Teaching+with+Technology

This isn't an assignment, but it's something I highly recommend you do to help you in this class as well as in the rest of your classes. I would like to see everyone sign up for the web 2.0 program GradeFix. No, it isn't a way for you to sneak in and fix your grades if you're not doing as well as you want. It is a way for you procrastinators out there to help organize your time and get your assignments done. It can make things a lot easier. Give it a try!

Here is the scope and sequence of what we'll be learning:



Grade Level: 11

Unit: 20th Century American Literature

Lesson Objectives (include 4 or 5):
 * Student will understand how the struggles of individual characters in these stories can relate to struggles continuing in modern America
 * Student will be able to successfully create a project showing an understanding of a major piece of American Literature
 * Students will be able to actively become involved in discussions about literature and society
 * Students will be able to convey their ideas clearly, legibly, and concisely through whatever medium they choose
 * Students will be able to adapt their understanding of these stories to communicate with a modern audience

Time Required to complete this lesson: 3 weeks

Title of lesson: Important social issues in 20th Century America, Final Project

Description of lesson:

After reading The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald, The Grapes of Wrath by John Steinbeck, The Invisible Man by Ralph Ellison, and Farenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury. The students will discuss the social issues present in these novels, as well as learning to understand the different writing styles of the authors. We will complete the unit having students create a newspaper article, video news report, or paper about a character or issue in one of the texts.

Assignment: In-class discussion, reading each text, the final assignment

Resources/materials needed: Books, computers, the final assignment allows for creative uses of a number of different mediums (cameras, video cameras, facebook, etc.)

Technology used: Computers, the final assignment allows for creative uses of a number of different mediums (cameras, video cameras, facebook, etc.), class wiki, web 2.0 (try blabberize, blabberize.com)

The technology used in this lesson changes the teaching / learning in this way: Instead of merely writing a paper, students are allowed to create a blog, facebook page, newspaper article, interview, or dramatic interpretation of these stories to prove their ability to analyze and interpret the texts.

Want a cool challenge that will almost certainly score some bonus points from your teacher and will also (gasp) be more fun for you? Do your final project using blabberize! Pick one of the characters from one of our stories and write and record a creative piece based on your knowledge of that character from the text. Feel free to use some direct quotes if you want to make your point (hint, hint). Your speech should be at least two minutes and no more than 5 minutes long. Here's a very, very short example.

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Remember to be creative, but don't forget to make sure you are staying focused on issues from the novel!

Here's another short example using the website Animoto. Remember, this is a //short quickly put together example//! I expect more out of all of you!

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Grade Level: 11

Unit: 20th Century American Literature

Assignment type: George Orwell's Writing Rules Scavenger Hunt

Lesson objectives (include 2 or 3): Time required to complete this lesson: 1 week Title of lesson: George Orwell: The writer beyond Animal Farm and 1984
 * Student will understand how to write clearly and concisely using Orwell's 6 rules to improve the English language
 * Student will understand how to navigate the internet to find valuable information and be able to interpret that information for their own usage.
 * Student will understand how to look at a piece of writing and identify both positive and negative examples of grammatical writing
 * Student will understand how to write with a clear focus, coherent organization, sufficient elaboration, and detail

Resources/materials needed: An on-line or print version of Orwell's "Politics and the English Language," computer, printer or paper and pencil,  Description of lesson (if you were to describe to a parent what was happening in the classroom for this lesson, what would you say in a few paragraphs). After taking approximately two weeks to read George Orwell's 1984, we will be looking at some of Orwell's ideas on the state of writing and the English language. Students will read Orwell's "Politics and the English Language" at home, then discuss the language rules provided by Orwell. Next the students will examine three separate websites of my choosing and two of their own choosing and identify how each is a bad example of Orwell's rules. They will rewrite a paragraph in each article according to their interpretation of Orwell's rules.  Assignment (homework or in-class: this is how the learner will practice the learning that has just occurred):

Students will read Orwell's "Politics and the English Language" at home, then discuss the language rules provided by Orwell in class. Next the students will examine three separate websites of my choosing and two of their own choosing and identify how each is a bad example of Orwell's rules. They will rewrite a paragraph in each article according to their interpretation of Orwell's rules. 

Technology used: computers, the internet  The technology used in this lesson changes the teaching / learning in this way: Rather than merely learning Orwell from fictional texts as is the norm, students will use Orwell as a way to improve their writing, and use the internet as a way to explore Orwell and other 20th century authors.

