Description:
The big idea that I
will be teaching is rhyming. I
will be teaching kindergarten students.
I will be making sure they know when words rhyme they sound the same at
the end of the word. One challenge
that I will face is some students have a difficulty understand what the end of
the word is. I will use many
of examples and repeat the end of the word to help these students understand. I
will use the SmartBoard to play an interactive game on matching words that
rhyme.
Implementation:
I implemented this
lesson in a kindergarten classroom with 21 students. The children were very engaged in the lesson and all wanted
to play the game on the SmartBoard.
Students did a really great job of understanding how to use the
SmartBoard and play the game. Most
students were successfully able to complete the game and understand what it
means for words to rhyme.
Question Set One
•
What was learned? What were the
learning goals of this instructional experience? What were the underlying
assumptions (explicit and implicit) about the nature of knowledge?
The concept that was
learned was when words rhyme they have the same sound at the end of the
word. When teaching rhyming I had
to make sure that the students understood what the “end of the word”
meant. If students were not sure
where the end of the word is they would not be able to identify rhyming
words. Once students understand
what it meant to rhyme students were able to identify when words rhymed.
•
What are the affordances for how
knowledge/information is being represented? What are the constraints?
The affordance for
this lesson was the technology.
Using the SmartBoard was engaging and interactive. The SmartBoard is a new piece of
technology in our classroom so the children were very excited to be able to use
it. This also was a constraint in
the lesson because students were not exactly sure how to use the
SmartBoard. Part of the lesson
involved teaching how to use the technology.
•
How does learning take place? What
elements of constructivism did you observe? What elements of behaviorism did
you observe? Were any other learning theories present?
This lesson was
interactive. All children had an
opportunity to interact in the lesson.
The lesson built on previous knowledge about what the end of a word
is. Students needed to understand
the ending of words in order to know if words rhyme. The lesson depended on how well the students participated
and interacted with the SmartBoard.
•
Was your lesson intended to
supplement or supplant existing curriculum? Or, was it intended to enhance the
learning of something already central to the curriculum or some new set of
understandings or competencies?
The lesson was used
to reinforce and enhance existing curriculum. Part of the curriculum is knowing parts of words and knowing
words that rhyme. This lesson
reinforced the concept of rhyming.
•
How are important differences among
learners taken into account?
This lesson can be
extended for learners who need a challenge. The game has different levels beginning at easy and going to
difficult. If a student quickly
picks up the concept they can be challenged by completing a different more
challenging level. I was able to
reteach in a small group for students who did not understand the concept taught
during whole group. It is very
important to think about the different learners
•
What do teachers and learners need
to know in order for your lesson to be a success? What demands are placed on
teachers and other "users"? What knowledge is assumed?
Teachers
need to know how to work the game on the SmartBoard. Teachers also need to know that students may have a
difficult time with rhyming because students might not understand what it means
by “the end of the word”.
The
learners need to know what the end of a word is. They are need to be familiar with how to use a
SmartBoard.
•
How did you assess what students
were doing and what they were learning from this activity? How did you hold
them accountable for the work they did?
I wanted my students
to know that when words rhyme they have the same sound at the end of the
word. I wanted my students to be
able to identify if 2 words rhyme.
I assessed this by observing them playing the rhyming game on the
SmartBoard. If they were unable to
complete the game, I know that they do not understand what it means to rhyme
and need further teaching of the concept.
If students quickly understand rhyming words I challenged them to a
higher level of the game on the SmartBoard. .
Question Set Two
•
What role does technology play in
your lesson? What advantages or disadvantages does the technology hold for this
role? What unique contribution does the technology make in facilitating
learning?
The role of technology in this lesson was to allow the
students to interact with the lesson.
Students were able to be active learners by playing the game on the
SmartBoard. The disadvantage of the technology was only 2 students were able to
participate at one time. This made
it difficult to allow everyone a chance to use the board. This lesson would be great to use
during a center time because it would be small groups working on the board at
each center. It would allow
students something to do while they wait for their turn.
•
What did you expect your students to
make of their use of technology in your lesson? How did they react when using
the technologies? What questions did students have, and how did you respond to
them?
Since we just
received the SmartBoard in the classroom it was one of the very first times the
students had a chance to use the SmartBoard. The students were eager and excited to have the opportunity
to come up and use the SmartBoard by themselves. They did a very nice job of listening to the directions of
what to do and then following them to play the game. Students did not have questions about the use of the
SmartBoard. I modeled how to use
it so they were familiar with what they needed to do.
•
How would you describe how students
were making sense of the content with the technology?
Students were making sense of
rhyming words by using the technology of the SmartBoard. They were able to interact with the
SmartBoard to show their understanding of rhyming words. I think that allowing students to
interact with the SmartBoard helped to keep the students attention during the
lesson. This helped them to
understand the concept.
