INTRODUCTION
Since many who read this may be unfamiliar with the teaching methodologies at the Kindergarten level, I have included an entire unit of several lessons in our study of the life cycle of the butterfly, including information about the types of activities that would lead up to the final assessment. I have integrated every aspect of the NTeQ Model into this unit at some point, as is feasible at this level of instruction. It doesn’t follow the exact pattern of the published NTeQ Model, but is valid for this age level, which I think is the intent of the authors of our text. (Morrison, G. and Lowther, D. (2010). Integrating Technology into the Classroom: Skills for the 21st Century, Fourth Edition. Boston: Allyn & Bacon.)
Many Kindergarteners are just learning verbal communication skills, social behaviors and independent thinking skills, so cooperative group activities are limited in scope. Inquiry is modeled and encouraged throughout every activity. Differentiation is continually practiced by teacher-directed, leveled small groups for Reading and multi-level ability grouping as needed for student-centered inquiry in the other content areas. I have embedded the differentiation strategies and thinking skills used and learning modalities addressed in completing each activity throughout these unit activities. Kindergarten students practice developing social skills along with critical, creative, and independent thinking in collaborative groups during content area and play centers (blocks, home living, art, etc), which are both part of our daily schedule.
Kindergarten, by design, is student-centered; and various technologies are integrated across the curriculum during whole-group meetings and center rotations daily. From what I’ve learned about student-centered technology-integration in this class, the main change that needs to happen in my Kindergarten class is for the technology center to have more focused lessons for students to complete than just playing drill and practice games, although these still have a place. That is what I have tried to do in several lessons within this unit. I will be more diligent to plan technology-integrated lessons that require students to use creative and critical thinking at the computer now that I understand how critical those skills are, even for early learners!
I hope you enjoy this unit, and that you have an enlightened or renewed understanding for how much FUN teaching Kindergarten can be! Thank you for taking the time to examine my work. You are welcome to use any part in teaching your own class as long as you are careful to quote the sources I obtained my information from and do not charge for the use of material that you pass on from those sources.
Cheryl Robinson
Tuesday, July 27, 2010
BRAINSTORM THREE PROBLEMS TO SOLVE
BRAINSTORM THREE PROBLEMS:
1. The principal will visit our class and tell the students that she is planning to plant a butterfly garden outside her office window. She needs our help in learning about butterflies and teaching the other kids in the school about them, too, so she can have lots of pretty butterflies. Do you think we could find out about butterflies so we could help the principal with her butterfly garden? How could we do that?
2. I found this caterpillar (hold up a stuffed caterpillar), and she is very sad. She said she had bumped her head really hard! Now she is lost, and she can’t remember where she came from or what she is supposed to do next. The only thing she does remember is that her name is Callie Caterpillar. Do you think we could help Callie Caterpillar find out where she came from and what she is supposed to do next? How could we do that? Do you think it would help to find out what other caterpillars are doing to help Callie Caterpillar remember what she is supposed to do?
3. Our school secretary brought me this box that came for our class in the mail today. See, it says, ‘To: Mrs. Robinson’s Class’ on top of the box! And in the top corner of the box, it says, ‘FreeButterflyEggs.com’ is who the package is from. I wonder what’s in the box? (Accept responses, then open the box.) Look, there are eggs in here! I wonder what kind of eggs these are? Do you think some butterflies are about to be born? Does anyone know how to take care of butterfly eggs so we can help them to be born healthy? How could we find out?
1. The principal will visit our class and tell the students that she is planning to plant a butterfly garden outside her office window. She needs our help in learning about butterflies and teaching the other kids in the school about them, too, so she can have lots of pretty butterflies. Do you think we could find out about butterflies so we could help the principal with her butterfly garden? How could we do that?
2. I found this caterpillar (hold up a stuffed caterpillar), and she is very sad. She said she had bumped her head really hard! Now she is lost, and she can’t remember where she came from or what she is supposed to do next. The only thing she does remember is that her name is Callie Caterpillar. Do you think we could help Callie Caterpillar find out where she came from and what she is supposed to do next? How could we do that? Do you think it would help to find out what other caterpillars are doing to help Callie Caterpillar remember what she is supposed to do?
3. Our school secretary brought me this box that came for our class in the mail today. See, it says, ‘To: Mrs. Robinson’s Class’ on top of the box! And in the top corner of the box, it says, ‘FreeButterflyEggs.com’ is who the package is from. I wonder what’s in the box? (Accept responses, then open the box.) Look, there are eggs in here! I wonder what kind of eggs these are? Do you think some butterflies are about to be born? Does anyone know how to take care of butterfly eggs so we can help them to be born healthy? How could we find out?
