Last Thursday was my first after school session with my students at Shawnee Middle School. The lesson plan I used is copied below. The students seemed very excited about the porject and had some great initial ideas for cultures and topics to present. Overall the session went very smoothly and the students enjoyed watching the movie I created in Windows Movie Maker.  I look forward to next week when we set up our personal blogs and students have a chance to brianstorm their ideas.

Thursday 10/4/07                                                                                             Matt Wolf

Shawnee Site                                                                                                    Drew Benson

Lesson Plan #1

Culture Project Introduction

1. Grade Level: Grades 7 and 8

2. Length of Lesson: 45 minutes

3. Materials and Equipment Needed:

  • Taco Movie in Windows Movie Maker
  • Student/Computer Assignment sheet
  • Weblog Permission Slips (1 per student)
  • Culture Project Overview (1 per student)

4. Instructional Objectives:

  • Principal Objective: Students will be able to define the characteristics of the culture project we assign.
  • Subordinate Objective 1: Students will be able to recognize and follow the structure and rules of our site.
  • Subordinate Objective 2: Students will be able to identify his/her classmates.

5. Anticipatory Set:

Ice Breaker Activity (see attached)

6. Description of Learning Activities:

  • Administrative Activities: Take attendance and late bus count
  • Anticipatory Set
  • Activity 1: Review rules and structure of site
  • Activity 2: Introduce Culture Project:  Pass out the Project Overview sheets and review the instructions with the students.  Assign students to specific computers and record these pairings on the Student/Computer Assignment sheet.  Instruct the students to go to http://www.lehigh.edu/~mbw5/onlinevideo.html to access the project sample movie.  Instruct the students to view the sample movie and begin to formulate ideas for his/her own project.
  • Lesson Conclusion

7. Lesson Conclusion:

Pass out the Weblog Permission Slips and ask the students to give them to their parents and return them with parent signatures next Thursday.

8. Discussion Questions:

  1. Question: What level of comfort do you have in using technology as a learning tool?
  2. Question: Have you used technology in any of your other classes?
  3. Question: Is anyone familiar with weblogs or blogs?

9. Assessment:

Informal assessment will occur during the session while we analyze student behavior and motivation. 

Lehigh Valley Summerbridge

 Weblog Permission Slip 

Dear Parents and Guardians,

            This fall students participating in the Lehigh Valley Summerbridge program at the Shawnee Middle School site will be utilizing technology to enhance their learning experience Our after-school program will be using the newly constructed school library as our classroom.  This new facility has many new computers which will allow us to access online resources for research purposes.  As students conduct research they will be assigned journal entries that require them to assess their current work as well as make plans for future action.  To increase student motivation and engagement, our team will utilize online weblogs, or blogs, to record these journal entries. 

            A blog is an online resource tool that allows participants to record their thoughts, ideas, and any other information they choose.  This information will then be published on the web for others to view and comment upon.  Our students will be creating their own personal blogs through the website: http://wordpress.com.  These blogs are free, easy to set up, and very easy use.

            The student-use of these blogs will be very structured and will focus primarily on the student’s research and planning for his/her project.  Each blog assignment will be clearly described and will guide the student’s writing in the direction that will most benefit the student.  These blogs will also be used as an assessment tool for the instructors to monitor progress and help students achieve project goals.

            Since student work will be published on the web via these weblogs, we ask the permission of each parent and guardian to allow their children to use this online tool.  Student’s names will remain anonymous and will not appear on the blogs.  In addition, students will be limited to writing about their academic project; they will not be allowed to write entries about any other topics. 

            Thank you for your consideration in this matter.

                                                           

                                                            Shawnee Site Supervisors,

                                                                        Matt Wolf

                                                                        Drew Benson

————————————————————————————————————

I give permission for my child to sign up for a weblog and use this online tool to write journal entries that track his/her project.  I understand that my child’s name will remain anonymous and that journal entries will be limited to topics relating to his/her project.

____________________________

Student Name

____________________________                            ________________

Parent/Guardian Signature                                             Date


 
 

Lehigh Valley Summerbridge                                         Name: ________________________

 Culture Project Overview Instructions:

Each student will choose a culture (ancient or current) and will conduct research on one aspect of that culture (music, food, religion, sports, fashion, etc.).  Students will organize the information they find and create presentations and handouts which will be given to their classmates.  Progress throughout the project will be tracked using online weblogs or blogs.

 Goal:

To increase our multicultural awareness and appreciation through research and presentation of cultural information.

 Final Product:

You will create two final products: a presentation and a handout.  It is up to you how you choose to present the material you have researched.  You may create a skit, develop a PowerPoint presentation, write a song, poem, or story; there are endless ways to creatively present your material!  Your handout should be informative and contain the main idea of your presentation as well as add value to it. 

 Grading:

Your presentation and handout will be graded on the following aspects:

  • Creativity: Did the student’s final product present the material in an interesting and engaging way?
  • Accuracy/Knowledge: Was the student’s information accurate?  Did the student show knowledge of his/her subject?
  • Motivation:  Did the student work on his/her project with enthusiasm?
  • Blogs:  Did the student put time and effort into answering the blog assignment?

 Blog/Journal Assignments:

Session 2: October 11, 2007

On what culture would you like to research more information?  What aspect of this culture would you like to focus on?

Session 3: October 18, 2007

Detail the information you have gathered thus far and explain the ease or difficulty in conducting this research.

Session 4: October 25, 2007

Brainstorm creative ways to present the information you have researched (WebQuest, Blog, PowerPoint, iMovie, etc.)

Session 5: November 1, 2007

What materials will you need for your final product? (costumes, props, technology, etc.)

Session 8: November 29, 2007

Reflect on what you did well, what would you have done differently, and which presentation (other than your own) did you enjoy the most.