Orwellian Scavenger Hunt  Now that we have read “Politics and the English Language” by George Orwell, it’s time for you to do a bit of literary criticism. Take a look at the followingwebsites from 20th century writers. The websites either have excerpts from an author, have someone writing about Orwell, or writing about writing, []

[]

[]

[]

[]

Find two more websites of your own choosing where the authors either write about Orwell, write about writing, or contain an excerpt from a 20th century author.

Look at a paragraph from each website, and rewrite the paragraph according to Orwell’s six rules. Use at least three of the above website along with the two you have chosen.

Grade Level: 11

Unit: Vietnam War

Assignment type: Creating Flashcards to review for //The Things They Carried// test.

Lesson objectives (include 2 or 3):
 * Student will understand how to use web tools to help create study questions
 * Student will be able to think creatively and analyze a text in depth enough to help create their own test
 * Student will understand

Time required to complete this lesson: One week Title of lesson: The Things They Carried Make Your Own Test!

Resources/materials needed: Computer, internet

Description of lesson (if you were to describe to a parent what was happening in the classroom for this lesson, what would you say in a few paragraphs). Each student will use the website flashcarddb.com to create five original flashcards for Tim O'Brien's book of short stories on Vietnam, The Things They Carried. The flash cards will remain saved on the website for students to study off of for our test. I will choose 25 of the students' questions to use on our test. 

Assignment (homework or in-class: this is how the learner will practice the learning that has just occurred): Students will study at home or in the library, and take a test in-class based on their own questions. 

Technology used: computers, web 2.0 (flashcarddb),

The technology used in this lesson changes the teaching / learning in this way: It allows students an interactive way to create a study guide and have autonomy over their own test.

Create Your Own Test!

I must be the best Language Arts teacher in the entire world because I am allowing you to create your own test for The Things They Carried! Here's what you need to do for this assignment. Go to flashcarddb.com and sign in using the user name clinteckstein and the password langarts11. Once you are in, go to the link on the left side of the screen that says, "my flashcards." Create 5 flashcards with unique questions and answers from The Things They Carried. That means if you get on this assignment early, it will be more less of a strain to come up with new questions! Yes, that is a hint! Once these are finished, you will be able to use them to study for your test. I will select a certain number of questions to use, so that means you guys are writing your questions and your answers!

Grade Level: 11

Unit: Contemporary Literature

Assignment type: Read a modern novel of your choice and create a Vocaroo podcast audio book report.

Lesson objectives (include 2 or 3):
 * Student will understand how podcasting can be an effective tool to share an idea
 * Student will be able to analyze literature for content and clarity
 * Student will be able to relay information on a text to others in a clear and accessible way

Time required to complete this lesson: One week

Title of lesson: Contemporary Literature

Resources/materials needed: Book, computer

Description of lesson (if you were to describe to a parent what was happening in the classroom for this lesson, what would you say in a few paragraphs). For this lesson, students will be able to choose from a list of modern literature, read the book, and perform an audio book report using the on-line program Vocaroo.

Assignment (homework or in-class: this is how the learner will practice the learning that has just occurred): Completing the book, completing the Vacaroo assignment

Technology used: Podcasting

The technology used in this lesson changes the teaching / learning in this way: Podcasting gives students the opportunity to do practice professional and clear speaking by giving an oral book report. It also changes the learning style for a book report, giving students that may not be the best writers a chance to excel.

Contemporary Literature Podcast.

Are you as tired writing book reports over and over as I am of reading book reports over and over? Well, we're going to do it differently! You are going to use an on-line podcasting tool called Vocaroo (www.vocaroo.com) to create an on-line audio book report. Here's a little more explanation about what the assignment is all about.

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Grade Level: 11

Unit: Literature and Politics

Assignment type: Argue a political issue from a liberal or conservative point of view.

Lesson objectives (include 2 or 3):
 * Student will understand how to make a logical, political argument without insulting another's point of view.
 * Student will understand how rhetoric, opinion, and conjecture have as much influence over American news and politics as they do in literature.
 * Student will understand how to make an argument from an alternative point of view from their own.
 * Students will create a poster or other visual representation that is visually creative and informative while they give their presentations in class.