NTeQ LESSON, PART 1
NTEQ LESSON PLAN
LESSON TITLE: THE LIFE CYCLE OF A BUTTERFLY
SUBJECT AREA:SCIENCE
GRADE LEVEL: KINDERGARTEN
LESSON SUMMARY: The students discover the ordered stages in the life cycle of a butterfly and demonstrate their understanding by creating a graphic organizer in Kidspiration.
LEARNING OBJECTIVE:
Louisiana Comprehensive Curriculum- Science- Unit 4- Science as Inquiry, GLE 7-
Students will express data by constructing concept maps and oral explanations as appropriate.
BEHAVIORAL OBJECTIVE:
Students will participate cooperatively in learning activities.
STANDARDS:
National: NETS-S Standard #6- Students demonstrate that they can (b) use applications and effectively and productively, and (d) transfer current knowledge to learning of new technologies.
Local: Louisiana Educational Technology Standard #1: Creativity and Innovation- Students demonstrate creative thinking, construct knowledge, and develop innovative products and processes using technology.
MATERIALS:
Kidspiration software loaded on computers in lab (http://www.kidspiration.com).
COMPUTER FUNCTIONS:
Students use the ‘Simple Cycle’ on ‘Kidspiration’ software to produce a
graphic organizer illustrating the sequential stages in the life cycle of a butterfly.
SPECIFY PROBLEM
The principal will visit our class and tell the students that she is planning to plant a butterfly garden outside her office window, so she needs our help in learning about butterflies and teaching the other kids in the school about them, too, so she can have lots of pretty butterflies. Do you think we could find out about butterflies so we could help the principal with her butterfly garden? How could we do that?
Answers will vary, but may include:
1) We could show them our Science journals.
2) We could draw big pictures.
3) We could make pictures on the computer.
4) We could write a letter from our class to all of them.
In my ‘real-world’ classroom, I would encourage students to choose the computer option (and most would eagerly want to choose that option anyway!). However, I would allow students to choose another method of addressing the problem, since allowing student ‘CHOICE’ is a key component in our district’s instructional model. For the purposes of illustrating the NTeQ Model for this class, I will develop the unit using option #3:”Let’s use the computer to make a poster of the life cycle of a butterfly.”
RESEARCH AND ANALYSIS
The ‘Kidspiration’ program will be used on the computers in the computer lab so that each student will be able to search and select clip art images to create a poster on his/her own computer. The teacher will guide the process from the projected teacher-computer screen. (See ACTIVITIES TO BE COMPLETED AT THE COMPUTER, 2) IN THE COMPUTER LAB IN POST TITLED: NTeQ MODEL, PART 2.)
RESULTS PRESENTATION
The final product is be a graphic organizer created and printed out by each student using the ‘Kidspiration’ Simple Cycle template with chosen graphics added. Students will print out a poster (All types and levels of thinking skills; Visual/Tactile Modalities).
LESSON
In preparation for completing this unit leading up to the final assessment, the following advance preparations must be made:
*In the Computer Lab, the students have used the ‘Kidspiration’ software numerous times during the year, and can work the program with minimal teacher assistance.
*One month before beginning the unit, I ordered a butterfly net, butterfly eggs and milkweed from http://www.freebutterflyeggs.com. When the materials arrive (but
before showing them to the students), we would do a whole-class brainstorming
activity listing what they KNOW about butterflies and what they WANT to learn about
them (the ‘K’ and ‘L’ steps in a KWL Chart). Then the butterfly garden components
would be introduced and set up in the Science Center, with appropriate viewing
procedures taught.
*During the unit, the whole Kindergarten took a field trip to the Insectarium in New Orleans, which has its own butterfly garden:
http://www.auduboninstitute.org/visit/insectarium/
LESSON TITLE: THE LIFE CYCLE OF A BUTTERFLY
SUBJECT AREA:SCIENCE
GRADE LEVEL: KINDERGARTEN
LESSON SUMMARY: The students discover the ordered stages in the life cycle of a butterfly and demonstrate their understanding by creating a graphic organizer in Kidspiration.
LEARNING OBJECTIVE:
Louisiana Comprehensive Curriculum- Science- Unit 4- Science as Inquiry, GLE 7-
Students will express data by constructing concept maps and oral explanations as appropriate.
BEHAVIORAL OBJECTIVE:
Students will participate cooperatively in learning activities.
STANDARDS:
National: NETS-S Standard #6- Students demonstrate that they can (b) use applications and effectively and productively, and (d) transfer current knowledge to learning of new technologies.
Local: Louisiana Educational Technology Standard #1: Creativity and Innovation- Students demonstrate creative thinking, construct knowledge, and develop innovative products and processes using technology.
MATERIALS:
Kidspiration software loaded on computers in lab (http://www.kidspiration.com).
COMPUTER FUNCTIONS:
Students use the ‘Simple Cycle’ on ‘Kidspiration’ software to produce a
graphic organizer illustrating the sequential stages in the life cycle of a butterfly.
