Reflection
Melissa Dodenhoff
2nd Grade ~ Tops and Bottoms Cyber Lesson
This cyber lesson was a great method for incorporating technology into my daily curriculum. I did allow the students an entire week to finish this task, while having access to laptops during their daily reading group block.
I chose to work with six second grade students who are achieving above grade level expectations in most content areas. These students have been focusing on character analysis and inferential thinking during their daily reading groups, and this project was a great tool for extending their thinking. They completed this assignment in pairs.
Before the students attempted this project, I had to explain the format of Microsoft PowerPoint Presentations because the students had never used the program before. I did anticipate this, so I conducted a mini-lesson prior to them independently working. I also reviewed the process of printing, because they needed to do this upon completion of each linked page.
The students were very eager and excited to begin their assignment. They analyzed different vegetables in class, as well as on the computer.
Everything was running smoothly until a group of students raised their hands and asked me how to record their answers in the appropriate text boxes. I had forgotten to teach the students about text boxes; therefore, many hands were raised as they began responding to the text since they didn’t know how to begin inserting their answers. Fortunately, the students waited patiently as I helped every group and they were able to understand my directions easily.
The AFTER READING activity was really fun and interesting. Some children thought Hare was very sneaky and mean because he never gave Bear any food. But other students commented that he was smart because Hare was the only one working on the garden. The debate led to great discussions, and the students were demonstrating a firm understanding of the material they read. This particular reading group has had some experience participating in literature circles; therefore, they are comfortable giving their opinions regarding a specific topic and most of the students support their thinking using evidence from the book. I did generate a few questions during the debate to prompt more discussion, but they did most of the speaking.
The students were not as enthusiastic about the BEYOND READING activity as they were the debate. They all decided that they wanted to read the Three Little Pigs, so I let them. Each pair of students successfully drew a character web of the protagonist who worked the hardest in the Three Little Pigs and the children also incorporated the required six describing bubbles on the webs. They were able to accurately make text-to-text connections, identifying the relationship between Hare and the Pig who built the brick house.
Next time, I need to emphasize the importance of selecting different texts to read for the BEYOND READING activity. This would allow the students to introduce the other members of the group to a new book; while making connections to a familiar text. I also need to design a rubric that focuses on the neatness of the character web. The quality of work produced was sufficient; however, I believe some of the students could have taken a little more time and effort designing the web.