Author: Margaret Buzard

By: Margaret Buzard and Melissa Sta. Maria

Context – 4th grade, science, research project, summative project on habitats or animals .

Content – the students will be learning about cute but deadly animals and where they are from.

Process – The teacher will give students a list of animals to choose from that are “cute, but deadly”. The students will then be tasked with researching this particular animal and finding out the specifics of where they are from, why they are deadly, and other fun facts. If students have other animals they would like to research off the list, they can speak personally with the teacher.
This information will then be inputted into a Google Form, for the teacher to integrate this into MyMaps to demonstrate their research skills and knowledge of animals and their habitats.

Layout – since MyMaps is not compatible with iBooks we might have to get creative with screenshots and captions to express how MyMaps will work with the lesson.

Audience – this lesson idea will be presented for teacher use.

Our original lesson plan idea:

This lesson would be used during a science unit on dangerous animals. On MyMaps, you will notice several different icons and their general locations on the map. Once you click on a particular icon, you will see the  adorable picture of the animal that lives there. However, if you click the arrow to see the next image, you discover the dangerous side of the animal. Below these images, you will find the common location of this animal as well as the reasoning for why they are so dangerous.

In our field experience classrooms, we have noticed how excited kids get when they see dangerous animals. These are typically creatures they may not see on a daily basis, so this lesson would build on their curiosity and invite  them to explore the world around them. Students could upload their own cute, but deadly animal to understand how appearances can be deceiving.

This lesson is my first attempt in using TED Ed for planning a lesson. I am planning this based on a unit my current placement did on the solar system and the planets. They used this particular video just to get the kindergarteners excited and give them some basic fast facts that they could write about. This TED Ed lesson extends this fun song by adding questions (“Think”) for after the viewing. There is also a section where I added a spot for children to “Dig Deeper” and learn more, from sites like NASA. I then added a singular “Discussion” question to further the students thinking about our solar system.

Click on the image below to go directly to the lesson!

Toontastic is an app created by Google aimed at young “future authors, directors, musicians, inventors, and anyone else” that want to try their hand at a creative platform for storytelling. There are three options to choose from at the start: short story, classic story, and science report; each coming with a basic outline for children to fill in. For each plot point (ex: beginning, middle, and end), children can choose from the included sets and characters, or design their own. Once they decide on the setting and characters, they are able to tap record, move characters and props around, explore the set, and narrate the story. After, they are given the chance to add the musical score to set the tone of each scene. Once finished, the story pieces are put together in a single video.

The pros of this app are easy to list:

1. it is available on a slew of devices (iPhone, iPad, iPod Touch, Android, and select Chromebooks)
2. it is free and without in-app purchases or ads
3. it is easily exportable and therefor shareable to parents, and
4. it works offline (slow Wi-Fi cant hold you back!).

The cons that I found with my time working with the app are:

1. it may give too much freedom of choice – in a classroom setting children may spend too much time on the designing of the characters than on the story itself,
2. it offers limited settings and characters – would have to make children aware of them before sending them to brainstorm and write-up their story (before even touching the iPads), and
3. it would take a lot of pre-planning to implement a build-your-own story lesson using this app – from the brainstorming process (given sets and characters), to choosing music, to blocking the characters on set. There would need to be a whole unit given on theater and story creation processes before.

Overall, I found this app to be quite enjoyable and could think of ways that it could be used in my current placement of a  kindergarten class (though it would be mostly teacher led – not giving them full creative powers with it). I can imagine this being less stressful if it needed to be less structured (outside of a classroom), such as used for a family movie night.

All About Me Multimedia Books from Title IID – Queens, NYCDOE! on Vimeo.

 Dear Margaret,

Time travel is possible.

That got your attention didn’t it?

Ok, so it’s not fully possible in the way you might be thinking – sending humans through time to experience the 1800s and all. But we are able to send back letters like this one right here. (Everything we write of course has been carefully reviewed to prevent any slip-ups that could change history as we now know it. So no, I won’t be telling you who wins the World Series in 2027.)

Now, let me get to the point. I’m writing because I know that change gives you anxiety and (unfortunately) a ton is headed your way in the next 15 years. For your own sake, I’ll give you my news in the form of a compliment sandwich:

First of all, let me tell you that you’re going to be fine. And yes, I realize that is such a vague comfort (revisions remember?) but I truly mean it in the best sense of the word. Keep doing what you’re doing and all will be well.