SPECIFY PROBLEM
The principal will visit our class and tell the students that she is planning to plant a butterfly garden outside her office window, so she needs our help in learning about butterflies and teaching the other kids in the school about them, too, so she can have lots of pretty butterflies. Do you think we could find out about butterflies so we could help the principal with her butterfly garden? How could we do that?
Answers will vary, but may include:
1) We could show them our Science journals.
2) We could draw big pictures.
3) We could make pictures on the computer.
4) We could write a letter from our class to all of them.
In my ‘real-world’ classroom, I would encourage students to choose the computer option (and most would eagerly want to choose that option anyway!). However, I would allow students to choose another method of addressing the problem, since allowing student ‘CHOICE’ is a key component in our district’s instructional model. For the purposes of illustrating the NTeQ Model for this class, I will develop the unit using option #3:”Let’s use the computer to make a poster of the life cycle of a butterfly.”
RESEARCH AND ANALYSIS
The ‘Kidspiration’ program will be used on the computers in the computer lab so that each student will be able to search and select clip art images to create a poster on his/her own computer. The teacher will guide the process from the projected teacher-computer screen. (See ACTIVITIES TO BE COMPLETED AT THE COMPUTER, 2) IN THE COMPUTER LAB IN POST TITLED: NTeQ MODEL, PART 2.)
RESULTS PRESENTATION
The final product is be a graphic organizer created and printed out by each student using the ‘Kidspiration’ Simple Cycle template with chosen graphics added. Students will print out a poster (All types and levels of thinking skills; Visual/Tactile Modalities).
LESSON
In preparation for completing this unit leading up to the final assessment, the following advance preparations must be made:
*In the Computer Lab, the students have used the ‘Kidspiration’ software numerous times during the year, and can work the program with minimal teacher assistance.
*One month before beginning the unit, I ordered a butterfly net, butterfly eggs and milkweed from http://www.freebutterflyeggs.com. When the materials arrive (but
before showing them to the students), we would do a whole-class brainstorming
activity listing what they KNOW about butterflies and what they WANT to learn about
them (the ‘K’ and ‘L’ steps in a KWL Chart). Then the butterfly garden components
would be introduced and set up in the Science Center, with appropriate viewing
procedures taught.
*During the unit, the whole Kindergarten took a field trip to the Insectarium in New Orleans, which has its own butterfly garden:
http://www.auduboninstitute.org/visit/insectarium/
NTeQ LESSON, PART 2
COMPUTER ACTIVITIES
BEFORE going to the computer lab for the final assessment, the following are completed in whole-group meetings:
*Teacher reading of THE VERY HUNGRY CATERPILLAR by Eric Carle (Visual/auditory modalities, Understanding Level). (Carle, Eric. The Very Hungry Caterpillar. 1st ed. Omaha, NE: World Publishing, 1969.)
*A motivational ‘trick’ performed by the teacher to further motivate and stimulate their curiosity about the topic (Visual/auditory, understanding, applying). (To do: Get a string, keeping one hand clutched in a ball with a paper butterfly inside. Slowly stick the string inside the balled up hand from the top. When the string is all inside, tell the children that something special is happening to the string. Ask- “What do you think is happening?” Accept several responses, then have them count slowly to three and pull out the butterfly from the bottom. While you are fluttering the butterfly in the air with one hand, slip the string into your pocket. Then ask, “What just happened? Does that remind you of a story
we read about a butterfly?” (Informally assess for recall of details from THE VERY HUNGRY CATERPILLAR by Eric Carle about how the life cycle of a butterfly.)
*Following the trick, I asked, “Do you think caterpillars change to butterflies in real life?” “Does anybody know what we call that change?” (“The life cycle of a butterfly.” “Metamorphosis.”) “Do you think that real caterpillars eat the same things that the caterpillar in the book ate?” (Answers will vary.) “How could we learn more about real butterflies?” (“Get a butterfly egg, visit the zoo, read books, look at the computer.” etc.) (Visual, auditory, applying, analyzing,
evaluating.)
*View a video (‘Bugs Don’t Bug Us!’ (1991). Eureka: Bo Peep Productions.) showing real butterflies in the stages, alternating with footage of children doing creative movement to experience each stage of the metamorphosis (Visual, auditory, understanding, applying) After the video, students were asked to think of how they might move to show the process later in centers.
ACTIVITIES TO BE COMPLETED AT THE COMPUTER
1) DURING IN-CLASS CENTERS ROTATIONS (IN CONJUNCTION WITH SUPPORTING ACTIVITIES)
At the Computer Center, a computer-literate student should be paired with a student with weaker computer skills if possible. (Differentiation)
The first week, the teacher would pull up a link to view Eric Carle reading THE VERY HUNGRY CATERPILLAR to them at: http://www.eric-carle.com/ec reads vhc.html. Students would draw/write about what they did/did not like in their journals (Understanding/Critical Thinking/Evaluating/Visual, Auditory, Tactile). A whole-group discussion would follow about what students learned or had questions about from this reading. (i.e. “Did he look/sound like you thought he would?” etc.), (Critical Thinking/Analyzing). From questions that arose during this discussion, I would seek student input to model searching the Internet to find the answers for the whole group (Critical thinking/Analyzing/Visual Auditory).
