TPACK Lesson plans

Name: Catherine Norris
Title: Fables and Tales from Different Cultures
Summary:   Understand the differences between fables and tales from different cultures
Primary Core Objective:   3rd Grade Objective 3 Recognize and use features of narrative and informational text. B. Identify different genres: fairy tales, poems, realistic fiction, fantasy, fables, folk tales.
Materials Used by the Teacher:   Worksheet	Materials Used by the Students:   Worksheet Online stories
Technologies Used by the Teacher:   Computer with internet access with stories pulled up	Technologies Used by the Students:   Computer with internet access
Intended Learning Outcomes: Identify the definition and understand elements of fables and trickster stories Recognize Aesop's fables Identify the specific narrative and thematic patterns that occur in fables and trickster tales across cultures Compare and contrast themes of fables and trickster tales from different cultures Differentiate between the cautionary lessons and morals of fables and the celebration of the wiles and wit of the underdog in trickster stories. .
Instructional Procedures: The following stories involve cases where the less powerful of two animals (including one human) who are natural enemies frees the more powerful animal. The divergent responses of the animals freed lead to different lessons about human behavior and values. Using the chart below, have students identify the fable elements, characters, problem and solution, and moral of these stories. "The Lion and the Mouse" (Aesop) (another similar version) "Mr. Buffu and the Snake" (Ananse) Located on the Caribbean Folktales page (Scroll down to story) "The Ungrateful Tiger" (Korean) "The Tiger, the Brahman, and the Jackal" (India) Ask students to compare the characters, plot, and lessons of these stories. Which characters did they like best? Which did they like least? Which story had the best ending and why? Have students compare the animals and their behavior in each story: Why do the types of animals change or not from one culture's fable to the next? How does the behavior change according to the type of animal? What types of behaviors lead to what types of endings in these stories? To see how fables teach universal lessons about human nature and behavior, ask students to think of a real-life situation that applies to one of the stories.
Extensions: Explain the differences between myths, legends, fairy tales, and fables. Give some examples of each type of story and let students sort them by category, or ask students to research their own examples of each of these narrative forms. The Preface on the Aesop's Fables, defines and differentiates the tale, the parable, and the fable: "The tale, the Parable, and the Fable are all common and popular modes of conveying instruction. Each is distinguished by its own special characteristics. The Tale consists simply in the narration of a story either founded on facts, or created solely by the imagination, and not necessarily associated with the teaching of any moral lesson. The Parable is the designed use of language purposely intended to convey a hidden and secret meaning other than that contained in the words themselves; and which may or may not bear a special reference to the hearer, or reader. The Fable partly agrees with, and partly differs from both of these. It will contain, like the Tale, a short but real narrative; it will seek, like the Parable, to convey a hidden meaning, and that not so much by the use of language, as by the skillful introduction of fictitious characters; and yet unlike either Tale or Parable, it will ever keep in view, as its high prerogative, and inseparable attribute, the great purpose of instruction, and will necessarily seek to inculcate some moral maxim, social duty, or political truth."
Assessment Plan:   Have students fill out an online or printed-out version of the Story Structure Chart found on the end of the lesson.

 

 

Story Structure Chart
	The Lion and the Mouse	Mr. Buffu and the Snake	The Ungrateful Tiger	The Tiger, the Brahman, and the Jackal
Story Elements
Characters
Problem
Solution
Lesson/Moral

 

 

 

Name: Catherine Norris
Title: Plants
Summary: Students will learn about the different parts of a plant through a Power Point Presentation and then create their own plants with a computer drawing program.  They will label all the parts of a normal plant in their picture to demonstrate that they have learned the different parts of the plants.
Primary Core Objective:   Standard 3 Students will develop an understanding of their environment. Objective 1 Investigate plants and plant growth.
Materials Used by the Teacher:   Pictures of Plants & their parts on Power Point Projector Projector screen	Materials Used by the Students:   Paper Pencil Worksheets on Plant Parts
Technologies Used by the Teacher:   Power Point on Computer Projector	Technologies Used by the Students:   Computer Tux Paint Drawing Software
Intended Learning Outcomes:   Students will learn about the different parts of plants and then will create and label the different parts of their own created plant using the drawing program Tux Paint.
Instructional Procedures:   Reserve the computer lab for the whole class for the activity assessment portion of this lesson. Have students sit in their seats and set up expectations for them to look up at the presentation and to raise their hands when they have a question or input. Pass out a worksheet that has spaces to label the different plant parts. Students observe from their desks a Power point projected onto the projector screen.  This is created to show the different pictures of plants.  There will be pictures of vegetables, fruits and flowers where the class will be asked to see if they can identify any of the plants as they are shown on the screen.   As a class we will identify the different plant parts : roots, stems, the flower, petals, and the leaf.  Discuss why they are important for the growth of the plant. The students will then fill in their plant worksheet of the different parts of the plant.  Before the lesson reserve the computer lab, so that the students can do the next activity. Students will go down to the computer lab and using the drawing software Tux Paint (this is a free program that has many cool drawing and painting tools.  In partners have the students create a new plant that they will then label based on the information of plants we have already covered in class.
Extensions:   On the computer in the classroom I have set up the internet with a site by the Howard Hughes Medical Institute that allows you to "build a salad". It gives you the different kinds of vegetables that are different parts of plants that go into a salad. This is fun for students to click on and learn. The website for this activity : http://www.hhmi.org/coolscience/forkids/vegquiz/recipe.html
Assessment Plan:   Students will go down to the computer lab and using the drawing software Tux Paint (this is a free program that has many cool drawing and painting tools.  In partners have the students create a new plant that they will then label based on the information of plants we have already covered in class.

