Doing part of Internet Safety

For the doing part of the internet safety assignment, I talked with my aunt who is about 55 years old. She is a parent of 6 kids. It went really well because it was really easy to talk to her about it. She uses the internet often because she is very into geneaology. Because I don't have kids of my own it was very interesting to see how much allowing her kids to use the internet worries her. We talked about how advanced technology has become and I told her about new technology that she has not even heard about. I also shared with her some of the statistics that were on the video we watched in class and it shocked her to hear about the different percentages and the different ways that predators attack through the internet. It was an interesting conversation!

Best two ideas for technology integration

The first idea that I enjoyed the while watching my peers' presentations was on math. The students were able to come up and use a promethian (sp?) board tot calculate math problems. I thought that was a really great idea. The second idea was to have the students use kidsperation to sort and classify objects. The objects were all science related and it fit very well with the technology because it allowed the students to classify things they wouldn't really be able to bring to class and sort.

10-Hour Project and Time Log

Learning to Cook

Because I am getting married at the end of the semester, I decided for my 10-hour project that it would be of benefit to learn to cook. This included some baking as well. This experience really caused me to stretch myself and go beyond Macaroni and Cheese and Ramen to making actual meals. I learned a lot about my personal learning style.

I just wanted to share one of the successes and one of what I would consider the failures. One day I had finished all my homework and decided to look through my roommate’s cookbook, The Lion House Cookbook. This was the first meal I would work on for my project and I was excited to make such a tasty dinner. I picked chicken bake. Can I just tell you how amazing my first meal turned out? It consisted of chopped vegetables, cream of chicken soup, lots of seasonings, stuffing, and Parmesan cheese sprinkled and melted on top. It was amazing! For dessert I made a cherry cheesecake. This consisted of cream cheese, lemon, vanilla, graham crackers, and cherry pie filling. This pie turned out so perfectly and tasted delicious! The first experience went extremely well! I thought this project would be a breeze. Then one day I decided to make chocolate chip cookies. For me this was a big step. I thought I was doing everything perfectly and then when I took the cookies out of the oven they were more like biscuits than they were cookies. I couldn’t figure out what went wrong and finally it hit me; I forgot to include white sugar in the recipe. I had put all the ingredients in, even the brown sugar but forgot the white sugar. It was a disaster. They tasted horrible!

One final thing I learned is that I am the type of learner that has to follow directions exactly. I felt like I was constantly looking at the recipe and that is how I am when I doing schoolwork. I am constantly looking at the requirements and feeling the need to read them through over and over. This is just the way I learn. I like someone to tell me exactly how to do something and I need to have guidelines and requirements otherwise I am lost and do not know what is expected of me. This helped me to realize that I am a very particular learner and that everything has to be perfect. If something doesn’t turn out perfect, I feel like I have failed.

10-Hour Log
February 9, 2009 – 2 hrs, bought ingredients, prep time, cooked chicken bake and cheesecake

February 14, 2009 – 3 hrs, bought ingredients, prep time, cooked steak, roasted potatoes, & fruit salad

March 27, 2009 – 3 hrs, bought ingredients, prep time, cooked chicken potpie and chocolate chip cookies

April 1, 2009 – 2 hrs, bought ingredients, prep time, cooked stir-fry and made dragon salad

Total time in the kitchen – 10 hours

Personal Learning Theory

My Personal Learning Theory

Different people believe that a formal education has diverse purposes. Some believe that a formal education is to create a rich environment full of social interaction, which is conducive to the social learning theory. Some believe that the only tool a formal education provides the student with is the idea of how to “get ahead” and by this I mean graduate, get a job, and become “successful” in life. I believe that the main purpose of a formal education should be to educate; to teach, encourage, and foster learning as well as an intrinsic motivation to learn.

As teachers, it is important to realize that people have different learning preferences so that we can reach every student in the classroom. Although one person may be a kinesthetic learner, another may be a visual learner. One way I believe that learning can be enhanced regardless of these differences is by increasing self-efficacy in every student. I believe this is the groundwork for learning. If students believe in themselves and feel competent in a particular situation, they are more likely to succeed. If they feel confident, they will want to learn more. There is an opposite side of this spectrum. If a student acquires a learned helplessness, the desire to learn will diminish. In this case, we need to amplify the student’s self-efficacy thereby decreasing that feeling of learned helplessness.

Another way to foster this intrinsic motivation to learn is perfectly aligned with Piaget’s theory and the state of disequilibrium. One way that we can be led to this disequilibrium is by using co-constructed processes as a form of learning. As students discuss their preconceived schemas with each other they may become unsatisfied with their, and a feeling of discomfort may arise. This discomfort then motivates the students to continue searching for a state of equilibrium. By using these co-constructed processes, learners can find that state of disequilibrium and become motivated to find a balance. This is a great way to encourage learning.