The second week, the students would view a multimedia production of ‘THE VERY
HUNGRY CATERPILLAR’ by Eric Carle. Before centers, the teacher would open a link for students to access it: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v+-goYPLtqqVk. After viewing the presentation, students would discuss with their partner what they liked best/did not like about the presentation (Critical Thinking/Analyzing/Evaluating/Visual/Auditory). Students would draw/write about the presentation in their Writing Journals (Evaluting).
In whole-group discussion, we would compare the two videos for how they were alike and how they were different using a Venn Diagram (Critical Thinking/Analyzing/Visual/Auditory). The students would participate in a whole-class graphing exercise of which version they liked best, followed by a discussion of why they chose the one they did (Evaluting, Analyzing/Visual/Auditory/Tactile).
The third week, students would complete the ‘Think Sheet’ at the classroom
computer. (See the ‘Think Sheet’ post following this one.) The teacher would prepare the sheet in advance by separating the four squares with clip art from the chart at the top. A class set of the chart and each square illustrating a stage of the life cycle would be placed in a separate box at the computer. Before centers, the teacher would prepare a link on the computers to the following site for students to use in completing their Think Sheet: http://www.kidsbutterfly.org/life-cycle as well as these other relevant sites they may visit after their Think Sheet is complete (Note: The last site would require an advanced reader!):
http://teams.lacoe.edu/documentation/classrooms/judi/life/activities/cycles/life_cycles.html
http://www.swlauriersb.qc.ca/english/edservices/pedresources/webquest/caterpillar/caterpillar.htm
http://www.teachersnetwork.org/powertolearn/web/peterthebutterfly.htm
Students with good computer skills are paired with a less-proficient student at the computer whenever possible to collaborate during the activity (Differentiation).
While at the computers, the students would use the pictures displayed on the first website above as a guide for sequencing the squares with the clip art, then use a glue stick to secure the images (Understanding/Application/Visual/Auditory/Tactile).
Upon completion of the matching section of the Think Sheet, students would review their choices and make corrections as needed (Evaluation). Lastly, each student would choose whether to link to other websites for continued practice (Critical Thinking/Understanding/Visual/Auditory/Tactile) or take the Think Sheet to their desk to write a story and color the pictures (Application/Visual/Tactile). The completed Think Sheets would be turned in for the teacher to hold until the class visited the Computer Lab for the Assessment Activity.
2) IN THE COMPUTER LAB
The Computer Lab is equipped with one computer per student, which is essential when guiding a whole class of Kindergarten students through the process of creating an educational product like a graphic organizer, even when the students may be familiar with the program being used. I alternate seating computer-literate students between students who are less familiar with technology so that everyone has a ‘shoulder partner’ with which they can collaborate as needed to accomplish tasks assigned (Differentiation). I monitor the students closely to assure compliance, offering coaching as needed (Differentiation). The computers in the lab are arranged so that all screens are visible from the teacher’s technology station, and students are familiar with the district and school technology use standards.
The Assessment Lesson Procedure:
1) Think Sheets would be returned to each student for use as a prompt in completing the ‘Simple Cycles’ graphic organizer on ‘Kidspiration’, showing the correctly-sequenced life cycle of a butterfly (Applying/Visual Modality).
2) The teacher is to show a model of the printed product that students will create as an example, using clip art that students do not have access to so they are not tempted to copy. (See Teacher Model post following this one.)
3) Each student is to open the program and follow step-by-step teacher-led modeling of directions on the projected computer screen to get to the correct graphic(Understanding).
4) The first information students need to enter on their graphic organizer is their name.
5) Next, the teacher would guide students to open the correct search tool containing clip art relevant to the topic and model the ‘click and drag’ motion to place clip art on the desired area of the graphic. In this gallery, students can choose from several options for each stage of the life cycle (Applying/Creative and critical thinking/Visual/Auditory/Tactile).
6) Prompts such as the following may be needed: “Which picture will you choose to show what happens next on your poster?” (Remembering/Applying/Visual/Auditory/Tactile) “Why will you choose that one?” (Analyzing/Critical Thinking)? (Responses will vary, but should reflect the correct order of the cycle.)
7) Students who work quickly can add a title, labels, and/or write sentences to describe what happens at each stage of the cycle using inventive spelling or ‘spell check’ as skill-level allows (Differentiation). Shoulder partners are to work collaboratively to complete their posters, so that all students experience success (Differentiation).
