Fluency with Neufeld

The students in my MT’s classroom are always making connections or comments to whatever book they are read to in class! The only down side to these comments and connections is that I feel like my MT doesn’t follow up with them or try to spark a conversation from them, the comments are said and then dropped. When I first started observing I thought these students (like many other children) were just calling out random facts about their life as you read. As we progress through this semester I have come to realize that more and more these students are not just saying random facts but rather making connections to the text and their daily lives! I know that for my LA lesson about “Officer Buckle & Gloria” I tried to encourage these comments and connections and create a discussion based around them so that the students would hopefully know what it kind of feels like to have their connections further discussed on rather than just dropped. If guided the students in the right direction, maybe even by Neufeld’s strategies, as I’ll mention below, these students could improve their fluency based on their own skills of connecting right now!

Sadly as far as word identification goes, I don’t feel they have been taught constructive strategies in order to help themselves identify unknown words. Several just come up to myself or the other intern and ask them to tell us the word. I know we ask the students to sound it out and they get frustrated because I think they are used to being given the answer. There’s one student I worked with who would be able to read cite words easily but when she came to a word she didn’t know she would get stuck. When I asked her to sound it out she did a good job trying but then when I asked her what the word was she said a word that sounded nothing like what she had just sounded out. She was, however, able to tell me what the word was if there was a picture of the word. She is able to make connections to pictures but is not yet capable of sounding out words to form the word itself. This tells me that maybe in the future trying to make connections with pictures or outside text connections may be the best way to increase her fluency level.

As I was trying to pick a reading that would best help me understand fluency based on the classroom I’m in, I stumbled upon the article by Paul Neufeld, “Comprehension Instruction in Content Area Classes”. I recognized Neufeld’s article because I had read and reviewed several of his articles when I was researching these literacy components for the TE 301 project. I read some of the other articles and was definitely intrigued by Neufeld’s because of the excessive lists of strategies to try out. I believe his suggestions are effective to assessing accuracy, reading speed, prosody. The strategies that stood out to me was the “getting-ready-to-read”, “during- and after- reading”, “5 common text structures and visual organizers”, and “keywords table”. I was reviewing all of these strategies and reflecting back to my MT’s classroom and really felt like with my students ability to make connections and their keen ability to make effective observations, they could really benefit from the organization and questions Neufeld lays out in his article. For example, what may help the girl I mentioned before who cant sound of words but rather can say the word if looking at the picture, she may want to create a keyword chart that will help her better recognize the unknown words she may stumble upon in a new book!

New Literacy Project: Cultural Literacy

 1. Since the beginning of this class my understanding of literacy has changed drastically. I understood that literacy encompasses reading, writing, and comprehension, however doing this project has helped me gain more knowledge about how literacy goes beyond that. I now know that literacy helps us express who we are through visual, cultural, social, etc.   It is related to our everyday life and can be used to describe one’s self. Researching my new literacy has helped me understand that it is important for students to understand each other to eliminate stereotyping, assumptions, or ideas about a person. Doing this project has also helped me realize that as a teacher it is my duty to have students relate to the materials used in class such as books and other media resources. Creating a website helped me to enhance my thinking because it caused me to search videos and different articles surrounding my topic. Doing this helped me gain a better understand of how other teachers have used, or is using these new literacy in their classroom. Also, creating the website has gave me an idea that I will be implementing in my classroom which is social networking through creating your own web page. This incorporation of technology will get my students excited about learning.

 2. Providing effective literacy instruction to diverse learners means that every student it different so it is up to teachers to make them feel a part of the learning. It is important that we educate students about diversity so that they can be productive in society. Seeing that every student is different it is imperative that we design lessons that caters to all students needs. The research I conduced about cultural literacy has informed my thinking because it has caused me to look at all literacy materials differently. Now when I look at children’s literature I look for key elements such as diversity among racial groups. Using the technology has made me technological savvy, now I am able to use this when creating lesson plans for students.

