Kindergarten Spotlight

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Project Plan

 

Monthly Lesson Plan

(provided by iEARN)

 

 

• September:
  Introduction to the project using iEARN videos, blogs, and forums. As a class, we will create an introduction to our city, state, school, and classroom using the project's blog to post our information. We will discuss as a class what technology to use when introducing ourselves and how we want to do it.

• October/November: 
  Students will create their first photo diary. They will share the 3 meals that they ate on a specific day. They will document their meals using either photos or pictures along with a description of the food applying their knowledge of adding sensory details in their writing. In November, a global forum will take place for this project in which students will create a log of a day in their life. They will all record what they do on the same day and compare their lives. They will publish a step by step documentation of that day. In the forum, they can ask and answer questions.

• December/January/February: 
  Students will research heroes in their community and create a short essay describing why they are heroes and what they have contributed to society. Students will have this modeled after we talk about Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. in early January. (If time allows/ students finish, students may also include information about their own families in a forum or blog and compare and contrast how they differ from other families. They may share a personal narrative written about their family or simply share a day in the life with their family.)

• March: 
  Students will share their thoughts on standardized testing on the forum. They will explain what "EOGs" (End of Grade) tests are and give their opinion on them. Do you agree with them? Should they determine whether you go to the next grade? Are they fair? Students can then ask for other opinions from students around the world. Do they have the same type of thing? How do they move to the next level at school? Together, they could come up with another way to assess students without using standardized testing.

• April: 
  Diary Photo Log (Spring): Students can take the time to do another log on a day in their life, but this time in the spring. They can use their knowledge from math to create circle graphs showing how much time they spend playing, sleeping, going to school, eating, and doing homework during a day. They could ask other students to share a similar graph so they could compare data.

• May: 
  Create a photo story to share with another classroom(s) about our year in 3rd grade. I would love to take this time to Skype with a classroom we have communicating with if that is possible. It would be a great end to our year and motivate students to work hard throughout the year.

• June: 
  This is the last month of school and a great time to share what they will miss most about 3rd grade and share goals about next year. They could discuss this on the forum or blog and ask other students what their goals are with them.

About

 

One Day in the Life is an interpersonal exchange that allows students to connect to others around the globe by sharing their daily life activities.  The goal of the project is for students to not only share their typical day, but also for students to make connections and comparisons between their lives and other students around the globe.  Students will also report on "special" days such as birthdays, vacations, holidays, or other life experience. For students in younger grades, or those who struggle with the English language, digital media can be used in order to share the student's "daily journal" entry.

Objectives

 

Kindergarten Common Core State Standards

 

• CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RF.K.4
  Read emergent-reader texts with purpose and understanding.

• CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.W.K.2
  Use a combination of drawing, dictating, and writing to compose informative/explanatory texts in which they name what they are writing about and supply some information about the topic.

• CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.W.K.3
  Use a combination of drawing, dictating, and writing to narrate a single event or several loosely linked events, tell about the events in the order in which they occurred, and provide a reaction to what happened.

• CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.W.K.6
  With guidance and support from adults, explore a variety of digital tools to produce and publish writing, including in collaboration with peers.

• CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.W.K.7
  Participate in shared research and writing projects (e.g., explore a number of books by a favorite author and express opinions about them).

• CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.SL.K.1
  Participate in collaborative conversations with diverse partners about kindergarten topics and texts with peers and adults in small and larger groups.

• CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.SL.K.2
  Confirm understanding of a text read aloud or information presented orally or through other media by asking and answering questions about key details and requesting clarification if something is not understood.

• CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.SL.K.3
  Ask and answer questions in order to seek help, get information, or clarify something that is not understood.

• CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.SL.K.4
  Describe familiar people, places, things, and events and, with prompting and support, provide additional detail.

• CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.SL.K.5
  Add drawings or other visual displays to descriptions as desired to provide additional detail.

• CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.L.K.1
  Demonstrate command of the conventions of standard English grammar and usage when writing or speaking.

• CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.L.K.2
  Demonstrate command of the conventions of standard English capitalization, punctuation, and spelling when writing.

 

Standards Addressed Provided by the Project:

• 4.03 Share written and oral products in a variety of ways (e.g., author's chair, book making, publications, discussions, presentations).

• 4.09 Produce work that follows the conventions of particular genres (e.g., personal narrative, short report, friendly letter, directions and instructions).

• 4.10 Explore technology as a tool to create a written product.

• Social Studies:

• 2.01 Distinguish and compare economic and social roles of children and adults in the local community to selected communities around the world.

• 2.02 Analyze similarities and differences among families in different times and in different places.

• Math:

• 4.01 Collect, organize, analyze, and display data (including circle graphs and tables) to solve problems. Common Core State Standards

• Reading 7 Integrate and evaluate content presented in diverse media and formats, including visually and quantitatively, as well as in words.

• Writing 3 
  Write narratives to develop real or imagined experiences or events using effective technique, well-chosen details, and well-structured event sequences.

• Writing 6 
  Use technology, including the Internet, to produce and publish writing and to interact and collaborate with others.

• Writing 7
  Conduct short as well as more sustained research projects based on focused questions, demonstrating understanding of the subject under investigation.

• Writing 8 
  Gather relevant information from multiple print and digital sources, assess the credibility and accuracy of each source, and integrate the information while avoiding plagiarism.

• Speaking and Listening 1 
  Prepare for and participate effectively in a range of conversations and collaborations with diverse partners, building on others’ ideas and expressing their own clearly and persuasively.

• Speaking and Listening 2 
  Integrate and evaluate information presented in diverse media and formats, including visually, quantitatively, and orally.

• Speaking and Listening 5 
  Make strategic use of digital media and visual displays of data to express information and enhance understanding of presentations.

• Math Grade 3
  Measurement and Data Represent and interpret data.

• 2.03 Describe similarities and differences among communities in different times and in different places.

• 4.02 Use appropriate source maps to locate communities. 

• 4.03 Use geographic terminology to describe and explain variations in the physical environment as communities.

• 6.03 Identify the impact of technological change on communities around the world.

• 7.01 Identify the deeds of local and global leaders.

 

Desired Outcomes for Students:

Students will learn about other cultures and improve computer and communication skills.

 

Knowledge:

Share and exchange thoughts, feelings and information.

 

Curriculum Area (s):

• Literacy: writing and reading

• Art

• Computer

• Social sciences

• Language

• Technology

• Study of Society

 

Skills:

• Language: Oral language skills, expressing thoughts and experiences through pictures

• Aesthetic: Visual arts: artwork (drawings and computer images) Social: Getting to know and understand other cultures

• Cognitive: language and literacy and social studies

• Affective: A chance to think about life outside students own realm, enhance understanding and appreciation of diverse cultures, foster tolerance understanding and break down cultural barriers, being an observer, sharing work and information with other students

• Feelings: Excited to begin, to learn and make new friends!

 

Essential Question:

What happens in your life daily? How is it similar to or different from other Kindergarteners lives around the world?

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Technology/Equipment

 

Initial Steps

• Have students discuss what they do daily

• Have them talk about what they do for special holidays, celebrations, or vacations

• Students will create charts with activities

• Have students create journal entries for a week to practice journaling - discuss as a group and talk about similarities and differences

 

Project Technology

• Camera(s)

• Video Camera

• Computer/Device/iPad with internet capabilities

• On-line Journal / KidBlog / Microsoft Word

• Wixie

• Microsoft Powerpoint

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