BEFORE going to the computer lab for the final assessment, the following are completed in whole-group meetings:
*Teacher reading of THE VERY HUNGRY CATERPILLAR by Eric Carle (Visual/auditory modalities, Understanding Level). (Carle, Eric. The Very Hungry Caterpillar. 1st ed. Omaha, NE: World Publishing, 1969.)
*A motivational ‘trick’ performed by the teacher to further motivate and stimulate their curiosity about the topic (Visual/auditory, understanding, applying). (To do: Get a string, keeping one hand clutched in a ball with a paper butterfly inside. Slowly stick the string inside the balled up hand from the top. When the string is all inside, tell the children that something special is happening to the string. Ask- “What do you think is happening?” Accept several responses, then have them count slowly to three and pull out the butterfly from the bottom. While you are fluttering the butterfly in the air with one hand, slip the string into your pocket. Then ask, “What just happened? Does that remind you of a story
we read about a butterfly?” (Informally assess for recall of details from THE VERY HUNGRY CATERPILLAR by Eric Carle about how the life cycle of a butterfly.)
*Following the trick, I asked, “Do you think caterpillars change to butterflies in real life?” “Does anybody know what we call that change?” (“The life cycle of a butterfly.” “Metamorphosis.”) “Do you think that real caterpillars eat the same things that the caterpillar in the book ate?” (Answers will vary.) “How could we learn more about real butterflies?” (“Get a butterfly egg, visit the zoo, read books, look at the computer.” etc.) (Visual, auditory, applying, analyzing,
evaluating.)
*View a video (‘Bugs Don’t Bug Us!’ (1991). Eureka: Bo Peep Productions.) showing real butterflies in the stages, alternating with footage of children doing creative movement to experience each stage of the metamorphosis (Visual, auditory, understanding, applying) After the video, students were asked to think of how they might move to show the process later in centers.
ACTIVITIES TO BE COMPLETED AT THE COMPUTER
1) DURING IN-CLASS CENTERS ROTATIONS (IN CONJUNCTION WITH SUPPORTING ACTIVITIES)
At the Computer Center, a computer-literate student should be paired with a student with weaker computer skills if possible. (Differentiation)
The first week, the teacher would pull up a link to view Eric Carle reading THE VERY HUNGRY CATERPILLAR to them at: http://www.eric-carle.com/ec reads vhc.html. Students would draw/write about what they did/did not like in their journals (Understanding/Critical Thinking/Evaluating/Visual, Auditory, Tactile). A whole-group discussion would follow about what students learned or had questions about from this reading. (i.e. “Did he look/sound like you thought he would?” etc.), (Critical Thinking/Analyzing). From questions that arose during this discussion, I would seek student input to model searching the Internet to find the answers for the whole group (Critical thinking/Analyzing/Visual Auditory).
The second week, the students would view a multimedia production of ‘THE VERY
HUNGRY CATERPILLAR’ by Eric Carle. Before centers, the teacher would open a link for students to access it: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v+-goYPLtqqVk. After viewing the presentation, students would discuss with their partner what they liked best/did not like about the presentation (Critical Thinking/Analyzing/Evaluating/Visual/Auditory). Students would draw/write about the presentation in their Writing Journals (Evaluting).
In whole-group discussion, we would compare the two videos for how they were alike and how they were different using a Venn Diagram (Critical Thinking/Analyzing/Visual/Auditory). The students would participate in a whole-class graphing exercise of which version they liked best, followed by a discussion of why they chose the one they did (Evaluting, Analyzing/Visual/Auditory/Tactile).
The third week, students would complete the ‘Think Sheet’ at the classroom
computer. (See the ‘Think Sheet’ post following this one.) The teacher would prepare the sheet in advance by separating the four squares with clip art from the chart at the top. A class set of the chart and each square illustrating a stage of the life cycle would be placed in a separate box at the computer. Before centers, the teacher would prepare a link on the computers to the following site for students to use in completing their Think Sheet: http://www.kidsbutterfly.org/life-cycle as well as these other relevant sites they may visit after their Think Sheet is complete (Note: The last site would require an advanced reader!):
http://teams.lacoe.edu/documentation/classrooms/judi/life/activities/cycles/life_cycles.html
http://www.swlauriersb.qc.ca/english/edservices/pedresources/webquest/caterpillar/caterpillar.htm
http://www.teachersnetwork.org/powertolearn/web/peterthebutterfly.htm
Students with good computer skills are paired with a less-proficient student at the computer whenever possible to collaborate during the activity (Differentiation).
While at the computers, the students would use the pictures displayed on the first website above as a guide for sequencing the squares with the clip art, then use a glue stick to secure the images (Understanding/Application/Visual/Auditory/Tactile).