3. Lesson Plan

Target area rationale:

Cultural Literacy is important for students because it allows them understand the people around them. I will be using Weebly as a technology source that allows students to be creative and express themselves through presentation. This will not only allow them to gain knowledge about cultural literacy but also about technology.  Through this lesson students will be able to identify similarities amongst each other and appreciate differences.  

Objective:

1.     Students will be able to use Weebly to create a webpage that expresses who they are

2.     Students will chose a book that they feel represents their culture and use it on their website as a focus point.

3.     Students will work in groups and each group member will present their partners web page.

4.     Students will be able to identify similarities amongst each other and appreciate difference

Materials:

Computers (with internet access)

Pencil

Paper

Books

Outline of Key Events:

Intro: I will explain to students what culture is and how it is apart of everyone’s life. We will discuss cultural universals so that students can understand that we all share certain aspects. I then introduce the term cultural literacy to students. I will explain why it is important and how it will be used in the classroom. I will show students different books that incorporate multicultural literacy so that they know how to chose books for the lesson.

Discuss: As a whole class we will go over the Weebly and how to use it. I will share with students my web site that I will design to give them a resource for creating their own. During this will discuss how I used a book to tell my own cultural story. I will also show students how to search different things on the Internet that they may include in their website.

Activity 1: Students will select a book from the school library that they feel expresses them culturally. They will read the book and take notes about key points they feel will be good for their website.

Activity 2: Students will begin to create their website using the information they gain from discussion and their book selection.  Students will use the Internet to help formulate their thinking and acquire new knowledge about culture and literacy. Students will also use the Internet to help them with web design (pictures, videos, etc).

Pair Share: Students will pair with another student to learn more about them and their culture. Students will have their partner share their website with the class.  They will also share with the class what new aspect they learned from their partner.

Closing summary:

I will ask students what they learned by doing this lesson. We will recap what we have discussed about cultural literacy and how it affects all of us, we will also revisit cultural universals to see if students were able to identify any of them from their partners website. This lesson will introduce students to a new technology that they will be using throughout the semester. Students will also be able to identify multiculturalism when reading different books.

Ongoing Assessment: Students will use their website to publish their writing throughout the semester as they learn more about cultural literacy. Students will also use the website to post family pictures, special holidays, birthdays, family trips, or anything else that represents their culture.

New Literacy Noteblog Post: Visual Literacy

MY CONCEPTUAL UNDERSTANDING:

I have always been excited about technology. Additionally, over the past four years, I have learned about the many ways it can benefit me during my teaching career. Although I have come across some “confusing” tools, I have been exposed to several that I know I will use in the classroom. I have always though of myself as being technologically advanced, but in recent months, I have discovered that I am not as great as I previously thought.

Digital literacy has always been an interesting topic for me. I would always find a few tools and perfect my skills with them. However, for this project, I had to challenge myself by learning about a tool that I was not very familiar with. It was frustrating at first, but what helped me was staying organized. I took a lot of time researching visual literacy, before putting it all together on the physical project. I found tons of information, which was both helpful and overwhelming. But once I fully understood what visual literacy was, it was much easier to pinpoint the ideas I felt were imperative to share.

I enjoyed learning about visual literacy, and finding ways to teach others about it. I learned that it is not only the ability to read and write visual text, print, and drawings, but that it is the collection of information and ideas expressed visually. This was something I had not realized, until doing this project.

This project has been more of a “wake up call” for me. It is easy to assume that, with all of the lesson planning and technology assignments, that I have had adequate training on how to teach content. However, this project has shown me how much work I still have to do. There are so many technologies that I have never heard of, that I actually feel like I am behind. From developing lesson plans to making slideshows, there are still tons of tools that I need to familiarize myself with. As wonderful as it would be to learn how to operate them all, it is more important that I know they exist. I always identified classroom technologies as being Smart boards, ELMO’s, etc., but now I realize they include more computer-based tools, as well.