Time required to complete this lesson: 2 weeks

Title of lesson: Studying Liberal and Conservative views on issues in America

Resources/materials needed: Computer, access to tumblr page, access to shelfari page, trifold poster board, various magazine, on-line, and print resources 

Description of lesson (if you were to describe to a parent what was happening in the classroom for this lesson, what would you say in a few paragraphs). Students will be looking at American politics and how to argue for and against specific important issues. We will look at both conservative and liberal point of views, and discuss the importance of checking sources to see where they come from. Each side can present "facts" and "statistics" to represent their ideas, but those "facts" and "statistics" are usually being used to prove each other wrong. Students will argue a point they disagree with to help them understand alternative sides of an issue. We will be using two web sites, tumblr and shelfari, to help with our research. The assignment is posted at [], let me know if you have any questions. 

Assignment (homework or in-class: this is how the learner will practice the learning that has just occurred): web and print research, note-taking to be turned in with the final assignment, presentation of issue 

Technology used: computers, shelfari, tumblr

The technology used in this lesson changes the teaching / learning in this way: The tumblr website reinforces classroom discussion and gives students a way to locate the assignment (as well as resources for the assignment) without have to wait to ask the teacher in class. Students can use Shelfari to add their own resources rather than just using the ones I give them, making it a more interactive learning experience.

Grade Level: 11

Unit: How do we improve teaching English? 

Assignment type:

Lesson objectives (include 2 or 3):
 * Student will understand how to do online research using videos
 * Student will be able to
 * Student will understand

Time required to complete this lesson: one week in class, two weeks to complete assignment Title of lesson: How can we change things for the better?

Resources/materials needed: Computers (videos watched in class, option to watch at home), Flip video cameras

Description of lesson (if you were to describe to a parent what was happening in the classroom for this lesson, what would you say in a few paragraphs). We will introduce the unit talking about whether or not school classrooms (and Language Arts classrooms in particular) are taught in a way that works well for students. If students think that they can do a better job, they will show it in this project! We will use watch the embedded videos below during class and discuss if we agree or disagree with the arguments made in the videos.

Students will then have the opportunity to work in groups using school-provided flip video cameras to film a creative project on one way they would change Language Arts education. After they finish their videos, they will upload those videos onto YouTube, then use the on-line program Embedr to upload the videos onto our class wiki.

Assignment (homework or in-class: this is how the learner will practice the learning that has just occurred): We will introduce the unit talking about whether or not school classrooms (and Language Arts classrooms in particular) are taught in a way that works well for students. If you guys think that you can do a better job, show it in this project! We will use watch the embedded videos below during class and discuss if we agree or disagree with the arguments made in the videos.

You will then have the opportunity to work in groups using school-provided flip video cameras to film a creative project on one way they would change Language Arts education. After they finish their videos, they will upload those videos onto YouTube, then use the on-line program Embedr to upload the videos onto our class wiki

Technology used: YouTube, Computers, Flip Cameras, Embedr

The technology used in this lesson changes the teaching / learning in this way: Using video production to teach students new skills, using videos as an alternative to merely lecturing, using student video production to allow them to be their own teachers, to learn about different styles of teaching and learning and think about what styles might work best in the modern classroom. 

media type="custom" key="7297215" Videos: 1. I Teach Therefore You Learn...: A video about how learning is changing in education and how we need to adjust our methods. Important for students to watch to get an idea of the kind of issues they will need to address in the project.

2. Do School Kill Creativity?: Ken Robinson talks about how schools as they currently operate have a way of hurting the creativity of students. Another great discussion builder. How can we build on this man's ideas to fuel our own using technology in literature class?

3. On Motivation: Takes typical ideas of motivation and turns them around. How is motivation important in the way that school operates. Is making money enough? What are some ways you can use motivation to make classes better?

4. What High Achieving Nations are Doing to Prepare Students: An opportunity to look at how some other nations educate their students. This is important because students don't usually get to see anything outside of their own education.

5. Dave Eggers: An opportunity to look at an example of a different way of doing things. A great example of thinking outside the box.

Grade Level: 11

Unit: 20th Century American Playwrights

Assignment type: Using Animoto, create a project of one of the following American plays: Death of a Salesman by Arthur Miller or Streetcar Named Desire by Tennessee Williams.

