Amber's+Social+Networking+Lesson

Technology Integration for Meaningful Classroom Use: A Standards-Based Approach Online Collaboration - Daily Lesson GAME Plan Science Standard K.6 focuses on student understanding that all living things have basic life needs and life processes. Upon completion, students will understand that plants change as they grow as well, as identify their needs while they grow. In addition, they will observe and investigate attributes of apples.
 * **Lesson Title: ** Plant Observations || **Related Lessons: **Comprehension, Sequencing, Technology ||
 * **Grade level: ** Kindergarten || **Unit Title: ** Science ||
 * Goals ||
 * Content Standards: **

K.1 The student will conduct investigations in which  a) basic properties of objects are identified by direct observation; <span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 13.3333px;"> b) observations are made from multiple positions to achieve different perspectives; <span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 13.3333px;"> c) objects are described both pictorially and verbally; <span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 13.3333px;"> d) a set of objects is sequenced according to size; <span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 13.3333px;"> e) a set of objects is separated into two groups based on a single physical attribute; <span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 13.3333px;"> f) nonstandard units are used to measure common objects; <span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 13.3333px;"> g) a question is developed from one or more observations; <span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 13.3333px;"> i) an unseen member in a sequence of objects is predicted; and <span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 13.3333px;"> j) unusual or unexpected results in an activity are recognized.

<span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 13.3333px;">K.6 The student will investigate and understand basic needs and life processes of plants and animals. <span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 13.3333px;"> Key concepts include: <span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 13.3333px;"> a) living things change as they grow, and they need food, water, and air to survive; <span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 13.3333px;"> b) plants and animals live and die (go through a life cycle); and <span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 13.3333px;"> c) offspring of plants and animals are similar but not identical to their parents and to one another.

<span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 13.3333px;">K.8 The student will investigate and understand simple patterns in his/her daily life. Key concepts include <span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 13.3333px;"> a) weather observations; <span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 13.3333px;"> b) the shapes and forms of many common natural objects including seeds, cones, and leaves; <span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 13.3333px;"> c) animal and plant growth; and

<span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 13.3333px;">K.9 The student will investigate and understand that change occurs over time and rates may be fast or slow. <span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 13.3333px;"> Key concepts include: <span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 13.3333px;"> a) natural and human-made things may change over time; and <span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 13.3333px;"> b) changes can be noted and measured.

<span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif';">Language Arts <span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 13.3333px;">K.11 The student will write to communicate ideas. <span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 13.3333px;"> a) Draw pictures and/or use letters and phonetically spelled words to write about experiences, stories, people, objects, or events. <span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 13.3333px;"> b) Write left to right and top to bottom


 * **<span style="color: #000000; font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif';">ISTE NETS-S **
 * <span style="color: #000000; font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif';">Creativity and innovation
 * <span style="color: #000000; font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif';">Communication and collaboration
 * <span style="color: #000000; font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif';">Research and information fluency || * <span style="color: #000000; font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif';">Critical thinking, problem-solving, & decision-making
 * <span style="color: #000000; font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif';">Digital citizenship
 * <span style="color: #000000; font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif';">Technology operations and concepts ||
 * <span style="color: #000000; font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif';">Instructional objective(s): **<span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif';">Students will understand the characteristics of a flower/plant (using their five senses) as well as understand the life cycle. In addition, the student will be able to work together in a collaborative setting with partners as well as a whole group setting to determine the best way to demonstrate their understanding of the life process. Problem-based Learning (PBL) is an interactive learning process where participants are required to communicate and collaborate with each other, ( <span class="author" style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif';">S Drohan <span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif';">, <span class="author" style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif';">L Widger <span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif';">, <span class="author" style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif';">F Welsch <span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif';">, <span class="author" style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif';">J V Carrasquero <span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif';">, <span class="author" style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif';">A Oropeza <span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif';">, <span class="author" style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif';">C B Chen). <span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif';">Upon completion the student will be able to:
 * <span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif';">Successfully plant a plant seed and maintain it.
 * <span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif';">Use illustrations to record their daily observations of their plants growth process.
 * <span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif';">Illustrate the plant life cycle to record their observations; post on Voicethread to share with their peers.
 * <span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif';">Visit their friends Voicethread picture and leave comments.

<span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif';">“We need to teach students how to be effective collaborators in that world, how to interact with people around them, how to be engaged, informed twenty-first-century citizens. We need to teach kids the powerful ways networking can change the way they look at education, not just their social lives. We don't talk enough about the incredible power of social-networking technology to be used for academic benefit. Let's change the terms. Let's not call it social networking. Let's call it academic networking,” (Smith, 2007).


 * <span style="color: #000000; display: block; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; text-align: center;">Action ||
 * **<span style="color: #000000; font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif';">Before-class preparation: **
 * <span style="color: #000000; font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif';">Plant seeds and maintain them
 * <span style="color: #000000; font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif';">Make sure all student illustrations are complete
 * <span style="color: #000000; font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif';">Prep volunteers on how to scan student illustrations
 * <span style="color: #000000; font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif';">Prep volunteers on how to voice record on the computer/Voicethread ||
 * **<span style="color: #000000; font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif';">During class ** ||
 * <span style="color: #000000; font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif';">Time || <span style="color: #000000; font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif';">Instructional Activities || <span style="color: #000000; font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif';">Materials & Resources ||
 * <span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif';">10-15 min.

<span style="color: #000000; font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif';">20 min.