EFFECTIVE LITERACY INSTRUCTION:

                      For years, I have perceived literature to be the most important subject known to man. “It is in everything we see, think, and do”, is what I have always been told. Through history projects, performing arts, and textbooks, I have seen how powerful it can be. Yet, no one every told me why it is so important. However, in recent years, I have become more and more aware of what effective literacy instruction is, and why it is so important, especially for future educators.

            Effective literacy instruction is more than just the inclusion of books in the classroom. It involves teachers finding the best ways possible to improve their students’ social, cognitive, reading, AND writing skills. Teachers must be able to use technologies, physical aids, and other resources to teach relevant content. It is not choosing one method, but choosing EVERYTHING that will help students to understand and process information. It is also important that teachers teach information and content that builds on the students’ cultures, interests, and out-of-class experiences. When literacy instruction is effective, students will have a greater appreciation for it. Research has shown that students understand and retain more information, when they are interested in it. Literacy is important, because it includes several ways to process ideas and information. Furthermore, effective literacy instruction is important because it influences the way students express and digest ideas.

            If there were other students learning about visual literacy and Weebly, they would need to have experience in a few areas. They would need to understand what visual means, as well as, some examples of what it is. If they are familiar with this, they will find it easier to understand how it fits with literacy. They will also need to have technology skills. Even though they will be learning how to work this webpage tool, they will need to have some experience with other presentation tools, so that they will understand the icons and labels the site uses. Now that we are part of a generation that heavily depends on technology, it is easier for us to learn how to use new technologies. The challenge is learning how to incorporate it in the classroom.

LESSON PLAN:

Target Area & Rationale:

Visual literacy is very important, and it applies to many different educational areas. Weebly and Prezi are two different presentation tools, but both work very well at allowing students to demonstrate what they have learned. It is important that the students learn about visual literacy, and explain it using visual tools. This will reinforce the idea that information presented in visual form is more rewarding. In addition, after they have created a presentation of what they have learned, they can share it with other students that are learning about it for the first time.

 Objective(s):

     -Students will research visual literacy, using the internet and other reference tools.

     -Students will learn the importance and main ideas of visual literacy, while taking note of information they

     find relevant to share with others.

Materials & Supplies Needed:

Computer(s)

Pens or pencils

Paper

Outline of Key Events:

-Teacher will give students 1 minute to jot down what comes to mind when they think of the word visual

-Teacher will give students 1 minute to jot down what comes to mind when they think of the word literacy

-Teacher will ask students to hold on to their responses, and then explain the lesson

-Teacher will tell students that they have a set amount of time (20-25 minutes) to research visual literacy, as it is important that they understand what it is and why it is important.

(During this time, students will take as many notes as they can about visual literacy)

-Teacher will briefly go over Weebly, Prezi, and Photopeach (using their own, and other, examples), and then give the students time to research and play around with the technologies, themselves.

-Teacher will place the students in groups, and each group will be assigned a technology to use.

-Teacher will explain to students that they must demonstrate what they have learned about visual literacy, by creating a product using their assigned technology tool.  

-Students will be given time to work on product in-class.

-When students have completed their work, teacher will allow the groups to present what they have done with the class.

-Students will also include a brief summary of the technology they have used, by evaluating how easy it was to use, and what all it allowed them to include (pictures, audio, etc.)

Closing Summary:

This lesson will expose students to new educational technologies. Even though most of the technologies are not school-specific, using them in the classroom will encourage students to use them more appropriately.  Also, by assigning different groups of students with a different technology, they are being exposed to more technologies at one time. Students are also strengthening what they know about visual literacy, because they are gaining different definitions and examples from each project.

Ongoing Assessment:

Every semester, the work will be shown to the next group of students as a resource. This will boost the previous students’ confidence about their projects, while helping the new students with the task. Additionally, students who have done this lesson the previous year will be assigned a new project which requires that they somehow incorporate the old one. This will allow them to build on what they know.

