Content, Pedagogy, and Technology

Content:
2nd grade
Standard 2
Students will develop a sense of self in relation to families and community.
Objective 2
Examine important aspects of the community and culture that strengthen relationships.
• Compare rural, suburban, and urban communities.
Pedagogy:
I will use guided imagery, a shared writing and my virtual tour to teach the content. This form of pedagogy will help students relate the material to themselves and when students are able to make connections to what they are learning they retain more content.
Technology:
For this lesson I will use a virtual tour to show the different types of communities within Utah. This is a great way for students to visually learn what these communities are really like. This will also help students apply their understanding of the example communities to their own community.

My Virtual Tour!

Rural, Suburban, and Urban Communities: Where do I fit in?

2nd Grade
Standard 2
Students will develop a sense of self in relation to families and community.
Objective 2
Examine important aspects of the community and culture that strengthen relationships.
• Compare rural, suburban, and urban communities.

Lesson Objective:
Students will be able to differentiate between rural, suburban, and urban communities after viewing a digital tour showing examples of each community. Students will be expected to complete 90% of a worksheet assessing their understanding.

To begin this lesson I will use guided imagery to get students thinking about the topic. Students will lie down on the floor and close their eyes for this activity. I will ask students to imagine they are walking out of their home to go to school one morning; however, on this particular day they decide to stop and look at what surrounds their home. They walk to the back of their house, to the sides and then back to the front and think about everything they see outside their home. Then they walk to the street and look up and down the street taking note once again of everything they see. Soon they realize they need to get to school, so they hurry and go.

After this imagery is completed I will have students gather on our classroom rug for a shared writing. I will ask students to share what they saw during the guided imagery activity and will make a list. After the list is complete, I will tell students we are going to learn about rural, suburban, and urban communities today. I will tell them that it is important to understand the community we live in, because our community is an important part of who we are.

We will then use the Google Earth digital tour I am creating, to learn about the differences and similarities of the communities we are studying. After we have viewed and discussed the tour we will continue our shared writing. I will add a chart with 3 columns labeled rural, suburban, and urban. We will take traits from our previous list and place them under the column where they best fit. We will also add traits or facts learned from the virtual tour to our chart. Once we have completed the shared writing activity, students will fill out a worksheet to reinforce how to differentiate between these communities.

The Life Cycle of a Butterfly!

Storytelling: Content, Pedagogy, and Technology

The content I am using for my Storytelling is the Life Cycle of a butterfly. My objective is for students to understand the 4 stages of the butterfly life cycle: Egg, Caterpillar, Chrysalis, and Butterfly. To do this I am using interactive pedagogy. My storyboard is created in a way that gets students involved and gives them opportunities for discovery. I try to relate the content to what they already know and then introduce them to what they may not know. I do this by asking them questions throughout the story board to create an active learning environment. The technology I am using for this lesson will be digital storytelling. This is a great way for students to listen and view the concepts of the butterfly life cycle at the same time. In this lesson I will use content, pedagogy, and technology together to maximize student learning.

The Life Cycle of a Butterfly!

Here are a couple images of my Story Board!! I am doing a documentary on the life cycle of a butterfly. Don't worry...for my final story I will use digital images.

Content, Pedagogy, and Technology

The content we focused on for our lesson was: Utah Standard 2, Objective 3d: to describe and justify how the surface of Earth would appear if there were no mountain uplift, weathering, or erosion. To teach our content we used a class discussion, created lists as a class, and viewed Google Earth. Our Pedagogy was discussion and technology based. We taught the content this way so students could brainstorm and think for themselves about what the world would be like if it was flat and then experience and view what the world really looks like. Technology was an important part of our lesson because it enabled students to see and explore the various geographic features of our world.

The Tech Savvy Teacher

Mrs. Campbell and Ms. Adamson's 4th Grade Technology Tribune!!

In a world where technology has become a large part of every day life, we as teachers have a duty to expose students to the technologies used around the world. We need to be more “tech savvy” in our teaching, and need to be more aware of the technologies that can be used to enhance learning for our students. Using technology in the classroom can prepare students for the technology-based society they live in. Seeing the need for increased use and understanding of technology, we decided to use Google Earth to meet a fourth grade science objective.

Students used Google Earth to locate seismic disturbances and see their effect on the Earth's surface.

In this picture, a student is searching for seismic activity that may have effected the physical characteristics of the Earth's surface. One feature of Google Earth shows a volcano symbol (shown above) where volcanic action occurs making it easy for students to locate independent of the teacher.

In this picture, you can see a student beginning work in Google Earth.

Our class has been focusing on the geological features of the Earth including weather, erosion, and mountain uplift. For this lesson, we were specifically concerned with Standard 2, Objective 3d: to describe and justify how the surface of Earth would appear if there were no mountain uplift, weathering, or erosion.

To introduce our topic, we passed an apple around the room and wrote the physical characteristics on the board. We wanted to bring attention to the smoothness of the apple. We then asked students to imagine they were holding the Earth in their hands and as a class listed the characteristics we would feel. We then visited our schools computer lab to view Google Earth. Students were able to explore the Earth’s surface and see the features of the Earth they have been learning about in class. We explained to students that if the earth did not undergo these physical changes, it would be smooth like the apple.

In this picture, a student has zoomed in on a spot with seismic activity to see the effects on the Earth's surface. It is easy to tell this region is mountainous and rugged. A student would interpret this data to mean this activity under the surface effects the surface.

The technology used enhanced student learning by showing an accurate depiction of the Earth’s surface. While it is good for students to imagine what the Earth looks like, seeing it on the screen and locating different features brings greater understanding. From our experience, we have seen how technology can extend learning beyond the capabilities of the past. We have the resources available, and it is our responsibility to utilize them for the benefit of our students.

Students participated in a classroom discussion to discuss characteristics of both an apple and the earth.

Students were able to feel the smoothness of an apple.