Mid-Planning

I feel like things are progressing well on our wiki. I have to admit, I have been very busy with midterms and haven’t added much to the wiki in the last week or two but yesterday, I was able to set aside a big chunk of time to work on the unit plan. Martina uploaded several lessons she has used in the past about butterfly life cycles. The lessons are excellent, they are full of inquiry-based learning. The lessons involve actually observing butterflies as they go through the stages of the life cycle. The children make predictions and log observations in a science journal.

I looked through Martina’s lessons and included modifications I felt she could use for English language learners and students with learning disabilities. I spent a lot of time trying to find practical modifications that could be easily incorporated in the lessons. I identified where Martina used AASL standard skill indicators and noted those in her lessons. Any notations or additions I made to her lessons I put in a violet color, to show that these were added in to the lesson by the SLMS.

I am currently working on two lessons to add to the wiki. Both will be lessons I could teach in the media center that connect to what is going on in the classroom. I am developing a lesson about The Hungry Caterpillar by Eric Carle and Waiting for Wings by Lois Ehlert. This lesson would give the students the chance to share with me what they’ve learned about the butterfly life cycle and reinforce their learning. We will also be able to compare the two books and talk about similarities and differences.

Another lesson I am working on is a technology lesson, using an online resource that Martina has used with her students before called BrainPop Jr. The program has a short video that reinforces life cycle vocabulary and has several activities and games that relate to the video.

When it is finished, I feel like the unit is going to be very well-rounded and address most, if not all, of the AASL standard skill indicators. The lessons I’m working on will enhance and reinforce what is going on in the classroom and will bring in additional learning in literacy and technology.