I feel that engagement is another excellent way of fostering a desire to learn. The more engaged time the learner has, the more likely they will want to learn the information being taught. A learner is engaged when they can relate the material to themselves or their prior knowledge. One way that this can be done is by using the KWL strategy. This helps students access prior knowledge, figure out what they want to learn from the lesson, and then evaluate what they did learn. By having this at the beginning of the lesson, students become engaged in the topic and want to see what else they can learn about the topic. Engagement is a key to learning.

As mentioned before, the one main purpose of a formal education should be to educate. In order to achieve this end, students must learn to become critical thinkers. In order to ensure this learning, students need to truly learn the materials being taught. One way that students can learn the materials so that the concepts stay with them throughout the years is by using distributed practice. Practicing concepts several times over a long period of time using rest intervals is a great way to instill these concepts. This in turn adds to the conditional knowledge of the learner. If someone is truly learning, they are retaining the information being taught and using it several years into the future. Distributed practice demonstrates a true desire to learn.

One final way to foster this learning and intrinsic motivation to learn is by having an educationally sound classroom. The learner must be immersed in a learning environment. Classroom management is the key to creating this learning rich environment. One technique is to have behavioral objectives set so that there are no distractions to the learning process. Also, using positive and negative reinforcements are an excellent way to maintain a healthy learning environment, free of behavioral problems. By creating an environment like this, students are able to become more engaged in the lessons and become intrinsically motivated to learn.

Students need to love learning. They need to be intrinsically motivated to learn. By achieving these very difficult tasks, real learning will take place. The main purpose of a formal education should be to educate. Likewise the student’s main responsibility should be to learn.

What I Learned

As I watched Carisa's slideshow, I realized how much you really can do with only one computer in the classroom. I only had one computer in my classroom and I found it difficult to come up with a technology lesson without going to the computer lab. I loved her idea of having the class split into groups and fill out their groups' section of the map. I thought this was an excellent way to make sure that the students were involved in using the technology rather than Carisa just having them tell her the answer and filling it out herself. It was a great lesson.

Technology Integration

Technology Integration

View more presentations from kfriden.

Internet Safety Readings

For my fourth article, I read Fighting Internet Filth by Mario Hipol. I learned a lot of valuable things as I read the different articles for this weeks assignments. One of the most important things I learned is to be aware of the technology my children know so much about. In order to take preventative measures, I need to keep myself up to date with the innovative technology that is rapidly developing. I also learned to teach my children about the positive and useful things that can come about because of technology. Rather than focusing on the bad in technology, I must teach my children to focus on the positive useful tools that technology provides us with. Reading these articles has influenced me to want to take several preventative measures such as: Using filters, having the computer in an open room, encouraging children to use favorites and bookmarks, and teaching them to stay away from chat rooms and spam e-mail. I will also teach them to use the internet and technology for good. By doing these things, I am being a positive influence on my family and friends. I will also try to set an example by doing the things I have mentioned above. I am scared to death but I know that the Lord will help me teach His children in a way that is pleasing unto Him.

Technology Lesson

For my technology lesson, I decided to have students learn to add clipart to their writing. Because students are writing about themselves and trying to become "published" authors, I thought that adding pictures to their writing would really enhance the lesson. So the entire lesson actually took two days. The first day I taught the students how to open a word document and type their name and a few sentences about themselves. Then I taught them how to save the file. The next day we went back to the computer lab and I taught them how to insert clipart to enhance their writing and then we learned how to print their writing. Since my students are first graders, they have had almost no experience using Word. They did pretty well with it however. Students loved adding pictures to their writing and they loved printing their writing. Some of them wanted me to take pictures of them holding their paper because they were so excited. Students talked about how they felt like realy authors. It was obvious that the teacher doesn't incorporate student involvement with technology into her lessons very well. It was a lot of fun!

Technology Lesson Idea

I was actually thinking about doing my lesson on what the quiz was about. Other than a computer lab we don't really have a lot of technology in our school. So I was thinking of having the students use Kidsperation to sort and classify objects by looking at the different attributes of the objects. I would use the template provided on Kidsperation to do this.

Classroom Technology Inventory

It was really interesting to see the technology that was available to the students. Granted, Art City Elementary definitely did not have as much technology as we have in our classroom at BYU but it was there. The technology in the classroom was rather limited. There is only one computer in the classroom and that is for the teacher. I have already seen how this can make it difficult, not only from a pedagogy standpoint but difficult for the teacher. Students want a picture printed on their How-to book and they can't just hop on a computer and print one using clipart. They have to gather around the teacher, stand in line, then wait for it to be printed in another room across the school.

