Plymouth Middle School right before Thanksgiving break. The students were talking about Thanksgiving, pilgrims, Native-Americans, and of course, Christopher Columbus. Even though I am sure they are being taught (at least hopefully they are!) the truth of how Native-Americans were treating when colonists came to North America. The song is an homage to how the colonists poorly treated the Native Americans and I think could fit perfectly when paired with a multi-cultural text with a Native-American protagonist (such as True Diary of a Part-Time Indian). I think it is fantastic when English classes are paired with Social Studies classes, so this could create a fun and new approach to feeling the pain of the Native Americans through lyrics and music. If you listen to Dave Matthews sing, his voice is full of emotion and anger as well as addressed in the lyrics.
Digital News Journalism: Through the Eyes of Another
After hearing Jim Hatten and Chris Baker guest speak in class on November 18th, I was reminded of my own love of being in Journalism and on the newspaper in class. It made me begin thinking of how much I would love to one day teach Journalism classes, and possibly, digital news (which they did not have when I was in high school). After a little insipiration and really enjoying their talks, here is a lesson plan I wrote for a 10th - 12th grade Journalism classroom. It incorporates the use of VoiceThread as a different way to "interview" a person and to learn to use the sources's information (and not your own) when writing a newspaper story.
Lesson Plan:
Subject Area: Journalism Class
Grade Level: 10th – 12th grade
Unit Title: Through the Eyes of Another
Time: Two Class periods totally 100 minutes (each class 50 minutes)
Essential Question: What elements of writing must be included (and therefore also excluded) in order to write a news story without bias?
Objectives:
• Students will be able to describe pictures/images in a clear and concise way; describing emotions as well as actions portrayed.
• Students will be able to use VoiceThread effectively and efficiently.
• Students will be able to write a new story without personal bias or opinion.
• Students will be able to use information from a source as the base for their news article.
Materials/Resources Needed:
• Notebook and pencil
• Scheduled time in computer lab and access to VoiceThread
Previous Knowledge: By this point, students will already have gone over the important elements and aspects that go in to writing a news article. The class will have already gone over how to write an article that is appropriate for a newspaper: such as length, word choice, and how to not include a biased opinion or personal opinions. Students will also have received a tutorial on how to use VoiceThread and should know how to upload pictures to the computer and the VoiceThread program. As homework prior to these two days, students will have been instructed to find five pictures that are important to them. They can represent who they are or important memories/events in their lives. They will be instructed to either email these photos to themselves (so they can open them during work time in the computer lab) or download them on a zip drive that they will bring to class. As for differentiation, if a student does not have the resources to do either of these things, they can bring their photos to class prior to workday and the teacher can scan them in and upload them for the student.
Day 1
Procedure:
1. Intro (10 minutes):
The students will meet in the classroom and, as a class, generate a list of things that are essential to incorporate (or exclude) when writing a story using a source. The teacher will write all of the ideas on the board and the students will record them as notes in their notebook. The teacher will direct the discussion towards on tips on how to not include personal bias or opinion when writing a news article/story.
2. Computer lab and VoiceThread (35 minutes)
Students will move to the computer lab and have remainder of the class hour to work in there. The students will upload their photos (however they chose to do this) to the VoiceThread program and record about three to five minutes of a description of what is happening in the photo, who is in it, and the emotions happening when the photo was taken.
3. Closure: (5 minutes)
The teacher will tell the students to wrap up their recordings. Then, the teacher will pair the students up into groups of two students each. The teacher will inform the students that tomorrow, each pair will listen to their partners VoiceThread and then write a news story about their partner.
Day 2:
1. Intro (10 minutes):
The teacher will immediately move the students to the computer lab. Here, the teacher will provide each student with the link to their partner's VoiceThread (it is not essential that partners sit next to each other). The teacher quickly go over the brainstorming elements the students generated and took notes on the day before so that the ideas are fresh in their minds. The teacher will remind the students that they should write down direct quotes they hear that they would like to include in their article.
2. Listen to VoiceThread (20 minutes):
The students will listen to their partners VoiceThreads and take notes while they listen, paying particular attention to write down notes that include their sources ideas, feelings, opinions, and emotions and not theirs.