Lesson objectives (include 2 or 3):
 * Student will understand how to use Animoto to create a creative slideshow and improve their visual communication skills
 * Student will be able to present a visual representation of a classic piece of American drama
 * Student will understand how visual projects and presentations can be used to enhance the reading of a piece of literature

Time required to complete this lesson: One week

Title of lesson: Creating a visual representation

Resources/materials needed: Computer, Animoto web 2.0 program, photos, video 

Description of lesson (if you were to describe to a parent what was happening in the classroom for this lesson, what would you say in a few paragraphs). Students will use the on-line program Animoto (check it out at @http://animoto.com) to create visual projects based on a character from Death of a Salesman by Arthur Miller or Streetcar Named Desire by Tennessee Williams. 

Assignment (homework or in-class: this is how the learner will practice the learning that has just occurred): The assignment will be performed outside of class. The students will find a creative way to visualize the text they have just finished reading. To show their learning they will have to interpret their character using pictures, video, and spoken audio. 

Technology used: Animoto

The technology used in this lesson changes the teaching / learning in this way: The technology gives students a chance to represent literature visually. It allows students who may excel using visual learning technology and who are visual learners to have a better educational experience. 

Here is an example:

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Grade Level: 12

Unit: Mapping out lives and stories

Assignment type: Creating a Google Map

Lesson objectives (include 2 or 3):
 * Student will understand how to choose relevant information to create a biography or map a story
 * Student will be able to use their knowledge of literature or a particular author to create an innovative visual project
 * Student will understand how to use simple HTML and electronic resources to create projects.

Time required to complete this lesson: One week

Title of lesson: Map your author or story

Resources/materials needed: Computer, novel, biographical information on author or physical information on travel destinations. 

Description of lesson (if you were to describe to a parent what was happening in the classroom for this lesson, what would you say in a few paragraphs). Students will create a mapping project using GoogleEarth. They will choose an author, story, or novel. Their assignment will be to map the journey of the characters or the life of the author. For instance, they can trace Jim and Huck's travels down the Mississippi, Jack London's travels around the country, or the Joad's travels through California. 

Assignment (homework or in-class: this is how the learner will practice the learning that has just occurred): The assignment will be homework. The students will already have some information on the books they have read and the authors we have studied in class. They will need to do some extra research to create their map. The map must have at least 5 stops with pictures and

Technology used: HTML, GoogleEarth, computers

The technology used in this lesson changes the teaching / learning in this way: The assignment requires students to know the book or author in a more complex manner than if they just wrote a book report. The assignment requires reading, writing, and learning through educational technology.


 * Here is an example with far more stops then you will need, but it should give you an idea: **



Grade Level: 10

Unit: Cross Cultural Literature

Assignment type: Penzu journal for Chinua Achebe's Things Fall Apart

Lesson objectives (include 2 or 3):
 * Students will understand how to use personal journal writing to help understand a character or culture
 * Students will understand the difference between journal writing, term papers, and journalistic writing.

Time required to complete this lesson: 2 weeks Title of lesson: Using journal writing to investigate Things Fall Apart

Resources/materials needed: computer

Description of lesson (if you were to describe to a parent what was happening in the classroom for this lesson, what would you say in a few paragraphs). Students will read Things Fall Apart by Chinua Achebe. Over the course of their reading, they will write at least five journal entries of two to three paragraphs discussing the story using the web program Penzi. These entries are meant to be personal. Students are not to regurgitate the plot, but rather use their own experience to attempt to identify with the story and the characters in the story. The journals can be kept private (between myself and the students), but at least one journal must be posted for all of the class. Students will view and respond to the journals. 

Assignment (homework or in-class: this is how the learner will practice the learning that has just occurred): Students will read Things Fall Apart by Chinua Achebe. Over the course of their reading, they will write at least five journal entries of two to three paragraphs discussing the story using the web program Penzu. These entries are meant to be personal. Students are not to regurgitate the plot, but rather use their own experience to attempt to identify with the story and the characters in the story. The journals can be kept private and shared anonymously with the rest of the students (you will need to share them with me so I know you are doing your work). Students will view and respond to the journals.

Technology used: Penzi, computers

The technology used in this lesson changes the teaching / learning in this way: It gives students the opportunity to work using a web program and to share their work with other students.

Here is the site for you!

@https://penzu.com/home

Grade Level:10, 11, or 12

Unit: n/a

Assignment type: final class assessment

Lesson objectives (include 2 or 3):
 * Student will understand how to use the program Go!Animate to create an individualized, creative project
 * Student will be able to subjectively and productively evaluate a class and a professor
 * Student will understand

Time required to complete this lesson: less than one week

Title of lesson: It's the End of the Class As We Know It (and We Feel Fine)

Resources/materials needed: computer, creativity  Description of lesson (if you were to describe to a parent what was happening in the classroom for this lesson, what would you say in a few paragraphs). Students will evaluate the class through a 2 minute animated cartoon using the web 2.0 program Go!Animate. There are no stipulations, except the students must be appropriate in their assessment.

