ABC its easy as 123! Lesson Plan

Name: Carolyn M. Jenkins
School/Mentor Teacher: W.G.Nunn Elementary/ Miss Jones
Grade Level: Kindergarten
Subject Areas:Social Studies, Language Arts, Technology Integration & Art
Date Taught:
Total Duration of Lesson: 45 minutes

Title of Lesson:
ABC its easy as 123!

Primary Learning Outcome (PLO):
 The primary learning outcomes to be achieved with this lesson include:
A. With teacher guidance students will be able to use the computer to research information on the Internet.
 

Assessed QCC:
A. Grade: K
Subject Area: Technology Integration
Strand: Research
10 Topic: Research
Standard: Uses basic research techniques with teacher guidance.

Materials and Equipment:
1. Paper for drawing
2. Crayons
3. Writing tablet paper or unlined paper
4. Pencil & paper (to make notes for lesson plan assessment and reflections)
5. Modification of a  lesson developed by Dr. Diane L. Judd
 

Technology Connection:
Technologies that will be used in this lesson include:


Procedures:
Step One: Introduction
Have a small group of students go to a computer.  List 2 or more questions that introduce students to topic of the alphabet that establish a connection to students' prior knowledge by asking them: "Have you ever studied or read about the alphabet?"  "Can you tell me something special about the alphabet?" What are the letters of the alphabet?".  Today we are going to learn about the alphabet by visiting websites on the Internet and we will do a fun activity to learn more about the alphabet. This lesson is important because it will help you in your career as a student. Remember that even the President of the United States had to learn his alphabet.  I have made a special alphabet page for your class.  (During discussion have students turn around away from the computer to interact.)

Estimated Time for Step One:
5 minutes

Step Two Teaching the Primary Learning Outcomes:
(Have students sit at the computer where they can control the mouse and computer.)  (Explain to students the process of the lesson.)  After we visit several websites about the alphabet then you will pretend to be a teacher, just like me, and a new student comes from Spain into your class. Since you are the teacher, you have to teach the new student the alphabet. Before you do, it will be helpful to explore the link about his country, Spain, and the Spanish alphabet so that you can better understand the student's background. and draw a picture to  tell about your favorite letter of the alphabet and a picture that goes with your letter. 

Check for understanding
Have students explore and discuss the information in each of 3 or 4 pre-selected websites.  Ask students guiding questions about the important concepts in each of the visited websites.  (Save "Primary Games" website to use in Mission Project.)  List three or more questions.
1. What are the letters of the alphabet?
2. What  are some of the sounds of the letters in the alphabet?
3. How do you write the letters of the alphabet?

Practice and feedback related to the PLC
Read mission project to students.  Explain to student that they are going to be a teacher for their classroom.  Discuss how they are going to pretend that they are a teacher and that a new student from another Spain comes into your classroom. Tell the students that the information that they will need to complete their mission project is listed and connected in the  mission activity.  Visit website for information for mission project, "ABC its easy as 123!."  Discuss the information in the linked website in the mission activity with the students to emphasize interesting and important information students will need to complete mission project.


(Students will write (or dictate to teacher) information to be included in their written alphabet and draw pictures of their favorite letter with a picture to go along with it for the mission project.  While students are completing mission project, teacher will observe students and give assistance when needed.)


Scenario Mission
        You have done a fantastic job at all of these fun websites! You should be really prepared for your next mission! Let's pretend that you are a teacher, just like me, and a new student comes to your classroom. The student is from Spain, which is another country, and the new student speaks the Spanish language. Since you are the teacher it is important for you to understand about the country that your new student is from so that you can better explain the alphabet to him or her. You decide that the first thing that you are going to do is compare the Spanish alphabet to the United States alphabet. You can use any of the ten websites listed above, but I prefer the primary games website for the most fun! It might help you to click on the online encyclopedia website to find out the different orgins of the alphabet.  Then, you are going to write down all the letters of the United States alphabet to show the new student how to correctly write the letters.  After you have given the new student the American alphabet, you will then draw a picture of your favorite letter and a picture that starts with that letter! After you have completed your mission, I will take your picture and publish it on the internet. Perhaps someone from a different country might find this site and use it to help them learn about the American alphabet!  You are going to help this foreign exchange student learn the alphabet and also give him or her an insight on what your favorite letter is and why!  Are you ready to get started? Let's go!

Mission Steps
1. First let the student explore all the ten websites so that he or she has a great understanding of the american alphabet and the different letter forms. I prefer the primary games website.
2. Next, read the scenario mission statement and have the students explore the links in the scenario mission statement. THe links are for the country Spain and the comparisons of the Spanish and American alphabet.
3. After the student has explored these links, explain to the student that now it is time to write down the American alphabet to show to the new student. The student will do this on a regular piece of paper with a pencil. If the student wants to write the alphabet on line paper, that will be fine also.
4. After the student writes the alphabet, have him or her tell you about the letters and sounds that each letter makes.
5. The last step is when the student is given a piece of paper and crayons, markers, or paint. Have the student write their favorite letter and draw a picture of that begins with that letter. After the picture is drawn, have the student talk about why that letter is their favorite and have them explain their picture.
6. After the lesson is complete, publish their drawings and alphabet on the Internet for everyone to see! 



Estimated Time for Step Two:
35 minutes

Step Three
Closure:
Have students discuss their mission project of their written alphabet and picture of their favorite letter that they found on the Internet about the alphabet.  Tell students that your topicquest page is on the Internet and they can visit the website at school or home to learn more about the alphabet. Explain to students that you are going to put their alphabet and pictures on the Internet and they will be able to share their mission projects with their friends and family. Also tell the student that perhaps a real student from Spain might use this website and find their pictures helpful for them learning the alphabet.  (If possible teacher should take brief notes during the lesson and concluding discussions to be added later to the assessment and reflections in lesson plan.)

