I really like the variety of resources we learn about in this class. There are so many resources out there. It is nice to have someone show us, so I can have a good foundation of resources. As we learn about these programs I am figuring out what kind of stuff I like and don't like, or stuff that I would or wouldn't use.
Visual Learning Assignment
Kidspiration
Personal Reflections
- I was looking for a writing lesson that I thought would be useful to my first grade practicum class. I looked through several and felt like this one was most fit for them. I like how the students who aren't as advanced of writers can write very simply and those who are more advanced can write in a little more detail. I also like that even though it is a simple writing exercise it requires critical thinking and even some long term goal setting.
- This kind of an assignment really could be done on paper. I could print out a form and have them write in the blanks. That would be good if the focus were handwriting. The focus of this lesson is actually writing. When the students are typing they can be less concerned about erasing and making their letters look aesthetically appeasing and just focusing on what they would like to write. This activity also would help kids become acquainted with the keyboard at a young age. Typing is a skill that will be useful in just about any subject. A side benefit to this activity is that the product of the activity is very nice looking and they didn't have to spend time to make it look nice. Basically, the main benefit of using technology is that the kids can focus purely on what they want to write.
- My first graders are very slow tapers. This would slow them down, but I think that they are about as slow at typing as they are at writing. Also when you type too much in the circles they will overlap each other which makes it so you can't see the contents of the circle.
- I think the kids may have a difficult time transition from step to step in this lesson. I can also see them messing up the template of this lesson while they are typing.
- About an hour and a half.
- I liked the kidspirations site. There were a lot of activities that I would never use, but there were a lot that I think would be very useful. It is good to know websites like this. there is a ton of stuff, so whatever I am doing I could most likely find an activity here that would be helpful in teaching.
- There are several activities they could do in association with this assignment. For example I could have them pick out words that have certain starting letters. They can read them to the other kids as a reading-aloud activity as well as a "getting to know you" activity. In some of our other classes we have talked about how much it helps kids to know a bit about each other and gain a respect for each others uniqueness. One thing that I would modify are the writing categories. I don't think they are the most interesting to write about for kids. A teacher could also include somethings about other units they are studying. I think categories like "favorite things" (sport, animal, book etc.) would be good for them.