The two computer labs at the school however, are very nice. There are 30 computers in each lab and you can see every computer screen if standing at the door. The layout of each lab is very nice. These computer do not have cool technology tools and programs like Stellarium or Google Earth but this is probably because they are all PC's. This does limit the number of programs on each computer. At least the students do have the basics. They have internet, Microsoft Office, Mavis Beacon. The school could definitely invest in some more software, or even some new computers.

Virtual Tour

I have created a link on the left hand side for my virtual tour!

Applied Lesson Plan - Social Constructivism

Applied Lesson Plan – Social Constructivism

This lesson could be taught very nicely using cognitive apprenticeship. First the students would observe the more knowledgeable other model the food pyramid. After the pyramid has been taught and modeled, the students will be asked questions regarding the food pyramid. The more knowledgeable other will support the students by giving hints, reminders, or more representations to help the students answer these questions about the food pyramid.

In order for the students to receive scaffolding, the teacher will provide assistance as the student’s further research the food pyramid. The students will use cultural tools such as the internet to discover more about the pyramid and its model. They will explore in-depth about the food pyramid including the different food groups and the recommended daily intake amounts. The teacher will be helping the students to get started by showing them how to find the food pyramid using their cultural tool, the internet. The more knowledgeable other will ask specific questions to the learner in order to give the students an idea of what to look for. The more knowledgeable other will start scaffolding the students by asking them questions about what the different food groups are and the leaner will hopefully gear their focus toward that.

Once the students have displayed that they know what they are doing and how to research the food pyramid, the teacher will let the learner figure it out themselves and will be there as a guide and will walk around and wait for questions to be asked. The teacher will maintain the zone of proximal development by making sure that the students receive a balance of both direct instruction and guided instruction. Students will articulate their knowledge of the food pyramid by explaining it to each other. They can also do this by drawing the food pyramid and labeling its recommended daily intakes. This will ensure that the zone of proximal development is maintained.

The students will then compare their food pyramid model with the one the more knowledgeable other used to model with at the beginning of class and they can reflect on what they have learned. The teacher will ask the students how this information can be applied to their lives and will guide them to the correct answer. If students do not understand what the teacher is looking for the teacher will explain the usefulness of the food pyramid in staying healthy. Throughout the lesson, there is some instruction from the more knowledgeable other given to the learner but this relationship is especially maintained through asking and answering guided questions to help scaffold the students and maintain their zone of proximal development.

TPACK

The content I am focusing on comes from the Utah State Core Curriculum. It is the third grade visual arts standard 4 objective 3. This content is supposed to focus on famous artists or artwork. I decided to teach about four artists: van Gogh, Picasso, Monet, and da Vinci.

The pedagogy I am using fits really well with the content because I wanted to basically focus on the lives and the artwork of these men. I wanted this to be interesting to the students so I am teaching in a way that will be interesting and insightful for the students.

The technology I am using works really well with the content and the pedagogy. I wanted the students to be interested in learning about these artists so I am using google earth to pinpoint the birth places of these four individuals. When the students click on the locations of the birth places, they will be able to read a brief synopsis of the artist and click on a link to wikipedia so that they can read more into the topic for themselves. At each location, the students are able to complete an activity that is engaging and deals with either the artist or the artwork being represented. This helps the students to understand the content and fits really well with the pedagogy because it allows me to teach in an interesting way that is engaging to the students.

Virtual Tour Plan

Location	Activity	Google Earth Content
1. Groot Zundert, Netherlands	Sketch a self-portrait	Picture of van Gogh’s self portrait and brief description of Vincent van Gogh. Wiki link to his biography
2. Florence, Italy	Write your first reaction to this painting. What do you think is interesting about this painting?	Picture of Mona Lisa and brief description of Leonardo da Vinci. Wiki link to his biography
3. Paris, France	Since Monet traveled repeatedly to Venice and London, measure how far it is from Paris to these two locations.	Picture of Monet and brief description of who he was. Brief description of who he was. Discuss his travels to Venice and London. Wiki link to biography
4. Andalusian,Spain	Play around with Mr. Picasso Head	Picture of Pablo Picasso and brief description of who he was. Wiki link to his biography
Details of image overlay / path / polygon:

Applied Lesson Plan - Developmental Cognitivism

Applied Lesson Plan: Developmental Cognitivism

1. Stage-based learning – Before teaching this lesson I would definitely consider the stage that my students are at in their learning. I do not want to teach this topic to the wrong age group because they will not be able to understand what I am trying to teach them. Also, I will be sure that I am not trying to just force the students to believe what I am teaching but I will be teaching the right age group so that they actually understand what I am teaching, rather than just saying that they understand. In the example we watched in class, the father practically forced his daughter into saying that the two lines of cereal were the same when she was not even in the concrete operational stage yet. This is something that I must avoid while teaching this topic.