Cultural Literacy Reflection

      At the beginning of the year, I assumed being literate in language arts meant that one had understanding in how to read and write. We have had multiple TE classes that have discussed the importance of literacy and have taught us that if students do not develop literacy skills at an early age, it is probable that they will have a difficult time excelling in their academics throughout their educational career. Through the course of the semester, I became more aware of what it means to be literate in general; having an understanding of skills in certain areas outside of language arts. After this project and exploring various literacies we could have researched, I am aware that there are multiple areas in which one can be literate and developing all of these areas can be done in the classroom. Although it may seem overwhelming to expose students to all of these literacies, it seems that being digitally literate can make this an easier task on the teacher as well as students. Even if teachers are unable to elaborate deeply on each literacy, it is possible to at least expose students to the different types of literacy that our class explored and provide them with resources to explore further on their own. 

Researching cultural literacy has enabled me to see the significance in teaching students about new literacies. In multiple classes I’ve been a part of at MSU, there’s always the discussion of how some students may not do well in testing due to varying cultural norms or how students may not comprehend readings due to cultural norms. Instead of using this as an excuse to stray away from literature that may pose various cultural views, teachers can use this as a way for students to expand their cultural knowledge. By integrating this new cultural knowledge into a new digital literacy, I saw how approachable integrating new knowledge and new technology can be. Although I had never used Mixbook before, it was easy to share new information and create something that I was proud to share to help teach about cultural literacy. Being able to create a project with an unfamiliar technology gives me the comfort in knowing that I can teach students how to utilize technology to present information and I will be able to teach them in engaging ways in the future, regardless of the information being presented. We have had readings and class discussions on diverse learners and the significance of presenting information in multiple ways to help all learners in the classroom succeed. This project has also been a way to show us that it really is not that difficult to incorporate various means of presenting information to help all students in the classroom learn. By becoming comfortable with this idea early on, there is a better chance that we will be able to practice this once we actually do become teachers.  

2. During the week we discussed diverse learners and how to effectively teach them literacy, we were given a blogpost prompt that asked us to read about a student and create various accommodations for them to ensure they were taught effectively. From this assignment, I learned that there are certain planning strategies that must be taken into account before carrying out a lesson. The only way to plan these strategies effectively is if you know the learners in your classroom well. Once teachers are knowledgeable about their students, they can begin to implement various teaching strategies to help teach students effectively. Teachers will only know what works best for students if they try different ways to teach students and monitor what works best.

Looking back at the concept map we created earlier in the semester, one of the first bullet points I placed under cultural literacy is that culture is comprised of traditions, subculture, and universals. Although teachers may assume that everything in school may be universal for students, this is definitely not the case. Everyone has their own traditions and subcultures that they are a part of in addition to many of the universal traits we have in common. As I was completing my project, I saw that there are many components of my life that I thought were “normal” of everyone growing up; when in reality this was just something that was a part of my subculture and my family’s traditions. Acknowledging this made me aware that students will also have this mindset and this can have an effect on them in school both academically and socially. It is critical that teachers take cultures into account in getting to know what works best for learners. 

In the 5^th grade classroom I am currently placed in, I have observed how various cultural differences play a role in the classroom dynamic both academically and socially. In the classroom, there are 25 students total, at least 5 different races among the students, 8 students in special education, a few who are high achieving, and a range of socioeconomic statuses. Based on what I know from students in the class, it would be important to start at the core of cultural literacy and focus on culture. I would want to teach students that culture is a social construct, rather than something that is biological. I think it would be beneficial to provide students with examples of what this means and to compare and contrast various characteristics of students’ cultures. By doing this, it may help them better understand what it means for culture to be social rather than biological. Connecting the idea of culture to their lives initially will help them realize the value of the concept and make it easier for them to relate and develop this construct. The more comfortable the students are with the idea of culture, the easier it would be for them to investigate cultural literacy. 

