Cyberlesson Implementation Reflection
Introduction:
I developed a literacy center cyberlesson that integrates science. I chose to integrate science because I do not devote as much time as I would like on this area of kindergarten curriculum. My cyberlesson allows me to touch on two areas of my curriculum at one time. My cyberlesson consists of nine slides and ten links. A small-group of five students and I, completed the cyberlesson center in fives days. I initially planned to complete the cyberlesson in three days but needed to add two more days. Since the cyberlesson expanded over a time period of five days, I will plan five days for the other four groups to complete the cyberlesson.
My cyberlesson focuses on the butterfly life cycle. I chose this science topic because both kindergarten classes at my school study butterflies during the spring season. The Connecticut standard that aligns with this focus topic is:
Science Curriculum: Life Cycles~ Development of wonder about the natural world and the ability to observe, describe and apply basic process skills: (http://www.state.ct.us/sde/dtl/curriculum/science/framework/ScienceCoreFramework2005v2.doc)
Grades PreK-2.
Each day, for thirty minutes, my students participate in small-group literacy centers. When thinking about my cyberlesson project, I thought it would be appropriate to implement my cyberlesson during my literacy center time since my cyberlesson integrates language arts and science. I intended on bringing my small-group of five students to the computer lab to experience the cyberlesson. I had to revise this plan because the computers in the computer lab are not equipped with power point. Due to these circumstances, I decided that I would implement the cyberlesson in my classroom. I have one computer in my classroom that is equipped with power point and the internet.
Creating a cyberlesson for kindergarten students is challenging because the majority of my students are emergent readers. They are not able to read directions without assistance. Due to these circumstances, I decided to sit with the students at the computer and read the slides with them. The students were able to take turns clicking on the links.
Day 1:
Slide 1:
The link on slide one brings you to the author’s web page. Student A clicked on this link. All of the students in the small-group thought that it was exciting to see what the author, Gail Gibbons, of Monarch Butterfly looks like. They also enjoyed seeing a copy of the book that I chose from my butterfly unit text set, on the computer.
Slide 2:
While creating my cyberlesson, I thought of engaging questions that would grasp student interest. The questions are:
The students enjoyed looking at the graphics and all commented that you get another butterfly when the egg first hatches. Two of the students, Students B and D were jumping up and down when they first viewed this slide. These reactions were reassured me that I created an appealing cyberlesson.
Slide 3:
Slide three lists the materials needed for the cyberlesson. I inserted a link for http://www.amazon.com for parents or teachers who wanted to purchase the book. I thought that I could make copies of this lesson for parents and colleagues.
Slide 4:
Slide four presents the second and third links on my cyberlesson. My objective for this slide was to activate prior knowledge about butterflies before reading Monarch Butterfly by Gail Gibbons (1989). Student B clicked on the second link. For the second link students drew what they thought happens when a butterfly egg hatches:
Student A:
Student B:
Student C:
Student D:
Student E:
All of the students thought that a butterfly egg hatched into a butterfly. While one student was drawing their picture on the paint program on the computer, the other students were looking at the text. They sat in a group on the carpet and talked about what they saw while looking through the book.
Day 2:
On day two, we met at the computer station during literacy center time and I presented the book Monarch Butterfly by Gail Gibbons. After we read the title and author of the book, student C said:
“Why does monarch end with ch?”
Student C made this comment because our class had just reviewed that ch makes the /ch/ sound. I explained to Student C that some words in the English language do not sound the way they are spelled. I really enjoyed Student C’s comment because that was an indication that Student C was phonetically thinking about the title of the book.
Once we were finished analyzing the title and the author of the book, we took a picture walk. We looked at each page and made comments about what we saw. Then student C clicked on the third link on slide 4. This link brings you to a word document that allows the teacher to type student predictions after they analyze the title and take a picture walk (predictions for before reading the text). For links 3 and 4, I decided to use the DR-TA comprehension strategy that I read about in this article:
Dougherty, Stahl, K.A. (2004). The Reading Teacher. Proof practice and
promise: Comprehensive strategy instruction in the primary grades.