2. Uniqueness of individual learning – To consider this while teaching my lesson, I will make sure to reward the uniqueness of individual learning when I see individual learning take place. I will watch for personal progress, growth, and understanding. I will have the students compare their own work to their own work, rather than the work of others. I will consider those students who are much better individual learners than they are group learners. Because of this, I will allow students to choose if they want to work independently or with a group so that each type of learner has an equal learning opportunity.

3. Experience that involves action – I will make sure that while teaching this lesson students are up and moving, actively participating in the learning process. I do not want to lecture on the topic I teach but I want the students to do things. I want the students to perhaps even take the concept home with them and apply it at home. This works especially well with teaching health and the food pyramid. This helps the topic become more real to the students.

4. Necessity of social interaction – Because social interaction helps students learn from other students and provides feedback to both the teacher and student it is very necessary in a lesson. In order to make sure that social interaction is a part of my lesson, I will carefully plan effective group work, specify the learning tasks clearly, and monitor each group to make sure they understand the concepts correctly.

Adaptation – Adaptation can be demonstrated in this lesson plan if we continue with the idea of elaboration from my cognition lesson. If the students know through this elaboration, what the proportions of the different food groups in the food pyramid are equal to in terms they understand; they are able to assimilate this new information into existing schemas and can adapt to the concept being taught.

Disequilibrium – In order to demonstrate disequilibrium, I will ask the students why people lose their teeth. The students’ probable response would be because they don’t brush their teeth. I will tell the students that this is not the reason in most cases. I will explain that today we will find out the reason why people lose their teeth. Because the students will be in a state of disequilibrium (expecting lost teeth to be due to not brushing then finding out that this is not the reason why people lose their teeth) they will be more interested to learn. Being in a state of disequilibrium is optimal for learning. Then, sometime during the lesson I will briefly explain to the students that people actually lose their teeth because they do not eat foods that contain Vitamin C.

Schemas – The concept of symbolic schemas can be utilized in my lesson plan. In my cognition lesson plan, students were to use a chain method by memorizing a saying in order to help them remember the different food groups of the food pyramid. This is a mental representation of the food groups in the food pyramid. As the students recognize the phrase Drinking Milk Often Feels Very Good, they can notice the symbolic representation DMOFVG to mean the objects dairy, milk, other, fruit, vegetables, and grains. This is a great way to incorporate symbolic schemas into the lesson plan.

Discovery or guided discovery learning – In order to utilize this concept in my lesson plan, I could bring in examples and non-examples of a well balanced meal. I can have say three meals on different lunch trays displayed at the front of the classroom. The first meal can represent a horribly balanced meal, the second an ok meal, and the third can be the optimal balanced meal. At the beginning of class, I can have students come up and discuss the different meals on the table. I will ask guiding questions so that students can find out for themselves the differences between the meals and what I am trying to teach them about healthy dieting. I can ask the students questions pertaining to the different food groups without telling them about the different food groups, but I can have them try to come up with the different food groups on their own.

Classification – In order to utilize this concept, I could bring in several examples of foods that fit under each of the different food groups. I can mix them all up and place them on a table at the back of the room. At the end of the lesson, students could be assessed on the different food groups by classifying each of the different foods and putting them into their correct food group. This would be a great way to assess the students’ understanding of the different food groups and what classifies each food as being part of their specific food group.

Applied Lesson Plan - Behaviorism

Applied Lesson Plan – Behaviorism
Behavioral Objective: Given a blank food pyramid, students will be able to label each of the food groups and each of their daily percentages respectively without error.

Task Analysis:
• Students will learn the importance of utilizing the food pyramid

• Students will discover the different food groups

• Students will memorize these different food groups using Mnemonics

• Students will understand what an ounce is equal to through elaboration

• Students will learn daily percentage intake for each food group

• Students will match the food groups with their percentages

• FINAL PRODUCT – Students will correctly, without error, label the food pyramid with their respective daily percentage intakes.

How I can use the following behaviorism principles or strategies to teach this lesson:

Positive/Negative Reinforcement – In order to have the students correctly memorize the different food groups, I will give positive reinforcement each time the student identifies a food group, or what is categorized under each food group, correctly. I will ask the students several questions regarding the different food groups. I will also name a food and the student must raise their hand and put that food into its correct food group. Every time a student answers correctly, they will get a minute added on to their recess. I almost said they would get a piece of candy but then I realized this is a health lesson!