Estimated Time for Step Three:
5 minutes
 

Assessment:
A. Technology Integration K-10
Student will be assessed through the use of the computer with teacher guidance to do research and find information for the mission project.
Satisfactory: Student is able to use the computer with teacher guidance to do research and find information for the mission project.
Unsatisfactory: Student is not able to use the computer with teacher guidance to do research and find information for the mission project.
 

Accommodation:
Links for Accommodations for Special Students
1. Select one of your students that needs special attention.  Describe the student in your class with special needs. (Do not use the student's real name.  You could refer to the student as "the special student.")  The special student in this class is being tested for learning disabilities. We do not know which type of learning disability the special student has. The special student has a great deal of trouble with writing their letters of the alphabet. The special student writes the letters of the alphabet backwards at times. The special student also has a great deal of trouble listening and performing time related tasks.

2. List the specific URL address of one Internet resource website, where you found information to assist you to work with your special needs student. Information for assisting special students:  Links for Accommodations for Special Students or you can do a search.Specific Learning Disabilities URL:http://www.glc.k12.ga.us/trc/search.asp?mode=result&intpathid=209&strKeyword=Specific+Learning+Disability

3. Explain what you would add to this lesson plan to accommodate your special student?  To accomodate my special student I will go through the ABC its easy as 123 website very slowly and carefully. I want to make sure that he/she understands how to navigate through the website. Also, the special student will be allowed extra time to do the scenario mission so that it can be done to the best of his/her ability.


Reflections: (For Electronic Portfolio under Standard #1 Knowledge of Subject Matter)
1. a. Describe and give examples of how your TopicQuest lesson created learning experiences and activities that makes subject matter meaningful for students.
       My topicquest lesson gives students the opportunity to explore fun and exciting websites that deals with learning the alphabet. The alphabet is very important for all students to learn because it is such an important concept of learning. A student must grasp and understand the alphabet before he or she can read or write. My topicquest provided the chance to learn the alphabet through technology. Instead of a student sitting in a classroom reciting and matching, the student can learn the alphabet via the internet. The student is also learning basic technology skills as they navigate through the topicquest website and the different links attached to the website. My topicquest also creates different learning experiences by the different links on the site. For example, my topicquest has many different links about the alphabet. One can learn about what letter a specific dinosaur starts with to learning about the history of the alphabet. My website has different matching and singing games that deals with  alphabet sounds and the formations of the letters. The student that did my topicquest really enjoyed the fact that it was a different way of learning about the alphabet. Over half of the Internet sites that I provided for the students were interactive sites. There was always something the student was having to click on, repeat out loud, and games to play to refresh and assess what was learned. The entire time the student was, at the sites there were many learning experiences provided because of the sites themselves.

    b. Describe and give examples of how your TopicQuest lesson illustrated your understanding of content and tools of inquiry.
    After the student had visited all of the websites, she was given one specific site to go to were she could then start her mission project.  The student was also  allowed to chose her favorite letter so that she could draw a picture about it.  The student that I was working with chose the letter H as her favorite letter and also made a alphabet page.  My TopicQuest lesson contained a vowel sound website to help sound out vowels.  It contained a website to show the student the alphabet from a different country.  There was one website with an alphabet song.  There were a couple of  websites with games to keep the students excited.  And there was one website for the encyclopedia.

    c. Describe and give examples of how students were engaged in learning and responded during your lesson.
    The student was engaged in the lesson at all times. The student worked extremely well with the mouse and navigating through the different links on the topicquest. I asked the student if she had a computer at home and she said that she did. I was very impressed on how well she was doing with the computer. The student was constantly engaged in learning by visiting the different alphabet websites and completing her scenario mission project. The student really enjoyed working with the computer and playing with the different links on the topicquest page. I asked the student if she liked learning about the alphabet through the computer. She said that she liked it better and that it made learning more fun for her. She was very responsive throughout the entire lesson and I never lost her a single time.

  2. Describe and give examples of how the students achieved the assessment of your lesson. Give the achievement level (satisfactory or unsatisfactory) for each assessment for each of your students.
    A. Technology Integration:
        Student One: Satisfactory: Student is able to use the computer with teacher guidance to do research and find information for the mission project.
         Student Two: Satisfactory: Student is able to use the computer with teacher guidance to do research and find information for the mission project.

3. Describe what you would do differently and why if you taught this lesson again.
  If I taught this lesson again, the only thing that I would change is that we used a MAC computer. My preference is a PC computer. I think that the mouse and the desktop tools are easier to navigate on a PC than a MAC , not only for the students, but for myself as well.
 


Elementary Students' TopicQuest Projects

Example of TopicQuest Scanned Pictures & Comments
Topic Example by Megan at W.G. Nunn Elementary

(Three or more sentences of students' descriptions & comments)

The student wrote her alphabet on unlined paper. The student called out the letters to me as she was writing them. I then asked her to spell her name and write it on the bottom of her sheet. I then asked her to pretend that I was the spanish student and I asked her to show me specific letters on the paper. I asked her to show me the letters B and J. I then wrote the letter J incorrectly on the paper. I did this several times with other letters. The student always corrected my mistakes. The student wanted to write another alphabet with different color letters.

(Three or more sentences of students' descriptions & comments)

This is a picture that the student did of her favorite letter, which is H. She liked H because it is the letter that begins her favorite animal's name, which is a horse. The student decided that she was going to color the horse pink, since pink is her favorite color. The student also drew a house and a butterfly to go along with the picture. At the top, the student wrote the letter H, which is supposed to be a represent of the sun. The student did an excellent job.