Capturing Kid's Hearts Podcast

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Virtual Vacation: A Technology Integration Lesson Desgin

Lesson Topic:  Virtual Vacation

Subject:  Reading, math, social studies, language arts

Grade Level:  5^th Grade

Learning Goals and Objectives:

1.  Students will relate the book, James and the Giant Peach to their understanding of what it means to go on a journey by:
1. Reading and discussing the book.
2. Planning a virtual vacation.
3. Creating a VENN diagram that compares and contrasts James and the Giant Peach with their own virtual vacation.
4. Writing a 1-2 page paper about how the book is relevant to their own vacation project.
2. Students will create a virtual vacation consisting of several parts:
1. Distance traveled in both miles and kilometers
2. Spreadsheet of the budget report that includes all expenses incurred including transportation, recreation, meals, lodging and tips.
3. Computer created calendar that includes all daily activities including transportation, recreation, meals and lodging.
4. Poster (or glog) that includes facts associated with the group’s destination of choice as well as reference materials used in group research.
5. Computer or hand generated brochures created by each group member.  Brochures must be informative, persuasive, creative and colorful.
6. Digital Story Telling component that includes narration, music, relevant high resolution photos and shows like a memory album of the virtual vacation.
7. Inquiry Report that gives a step by step process of the group’s research and daily activities.  The inquiry report will be created using notes taken by the group secretary over the course of the unit and should be completed as the last step in the project.  Final report is to be created using word processing software.
3.  Students will work cooperatively in a group of four, each with designated roles:
1. Leader:  Responsible for keeping everyone on task, assigning roles and handling conflicts.  Responsible also for all group materials.  Group leader will manage the creation of the group poster/glog.
2. Secretary:  Handles note taking, keeps group ideas together in spiral notebook and is responsible for typing the final inquiry report.
3. Treasurer:  Handles the financial aspect of the vacation.  Keeps count of all monies spent and manages the production of the final budget report which will be created using a basic spreadsheet.
4. Time Keeper:  Keeps track of calendar and time issues.  Responsible for managing the production of the final calendar that includes all dates and times of travel, lodging and entertainment activities.
4. Students will create a vocabulary list as we work through the unit.  These vocabulary words need to be meaningful to the project and students must practice using new vocabulary words daily as they work on their project. 

Technology and Rationale:  It is important for students to relate literature with their own lives in a meaningful and memorable way.  It is also important for students to connect their work in school with their own lives and to explore the possibilities that exist beyond their immediate surroundings.  Creativity in learning leads to a greater understanding of the concepts learned and by integrating content areas, students have a firm grasp on why each content area is important to the others.  By using technology creatively as a natural response to learning, students become more aware of the tools at their disposal and are better equipped for their future.  This unit is designed to lead students toward a better understanding of the world around them while enhancing important skills and bridging a gap between technology and the content areas.

Technology in the lesson (scenario):  Students will complete a WebQuest using given websites for tourism information for destination cities.  Students will answer the following questions before beginning further research:

WEBQUEST QUESTIONS:

1.  What type of landforms can you find at your destination city?
2. What are three things that people do for entertainment in your city?
3. What lodging is available in your city?
4. What restaurants are available in your city?
5. What museums are available in your city?

Assessment:  Production pieces will be assessed based on creativity, research, group cooperation, originality, time management, completeness and presentation. 

TPACK

I believe strongly that teachers must continue to be students on a daily basis. It is important for us to go outside of our comfort zone in order to bring the very latest in information and technology to our classrooms. I have always taken great pride in the fact that technology is a huge part of my students' classroom experience, but this semester I am learning that there is still so much that I do not yet know. I am excited about this and anxious to introduce all that I am learning to my students. With all of this said, I think that the technology aspect of the TPACK model is the area in which I need the most improvement. I have found, however, that there are many roadblocks when attempting to integrate technology in the way that I would like it. For example, only a handful of my students have an e-mail address, which makes it impossible for me to set up a class wiki, blogster account, or googledocs account. In order to do this, I will need to get permission from each of my students' parents to create e-mail addresses for them. My concern with this is the liability that could be a factor should my students decide to use their teacher issued e-mail address to communicate inappropriately. This is a difficult situation, but I definitely find it to be a legitimate concern and a hindrance to what I want to achieve with my students.

I am considering using my GT group for my technology integration lesson. My students are learning about enigmas, and I think that it would be very interesting to have my GT students post questions and ideas in a localized area (such as googledocs or a wiki) where they can share with one another and work collaboratively on their GT projects. My GT kids are also responsible for creating either a learning center or a game based on the enigma of their choosing. It would be interesting to have them create this game or learning center as an interactive online activity. I do not yet have the tech skills to teach them to do this, but I am hopeful that this is something that I will learn either this semester or next spring. In any case, I am thinking that my GT kids could present their findings, research and progress to the class on a weekly or biweekly basis, thus allowing all students to learn from their project.

Reading Survey