Reinforcement Schedules – I will use a fixed interval throughout the lesson to reemphasize the different food groups. Every ten minutes throughout the lesson I will have the class repeat the phrase Drinking Milk Often Feels Very Good. This is the mnemonic device that was used at the beginning of class to help the students memorize the different food groups. By the end of the lesson, students should be able to take this mnemonic device and decipher the different food groups from it. There will be no reinforcement in place after the students say this phrase as a class so the students’ response rate will not drop because of lack of reinforcement.

Shaping – If students are struggling with this topic, I will use the task analysis listed above to shape the students. Any time a struggling student progresses to the next task in the task analysis, I will reinforce that progress by giving them a gold star sticker.

Positive Practice – As I ask students questions about the daily percentage intakes for each of the food groups, they will raise their hand with their response. If a student is incorrect in their response, they must write down the food group that was given and write the correct daily percentage needed five times on a piece of paper. If students are not visual learners, they must repeat the correct food group with its correct daily percentage intake in their heads five times. If the student is practicing the correct responses after making a mistake, this will help the students remember their errors so they will not make the same mistake twice.

Observational Learning – Students will be placed in groups to practice the food pyramid concepts. If some students in the group do not understand the concepts, they can observe the other students in the group. If everyone in the group is struggling, I will model the food pyramid concepts on the board. In order to review for their quiz on labeling the food pyramid with the respective daily percentage intakes, I will draw a blank food pyramid on the board and have students volunteer to come up to the board and fill it out. This will help students to imitate others’ behaviors through observation.

Digital Storytelling

Below is my Digital Storytelling!

TPACK

The content for this digital storytelling is found in the 5th grade language-arts, Standard 8 Objective 6 which states: Write in different forms and genres. This objective also includes the following:
* Produce personal writing (e.g., journals, personal experiences, eyewitness accounts, memoirs, literature responses).
* Produce traditional and imaginative stories, narrative and formula poetry.
* Share writing with others incorporating relevant illustrations, photos, charts, diagrams, and/or graphs to add meaning.

This fits in very well with the pedagogy because we are teaching the students to write their own stories based on personal experiences and/or imagination. I will show the students my personal adventure story through photostory or iMovie. I will then teach the students to produce their own personal writing and share it with the rest of their classmates. Also, by doing this project the students are learning to use technology and be creative with their work.

The technology really adds to the content and the pedagogy because it allows the students to find really fun and exciting ways to produce their personal writings. This technology also makes it more fun for the students to share their work because they could have a class movie/ story board day. This type of technology really enhances the materials and makes the work fun for the students and fun for those viewing the work. The students are able to share their personal writing and utilize their creativity in a fun way. It is also easy for the teacher to teach these concepts to the students because the technology makes it so much more engaging and fun!

Storyboard!

Applied Lesson Plan - Cognition

There are a few things that I can do to help students remember the information taught in a specific lesson. There are three specific strategies that I would use in this lesson plan to make the information stick in the student’s long-term memory. First I would use a chain method mnemonic to help the students remember the different food groups in the food pyramid. The mnemonic is DMOFVG which stands for Drinking Milk Often Feels Very Good. The students will then take the first letter of each word to help them remember the six food groups: Dairy, Meats, Others, Fruits, Vegetables, and Grains.

Another strategy I would use to make this lesson stick is elaboration. I would use elaboration to help the students understand how much different measurements are using terms they know and can relate to. Everyday the student is supposed to consume the following amounts of each food group:

Grains Elaboration
1 ounce or 1/2 cup cooked rice is the size of a tennis ball, ice cream scoop
1 one ounce pancake is the size of a compact disc (CD)
1 ounce or 1/2 cup cooked pasta is the size of a cupcake wrapper full
1 piece of cornbread (1 ounce) is the size of a bar of soap
1 slice of bread (1 ounce) is the size of an audiocassette tape
1 cup of cereal flakes (1 ounce) is the size of a *fist

Vegetables Elaboration
1 cup salad greens is the size of a baseball or a *fist
1 baked potato is the size of a *fist or computer mouse
3/4 cup tomato juice is the size of a small Styrofoam cup
1/2 cup cooked broccoli is the size of a scoop of ice cream or a light bulb
1/2 cup serving is the size 6 asparagus spears; 7 or 8 baby carrots or carrot sticks or 1 ear of corn on the cob

