Julia's Reflection

This class on technology allowed me to think more deeply about how I use technology in my classroom.  The class came at a great time for me.  Last year I was able to get three computers donated to my classroom.  I received these computers at the end of the year so I wasn't able to use them fully.  When I was asked what I will use them for I answered that I would use them for the Lexia software.  Now I have a whole different perspective.  I felt like this class allowed me to become aware of all of the resources I have at my finger tips for myself and my students.  I'm realizing what an amazing tool the computers will be next year.  I will use the computers for the Lexia software but I will also use them for "Starfall" and "Between the Lions" websites.  I will also use them for the students to publish their writing work.  I am excited about the possibilities I now have and the ones I will discover this year as I explore technology more thoroughly.  

Introduction to Integrated Literacy Unit

Topic: Jan Brett Retelling Unit
Grade Level: Kindergarten
Resources that need to be available to students in the classroom:
* Computers, Internet access, Jan Brett books, crayons, colored pencils, writing paper and listening center (tape, headphones, and tape recorder).

Overarching Objective:
Students will be able to:
· Analyze author/illustrator style.
· Retell author’s stories through the use of technology.

Integrated Content Areas: Language Arts

Audience: Other Early Elementary Teachers

Rationale given to students at the outset of the unit:
“Today we will begin an author study on Jan Brett, a famous children’s author and illustrator. Remember, that means she writes the words and draws the pictures! During this unit we will read many Jan Brett books to see what kind of author and illustrator she is. We will then pretend to be Jan Brett and write her next book. We will publish our pieces of writing using the computers to type our words!”

List of Massachusetts Frameworks Covered:
K-2: 1.9 Explain that the Internet links computers around the world, allowing people to access information and communicate.
K-2: 3.1 Use various age-appropriate technologies to locate, collect, and organize information. (MA Technology Frameworks)
8.2 Retell a main event from a story heard or read.
8.5 Retell important facts from a text heard or read. (MA Reading and Literature Frameworks)
K-2: 1.5 Use a word processing application to write, edit, print, and save simple assignments. (MA Technology framework)

Time: This unit should take one week with one 50 minute lesson per day.

Technological tools utilized in the unit: The website http://www.janbrett.com/ with two videos and the use of Microsoft Word to publish the writing.
Assessment tools for the unit: Round Robin Retelling Activity, Retelling Graphic Organizer, Keyboarding Chart, “Ticket to Lunch”, Drawing a Hedgehog, and Jan Brett Writing Rubric.

List of references utilized by teacher:
1. Jan Brett books

2. Jan Brett’s website: http://janbrett.com/

3. How to Draw a Hedgehog: http://janbrett.com/video/how_to_draw_a_hedgehog_starring_astro.htm

4. At Home with Jan Brett: http://janbrett.com/video/jan_brett_at_home.htm

5. Keyboarding Chart: http://its.leesummit.k12.mo.us/images/Black%20and%20white%20Keyboard.pdf

6. Shape Book for the Mitten: http://www.eduplace.com/rdg/hme/k_5/shapebook/pdf/mittens.pdf

Lesson 1

Today we will begin an author study on Jan Brett, a famous children’s author and illustrator. Remember, that means she writes the words and draws the pictures! During this unit we will read many Jan Brett books to see what kind of author and illustrator she is. We will then pretend to be Jan Brett and write her next book. We will publish our pieces of writing using the computers to type our words!

1. I will introduce the Jan Brett unit with the words in the Rationale.
2. “What do you know about Jan Brett? What books did she write?” We will discuss what we know about Jan Brett and if we have heard of her.
3. I will then go to http://www.janbrett.com/ and explain to the students that it is Jan Brett’s website. And that this website gives information about Jan Brett and her books.
4. We will watch the video about Jan Brett and show the students that they can visit this website at home to find out more about Jan Brett.
5. I will read “Gingerbread Baby” to the students.
6. After we read “Gingerbread Baby” we will retell the story as a class. I will show each page and each student will have a chance to look at a page and retell what happened on that page.

7. “This week I would like you and your parents to go to the library to check out some Jan Brett books. Please read one Jan Brett book each night this week. Try to get some Jan Brett books that we do not have in our classroom. Tomorrow we will read “The Mitten”, retell it and compare the two Jan Brett books we have read so far.”

