Sunday, May 5, 2013

Final Project


For this lesson, I wanted to create a lesson about a topic that will challenge students' critical thinking while embracing their creativity simultaneously. Therefore, I chose to create a lesson from a Poetry Unit: Haiku. I chose Haiku because it reflects culturally responsive teaching as well as learning. Students are always having difficulty in the poetry field so I believe integrating technology for this lesson will ease their nerves and allow them to become more familiar with Haiku, understand its structure and background so they can embrace their creative side and produce their own version of a haiku. The lesson rationale and context is to expose students to a form of poetry that is popular and commonly used. The goal of this lesson is to teach students the history of haiku, understand the basics and structure, break down its essentials and write their own sample.

For the first part of this lesson, I chose to use a cross- curricular standard from History because students will be reading a brief online article about the history of haikus as well as learning about different cultures and how they influenced a popular forms of literature. Once students read the article, class will reconvene into a group discussion to activate the students’ prior knowledge by filling out the first two columns of a K-W-L chart using the Smart Board. This part intertwines with the NETS-S standard: develop cultural understanding and global awareness by engaging with learners of other cultures. Because Haikus originated from Japan, students will benefit and expand their knowledge from learning about poetry and cultures.

The next part of this lesson requires the teacher to give a brief lecture about the background of haikus. Furthermore, I will teach the structure of haikus through demonstration. There will be a haiku on the Smart Board and students will use information they already know from previous lessons about poetry to dissect the chosen haiku. As a class, we will analyze the haiku for symbolism, themes and other literary devices. Following, there will be a brief Q&A session simply to eliminate any of my students’ confusion and answer their questions. Once my students become fairly comfortable with the new information, they will be given a haiku to dissect independently. After 5-7 minutes, students will evaluate themselves and their work then switch with a partner for peer-assessment. Because this part is mainly lecture-based, the only technological tool I will be using is the Smart Board. Similar to the first part of the lesson, this intertwines with the NETS-S standard: develop cultural understanding and global awareness by engaging with learners of other cultures.

The next part of the lesson requires students to get into groups of five or six and dissect a chosen haiku for symbols, imagery, diction, etc. They will need internet access because they will be using PowerPoint as well as the Smart Board to explain and present their conclusions about their haiku. They will be given ten minutes to complete this task then class will reconvene into a group discussion. Because this is a collaborative activity, it aligns with NETS-S standard: plan and manage activities to develop a solution or complete a project.

The fourth part of this lesson requires students break off into groups in order to creatively write their own haiku as a part of a collaborative learning environment. Students will be using computers and PowerPoint to produce their projects. This activity will be part of a friendly school-related competition. Because students will be using technology to create an end result for their project, it aligns with the NETS-S standard: select and use applications effectively and productively.

Finally, the last part of this lesson requires groups to present their projects using PowerPoint and Smart Board. Once all presentations are done, there will be a large group discussion where we will fill out the remaining column of the K-W-L chart. Students will then work independently on the computers to reflect on today’s Haiku lesson. After they have created their blog posts, they will comment on a peer’s blog (preferably one they have not worked with today). This will then end today’s lesson. The NET-S standard that follows this final part of the lesson is: exhibit a positive attitude toward using technology that supports collaboration, learning, and productivity.

Using and creating a spreadsheet when creating a lesson plan is very beneficial when trying to align my content standards, teaching strategies and technologies I will be using within my classroom. It helps me be more organized with my lesson planning and further understand the effectiveness of integrating technology within the classroom.



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