Author: Ella Parker

Over the course of this semester, I have created a variety of resources using various technology and online platforms. These resources can now serve as use classrooms and as inspiration for myself and teachers everywhere. I’d like to highlight just a few of my favorite resources that I have put together in this course.

Google sites:

This is an example of using google sites as a way to showcase and teach about a topic. I love how this allows for students to be independent and learn at their own pace, while still receiving accurate and easy to understand information.

Food Groups Lesson

Book Creator:

Teachers can use book creator to introduce themselves to their students before the school year even starts! This is an example of a book that could be sent out to families and read with students – and it’s all about their kindergarten teacher!

Meet the teacher!

Proxi is a great tool to use with older students. In this lesson example, students get to explore the geographical location of state and national parks in the Pacific Northwest. Later, they can use this information to write a compare and contrast essay comparing National and State Parks!

Exploring National and State Parks in the PNW

Hope you enjoy these resources!

Featured Image: Image by Manfred Steger from Pixabay

April 19, 2033

Dear Ella, 

 It has been ten years since the Spring of 2023 at UP. Looking at you now, I’m sure you can’t wait to graduate. I’m here to tell you about all that has happened since then. 

First of all, when you graduated you did in fact get a puppy. His name is Scout and he is a golden retriever. He loves playing fetch (all the time) and going for lots of walks. He will be 8 this summer but still acts like he is a puppy. 

You are now teaching your 8th class of students. Many days are hard, but you love your job and your students. You started off teaching first grade but now you are teaching second grade and have learned that second graders are MUCH more independent than first graders. 

Currently you are teaching in Vancouver School District and while you originally didn’t think that you would stay there forever, you just might. You also are earning your masters online in health and physical education. While you love being a second grade teacher, you may eventually want a change of pace. 

Life is very busy (Just the way you like it). Teaching and going to school is a lot already but you also have a three year old and a one year old running around. You thought being an athlete in college was hard, well this is much harder! Life is good though and you are never ever bored. 

Keep studying hard, see you in ten years! 

-Future Ella

Image by Birgit from Pixabay

By: Ella Parker and Valerie Garcia

Hello 4th graders! Today, we’re going to use technology to explore the fascinating lives of some of the most important women in history. By using technology, we can learn about the incredible achievements of women from all around the world, and how their actions and contributions have shaped the world we live in today. We will be using some amazing resources like websites, and making our own books to learn about these incredible women, and discover how they made a difference in their time. So get ready to put on your explorer hats, and let’s use technology to dive into the stories of some amazing women who changed the course of history!

The book being made by the students will be the final part of our unit on woman history month. Over the course of this unit the students have been learning about important women in history and the teacher will allow the students to branch out and pick a woman in history that speaks to them and inspires them. The book they make will be presented in front of the whole class so as to learn from their peers.

By the end of this instructional lesson, students will be able to effectively use technology to research and gather information about important women in history, including their achievements, contributions, and impact on society. Students will be able to navigate websites, use search engines to find relevant information and evaluate the credibility and reliability of sources. They will also be able to organize their research and present their findings in an organized and engaging way using technology tools such as the book they are making.

The technology being used in this lesson is google docs to draft their book, book creator to make their book, google sites to keep an inventory of all the books made, and lastly the search engines they are using to find their research.

Technology is supporting the instructional goal because they are using these tools to gather credible information on a woman that inspires them and showcasing this in a way that is accessible to everyone.

https://docs.google.com/document/d/1Sg5Nd1tuMk1wFvuJDik-VXSEcSJqVIc2GepjIk3MHao/edit

(planning worksheet)

https://sites.google.com/d/1-W_5Pe1nisuWu0kV4vpyq9YRF0cp-dUl/p/1B1ba7g2x-JUFbsl-wo94TvMAuJw6CRWP/edit

(site to post the student’s books on)

Example Book Below:

This site is made to teach third graders about the different food groups as an introduction to nutrition! Students can explore the site and learn more about each separate food group and then complete an exit ticket to show what they have learned.

https://sites.google.com/d/1ECU3efYo6UY_AhAESv_mkhpBoJAmIvxH/p/1HOHyp33-t7dlqyfmmgtlLYyKW81SRp_v/edit

featured image:

Image by Lukas Bieri from Pixabay

Featured image: Image by Igor Ovsyannykov from Pixabay 

I think that google forms is a great tool to use in the classroom, and can be used in a variety of ways. Creating a quiz or a check in on google forms allows for students to get feedback on their work right away and also can be a huge time saver for teachers as it takes away the hassle of grading papers. Google forms can also be used for surveys which is a great way to do check-ins with students or for asking for their input!

Using google forms I created a survey for students to give input on what they would like to do for a class celebration. the survey has multiple sections allowing the teacher to see big trends and small trends and for the students voices to be heard.

I also created a quiz designed to be used as a check in to see how students are doing with fraction story problems. If the students get a problem incorrect they are given a video that shows them how to do it correctly.

