Today's class focused on Student Research and how technology can enhance that process in the classroom. I worked with Elena on two in-class assignments surrounding this topic and, as a result, profited from her knowledge as an educator and a parent.
My current Red Room class covers the PreK/K Life Science standards on living things and life cycles in the spring. Specifically we cover :
- PreK-LS2-2(MA). Using evidence from the local environment, explain how familiar plants and animals meet their needs where they live. Clarification Statements: • Basic needs include water, food, air, shelter, and, for most plants, light. • Examples of evidence can include plants growing in the presence of sun and water. • The local environment includes the area around the student’s school, home, or adjacent community.
We spend two to three weeks experimenting with, observing, planting, and "researching" seeds. We currently do not use technology - just our five senses and lots and lots and lots of books with big, colorful photos and illustrations. When pondering this assignment last week, I began looking into Pebble Go as a technology tool. I was still heading down that path until Elena and I inadvertently stumbled into a conversation involving scientific videos for children, and she alerted me that there is a You Tube channel for children. I now know that You Tube Kids exists. Sometimes it takes a village to raise teachers, as well as children.
After I recovered from my embarrassment of overlooking the obvious, I purchased the app on my iPhone to investigate and within 30 seconds found 15+ videos that would be applicable, appropriate, and quite useful for our seed unit.
To implement the You Tube videos into our current lesson plan wouldn't be difficult. As our lesson plan stands now, students would be introduced to seeds in our science center with many opportunities to explore with tools such as magnifying glasses, tweezers and tiny (kid-friendly) scalpels for dissection. Little teacher instruction would be given initially. Next, stories, photographs, and informational books would be introduced to the students through reading, the science center, and the classroom library. Simultaneously, our indoor sensory table would be turned into a makeshift garden, and our outdoor garden area, (aka our garden "labs") would be accessible. These areas would be filled with various natural materials for experimentation including biodegradable planters, soil, sand, water, salt, sugar, and any other requested ingredients so students can experiment to determine (i.e. "research") what key components are needed for plants to grow.
A formative assessment would take place with teacher questioning, verbal presentations, and/or illustrations in student science journals. At this point, the You Tube video would come in. Watch: How Does A Seed Grow? There are other live-action videos that would be just as effective and engaging.
With teacher-directed guidance and wondering questions, students will be able to share their video observations and ideas with partners and the class, and be given the opportunity to return to the garden labs, to experiment and observe more. This unit is one of the most exciting units for our students and I think adding You Tube Kids to the mix would make it that much more captivating.
I love the idea of adding "technology" to the classroom WITHOUT loosing the amazing multisensory aspect of your class! Great idea. It's like adding another book in the library- don't throw out the old books!
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