Lesson 2

What author/illustrator did we start to study yesterday? Today we will read another book by Jan Brett called “The Mitten”. After we read the book I will begin to teach you how to use Microsoft Word, which is the program we will use to type our writing at the end of the unit.

1. Begin lesson with Rationale.
2. “We will read “The Mitten” by Jan Brett this morning. Make sure that you listen carefully because after we read you will be asked to retell the story using a graphic organizer that looks like this.” I will show the graphic organizer and what the students will be expected to do.
3. I will read “The Mitten” stopping to ask questions about their predictions about what will happen next. I will ask questions to help point them to notice that the borders help tell the story. This is an important aspect of Jan Brett books.
4. After I read the book I will ask: “What do you notice about Jan Brett’s writing? What is the same about “The Mitten” and “Gingerbread Baby”?”
5. We will briefly talk about Jan Brett’s writing and the characteristics that are the same about her writing in each of her books.
6. I will give a graphic organizer to each student and ask the students to fill in the beginning, middle and end of the story. “You may draw a picture of the beginning, middle and end. Please label each part with some words.”
7. After the students are done with their graphic organizers we will sit as a group and 3 or 4 students will share their graphic organizer and retell the story for us.
8. I will move the class to the computer area and demonstrate Microsoft Word. “Today I am going to teach you how to type on the computer. We use a program called Microsoft Word. Raise your hand if you have ever typed on the computer. Why do we use computers to type our words when we can write them with a pencil?” We will discuss that typing our words makes them look like the books we read, they look published or professional.
9. I will demonstrate and show the students the Cap Lock, the delete button, space bar and the period button. We will practice and reinforce using the keyboard.
10. After these buttons are demonstrated for them I will hand out the Keyboard Chart. “You are going to find the buttons that we practiced today on the computer. “ Students will have a chance to look at the chart and get familiar. I will ask the students to pretend to type their name on the chart and then I will ask the students to touch the space card, the delete button, the period and the caps lock.
11. Students will be asked to color the space bar: blue, the period: red, the delete button: yellow and the caps lock: purple.

12. “Remember to read another Jan Brett book tonight for homework. Tomorrow we will read “The Hat” and our own Jan Brett writing.”

Lesson 3

Today we will read “The Hat”, another book written by Jan Brett. After we read this book we will compare all the Jan Brett books we have read so far and notice the characteristics that are the same. We will do this so that we can pretend to be Jan Brett as we become the author/illustrator of her new book. We will even learn to draw like Jan Brett.

http://www.amazon.com/

1. I will give the Rationale to the class.
2. I will begin to read “The Hat” stopping if students have connections with other Jan Brett books.
3. After the reading “The Hat” the class will retell the story together.
4. “What are some connections you can make with all the Jan Brett books? What is similar between all of the books the books we have read?”
5. We will fill out a graphic organizer with the characteristics that Jan Brett books share.
6. “It is going to be your turn to pretend to write like Jan Brett. You will be asked to write her next story. What will you make sure that you include in your writing and drawing?”
7. Students’ answers should match the characteristics that we brainstormed in our graphic organizer.
8. “One of the characteristics that we noticed about Jan Brett books is that she always has hedgehogs somewhere in her book. She loves hedgehogs. If we are going to write a Jan Brett book we will need to have a hedgehog somewhere in our drawings. Today we are going to watch a video in which Jan Brett demonstrates how she draws hedgehogs. We are going to follow the directions so that we can draw our own hedgehogs.”
9. I will give each of the students a piece of paper and a pencil so that they can practice drawing a hedgehog. We will watch the video and follow along using http://janbrett.com/video/how_to_draw_a_hedgehog_starring_astro.htm.
10. “Tonight read another Jan Brett book and begin to think about your new Jan Brett book. What will you write about? What types of animals will be in your story?”

11. “Your ticket for lunch today is to tell me two characteristics of Jan Brett’s writing and pictures.”

Lesson 4

Today we will write like Jan Brett! When you are finished with your first draft and it meets the rubric expectation you will be able to publish your writing on Microsoft Word.