57 (7) 598-609.
The DR-TA comprehension strategy, Directed Reading-Thinking Activity, is a prediction activity that invites students to use their prior knowledge to make predictions for what they think the story is going to be about. Then students stop during reading to either verify or modify their predictions. I was excited to experiment with the comprehension strategy. I often ask students to make predictions before reading stories. In the past, we would record predictions on chart paper but would not verify or modify our predictions until the end of the story. As an objective for my cyberlesson, I was curious to see if student thinking would be enhanced, using the DR-TA comprehension strategy.
“In a DR-TA lesson the teacher and students make a prediction, justify the prediction, read a section of text, verify and discuss the text, and make a new prediction, then continue the procedure throughout the text (p.602, Dougherty, 2004).”
I experimented with the DR-TA strategy and feel that it was effective for monitoring student learning of the text. First students made predictions for what the story would be about (slide 4) and then verified or modified their prediction (verifying or modifying predictions did not occur until slide 5):
Predictions
Student A:
1. “I predict that the story is about butterflies (slide 4).”
(Before and during reading)
Student B:
1. “I predict that the story is about the butterfly eating (slide 4).”
(Before reading)
2. “I predict that the story is about a butterfly flying (slide 5).”
(During reading)
Student C:
1. “I predict that the story is about a caterpillar turns into
a butterfly (slide 4).”
(before and during reading)
Student D:
1. “I predict that the story is about the butterfly parade (slide 4).”
(before reading)
2. “The caterpillars transforming into butterflies (slide 5).”
(during reading)
Student E:
1. “I predict that the story is about the butterfly’s family (slide 4).”
(before reading)
2. “They were flying with their friends (slide 5).”
(during reading)
Prediction number one for each student is the before reading prediction. After making our first predictions, students listened while I read the story at the computer station. Next, I stopped after the book explains that the butterfly egg hatches into a caterpillar. Then, Student D clicked on the fourth link to check our predictions. Students A and C verified that their initial prediction was accurate. Students B, D, and E decided to modify their predictions for the rest of the story. I typed their modifications while they dictated them to me. Once I finished recording their modifications, I continued to read the rest of the story. After we completed reading the story, we examined our predictions and Student’s A through E verified that their predictions for the story were accurate.
I believe the DR-TA comprehension strategy accurately measured how the students comprehended the story. The strategy indicated to me what the students knew and what they had learned about butterflies before, during, and after reading the story. DR-TA strategy is a form of assessment that I intend on experimenting with in the future.
The final activity that the small-group and I experienced was looking at different species of butterflies. Student E clicked on the fifth link on slide five to discover a web page that listed different species of butterflies from all over the world. The students were excited to look at the pictures of the different butterflies and moths. They thought that some names of the butterflies and moths were amusing. I thought it was a perfect way to end the lesson for day two.
Day 3:
I initiated day three by reviewing the story and our predictions. Then we progressed through the cyberlesson to slide six.
Slide 6:
Student A clicked on the sixth link, the blue sun, to find a blank screen for students to draw (on the paint program), what butterfly eggs hatch into. All of the students learned that butterfly eggs hatch into caterpillars. Here are the drawings that the students made:
Student A:
Student B:
Student C:
Student D:
Student E:
Before students started to draw what the butterfly egg hatches into, I asked Student B to click on the seventh link on slide six. This link brought us to a www.enchantedlearning.com web page that presented four pictures of the butterfly life cycle. Students were instructed to print the page (five times) and to color, cut, number, and staple the pictures in sequence to make a butterfly life cycle mini-book. Once the butterfly life cycle web page was printed, Student A clicked on the sixth link again and started to draw her caterpillar. While Student A was drawing, the other four students moved to the group table that is located next to the computer station and worked on their mini butterfly life cycle books. All five students drew their caterpillars on the computer and accurately sequenced the pages of the butterfly life cycle book together. I stapled the books! Day three was very pleasant. All of the students appeared to enjoy themselves while artistically representing what they learned from the story.
