Notable African American Biographies through Time
Content:
Common Core Standards:
Reading Standards for Informational Text: Gr 4 – 2. Determine the main idea of a text and explain how it is supported by key details; summarize the text
Reading Standards for Informational Text: Gr. 4 – present visually, orally, or quantitatively (e.g. in charts, graphs, diagrams, time lines, animations, or interactive elements on Web pages) and explain how the information contributes to an understanding of the text in which it appears
Throughout February, we began to build our background about African Americans. Students read stories, narrative and informational, to piece together information about separate time periods: slavery, civil rights, and now. In this lesson, my hope to correct misconceptions that arose during the previous unit, and have fun with the students as we read a variety of texts, primarily biographies, to identify facts (main ideas) and summarize the information to then present it in a more visual way. My hope is that the timeline will illustrate what I have tried to convey in words, that the life spans of some of these individuals did and did not overlap. This will help them to read with a purpose and a create collectively as a class, while using technology to aid their learning.
Essential Questions: The students were to learn about notable African Americans through history. The misconceptions that they exhibited were i understanding when specific people lived and how their lives impacted eachother/overlapped.
1. How do we annotate facts in a text?
2. What type of information is included in a biography?
3. How do we write a brief summary?
4. Who (notable African Americans) lived in various periods of history?
Pedagogy:
By integrating a variety of aspects to this lesson, I will be able to use practical teaching methods to read all the learners in my classroom. Auditory learners will be able to listen as we read aloud and discuss what needs to be done and how to create the best summary possible. Visual learners will be able to see exactly how each step should look before they complete this on their own. These learners are specifically why I evaluated the document camera and use the Promethean Board. Timetoast is also especially helpful for those that need to see when these individuals lived. Those who are tactile learners will be able to come to the board or document to write on it and practice the annotating that we will be completing. They will also have hands on with the texts and the laptops. As for kinesthetic learners, there will be transitions for them to move around and get a break, but no real opportunity for movement, in this lesson. However, as an extension, it would be helpful to assign each student an African American and see if they can put themselves in order as a human timeline.
Content and Pedagogy:
When teaching this material, my students really need to see and hear what we are going to do before they are required to act independently. I need to scaffold the lesson by showing them using I do, We do, You do so that by the end they have seen enough examples that they are able to be successful with the content with minimal support. I have recognized their misconceptions as to which individuals were alive at the same time. Many students had reference Martin Luther King and Harriet Tubman together, but did not make connections between Tyra Banks and Opra Winfrey. I want this content to not just be historical, but to reference effects in North Carolina, and use some figures that are more relevant to them.
Technology:
In this lesson, I will use a plethora of technology, some familiar and unfamiliar, to keep the students engaged in their hybrid of reading and history lesson. I use the Promethean Board paired with Active Inspire software on a daily basis, so this poses a level of familiarity for them, and it offers an avenue for them to be interactive and helpful annotating the text, and creating our summaries. Another technology, as I evaluated, is the Lumens Document camera. I have had great success with this in the past, and would like my students to be able to view the text at all times, regardless of the format. This also allows me to better model how to annotate the text for main ideas and they can follow along with a text or just listening. Lastly, the website www.timetoast.com is an excellent tool for creating timelines. As part of the Common Core standards, I want to introduce and increase familiarity with these diagrams. Through the site, I have created a login and different timelines for each classroom. We will then be able to type our summaries, place the lifespan of the individual, and add a picture or link to that person’s entry. These events will then overlap or demonstrate the amount of time between two individual’s lives. It will give a deeper understanding to historical figures and events. Also, it is a link to math on a number line, which linking content between subjects is another aspect of Common Core.
Technology and Pedagogy:
The technology used compliments the learning styles. Students will be learning with technology, and using it to convey information visually. These tools greatly aid the various learning styles as mentioned previously. It also enforces my desire to maintain their interest and engagement throughout the entire activity. Using laptops will help each student be responsible for the intended outcome and give them a creative outlet to be hands on using technology. All students may not have an opportunity to come to the Promethean Board, but if I am deliberate in my choice of the learners who need the tactile experience of coming to the board, then the technology will certainly serve the intended purpose: aiding the learning styles of my students.
Technology and Content:
The technology being implemented during this lesson is not presenting the content, but rather allowing me to do so. I am still instructing, but it is through technology. The tools are enhancing the lesson. For example, without the Lumens Document camera, all my students would not be able to see me annotate a text as needed and I would need to circulate around the room so that all the images may be seen clearly. This can distract and hinder a students desire to stay engaged. Also, timelines can be exceptionally frustrating when they are not well organized and are difficult to create by hand. Using timetoast, we will be able to edit and go back through the information while keeping it well organized. Also, this becomes a working document that can be retrieved, reviewed, and even added to if we had begun it sooner in the year.
Assessment:
Students are assessed on their participation during the discussion, this is factored into their participation grade. In addition to contributing, they will be held accountable for their entry on the timeline. Did they properly identify important ideas to include in their summary? Do they understand the purpose and format of a timeline? Did they complete the required aspects of that timeline entry? A rubric may be given or displayed for the students to understand what should be included for their annotations and timeline entry. Technology is allowing me to assess them in a nontraditional informal way. I could create a quiz about what we read or have them complete a series of open ended questions, but they will understand better through doing. If they create the timeline, it is theirs, not mine, and more lifelong learning occurs.