Fruits Elaboration
1/2 cup of grapes (15 grapes) is the size of a light bulb
1/2 cup of fresh fruit is the size of 7 cotton balls
1 medium size fruit is the size of a tennis ball or a *fist
1 cup of cut-up fruit (2 servings) is the size of a *fist
1/4 cup raisins is the size of a large egg


Dairy Elaboration
1-1/2 ounces natural cheese is the size of a 9-volt battery, 3 dominoes
1 ounce processed cheese (1/2 serving) is the size of a pair of dice or your **thumb


Meats Elaboration
2 tablespoons peanut butter-equal to 1 oz. of meat is the size of a Ping-Pong ball
1 tablespoon peanut butter is the size of a thumb tip *
3 ounces cooked meat, fish, poultry is the size of a palm, a deck of cards or a cassette tape
3 ounces grilled/baked fish is the size of a checkbook
3 ounces cooked chicken is the size of a chicken leg and thigh or breast


Oils Elaboration
1 teaspoon butter, margarine is the size of a fingertip
2 tablespoons salad dressing is the size of a Ping-Pong ball
SNACK FOODS
1 ounce of nuts or small candies is the size of one handful or 2 shot glasses
1 ounce chips or pretzels is the size of two handfuls
1/2 cup of potato chips, crackers, or popcorn is the size of one man's handful
1/3 cup of potato chips, crackers, or popcorn is the size of one woman's handful

http://www.mckinley.uiuc.edu/handouts/serving_sizes/serving_sizes.htm


A final way that I would help the students to remember what is being taught is by using distributed practice. One week out of every month the students will keep track of everything they eat as well as the amounts they eat. This will be turned in at the end of the semester. This will help the students keep the information in their long-term memory rather than simply forgetting it the day after the lesson.

This lesson goes hand in hand with the cognitive learning theory. As the students enter the classroom I will have different foods from each food group on a table at the front of the classroom. I will have the student come up and get some food and bring it back to their desks. We will then go into a discussion about the food pyramid. This activity will get the students’ attention at the beginning of class so they are actually interested in what is coming next in the lesson. As the students participate in these activities they are processing the information in their working memory. Each activity reinforces the concepts of the lesson and helps the students to really grasp the concept. Using mnemonics, elaboration, and distributed practice the students are able to put the information that has been processing in their working memory (through the different learning activities) into their long-term memory. This way they can easily retain that information whenever necessary. This lesson is especially important because it increases their procedural knowledge. Students will remember this information and know how to eat. Once they get older this will be especially important. We are teaching the students how to live and eat and we want to keep this information in their long-term memory so that it will be useful as they get older. To prevent decay and interference of this information, distributed practice is used. Because the students are processing this information in their working memory at least once a month, they are able to hold this information and gather it in their long-term memory. All of these strategies support the cognitive learning theory and help lessons stick in students’ long-term memory so they are able to transfer that information and maintain it in their working memory when needed.

Lesson Plan

Summary:
Students will complete a variety of activities to learn about the Food Pyramid and the importance of eating a variety of healthy foods.

Main Curriculum Tie:
2nd Grade - Content
Standard 1 Objective 1
Describe and adopt behaviors for health and safety.

Materials:

For each student:

• Play-Doh® or salt clay in red, yellow, orange, white, green, and brown
• Paper plate, paper cup or other container
• 2” x 2” square of white paper or Post-it® note
• Food Pyramid Chart (pdf)
• Food Cards (pdf)
• Crayons, pens, markers, or other writing utensils
• Tape
• Plastic wrap

Additional Resources

Books

• Food Rules, by Bill Haduch; ISBN 0-14-131147-9
• The Berenstain Bears and Too Much Junk Food, by Stan and Jan Berenstain; ISBN 0-394-87217-7
• D.W. the Picky Eater, by Marc Brown; ISBN 0-316-10957-6 (hardcover), ISBN 0-316-11048-5 (paperback)
• Eating the Alphabet: Fruits and Vegetables from A to Z, by Lois Ehlert; ISBN 0-15-224435-2

Organization

• National Dairy Council, Rosemont, IL 60018-5616

Attachments

• food_pyramid.pdf
  
• food_cards.pdf
  

Background For Teachers:
Students should know why it is important to eat a variety of foods.

Intended Learning Outcomes:
1. Demonstrate a positive learning attitude.
4. Develop physical skills and personal hygiene.
6. Communicate clearly in oral, artistic, written, and nonverbal form.

Instructional Procedures:

Invitation to Learn
Did you know pirates lost their teeth, but it wasn’t because they didn’t brush their teeth? It is because they didn’t eat foods that contained Vitamin C. Did you know that there are foods you should eat everyday, just like pirates, because eating the right amount of a lot of different foods gives you the vitamins and minerals that will help you grow.