Upon completion of the matching section of the Think Sheet, students would review their choices and make corrections as needed (Evaluation). Lastly, each student would choose whether to link to other websites for continued practice (Critical Thinking/Understanding/Visual/Auditory/Tactile) or take the Think Sheet to their desk to write a story and color the pictures (Application/Visual/Tactile). The completed Think Sheets would be turned in for the teacher to hold until the class visited the Computer Lab for the Assessment Activity.
2) IN THE COMPUTER LAB
The Computer Lab is equipped with one computer per student, which is essential when guiding a whole class of Kindergarten students through the process of creating an educational product like a graphic organizer, even when the students may be familiar with the program being used. I alternate seating computer-literate students between students who are less familiar with technology so that everyone has a ‘shoulder partner’ with which they can collaborate as needed to accomplish tasks assigned (Differentiation). I monitor the students closely to assure compliance, offering coaching as needed (Differentiation). The computers in the lab are arranged so that all screens are visible from the teacher’s technology station, and students are familiar with the district and school technology use standards.
The Assessment Lesson Procedure:
1) Think Sheets would be returned to each student for use as a prompt in completing the ‘Simple Cycles’ graphic organizer on ‘Kidspiration’, showing the correctly-sequenced life cycle of a butterfly (Applying/Visual Modality).
2) The teacher is to show a model of the printed product that students will create as an example, using clip art that students do not have access to so they are not tempted to copy. (See Teacher Model post following this one.)
3) Each student is to open the program and follow step-by-step teacher-led modeling of directions on the projected computer screen to get to the correct graphic(Understanding).
4) The first information students need to enter on their graphic organizer is their name.
5) Next, the teacher would guide students to open the correct search tool containing clip art relevant to the topic and model the ‘click and drag’ motion to place clip art on the desired area of the graphic. In this gallery, students can choose from several options for each stage of the life cycle (Applying/Creative and critical thinking/Visual/Auditory/Tactile).
6) Prompts such as the following may be needed: “Which picture will you choose to show what happens next on your poster?” (Remembering/Applying/Visual/Auditory/Tactile) “Why will you choose that one?” (Analyzing/Critical Thinking)? (Responses will vary, but should reflect the correct order of the cycle.)
7) Students who work quickly can add a title, labels, and/or write sentences to describe what happens at each stage of the cycle using inventive spelling or ‘spell check’ as skill-level allows (Differentiation). Shoulder partners are to work collaboratively to complete their posters, so that all students experience success (Differentiation).
NTeQ LESSON, PART 3
SUPPORTING ACTIVITIES
During the time spent observing the butterfly eggs going through their metamorphosis, other relevant centers supporting the content would be incorporated to rehearse and/or enrich the content learning:
*Science center- Students check daily to see if anything new is happening. (Analyzing/Evaluating/Visual) It would remain there until the butterflies complete their metamorphosis and are released. A poster of the cycle with relevant vocabulary words attached is posted near the journals. Students record relevant information in their Science journals using drawings and inventive spelling as they make observations (Analyzing/Creating/Visual).
*Creative Movement- Students come to the mat to do creative movement using scarves. Here they demonstrate the stages of the life cycle while listening to music (CD-‘Harmony’. (1996). Monarch. San Diego: Sound Promotions.) (Applying/Creating/Auditory/Kinesthetic). Differentiation occurs by teacher prompting students through the stages as needed.
*Library- Books about butterflies and people who study them would be available
at various reading levels, integrating Science and Social Studies with Reading. Advanced readers visit this center with struggling readers to model tracking and phonetic skills. (Differentiation/Understanding/Applying/Visual/Auditory).
*Book Making- Pair higher-level readers with challenged students to read the
butterfly shape book from (Auditory/Visual/Understanding/Applying/Differentiation):
http://www.enchantedlearning.com/subjects/butterfly/books/butterflylifecycle/.
(Original storytelling while coloring/looking at the pictures is permitted.)
*Listening Center- THE VERY HUNGRY CATERPILLAR’ by Eric Carle. (Pairs sent to this center would include a more proficient reader with a less-proficient reader to model tracking, etc.) (Auditory/Differentiation/Understanding).
*Writing Center- Draw your favorite part of the book (above) in your Listening Journal. (Above-level students would be encouraged to add labels and/or sentences to describe their picture. Differentiation/Application/Tactile)
*Art- Students would make a three-dimensional graphic organizer of the life cycle in the form of a hat, following the model provided by the teacher (Analyzing/Visual/Tactile).
Advance Preparation: 1) Gather materials per student: 1 sentence strip for hat, egg- 1 white bead, green construction paper, caterpillar- 1 wooden clothespin with student’s name written on one side, 5 pompoms, 2 googly-eyes, 1 4-inch black chenille wire (antennae), chrysalis- toilet paper roll, butterfly- 1 coffee filter with student’s name written in permanent marker in the middle , dot paints. Each student chooses their preferred color of a sentence strip and writes their name on one end. The teacher ‘fits’ the strip to each student’s head, then sets it aside. After school, the teacher marks off the part that will overlap, and divides the remaining length into four equal parts. In the second and fourth sections, the teacher cuts a 1-inch diagonal slit where the clothespin will be attached.