 

 

 

Name: Catherine Norris
Title: The Census
Summary: Learn the importance of the census.
Primary Core Objective: Grade 4th Standard 1 Objective 2 Analyze how physical geography affects human life in Utah.
Materials Used by the Teacher: Video projection equipment Computers with Internet access Map of the U.S	Materials Used by the Students: List all of the materials that the students will need to successfully complete the lesson.
Technologies Used by the Teacher: Video projection equipment Computers with Internet access	Technologies Used by the Students: Identify the technologies used by the students during the lesson.
Intended Learning Outcomes: Is the census an integral part of American democracy? What is its impact on government policy, society and the economy? In this lesson, students consider the purpose of the census and the importance of participating in it. They then examine the issues surrounding the 2010 census and engage in one of several multidisciplinary activities designed to make the census relevant to their experience, perspective and learning.
Instructional Procedures: Tell students that this month, the 2010 U.S. Census forms will be mailed out. Ask students what they know and have heard about the census and why it is conducted. Then explain, if necessary, that every 10 years, the government reports the number of people who live in the United States by conducting a count called the census, which is required by the U.S. Constitution and has been taken since 1790. Then choose one or more of the following ideas to give students a bit of context before they read the New York Times Upfront magazine article "Counting America," below. Tell them that this year, the U.S. Census Bureau is running an advertising campaign that represents the most extensive and diverse outreach campaign in U.S. history, with advertisements appearing in 28 languages. Show them "A Musical Take on Mailing It Back" and/or "A March to the Mailbox", both of which are commercials that are designed to persuade citizens to participate in the census survey. Invite students to share their impressions and further consider the framework and significance of the census. Ask: Were the commercials informative? What did you learn about the census from the spots? Were they persuasive? Why is it important to participate in a census? How and by whom do you think the numbers and other information that are collected are used? -Have students fill out the U.S. Census Bureau's 10 Questions in 10 Minutes, then discuss the questions and have students consider why each one is included on the survey. -Read aloud the April 21, 1910 New York Times article headlined "Ten Census Takers Quit From Nerves: Daily Tilts With Irate Housewives Too Much For Them, So They Resign." How many of these same issues still exist for census takers 100 years later? What new issues might there be? -Give students the following demographic categories: non-Hispanic white, black, Hispanic, Asian and other. Have them quickly sketch a pie graph to show roughly how they think the U.S. population (estimated at nearly 309 million) breaks down in these categories. Then reveal the 2010 (projected) pie chart in the graphic "Then and Now: A Snapshot of the Nation" to see how close students got to the actual breakdown. Then, comparing it with the 1980 graph, ask: How has our national changed demographically in the past 30 years? Are you surprised by any of the figures? How close did you come in accurately estimating how the population breaks down by race? What story do these chart tell you about the change in U.S. population in the past 30 years? What do you think the projected data is based on? How closely do you think our town reflects the national numbers?
Extensions: In the New York Times Upfront magazine article "Counting America," Patricia Smith provides an overview of the history of the U.S. census, analyzes its significance and asks "Why is the 2010 census sparking such intense debate?": With an army of 1.4 million census takers and a budget of $15 billion (yes, billion), the 2010 census is being billed as the largest peacetime mobilization in American history. Planning for the census has been going on for 10 years, and Washington is spending $340 million on a national advertising campaign in 28 languages. The goal of all this time, money, and effort? Simply to get as many people as possible to fill out the 120 million questionnaires that will begin landing in Americans' mailboxes later this month. A national head count may sound like a pretty dry exercise, but the census actually has an enormous impact on our daily lives. It determines everything from how many Congressmen your state gets to whether a new Gap opens near your house and which channels cable companies offer in your area. Questions: How is much money, time and effort is being spent on the 2010 Census? What "political impact" do the census results have? How else, and by whom, are the data used? Why and how do Democrats and Republicans differ over on how to conduct the census? How was the census form changed for 2010, and why? What are some of the challenges and controversies raised by the census? What communities have particular concerns, and what are they?
Assessment Plan: Worksheets and questions filled out.