Instructional Procedures

Part 1
Have each child draw a picture of his/her favorite thing to eat on the 2” x 2” squares of paper (e.g., something that grows in the ground, comes from a tree or bush, meat, dairy, or is made from wheat, oats or corn, etc.).

1. Collect and graph data according to the food group the picture belongs in.
2. Explain that our food is divided into groups.
3. Some foods can fit in more than one category.
4. Discuss the differences of each food and the similarities.
5. Each group of food is important for our bodies.
   • Milk Group—strong bones and teeth
   • Meat Group—strong muscles, builds blood vessels, skin and hair
   • Vegetable Group—muscles work, heart beat, see in the dark, make red blood cells, and helps you grow
   • Fruit Group—heal cuts and bruises
   • Grain Group—energy
6. Label Food Pyramid Chart and draw pictures of what they would like to each from each group to satisfy their recommended daily servings (Milk: 3; Meat: 2; Vegetable: 3; Fruit: 2; Grain: 6). These represent the minimum number of servings recommended each day for children from 6-8 years of age. Some children may need more servings depending on their size, activity level and growth.*

* National Dairy Council, Pyramid Café 1998

Part 2

1. Divide students into small groups of four to five.
2. One child selects a Food Card, looks at the word and then without talking or motioning, molds that food using Play-Doh® or salt clay. Whoever guesses what is being made takes the next turn. Everyone should have an opportunity to be the sculptor.

Part 3

1. Give each child a small ball of each color of clay (about the size of a quarter).
2. Explain they are going to make miniature food servings from the foods they listed on their charts.
3. Instruct them to look at their Food Pyramid Charts and sculpt each food they have drawn and place it on their paper plate. Each food item should be smaller than 1 inch. (Do not to eat the clay!)
4. Show them how to make foods with a variety of colors (e.g., egg with white and yellow clay, a slice of watermelon, corn on the cob, etc.).
5. Demonstrate how combination foods can fit into more than one category (e.g., a hamburger would have 2 servings from the grain group, 1 serving from the meat group, 1 serving from the vegetable group, 1 serving from the cheese group—depending on the size).
6. They should check off each food item on their list after they create it.
7. When they are finished, they will have a model of what they would need to eat during one day to help their bodies grow healthy and strong.
8. Cover the plates with plastic wrap or place in a large plastic bag for each child to take home, or give them a container to put their food in. Paper cups will work to get them home without being crushed.

Part 4

1. It is good to eat a variety of foods. Different vegetables, for example, have different vitamins and minerals. A good variety helps our bodies to receive all the necessary nutrients it needs to grow healthy and strong.
2. Not only do we need to eat smart, but exercise and rest is an important part of being healthy.
3. Discuss activities to do instead of sitting. Generate a list on the board.
4. Have students copy down some of their favorite activities that they can do at home or type up all the responses, copy and send home with each child.
5. Getting enough sleep is critical for our bodies, too.
6. Children who are 7-8 years old require about ten hours of sleep each night.

Extensions:

• Draw the student’s favorite food from all five groups and tape them on the wall to see which group people like to eat from the most.
• Write a letter to a pirate telling them how important it is that they eat right. (Pirates lost their teeth because they didn’t get enough Vitamin C.)
• Record how long you sleep each night for one week. Write down the time you turn off your light and the time you wake up in the morning. Graph and evaluate your results to see if you are getting enough rest.

Family Connections

• Children can help plan a meal for their family that contains something from each food group.
• Record what they eat in a day’s time using the Food Group Chart (pdf) and see what group they need to cut back on or what group they need to eat from more often.
• Share the information they have learned with their families and help them make wise choices about the foods they are eating.
• Generate a list of family activities to engage in instead of watching television or playing video games.

Attachments

• food_group_chart.pdf
  

Assessment Plan:

• Give each child a Food Pyramid Chart and cut outs of different foods. Have them glue each piece in the correct category to fulfill their necessary daily requirements.
• Tell why our bodies need nutrients from each group and how they keep us healthy.

Author:
Utah LessonPlans

Created Date :
Sep 16 2004 14:45 PM

3 TPACK Questions

In our science lesson, the content we decided to focus on is from the 5th grade Utah state CORE. We focused on the physical changes of matter and how temperature affects the physical changes of matter from a solid to a liquid to a gas.

The pedagogy we used in our experiment included skills like observing, predicting, classifying, measuring, acquiring and processing data, constructing hypotheses, and analyzing data. These were all very fitting for our content because we needed to observe the changes as we predicted what would happen with the states of matter. We then measured the temperature as these changes became apparent.