Center Activity: As students rotate through this center, they complete one section a day. (To differentiate, students who finish quickly should be prompted to assist their shoulder partner, then label the stage and/or add a sentence to describe it. Extra time can be given for students who work more slowly. The teacher will assist students as needed to complete the following tasks:
Day 1- Glue a leaf in the first section (Students may choose: a) to use an artificial plant leaf provided, b) to draw and color a leaf, or c) to draw and cut a leaf out of green construction paper.) Use heavy glue to attach a white bead on top of the leaf. Set aside to dry.
Day 2- a) Twist the chenille wire around the top section of the ‘mouth’ of the clothespin. b) Glue 1 pompom in front of the wire and 4 pompoms behind it on top of the caterpillar. Press down hard and count to 100 to set the glue. c) Place 2 drops of glue on the front pompom and gently tap googly eyes on top. Set aside to dry. Once dry, clip the caterpillar on the slit in the second section of the strip.
Day 3-a) Clean off all residual toilet paper from the roll. Color if desired. Use thick glue to attach it to the third section of the hat.
Day 4- Use dot paints to decorate the coffee filter for the butterfly’s wings. Set aside to dry.
Day 5- Gather coffee filter in the middle and fold it in half. Attach the clothespin to the fold. It’s a beautiful butterfly! Then, take the ‘wings’ off the butterfly, fold them, and slide them into the ‘chrysalis’ with the folded edge at the ‘entrance’ to the chrysalis. Practice having the ‘caterpillar’ crawl into the ‘chrysalis’ and, using your finger to push the ‘wings’ from the other end, place the folded edge in the ‘caterpillar’s mouth’. As the ‘caterpillar’ emerges from the other end of the ‘chrysalis’, a beautiful butterfly emerges! To finish the hat, the student clips on the ‘butterfly’ to the last section, and the teacher staples the strip together so the student can wear it on a tour around the school and then home.
CULMINATING ACTIVITIES
Students will meet in whole-group to review, edit, and complete the KWL Chart by sharing what they learned through this study as I write it down (All levels of thinking/Auditory/Visual).
Students will wear their hats and show tell about their products in class (Applying/Visual/Tactile). Then, with their hats on, they will carry their posters to the newsroom to tell about their creations on the school’s morning television broadcast for all the school to see (Applying/Visual/Tactile).
Students will use the digital camera to take pictures of each other displaying their posters and wearing their hats to be posted on our school’s website and forwarded to editors of both the school and community newspapers (Applying/Visual/Kinesthetic).
After that, a display of the students’ ‘Butterfly Life Cycle’ posters will be posted in the hall with the completed whole-class KWL Chart (Creating/Visual).
In their Writing Journals, students will reflect on what they learned (All thinking levels addressed/Visual/Tactile). Lower level students will draw and dictate sentences for the teacher to write; more advanced students will write using inventive spelling (Differentiation).
ROTATION PLAN
Kindergarten has two center-rotations of 45-minutes each per day, once in the morning and once in the afternoon. Students are assigned to one center in the morning and the next center on the rotation schedule in the afternoon. In one week, every student rotates through every center with a small group at least once a week. For special projects (i.e. in-class computer projects or art projects) students are pulled from their ‘play’ center assignments to complete project-related tasks. Reading ability groups and any students needing reteaching or additional practice are pulled daily during center rotation times, too.
During the time spent observing the butterfly eggs going through their metamorphosis, other relevant centers supporting the content would be incorporated to rehearse and/or enrich the content learning:
*Science center- Students check daily to see if anything new is happening. (Analyzing/Evaluating/Visual) It would remain there until the butterflies complete their metamorphosis and are released. A poster of the cycle with relevant vocabulary words attached is posted near the journals. Students record relevant information in their Science journals using drawings and inventive spelling as they make observations (Analyzing/Creating/Visual).
*Creative Movement- Students come to the mat to do creative movement using scarves. Here they demonstrate the stages of the life cycle while listening to music (CD-‘Harmony’. (1996). Monarch. San Diego: Sound Promotions.) (Applying/Creating/Auditory/Kinesthetic). Differentiation occurs by teacher prompting students through the stages as needed.
*Library- Books about butterflies and people who study them would be available
at various reading levels, integrating Science and Social Studies with Reading. Advanced readers visit this center with struggling readers to model tracking and phonetic skills. (Differentiation/Understanding/Applying/Visual/Auditory).
