Targeted Lesson
The title of the original lesson plan is “Creepy Caterpillars to Beautiful Butterflies,” which is found on the ALEX website under the URL http://alex.state.al.us/lesson_view.php?id=8251. The unit as a whole will teach the children about insects and the changes in the life cycle as well as observation skills. The lesson adds to this unit by giving students a chance to observe firsthand the scientific process of metamorphosis and record their observations in an online blog. They will record observations of changes daily to keep an accurate and up to date analysis of the entire process. Students will also be in charge of keeping one caterpillar/butterfly alive until they are released to show them the necessary steps for a butterfly’s survival.
Target Audience
The target audience is second grade class of about twenty-five students. Students participating should have basic observational skills as well as writing skills. They should comprehend the scientific method when explained to them. It would be helpful if students are responsible and keep accurate feeding logs to ensure the insect will not be overfed or underfed. The students also need a basic knowledge of typing and using the internet to get to a specific blogging website. All of the technology skills will be gone over in class and I will be able to review the scientific method throughout. Everyday I will also remind them to feed the insects, and I will remind them to log their findings, so responsibility will not be a large requirement.
Unit-Level AL Course of Study Objectives
ALCOS Gr 2 (Science) #6: Identify characteristics of animals, including behavior,
size, and body covering.
ALCOS Gr 2 (Technology) #1: Identify basic parts of various technology systems
ALCOS Gr 2 (Technology) #2: Identify applications and operations of various
technology systems
ALCOS Gr 2 (Technology) #3: Demonstrate correct posture and finger placement
while using a technology system
ALCOS Gr 2 (Technology) #7: Use digital tools to access and retrieve information
ALCOS Gr 2 (English) #27: Participate in shared research and writing projects…
Learning Environment
I will have an area in the corner of my room dedicated to the habitat for the caterpillars. They will come with a net to hold them when they are delivered, so I will simply need to make a place to hang it up. I will also have a space where the students can get the food and measuring cups to measure it out. They will log the feeding and observations at their desks on a paper copy until we pull out the computer labs for them to put the observations in their blogs. For the reading at the beginning, we will meet as a class on the reading mat at the front of the room, so that they can see the book as I read to them. If they choose to look up more information on caterpillars and butterflies, they can go over to the reading center near the door to look up more information in the books that I have.
Teaching/Learning Strategies
Throughout the unit, students will work in different subject areas to create their final project. We will have a science portion where we will use the scientific method to record good observations. I will create a podcast to tell the whole class the steps of the scientific method, and then I will go around and answer specific questions. The scientific method will help structure their blog posts about their recorded observations, so I will give an example of what a post using this might look like.
The blog post will contain more of the English portion of the lesson. I will go over basic writing rules such as capitalization and punctuation. Before the writing portion, I will also give them a list of some good words to use as descriptions in their observations. Also, I am giving them a portion that contains material from outside sources, so I will show them how to use different texts to find information. I will then go over citations with the whole class to not plagiarize.
Since most of this unit will be spent online, I will go over class rules for the computers. I will show them proper form when sitting at a computer. Also, I will make sure they understand how to properly using the blog site. If they obtain any information from the Internet as a source, I will show them how to safely search for this evidence. While they work, I will go around the class monitoring Internet use as well as answering any questions from individual students.
Unit-Level Support Technologies
Students will need:
Computers
Internet
Access to Blogmeister
Access to Podcasts
Access to Educational Sites about Butterflies
Unit-Level Evaluation
Reading the blog posts to see their progress will help show outside observers of students’ progress. I will have a grading rubric and someone can see if they were able to write correctly as well as follow the scientific method. Every blog post should also contain many descriptive words to show that they understand observation making.
Readying the Learner
The students need to understand basic writing and grammar skills explained to them before the lesson. They also need to be able to make observations about changes in the caterpillars/butterflies. Measuring will be an important part as they observe how much food they give the caterpillar/butterfly everyday. They also need to be able to cite sources and use the Internet to get to the blogging site.
Behavioral Objectives
Students will be applying their knowledge of the scientific method to write an organized version of their observations. The students will make sure they can “identify the characteristics of animals” as well as “participate in shared research and writing projects.” This will give them practice to understand what is needed to create an experiment based on other scientist’s observations. Once they have mastered this skill, they will hopefully move up to being able to analyze the data that they observed.
Lesson Plan/Preparation
During the lesson, I will need to clarify how to properly use the websites and how to create an account. I will also need to clarify how to measure the food and how much food each insect needs to survive. I will use the Internet as a supporting technology, and I will use blog sites to help log information. Students will use technology to access the blog site as well as podcasts to receive instructions from me. I will use a rubric to grade if the students were able to master the objectives set before them and we will go over information as a whole class at the end to see what we learned from this unit.
Supporting Materials
http://elementaryviolinist.podbean.com/mf/web/dnq9ch/TheScientificMethod.mp3
http://www.classblogmeister.com/index.php