We used the digital probes to help us with the content and pedagogy of the lesson. This technology made measuring accurately quick and easy. The technology was also very helpful because it measured the temperature second by second as the physical changes of matter took place. It also acquired the data and graphed the relationship between physical changes in matter and temperature by the second. We could also pause the probe and ask for predictions while using the technology of the probes. This was an amazing tool and it really brought the content and pedagogy together nicely.

The Tech Savvy Teacher

Welcome to the age of technology. Since entering this era, technology

has become more readily accessible to both teachers and students. Teachers now have the opportunity to allow students to discover

science on a first-hand basis rather than relying on the experiences

of others. With the advantage of technological software and hardware,

learning becomes more meaningful, appeals to different types of

learners, and reinforces the concepts being taught.We took advantage of such technology by including it in the experiment

we carried out to introduce the concept of physical changes of matter and how temperature affects the states of matter. We decided to begin

with the most familiar substance: water. 

To display these changes, we 

began with a pot of frozen water. Using the digital temperature probe, we simply connected its USB cord into the computer and placed

the probe into the pot of ice in order to calculate and record the current temperature of the ice.

Leaving the probe in the pot of ice, we then increased the temperature of the burner. 

As the probe records 

the increase in temperature by graphing it on the computer, we observed how the water transformed from a solid to a liquid state. 

Increasing the temperature of the burner yet again, we left the probe

in the pot to continue recording the changes in temperature of the

water.

We noticed the physical change of matter as the liquid transformed into its final state, a gas.

We concluded 

the experiment by observing the graph on the computer and analyzing

the correlation between the increase in temperature and each physical

state of water.

Although basic experiments, like the one we accomplished, can be
performed in the classroom in old school fashion, technology like the
portable, digital probe provides more accurate data, graphs changes in
temperature in real time and exposes students to the limitless
possibilities technology has to offer. Furthermore, with the
supplement of this particular technology, students are learning how to
observe a set of data as well as analyze, identify, and describe the
relationships involved with temperature and physical states of matter
as shown on graphs.

Stellarium

Today I explored Stellarium. The things you can see with this program are amazing. I was able to see the night sky at the exact time of my birth. It was so amazing! Programs like these allow students to do things they wouldn't normally be able to do, like speed up or slow down time while exploring the stars. The options are endless. 

TPACK

TPACK is the knowledge of technology, pedagogy, and content combined. From a teaching perspective it is very effective to incorporate obviously pedagogy, content, and technology. Allowing the students to use technology to learn rather than just showing a clip in class makes the assignments more enjoyable. Incorporating all of these aspects provide an optimal learning environment because it allows students to learn things that could not be learned otherwise. TPACK is extremely important, especially in teaching. 

Observational Learning Report

The teacher I chose to observe is actually one of my current professors. She approaches teaching with a very positive attitude. She makes the students feel as if her subject matter, not her class, is the most important there is. I think this is a very great quality. I think that the teacher uses strategies that make the student feel important. All of the work is student-graded but at the same time she has you participating in class discussion through different activities so that she knows you are doing your assignments. I think this teacher’s theory is that participation is the key to having quality class sessions and that hearing the students’ opinions may be more beneficial than her own. I have found in her class that this is the case, not because she has nothing beneficial to teach but because the discussion can facilitate twice the amount of learning that takes place. Although the class is three hours long, she makes me feel like it is much shorter than that. She demonstrates activities that we can use in the elementary classroom by having us participate in them. I find this class both beneficial and fun! I would probably teach this same topic in a similar manner, however, I would spend a little bit more time explaining definitions and ideas since there is no textbook for this particular course, and maybe that is something I would change as well. I think that taking time to explain the definitions and concepts would help the students to more easily take in what is being taught and would give them the ability to use what they learn in their everyday situations. I would want the students to have the ideas and definitions be second nature to them. I think this would help them be more comfortable with the idea of openly discussing their own opinions about the class topics because they feel as though they know a lot about them.

RSS and Web 2.0

I learned that an RSS feed is useful because I do not have to search out for different information but that it is gathered together and brought to me. This is very helpful because I can have updates right on my blog about anything I want as long as it is RSS compatible. Web 2.0 is helpful because it is like wikipedia. Both of these are helpful because it allows the teacher to have information sent to them about particular students and their work. It also keeps track of lesson plans and organizes materials for quick access.

My Background and History in Technology

I am efficient in Microsoft Word, Excel, Powerpoint, and the world wide web! I took a class in high school that dealt with creating websites. So I have some knowledge of Dreamweaver but have forgotten a lot since then.