In terms of using Mixbook, the students would need a tutorial to help them create their own book. Since the students do vary in socioeconomic status, some of them are only familiar with using computers in the school setting. Due to this, it is necessary to show kids how to use this type of technology successfully. In the tutorial, it would also be vital to explain that the pictures should be the main focus of the book and that the text is only there to help enhance the pictures to teach about the new literacy. By having students focus more on the pictures to tell their story, this relates to their reading standard of being able to determine the theme of a story from details. Students will have to carefully choose images that provide enough detail to tell their story and enable viewers to grasp the theme.

3. Lesson: Students will be asked to create two pages to contribute to a cultural literacy Mixbook for the class.

Target area and rationale: Allowing students to engage in a cultural literacy assignment can enable students to be more open minded about their peers in the class. This lesson will give students the opportunity to see how and why students are different and may even allow some students to find similarities to those who they thought they had nothing in common with. In elementary school, topics and themes sometimes stray away from reality. Truly, the world is diverse and students must be exposed to this. This lesson will expose students to cultural differences and integrate technology in the process. Using Mixbook will help build students’ comfort level in working with technology as well as provide visual support and different means of presentation for diverse learners.

Objectives:

1.       Students will be able to utilize resources and follow the tutorials in class to help them create their own Mixbook pages.

2.       Students will be able to determine the differences between their traditions, subculture, and universal aspects of their culture.

3.       Students will focus more on the photographs they choose to help them tell their cultural story and use the text as a supplemental way to share their ideas

4.       Students will collaborate with classmates and provide feedback based on certain prompts provided by the teacher.

5.       Students will be able to identify and analyze cultural differences and similarities

Materials and Supplies Needed:

1.       Laptops

2.       Photographs from their own collection, online source, or Mixbook

3.       Notes about their culture from research, interviews, and/or personal experiences and background knowledge

4.       Journals

5.       White board/ Smart Board

Outline of Key Events

·         Intro:

o   Review concept of culture and cultural literacy

o   Explain to students that they will create two pages for a class cultural literacy Mixbook

o   They will need to choose a culture to focus on, brainstorm and research, and find pictures to add to their two pages

o   Explain the goal is to help teach other classmates about their culture. The pictures they choose should tell the story, not the words on the page.

·         Brainstorm:

o   Use the Smart Board to help students brainstorm. Call on volunteers to provide examples of various cultures in addition to providing examples for the students (i.e. youngest child, Lansing resident, someone with a disability, dancer, athlete, etc.).

o   Give students time to decide what they would like to choose to focus on for their two pages.

o   Inform students to choose a culture that they strongly identify with.

·         Research time:

o   Students will find facts on their culture to add to their pages

o   Based on this research, students will find pictures that go along with the information they would like to display on their pages

o   Students will also be encouraged to write down personal experiences or background knowledge of their culture to share with their peers on their Mixbook pages

·         Create:

o   Students can create their pages once they have found the information and pictures they would like to use

o   Remind students that pictures are the main focus and that the text is supplemental

o   Explain to students that they can ask their peers for help first and then ask the teacher. That way, students will be able to form a better understanding of how to utilize the technology

·         Explore:

o   Students’ pages will be compiled together

o   Students will then be instructed to write in their journal. Each student will receive the names of two students whose pages they are to explore and respond to. (The teacher will try to give each student someone who has focused on a different culture).

o   Students will be given prompts that they will respond to in their journals

§  What is your culture and what is the student’s culture of whom you are evaluating?

§  Is this a culture that you are also a part of but did not focus on in your project?

§  What are some aspects of their culture that are different form yours?

§  What are similarities between your two cultures?

§  What do you think _____ wanted you to learn about their culture?

§  Write one part of their Mixbook page that you wish you had incorporated on your pages.