<span style="color: #000000; font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif';">40 min.

<span style="color: #000000; font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif';">2 days

<span style="color: #000000; font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif';">2 days

<span style="color: #000000; font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif';">60 min. || <span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif';">In a whole group setting, students will re-read a plant life cycle book and review the information provided in the book. Students will discuss the characteristics of a plant, the essentials it needs to grow, in addition to the step-by-step process of its life cycle.

<span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif';">(This activity is to be completed over a series of days) We will take a tour around our garden area and observe our plants; water; or weed if necessary.

<span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif';">Using the illustrations from their writing journals, students pictures will be scanned onto the computer and uploaded on [|www.Voicethread.com].

<span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif';">Students will use the writing from their journal and read the steps of the life cycle.

<span style="color: #000000; font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif';">With assistance, students will view two of their peers illustrations on the computer and voice comments about the illustration of the life cycle and any suggestions on how to add detail. “ <span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif';">Through the sharing of work and engagement in discussions [|social software] tools facilitate closer relationships and more frequent interaction between students and teachers,” ( [|Dalsgaard], 2006).

<span style="color: #000000; font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif';">With assistance, students will revisit their voicethread page, listen to their comments and add any additional information to their illustrations or journal entries. || * __<span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif';">From Seed to Daisy: Following the life cycle __<span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif';"> by Laura Purdie Salas


 * <span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif';">Water buckets
 * <span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif';">Shovels
 * <span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif';">Plants


 * <span style="color: #000000; font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif';">Scanner
 * <span style="color: #000000; font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif';">Computer
 * <span style="color: #000000; font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif';">Internet
 * <span style="color: #000000; font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif';">Student Illustrations


 * <span style="color: #000000; font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif';">Computer
 * <span style="color: #000000; font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif';">Internet
 * <span style="color: #000000; font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif';">Microphone
 * <span style="color: #000000; font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif';">Student journal entry


 * <span style="color: #000000; font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif';">Computer
 * <span style="color: #000000; font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif';">Internet
 * <span style="color: #000000; font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif';">Microphone

|| <span style="color: #000000; display: block; font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; text-align: center;">Monitor ||
 * <span style="color: #000000; font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif';">Computer
 * <span style="color: #000000; font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif';">Internet
 * <span style="color: #000000; font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif';">Journal: Illustration/Writing ||
 * <span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif';">Notes: **<span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif';">Volunteers will be readily able for planting, observations, work in the computer lab, and Voicethread recording. Students will be grouped randomly for viewing and commenting.


 * <span style="color: #000000; font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif';">Ongoing assessment(s): **<span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif';">Students will be observed throughout each activity based on their participation and creations. Students will be randomly called on to answer different questions about the plant life cycle, as well as their activities they are conducting – are they able to tell me why they are doing this particular project.
 * <span style="color: #000000; font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif';">Accommodations and extensions: **<span style="color: #000000; font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif';">No student will be required to scan the respected illustration. All students will be provided with a volunteer when using the Voicethread program and to voice record using the microphone.
 * <span style="color: #000000; font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif';">Backup plan: **<span style="color: #000000; font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif';">If my volunteers are not readily available, I will leverage out to our reading buddy classroom and have students from that class help with the assistance using the computer. If the computer/internet are not available, voice recording will be recorded on a tape player.
 * <span style="color: #000000; display: block; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; text-align: center;">Evaluate and Extend ||
 * <span style="color: #000000; font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif';">Lesson reflections and notes: **<span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif';">Participation is a big factor in their grade. A few observations that will be noted:
 * <span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif';">Do they understand the parts of a plant?
 * <span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif';">Do they understand the life cycle of a plant?
 * <span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif';">Are my students able to write about the process?
 * <span style="color: #000000; font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif';">Are my students willing to give feedback to their peers?
 * <span style="color: #000000; font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif';">Do my students take the ideas from their peers and make their work “better”?


 * <span style="color: #000000; display: block; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; text-align: center;">References ||

<span style="color: #000000; font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 90%;">Card, Leonia (2010). EduTeck Wiki. //Problem-based learning and social software.// Retrieved August 8, 2011 from: [] <span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 90%;">Drohan, S., Widger, L., Welsch, F., Carrasquero, J. V., Oropeza, A., & Chen, C. B. (2008). Social Networking the Problem-based Learning Process (pp. 47-51). <span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 90%;">Smith, F. (2007, April 20). How to use social-networking technology for learning. Retrieved from the Edutopia website: http://www.edutopia.org/print/3980.


 * NOTE: The Daily Lesson box will not align correctly.**

**Response from Preeti,** Your lesson plan is very detailed and students will be able understand the life cycle of a plant very well. Maybe you could also provide some interactive games about life cycle of a plant. The website Bite Size provides lots of interactive games and video for students to watch. Students can also view a YouTube video on plant cycle. Students who are visual learners would benefit from watching these video and playing interactive games. Creating a Voice thread too would help students learn their content faster. You created a very good online collaboration lesson plan.

Response from Michael, Excellent lesson, I can visualize it working really well with young scientists. One item I would be sure to add is that during the commenting part of the lesson, students must make certain types of comments. I found that it does not work well at all to just say, "Comment on three other threads." Students will go on and add the following comment, "Good job." The more specific you are about their comments they are to make the more constructive they will make them. I would suggest that they must make one specific compliment, one adjustment, and one constructive criticism. That way they are giving and getting quality interactions. Michael