Update On:

My Grandpa Quilt. I showcased the quilt as my 'talent' for the Mortensen Christmas Talent Show. It was all wrapped up, and I made Grandpa open it.

I. Made. My. Grandpa. Cry.

Later he told some of us where all of his neckerchiefs (...neckerchieves? neckerchiefs.) were from and when he got them.

 

Can you say SUCCESS!?

Off!

To be cruising, don't be too jealous.

 

Hey Guess What.

Did I finish my Grandpa quilt? YES. I. DID.

Ready to see it? Good, I'm pretty proud.

COMMENCE the pictures!!

 

Looks good right? If you don't think so you should compare it to THIS.

Either way, Grandpa will be excited when he gets this for Christmas. And he will love it. Success.

 

SCED 4200: Blog Post 5

This post is a final synthesis of the course as a whole.  I am to tell you what I've learned and how I will incorporate it into my classroom. Ready for it? Good.

In this course I learned many different strategies to use to bring literacy into the classroom.  Some of my favorites have been with vocabulary instruction, BDA reading strategies, and the use of multiple types of text in classes.

Using critical literacy in Social Studies is gettin easier and easier.  With the inquiry method, students have to think for themselves.  They use documents provided to come up with a solution or their own answers to questions posed.  Students use their critical literacy to be their own historians.

Using BDA reading strategies with a text can insure that a student comprehends what is being read.  The Before reading could be some background instruction as a group, During could be a concept map filled out individually, and After activity could be a group discussion to find out what we have all learned.

Teaching Vocabulary in Social Studies can be easy.  It can be used as a BDA activity, vocabulary worksheets and word comparisons and all kinds of other things.

Overall I enjoyed this course. Amy was great and had examples for everything that were all helpful.

SCED 4200: Self-Selected Project

For my Self-Selected Project I chose to describe unit I created for my Curriculum and Assessment course.  This unit is for the Geography for Life course typically taught to 9th graders.  This unit is titled Interactions of Physical and Human Systems.  The lesson plans go as follows:  The Layers of the Earth and Plate Tectonics, Erosion, Natural Resources, Pollution, and Migration.

(A) The Essential Questions for the unit are:  What are the physical processes of the Earth that affect humans?  What impact do humans have on their environmental surroundings?  What impact do humans have on the Earth?  How do human activities harm the Earth?  What are some effects of migration on humans and the earth?

(B) The Texts that are used throughout the unit are:  A Glog that I created on Plate Tectonics (found HERE).  A Bill Nye Volcano video (found HERE) until 2:20 minutes in.  A Layers of the Earth and Plate Tectonics tutorial (found HERE) through the Yellowstone slide.  A song about Erosion (found HERE).  A Lego video about resources (found HERE).  Two 'We All Live Downstream' videos (found HERE and HERE).  A Deforestation and Pollution video (found HERE) from 0:56 to 4:06.  A selection from the Migration chapter of James M Rubenstein's The Cultural Landscape: An Introduction to Human Geography.

(C) Comprehension Instruction or Critical Literacy Instruction:  In the Migration lesson plan, the students are presented with a problematic situation in which they are to "Imagine that you are in charge of providing for and caring for your family.  The place that you live is changing and is no longer the best  place for you to continue to successfully provide for and care for your family.  What are you going to do in order for you to be able to continue to successfully provide for and care for your family?"  Students are prompted to work with their small groups to come up with some solutions to the situation and discuss the solutions as a glass.

(D) Vocabulary Instruction:  In the Erosion lesson plan, the class uses the Concept Definition map to create their own definitions of Erosion.

(E)  Writing Instruction:  In the Pollution lesson plan, there is an assignment for students to complete the Ecological Footprint quiz on-line.  After the students go through the quiz they are to write a 1 page reflection on their footprint and what they might be able to do to reduce their footprint.  The reflection is graded on a rubric that was created by the instructor.

(F)  Integrated Digital Technologies:  The Glog I created requires students to use the on-line digital resource to complete a quiz for the unit.  Other videos and on-line resources help the students to create connections between the lesson plan subjects.