·         Closure:

o   Discussion:

§   Using the questions I asked you to respond to, what are some things that you learned about culture?

§  Who can name some traditions that they learned about? Were these traditions similar to any you have?

§  Define what it means to have a universal culture.

§  For example, you are all students; this is a universal culture that you all share. You’re all in Ms. Tossi’s 5^th grade class; that is a subculture since it is something within your universal culture. Each of you has your own traditions in class. The way you study, what you do in the morning, etc. these are all examples of traditions you have within your subculture.

§  It’s important for us to see that we are all a part of different cultures. This is why not all of us are the same in everything that we do. This is true for every part of our lives: learning, which our friends are, what we eat, etc.

§  Who learned something new today about someone else’s culture or about their own? Explain to students that the more we explore different cultures, the more we learn and the more open we are to the differences people have.

·         Ongoing Assessment:

o   Students will develop their own Mixbooks throughout the course of the year. Rather than contribute to a whole class book, the students will be given the opportunity to create an entire book that incorporates information on their own culture as well as other cultures that they learn about throughout the year. I will provide different components that should be included in the book throughout the course of the semester for students to add to their books. Their Mixbooks will include:

§  Information on their own culture

§  Information on a different culture which they cannot identify with of someone in the classroom

§  Similarities between the two cultures

§  Identify the universal culture shared by the student and their peer, identify the differing subcultures, identify different traditions

§  Information on cultures they would like to learn more about – based off of research or interviews with people in the community 

Environmental Literacy Project Reflection

Hey girls, I wrote this out and I wanted to post it before our virtual class monday. I hope thats okay!

1) YOUR CONCEPTUAL UNDERSTANDING:

At the beginning of this process I felt very lost and discouraged about how to use the technology we were required to use for this project. I actually had never heard of something like a scrapblog but was intrigued to use it since I had never before. I found myself looking at the other examples students had posted about the same topic I was working on: environmental literacy. Viewing these examples were really the “experience” that helped me understand the technology I was using. I found that some readings were a little helpful but the main resource that guided me through my understanding was the other examples! I really enjoyed using scrapblog and in my lesson, which you will read about in part 3, I even incorporated it in because I think it would be an awesome way to get kids thinking about creating projects through this technology.  My conceptual understanding of environmental literacy actually changed drastically from where I began. There were certain components like “ecological footprint and green tips” that I had heard of before. However, through my exploration I found out about “ECO-IQ test, 5 components of environmental literacy, etc”. All these topics seemed to be very vital in the understanding of environmental literacy and I was shocked I had never heard of them. Some new strategies I am now aware of are definitely feeling more confident in the fact that I think it is extremely successful to utilize technology resources like this to help understand a new literacy because these resources prove to be way more interactive and engaging for students, and even for myself!

2) EFFECTIVE LITERACY INSTRUCTION:

            In my opinion, “effective literacy instruction” means that, as the teacher, you are providing your students with diverse resources. Diverse learners mean that students all learn a little differently whether it be visual, verbal, on print out activities, or technology geared activities. As a learner myself in this project I realized there was a lot of information about environmental literacy that I was unaware of, as well as types of technologies I had never used before to create a project. This project showed me that, even as an adult, I may not know all the resources out there or all the information I need to know. After this project I realized the importance of exploring new literacy technologies, students today have more resources for learning than we did when we were children. We’re learning right along with students and I feel its essential to learn about all these literacy options for our own benefit and learning as well as for our students.

