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Are #teachers intentional in lesson design?

9/19/2014

This clever commercial serves as a good reminder to me of the importance of being intentional in lesson design. Just because an instructional strategy is engaging and effective doesn't mean it works in every situation. My goal this year is to be very intentional in lesson design!

The guiding questions on these pages can help us make decisions.

If you are looking for strategies to consider, browse my archives or search by keyword.

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How is architecture like writing?

9/12/2014

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Rick Wormeli, in his thought provoking book, Metaphors and Analogies, encourages teachers to frequently weave analogies into instruction. Analogies help students make connections with prior knowledge and paint a visual image that strengthens retention.

My co-teachers and I have decided to use an architectural analogy to teach students the various text structures they will encounter throughout the year. Our introductory lesson began by giving them blueprints to explore.

We then created a Venn Diagram to compare architecture to written text (both have plans, both have purposes that determine structure.)

Next students examined a variety of photos showing buildings with interesting architecture. They were asked to choose a building whose structure represented the structure of a poem (and then a story, an opinion piece, etc.) and be prepared to justify their thinking. Some students struggled but we encouraged them to work with a partner and develop their rationale. We made it clear that there was not a correct answer, as long as they could justify their thinking.

One student chose this photo to represent the structure of a fictional story because of all the twists and turns and unexpected surprises usually found in a good story.

Try it yourself! Which of the following buildings would you to choose to compare to the structure of a poem? Why?

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Using Technology to Enhance Writing

9/5/2014

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One of our goals this year is for students to learn how to use technology to enhance their writing and communication. Today we decided to use GoAnimate as a vehicle for doing that.

GoAnimate is a web tool that allows users to make animated videos up to 30 seconds long for free. (For longer videos, users must have a subscription.) The tool is very user-friendly, with click and drag features to build your story line, and options for recording your voice. Several options are available for voice recording. Our students used the text-to-speech feature. They typed their writing into a text box and then a digital voice was automatically generated.

Sean, a student who has not been very motivated to spell words correctly, experienced an “Aha” moment today. When he misspelled a word, the digital voice pronounced it as he had spelled it. It finally dawned on him that spelling accuracy matters!

Here is a student sample of one of the 8 line bio poems (each line begins with a personal statement - "I am ____, I want _____, etc.)

I am also planning on using GoAnimate for students to debate two sides of an issue, to share opinion pieces, and for book reports with QR codes attached. How will you use GoAnimate?

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Are #teachers intentional in lesson design?

How is architecture like writing?

Using Technology to Enhance Writing

Anne M. Beninghof

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