Second, (and here’s the kicker) technology will update and change so rapidly in the coming years that the things you are learning now in your EdTech class are now completely obsolete. Of course, that doesn’t mean you should zone out quite yet! The tech you’re learning about will come in handy greatly for the first couple of years… but then it’ll fizzle out as the new stuff enters the picture.

Let’s see if this gets redacted…

If I remember correctly, you recently tried out a VR device. Well, VR now is much less connected (no more wires to trip over) and has a corner designated to it in each classroom. That’s right each classroom has VR. Students can still “travel” using Google Maps but now it’s in real-time, they can dissect anything to see how it works – whether it’s plant, animal, machine, or human, and they are able to watch the Earth change as the clock spins back – see continents drifting and the impact of humans on our planet. The only hard part is getting them to leave the VR corner!

And finally, to calm some of the nerves that I’m sure are flaring up: not everything has changed. The creators of some of the tech actually took into account how people learn. There are these pens called [redacted] that record what you write as you write it. I know what you’re thinking – “sounds like a stylus to me” but it’s more than that. You can ask it questions (it’s linked up to all the databases) and it’ll give you step by step explanations to get to the correct answers.

“It’s more than a pen, it’s [redacted]!”

Sorry, that ad shows up all the time on my bracelet. They know you bought it once so they keep hitting you up for it every time the new generation comes out.

Well, I know you’re busy so I’ll let you get back to your day. Just know that everything is gonna be alright.

Love, Margaret (2033)

This Padlet would be used by teachers to sort the books in their classroom library. In this example, I sorted the books by their guided reading levels, however, you can sort them many other ways (genre, author, etc.) Included with each book are possible instructions that could go along with that text making it easy to find a book to go with a topic you want to teach.

Sorting your classroom library would  make it easier to find a book that a particular child might be interested in (sorted by subject).  You could also add suggestions for other reads (if you liked ___ you might also like___).  I also added the opportunity to rate books out of 5 stars. If students really like the book you might keep it around, if enough students dislike a book… maybe its time to find some new additions to the bookshelf.

Some people are unaware that the stories told by Laura Ingalls Wilder in her children book series Little House on the Prairie, came from her life as a pioneer. This is a Sway presentation to show people the places where her life and books overlap, and to tell the stories of her life that she left out of the books. It also includes a clip of the TV show Little House on the Prairie, which was based on the books, and aired from 1974-1983.

By: Margaret Buzard and Melissa Sta. Maria

This lesson would be used during a science unit on dangerous animals. On MyMaps, you will notice several different icons and their general locations on the map. Once you click on a particular icon, you will see the  adorable picture of the animal that lives there. However, if you click the arrow to see the next image, you discover the dangerous side of the animal. Below these images, you will find the common location of this animal as well as the reasoning for why they are so dangerous.

In our field experience classrooms, we have noticed how excited kids get when they see dangerous animals. These are typically creatures they may not see on a daily basis, so this lesson would build on their curiosity and invite  them to explore the world around them. Students could upload their own cute, but deadly animal to understand how appearances can be deceiving. 

By: Margaret Buzard and Melissa Sta. Maria

For our collaborative Google slide activity, we have created a Disney Jeopardy game. Our game has three categories: Songs, Movies, and Characters. Students would see this example as inspiration for them to create their own Jeopardy games. Our hope is that our students will use this format (found online) to create their own Jeopardy game, perhaps to create a fun study guide for class vocabulary. This will help students use technology in a fun, unique way.

When we were students, we loved learning through Jeopardy games. It was a way for us to assess our knowledge in a competitive way. We hope our students see it in this way too.

According to their website: “Zearn Math is a coherent and rigorous K-5 curriculum delivered in a personalized rotational model. Zearn is designed so that each day, students work through engaging digital content at their own pace and learn targeted lessons with their teacher and peers. Students learn by demonstrating their math thinking with concrete and virtual manipulatives, explaining their reasoning aloud and on paper, and receiving personalized support throughout their learning. “

Here’s a little video to introduce it better…

This lesson is an add-on to a math lesson about graphing the ways that the kids in our class get to school. This will go in the beginning of the main lesson to introduce the idea that other people around the world get to school in ways other than the typical ones that we in Portland think of (walking, biking, car, or bus).

While showing these pictures to the class, I will ask them what other ways do they know of that kids could get to school? Then I will read the book This Is the Way We Go to School: A Book About Children Around the World by Edith Bauer. This will add to the children’s knowledge about modes of transportation, before continuing on to the rest of the lesson.

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Image Sources:

Bull Cart Ride, Sigiriya

Kids Portrait, Moscow Train

Woman Boating, Inle Lake, Myanmar