Day 4:
I initiated day four by reviewing our caterpillar pictures and butterfly life cycle mini-books. The students and I sat at the computer station while discussing what we learned the day before. Then I redirected their attention to the cyberlesson. We progressed through the cyberlesson to slide seven.
Slide 7:
When the students first viewed slide seven, they commented on how they liked the heart and question mark. The students were eager to find out what happens when you click on the icons. I informed the students that we would only have time to click on the heart icon for day four. Then, I read the first bullet on slide 7 and Student C clicked on the heart icon. The link brought us to a www.kinderkorner.com web page that contained butterfly songs. The small-group and I practiced how to sing one song.
Each day, my class meets on the carpet at the end of literacy centers. During this time, three different students are chosen each day to reflect and share work samples that they completed at their center. For day four of our cyberlesson, I decided that the cyberlesson center group and I would sing our butterfly song to the class. The cyberlesson group and I had a great time singing the song. The other students in my class expressed how they can’t wait until they get to participate in the cyberlesson center.
Day 5:
On day five, the small center group and I quietly practiced singing our butterfly song at the computer station. Then, I redirected their attention to the cyberlesson and we progressed to slide seven. I read the second bullet on this slide and instructed Student D to click on the question mark icon. The students were very anxious and excited to complete the online puzzle that appeared.
While creating the cyberlesson, I planned that each student would complete the online puzzle independently, at the same time. I had to revise this plan due to the fact that I only had one computer available. Since there was only one computer, I had to think of another activity that students could complete while one student worked on the online puzzle. The activity that I implemented was paired reading. I gave the students their mini butterfly life cycle books to read to their partners. I had read what each page said the day that they made the books. The students read some of the words and referred to the pictures to tell the rest of the story to their partner.
Students A, C, and D successfully completed the puzzle. Students B and E had a difficult time and did not finish. Students B and E were disappointed and I reassured them that they could work on the online puzzle again the next time we have indoor recess.
Conclusion:
Overall, my small-group of students responded positively to my cyberlesson project. They enjoyed the graphics and were excited to discover the destination of the links. All of the students enjoyed expressing themselves artistically and musically. The strengths for this cyberlesson are the ways it supported student learning. For instance, the cyberlesson supported student learning by implementing multiple sign systems, colorful graphics, internet links, a sequencing activity, DR-TA comprehension learning strategy, and the multicultural component of viewing butterflies from other places in our world. I feel that my five students reflected on their prior knowledge and monitored their predictions to truly comprehend the information presented before, during, and after reading the story.
The students successfully fulfilled the objective of learning the life cycle of the butterfly. I realized this when I evaluated their predictions and their butterfly mini-books. While reflecting, I was happy that I scheduled enough time to complete my cyberlesson project since I had to extend it from three days to five days.
My weaknesses for this project are that I should have checked if our computers in my computer lab were equipped with power point before creating my cyberlesson. Completing the cyberlesson in the classroom was slightly difficult because the other literacy center groups wanted to see what we were doing. My paraprofessional and I reinforced our center rules and advised students to stay in their centers and to ask a friend at their center if they have a question. My paraprofessional worked diligently to redirect the other center groups while I worked with the cyberlesson group.
For the next time that I implement my cyberlesson, I will ask the principal if I could upgrade five computers in the computer lab with power point. I own an installation disc for power point. If this is not possible, then I would have to conduct the lesson the same way that I initially did with my first cyberlesson group.
My recommendations for implementing cyberlessons are to plan carefully and to implement manageable centers. Students need to know how to interact with each other and the rules for center time. Make sure to have emergency lessons available in case the cyberlesson doesn’t operate properly. Cyberlessons are ideal vehicles for integrating other disciplines. I honestly enjoyed creating my cyberlesson and was reassured that it was product due to student reactions and outcomes. If I enjoy creating and implementing a lesson, typically, my students enjoy learning.