            In terms of how I would consider using these new literacy technologies in my classroom of second graders, there are several questions and strategies I would want to teach my children. I mentioned this in my lesson (part 3) but I want students to consider these questions when exploring new technologies: “what is this page/project telling me? What did I learn from this that I didn’t already know? Where can I find more information on these topics the project was talking about?” All these questions, I feel, will help students not only just LOOK at the new technologies but also CRITICALLY THINK about what they are looking at. If students aren’t taught to critically comprehend the information they are reading about on the projects and technologies, then these new resources have no more benefit than traditional literacies. Along with having students asking themselves these questions I want students to develop note-taking strategies that can help them reuse the information they learn in projects like a blog or a scrapblog project they create themselves. I want students to use “digital literacies” like the scrapblog I created as well as other examples you provided to us on our wiki, blogs, interactive websites, etc. I also believe that websites with interactive “tests” for students to take can get students engaged in the literacy and critically think instead of just staring at the computer screen. My project was just on environmental literacy and I already feel the urge to look and explore about the other literacies like cultural and emotional so I can better explain to my students how to explore and navigate the Internet. One final important aspect to these new literacies is making sure that students have a guided activity or worksheet or something so that they can reflect on their learning and critically think rather than just staring at a screen and not being able to make connections to what they are reading about!

3) LESSON PLAN:

·      Target Area & Rationale: This topic on environmental literacy through scrapbloging can be useful for students needs to teach their peers because it shows the students a different aspect of recording their discoveries. Students may feel more engaged in the exploring if there is a new way to discover information about environmental literacy. Environmental literacy is vital to understand because it establishes an understanding for our world we live in and how/why we need to keep it clean! Now, more than ever, our society and especially children at a young age would benefit from learning more about the environment. Allowing students to have materials and resources to utilize for teaching their peers can help themselves learn and solidify their understanding as well as spreading the knowledge around to other kids.

·      Objectives:

§  Students will be able to utilize the resources I have provided (such as my environmental literacy scrapblog and a bloging website for our class) to guide them through their exploration of environmental literacy.

§  Students will learn and explore the ideas of environmental literacy through the use of the web and previously done scrap blogs (not only mine but other scrapblogs I can find about environmental literacy like the examples you showed us in class).

·      Materials & Supplies Needed: smartboard (for whole class discussion and displays), computers (for each student to explore the scrapblog and also be a part of the blog for our class where students journal their thoughts and findings), paper (in case students feel more comfortable writing a draft on paper before writing on computers), writing utensils

·      Outline of Key Events:

§  Intro: explain to students about how today we will be learning about environmental literacy through the use of the web and scrapblog projects. Ask about students opinion of what they think environmental literacy is? And then what they think scrapbloging is? Ask students how might we use the web to help with our exploring?

§  Discuss: together as a class we will use the smartboard to explore an example of a scrapblog and work through this project while asking questions about what they see. I want to tell students to ask themselves: “what did I learn from this page? Did I know this information before reading the page? What do I find interesting? Is there a website on this page I can find more information?” By doing this students can see how I want them to be critically thinking while exploring the  projects and also remember to click on all the links that the project has listed on it.

§  Explore: Students can work in pairs or by themselves while they explore other projects and websites listed on these projects as well as websites they find on their own. I want students to be taking notes about everything they learn so that later they can write a blog post on our class blog!

§  Post: Write your findings on our class blog. I want to make it clear that students need to be writing what new information they learned not what was their favorite part, etc. After students are done posting I want to gather on the rug for our closing summary about what we learned today and how we can use the internet and technology to help us learn more. I want to get their opinion about how they liked the use of technology while learning about environmental literacy!

·      Closing Summary: By being able to explore projects like mine and other scrapblogs examples students can not only see how scrapblog is used but also be learning about environmental literacy at the same time. In order to make sure my students are paying attention and actually learning and retaining information, having them reflect on a blog for our class will be a good way to have students describing their findings while at the same time utilizing a new technology! All of these resources and strategies can be utilized to help students teach their peers about the never-ending possibilities with technology and learning about the environment.

·      Ongoing Assessment: Students will have the ability to add more and more “findings” from their environmental literacy exploration through the web! As a continuous assessment I want to have students writing at least one or more comments a week about anything to do with environmental literacy like: something new they learned, a new website they found, a new project they could create online, etc.