Assignment (homework or in-class: this is how the learner will practice the learning that has just occurred): Students will evaluate the class through a 2 minute animated cartoon using the web 2.0 program Go!Animate. Students must cover things they enjoyed about the class, things they felt could have been done better, favorite assignment, least favorite assignment, and suggestions to improve the class. Students can go beyond these suggestions, but must include at least these four areas.

Technology used: computers, Go!Animate  The technology used in this lesson changes the teaching / learning in this way: Instead of taking 30 seconds to evaluate a class on paper, students will have to be creative and take time to think about how the class can actually be better. 

**Grade Level: 11**


 * Unit: American Literature and History  **


 * Assignment type: Learning about history and literature using Google apps **


 * Lesson objectives (include 2 or 3): **
 * ** Student will understand how to use various google apps to communicate  **
 * ** Student will be able to write an annotated bibliography  **
 * ** Student will understand how to use the internet for search for viable and reliable resources **


 * Time required to complete this lesson:  **
 * two weeks**


 * Title of lesson:  **
 * The Jungle and the Chicago Stockyards**


 * Resources/materials needed: **


 * **Computer access **


 * **printer access **


 * Description of lesson (if you were to describe to a parent what was happening in the classroom for this lesson, what would you say in a few paragraphs). **

**We will use the next two weeks to do a combined unit with the Social Studies class on American working conditions in the early 20th century. We will read The Jungle by Upton Sinclair (available either to check out on on Google Books at  [] ). After reading the novel, each student will be responsible for finding three articles on The Jungle using Google Scholar and create an annotated bibliography of your sources (an example of an annotated bibliography can be found on Google Docs here [] ). You will create three test questions on the book or the history of Chicago working conditions and add them to my examples in Google forms here [|h][|ttp://tinyurl.com/3a8gbde]. Click on "tools" and then scroll down to "edit form." You can add various questions there. All of the due dates can be found on our Google Calendar here []. **  **The last part of the assignment is so easy I'm not even putting it on our calendar! All you have to do is go online and find at least one photograph that represents working in the Chicago Stockyards. Once you have found the picture, upload it to the Picasa page found here [] ** 

**We will use the next two weeks to do a combined unit with the Social Studies class on American working conditions in the early 20th century. We will read The Jungle by Upton Sinclair (available either to check out on on** Google Books **at <span style="font-family: Verdana,Geneva,Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; line-height: normal;"> [] ). After reading the novel, each student will be responsible for finding three articles on The Jungle using ** Google Scholar **<span style="font-family: Verdana,Geneva,Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; line-height: normal;"> and create an annotated bibliography of your sources (an example of an annotated bibliography can be found on Google Docs here [] ). You will create three test questions on the book or the history of Chicago working conditions and add them to my examples in ** Google forms **@http://tinyurl.com/3a8gbde <span style="font-family: Verdana,Geneva,Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; line-height: normal;">. Click on "form" and then scroll down to "go to live form." You can add various questions there. All of the due dates can be found on our ** Google Calenda r **<span style="font-family: Verdana,Geneva,Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; line-height: normal;"> here []. **
 * Assignment (homework or in-class: this is how the learner will practice the learning that has just occurred): **
 * <span style="font-family: arial,helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 19px;">The last part of the assignment is so easy I'm not even putting it on our calendar! All you have to do is go online and find at least one photograph that represents working in the Chicago Stockyards. Once you have found the picture, upload it to the ** Picasa ** <span style="font-family: arial,helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 19px;"> page found here <span style="color: #3366cc; cursor: text; font-family: Verdana,Geneva,Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; line-height: normal;">[]  **


 * Technology used: **
 * Google apps, **


 * The technology used in this lesson changes the teaching / learning in this way:  **
 * Allows students to use online resources to improve learning. It gives students the power to create things in other area of their lives once they learn how to use all of the different Google apps.**


 * All right, we are going to combine our resources with the social studies class to create one big pile of awesome! Using a number of Google apps, you are going to read The Jungle by Upton Sinclair, and learn more about working conditions in America in the early 1900's. Are you ready for this assignment? Check it out on** Knol **, google's version of wikipedia!**

@http://tinyurl.com/3xcwtq5