Christine Woods

RDG 675

 Worksamples                                                                        Back to Showcase

1.       How did you implement your cyberlesson? (small group, whole group, posted on the Internet to be done at home? Individually, as a learning center etc.)

I am the language arts consultant and the purpose of this cyberlesson was to integrate children’s literature with science and technology. It   was designed specifically for a third grade science unit titled Rocks and Minerals. Initially, I wanted to implement the lesson whole class but because I was on maternity leave, I was unable to coordinate with the classroom teacher and to find time in the computer lab. Therefore, I ended up having two third grade students try out the lesson. I plan to present this cyberlesson to the third grade team to use as a resource and to possibly implement next year with the unit.

2.    How did your students respond to the project?

The two students were very motivated and interested in the lesson especially when they realized they already had some background knowledge about rocks and minerals. The classroom teacher chose these particular students because of their love for science. They unfortunately did not have access to the computers in the computer lab on the day I was there so they ended up working together on a laptop. This actually worked out well because there was discussion and cooperative learning that took place. They read parts of the book individually and took turns reading aloud other sections. The websites included in this cyberlesson provided the students with information and facts which gave them a better understanding of the three types of rocks. For example, the website in the before reading activity provided photographs showing metamorphic, sedimentary and igneous rocks. In the beyond reading activity they enjoyed taking the quiz together and defending which answers they thought were correct. There was a great deal of reading and writing involved in the lesson. Although the students were able to stay focused and on task, parts of their work samples appear rushed.

     3.    Strengths?

A major strength of this cyberlesson is that it integrates technology with science and language arts. From my experience teaching in a kindergarten through grade three school, students go to the computer lab weekly and the majority of the lessons do not align with a specific area of the curriculum. Another strength is this lesson makes reading fun, exciting and more interactive for students who are reluctant readers.

4.    Weaknesses?
      One weakness of this lesson is the website that in the before reading activity. The website seems to be at a higher reading level than an average third grader. I had great difficulty finding websites at appropriate reading levels for the primary grades. Another weakness is the amount of reading and writing the lesson requires. The two students I used took an hour to complete the lesson and I felt they were rushed. My recommendation is to spread the lesson out over more than one class period.

5.    How would you modify the way in which you implemented the project to make it more successful?

·        I would read The Magic Tree House Inside the Earth aloud to the class prior to implementing the cyberlesson so the students would become familiar with the nonfiction features this particular book contains. I would also discuss how this book contains both fiction and nonfiction text.

·        Depending on the make up of the class, I would possibly partner students up to help with varying reading levels.

·        I might implement the before reading activity with the whole class together so that I could provide support with reading the website or if I felt that only a small group of students would benefit from support, I would work with them.

·        I would spread this lesson out over a few days.

·        I also may state expectations for their work if needed or include another section in the rubric. For example, neatness, spelling or punctuation.

6.    Recommendations?

·        Make sure that when you implement the lesson, you have technical support in case anything goes wrong with the technology.

·        One option is to partner high readers with lower readers to provide support.

·        This may be a good lesson to utilize class volunteers or peer tutors to help out.

·        As mentioned before, allow enough time.

·        To locate appropriate websites containing information that third graders would be able to read and understand would also be recommended.