3. Article Writing (15 minute):
The students, using their notes, will begin to write a news article about their partner. They can write about the events in the images or write a story about who their source/partner is. They can write the story however they choose, but their personal opinion and bias cannot show through or be included. They must use only the information they received from their partner.
4. Closing (5 minutes):
The teacher will stop the students from writing about five minutes towards the end of class. Here, the teacher will remind the students of important things they should include in their article and words/ideas they should leave out that could lead to personal bias/opinion. The teacher will allow for one or two students to share a sentence or two from their articles as an example for the rest of the class. The teacher will assign the students homework to finish their rough draft tonight so that they can edit it and complete it in class tomorrow.
Lesson Plan:
Subject Area: Journalism Class
Grade Level: 10th – 12th grade
Unit Title: Through the Eyes of Another
Time: Two Class periods totally 100 minutes (each class 50 minutes)
Essential Question: What elements of writing must be included (and therefore also excluded) in order to write a news story without bias?
Objectives:
• Students will be able to describe pictures/images in a clear and concise way; describing emotions as well as actions portrayed.
• Students will be able to use VoiceThread effectively and efficiently.
• Students will be able to write a new story without personal bias or opinion.
• Students will be able to use information from a source as the base for their news article.
Materials/Resources Needed:
• Notebook and pencil
• Scheduled time in computer lab and access to VoiceThread
Previous Knowledge: By this point, students will already have gone over the important elements and aspects that go in to writing a news article. The class will have already gone over how to write an article that is appropriate for a newspaper: such as length, word choice, and how to not include a biased opinion or personal opinions. Students will also have received a tutorial on how to use VoiceThread and should know how to upload pictures to the computer and the VoiceThread program. As homework prior to these two days, students will have been instructed to find five pictures that are important to them. They can represent who they are or important memories/events in their lives. They will be instructed to either email these photos to themselves (so they can open them during work time in the computer lab) or download them on a zip drive that they will bring to class. As for differentiation, if a student does not have the resources to do either of these things, they can bring their photos to class prior to workday and the teacher can scan them in and upload them for the student.
Day 1
Procedure:
1. Intro (10 minutes):
The students will meet in the classroom and, as a class, generate a list of things that are essential to incorporate (or exclude) when writing a story using a source. The teacher will write all of the ideas on the board and the students will record them as notes in their notebook. The teacher will direct the discussion towards on tips on how to not include personal bias or opinion when writing a news article/story.
2. Computer lab and VoiceThread (35 minutes)
Students will move to the computer lab and have remainder of the class hour to work in there. The students will upload their photos (however they chose to do this) to the VoiceThread program and record about three to five minutes of a description of what is happening in the photo, who is in it, and the emotions happening when the photo was taken.
3. Closure: (5 minutes)
The teacher will tell the students to wrap up their recordings. Then, the teacher will pair the students up into groups of two students each. The teacher will inform the students that tomorrow, each pair will listen to their partners VoiceThread and then write a news story about their partner.
Day 2:
1. Intro (10 minutes):
The teacher will immediately move the students to the computer lab. Here, the teacher will provide each student with the link to their partner's VoiceThread (it is not essential that partners sit next to each other). The teacher quickly go over the brainstorming elements the students generated and took notes on the day before so that the ideas are fresh in their minds. The teacher will remind the students that they should write down direct quotes they hear that they would like to include in their article.
2. Listen to VoiceThread (20 minutes):
The students will listen to their partners VoiceThreads and take notes while they listen, paying particular attention to write down notes that include their sources ideas, feelings, opinions, and emotions and not theirs.
3. Article Writing (15 minute):
The students, using their notes, will begin to write a news article about their partner. They can write about the events in the images or write a story about who their source/partner is. They can write the story however they choose, but their personal opinion and bias cannot show through or be included. They must use only the information they received from their partner.
4. Closing (5 minutes):
The teacher will stop the students from writing about five minutes towards the end of class. Here, the teacher will remind the students of important things they should include in their article and words/ideas they should leave out that could lead to personal bias/opinion. The teacher will allow for one or two students to share a sentence or two from their articles as an example for the rest of the class. The teacher will assign the students homework to finish their rough draft tonight so that they can edit it and complete it in class tomorrow.
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