*Book Making- Pair higher-level readers with challenged students to read the
butterfly shape book from (Auditory/Visual/Understanding/Applying/Differentiation):
http://www.enchantedlearning.com/subjects/butterfly/books/butterflylifecycle/.
(Original storytelling while coloring/looking at the pictures is permitted.)
*Listening Center- THE VERY HUNGRY CATERPILLAR’ by Eric Carle. (Pairs sent to this center would include a more proficient reader with a less-proficient reader to model tracking, etc.) (Auditory/Differentiation/Understanding).
*Writing Center- Draw your favorite part of the book (above) in your Listening Journal. (Above-level students would be encouraged to add labels and/or sentences to describe their picture. Differentiation/Application/Tactile)
*Art- Students would make a three-dimensional graphic organizer of the life cycle in the form of a hat, following the model provided by the teacher (Analyzing/Visual/Tactile).
Advance Preparation: 1) Gather materials per student: 1 sentence strip for hat, egg- 1 white bead, green construction paper, caterpillar- 1 wooden clothespin with student’s name written on one side, 5 pompoms, 2 googly-eyes, 1 4-inch black chenille wire (antennae), chrysalis- toilet paper roll, butterfly- 1 coffee filter with student’s name written in permanent marker in the middle , dot paints. Each student chooses their preferred color of a sentence strip and writes their name on one end. The teacher ‘fits’ the strip to each student’s head, then sets it aside. After school, the teacher marks off the part that will overlap, and divides the remaining length into four equal parts. In the second and fourth sections, the teacher cuts a 1-inch diagonal slit where the clothespin will be attached.
Center Activity: As students rotate through this center, they complete one section a day. (To differentiate, students who finish quickly should be prompted to assist their shoulder partner, then label the stage and/or add a sentence to describe it. Extra time can be given for students who work more slowly. The teacher will assist students as needed to complete the following tasks:
Day 1- Glue a leaf in the first section (Students may choose: a) to use an artificial plant leaf provided, b) to draw and color a leaf, or c) to draw and cut a leaf out of green construction paper.) Use heavy glue to attach a white bead on top of the leaf. Set aside to dry.
Day 2- a) Twist the chenille wire around the top section of the ‘mouth’ of the clothespin. b) Glue 1 pompom in front of the wire and 4 pompoms behind it on top of the caterpillar. Press down hard and count to 100 to set the glue. c) Place 2 drops of glue on the front pompom and gently tap googly eyes on top. Set aside to dry. Once dry, clip the caterpillar on the slit in the second section of the strip.
Day 3-a) Clean off all residual toilet paper from the roll. Color if desired. Use thick glue to attach it to the third section of the hat.
Day 4- Use dot paints to decorate the coffee filter for the butterfly’s wings. Set aside to dry.
Day 5- Gather coffee filter in the middle and fold it in half. Attach the clothespin to the fold. It’s a beautiful butterfly! Then, take the ‘wings’ off the butterfly, fold them, and slide them into the ‘chrysalis’ with the folded edge at the ‘entrance’ to the chrysalis. Practice having the ‘caterpillar’ crawl into the ‘chrysalis’ and, using your finger to push the ‘wings’ from the other end, place the folded edge in the ‘caterpillar’s mouth’. As the ‘caterpillar’ emerges from the other end of the ‘chrysalis’, a beautiful butterfly emerges! To finish the hat, the student clips on the ‘butterfly’ to the last section, and the teacher staples the strip together so the student can wear it on a tour around the school and then home.
CULMINATING ACTIVITIES
Students will meet in whole-group to review, edit, and complete the KWL Chart by sharing what they learned through this study as I write it down (All levels of thinking/Auditory/Visual).
Students will wear their hats and show tell about their products in class (Applying/Visual/Tactile). Then, with their hats on, they will carry their posters to the newsroom to tell about their creations on the school’s morning television broadcast for all the school to see (Applying/Visual/Tactile).
Students will use the digital camera to take pictures of each other displaying their posters and wearing their hats to be posted on our school’s website and forwarded to editors of both the school and community newspapers (Applying/Visual/Kinesthetic).
After that, a display of the students’ ‘Butterfly Life Cycle’ posters will be posted in the hall with the completed whole-class KWL Chart (Creating/Visual).
In their Writing Journals, students will reflect on what they learned (All thinking levels addressed/Visual/Tactile). Lower level students will draw and dictate sentences for the teacher to write; more advanced students will write using inventive spelling (Differentiation).
ROTATION PLAN
Kindergarten has two center-rotations of 45-minutes each per day, once in the morning and once in the afternoon. Students are assigned to one center in the morning and the next center on the rotation schedule in the afternoon. In one week, every student rotates through every center with a small group at least once a week. For special projects (i.e. in-class computer projects or art projects) students are pulled from their ‘play’ center assignments to complete project-related tasks. Reading ability groups and any students needing reteaching or additional practice are pulled daily during center rotation times, too.
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