Carrying Out Your Game Plan

The first indicator I wanted to apply to my classroom was 4a: advocate, model, and teach safe, legal, and ethical use of digital information and technology, including respect for copyright, intellectual property, and the appropriate documentation of sources. I wanted to focus on Internet Safety. I plan on using ePals, my class blogs, and Edmoto (social networking site) to allow student to practice the safety tips presented. My class has already been participating in class using these tools while I am monitoring their work. I would like students to be aware of the safety issues that correlate with Internet use. As a class, I will have my students brainstorm a list of safety tips that they have learned. Using a concept map, we will group students ideas using a web to determine similarities and new information. Next, students will research safety concerns using http://www.wiredkids.org/wiredkids_org.html Students will learn about various Internet safety guidelines. Next, my students will design a poster on Publisher or Pages to display Internet safety tips throughout the school. Lastly, students will design and record a skit that teaches a lesson on Internet safety. These lessons will be displayed on our morning news station. Students will take ownership in being a responsible Internet user and will be less likely to become a cyberbully or misuse the Internet.

My other indicator I wanted to focus on was 1b: engage students in exploring real-world issues and solving authentic problems using digital tools and resources. I would like to continue applying this indicator using my soil unit, but I am not able to teach that unit until October. I have already used the Internet to display x-rays demonstrating the various bones in a human body for our current science unit. Next, students will be dissecting owl pellets in our science unit. I plan on providing a virtual owl pellet dissection for the students that are not able to be in class, so that they could have a similar experience at home( http://www.kidwings.com/owlpellets/flash/v4/index.htm). I would like to set up a videoconference with a doctor so my students can ask questions about the bones, muscles, or joints. I would like to find more resources for bones, muscles, or joints in the human body that would allow my student to solve authentic problems using their knowledge. I will continue searching for a PBL (problem based learning) or webquests that are appropriate for third grade and reflects the objects in our curriculum.