I created this book as a way for students to get to know a little bit about their teacher before the first day of school. I made this book for a kindergarten class, however, it could easily be done for any grade. The book could be sent out via email the week before the first day of school and students could flip through it with their families. The goal is that it would make kids feel more comfortable coming to school on the first day and I think that book creator is such a fun and easy way to do this!

I am from coffee shops on every block

And nightly dog walks with dad

From a mom who never turned down pizza

And too many cousins to count

I’m from trips to the east

And loving the beach

I’m from lake days with Jax

And running pretty fast

From the skyline that never gets old: the place that was my mold.

link: https://sway.office.com/dZROU6HubRSfH100?ref=Link

This is a lesson for 4th/5th graders that starts off a research and comparative writing project. In this project students will research a state and national park in the PNW and then compare and contrast them in a creative essay. The map allows students to explore several state parks and national parks all at once in order to get an idea of which ones they may want to research.Below are instructions for the students to follow:

Take a look at this map! What do you notice?

You may notice that the Map marks locations with two different symbols. The locations marked with the tree symbol are all State Parks. The locations marked with the mountain symbol are all National Parks. Do a quick write in your writers notebook: what do you know about state parks? what do you know about national parks.

You are going to be researching a State and a National Park in the PNW and writing a creative essay comparing and contrasting them.

Today your task is to:

1.Explore the map (look at the pictures for each location!)

2.Choose one State Park and one National Park from the map that you are interested in writing about.

3.Using your laptop, research the parks that you chose and find 5 interesting facts about each of them.

4.Record the 5 facts in your writers notebook. Make sure to include your sources!

Sources:

Map: Proxi

Featured image: Image by Art Bromage from Pixabay 

AI can definitely be used for the “wrong” reasons. While it can be used to cheat or plagiarize, it also can foster creativity and help spur new ideas. For teachers, I think that AI can be incredibly helpful when used correctly, as it can help teachers come up with new ideas for lessons and activities to do with their students without having to “reinvent the wheel” themselves.

I asked Chat GDT to design a social and emotional learning activity for kindergartener and this is what it came up with:

“Feeling Charades”

Objective: To help kindergarteners understand and express different emotions.

Materials: A list of emotions (happy, sad, angry, scared, surprised, etc.) written on index cards or pieces of paper

Instructions:

1. Divide the class into small groups of 3-4 students each.
2. Give each group a set of emotion cards and have them shuffle them.
3. One student from each group will pick a card and act out the emotion written on it without speaking.
4. The other students in the group must guess what emotion is being acted out.
5. Once the emotion is guessed, the student acting out the emotion can explain why they might feel that way in a given situation.
6. Repeat the activity with each student taking a turn to act out an emotion.

Variation: To make it more challenging, add a time limit for the acting and guessing portion of the activity.

I was impressed that it not only gave me a useable and relevant lesson, but also provided a variation that could be added over time to make it more challenging. The only critique I would give is that it did not consider the fact that kindergarteners are not yet fluent readers and would struggle to read the emotion cards themselves as assumed in this activity.

Overall, I think that AI is a great tool to use, especially when a teacher is feeling stuck and just needs some new ideas!

Credits:

Featured Image: Lexica

Chat GTP

Image by StockSnap from Pixabay

This lesson is designed for 3rd graders but could be used from grades 2-4. In this lesson, students will practice using the 5 senses (Touch, sight, smell, taste, hear) while viewing images in order to understand how to make their writing more engaging.

In this lesson we are going to be talking about the 5 senses. The 5 senses are important because they allow you to add detail in your writing to make it more interesting to read!

Look at the image below and imagine that you are there yourself. Now think about what you may hear, touch, taste, smell, and see if you were there in real life.

Image by Somchai Sumnow from Pixabay

Now, copy and complete these 5 sentences into your writing notebook:

I can hear _____________________________

I can touch ____________________________

I can taste _____________________________

I can smell _____________________________

I can see _______________________________

Now let’s do it again with this image! Really imagine that you are there yourself and be as creative as you can!

Image by Somchai Sumnow from Pixabay

Now, copy and complete these 5 sentences into your writing notebook:

I can hear _____________________________

I can touch ____________________________

I can taste _____________________________

I can smell _____________________________

I can see _______________________________

This time there are three images. Do the same as before and imagine how you may be experiencing this place through each of your five senses. This time you get to choose what image you would like to use for inspiration!

Image by Somchai Sumnow from Pixabay

Image by Kasjan Farbisz from Pixabay 

Image by Pexels from Pixabay 

Again, copy and complete these 5 sentences into your writing notebook:

I can hear _____________________________

I can touch ____________________________

I can taste _____________________________

I can smell _____________________________

I can see _______________________________

Think about using the five senses in your own writing to describe the setting of your stories. This makes the reader feel like they are actually there!