1. Start with the Rationale.
2. “Let’s start with ‘Think, Pair, Share’ to brainstorm what we will write about for Jan Brett’s new book. First, I would like you to think about what your story is going to be about, then you will share your idea with your partner and then with the class.”
3. I will give the students plenty of think time and then we will share our ideas.
4. “We will now get ready to write. If you think you are finished with your writing bring it to me and we will check it together.”
5. Students will get pencils, colored pencils and begin to write their stories.
6. When students are finished I will check their work with the rubric and then start them on publishing their work.

7. “Tomorrow you will have a chance to finish writing and begin to publish your work.”

Lesson 5

In lesson five students will finish their writing and publishing.

1. I will give the Rationale.
2. Students will begin the day where they left off in their writing. Each student will be responsible to stay on task and to know which step will come next.
3. I will be meeting with students and assessing their writing using the writing rubric.
4. While students are waiting to publish their work they will be able to use the listening center to listen to “The Mitten”.
5. When students are done publishing their work they will be asked to share they work by reading it to a friend.

6. We will have a share time at the end of the class.

Unit Proposal

Unit Proposal
By Julia D’Onofrio

Title: Jan Brett Retelling Unit

Theme: Retelling and published writing

Grade Level: Kindergarten

Content Area: Language Arts
Resources: Jan Brett books
Microsoft Word
www.janbrett.com (website with videos)
4 Computers

Overarching Objectives:
1. Give the students exposure to analyzing author/illustrator style.
2. Retell author’s stories through the use of technology.
Objectives:


Students will be able to:
Retell 3 Jan Brett stories using characters, setting, and plot.
Compare and contrast Jan Brett’s stories
Publish writing using Microsoft Word
Write a story using Jan Brett characteristics

Technology Integration:
Videos via a website, and Microsoft Word

Assessment:
Students will be assessed through a graphic organizer in their ability to retell a Jan Brett story. Students will be assessed through a rubric for the Jan Brett writing.

Podcasting with Reader's Theater

  I loved the assignment to podcast a Reader's Theater today for two reasons.  First, I have a Mac at home and it was nice to learn how to use a program from Mac as I haven't had much instruction on my Mac.  Second, I thought it was a wonderful idea to record a Reader's Theater on podcast.  We do a lot of retelling in kindergarten and I was thinking that creating a podcast of a story that we are retelling would be a very motivational lesson.  We could write a Reader's Theater as a class at the end of the year and then practice the Reader's Theater to then record on a podcast.  It would take us about 3 to 4 weeks to complete this assignment but I think that the finished project would be worth it and that the class would love the end result!  I am very excited to take all of these ideas back to my classroom to see what I will be able to do next year with the technology I have!

Using Technology in my classroom

     Many of the skills we are learning in this class are skills that I have worked on before or skills that I can figure out if I “play around” with the software.  The important thing that I am receiving from this class is the way that I am learning to think about the use of technology in my classroom and the exposure to each resource.  The more exposure and experience that I have the more I am digesting ways that I can use these resources and pieces of technology with my students.  I am also realizing the importance of using technology in the classroom, even in kindergarten.  In chapter 1 in our text it said that school may be the only opportunity for urban youth to use technology and that it is our responsibility as a teacher to give these experiences and opportunities.  These facts scared me a little because we do not have many resources in our school and how could I give them these opportunities.  It also made me realize that students will needs these skills in the workplace in the future and that it is our job as teachers to get them ready for the workplace.  The hope and encouragement in the situation of urban youth in my school is that just this year I was given three computers for the classroom.  I didn’t know how I was going to use these computers other than with the computer software Lexia and now I am getting new ideas everyday such as learning to use Word to publish writing work, using Starfall or Between the Lions in a systematic way to practice and reinforce our learning as well as using the teacher resources such as making rubric and graphic organizers.  I am very excited to use the technology that I now have in my room to its fullest potential!

Educational Websites

I found two websites that will be so helpful in my classroom next year. The first one is called Starfall. I was aware of this website but I have never taken a lot of time to look through it and think about how I could use it in my classroom. The website has many books. Last year my kindergartners used the website during choice time. Next year I think that I want to use the website systematically. When I introduce the letters at the beginning of the year I want to give each student the opportunity to view the book with all the words that begin with that specific letter. Later on in the year I will use the books when they introduce phonics rules!
Between the Lions is another great site that can be used in my classroom. This site has many fun games. These games have the students practicing early reading skills. Again, I would like to use this site not only as a choice for choice time but as a extended or reinforcement activity after lessons that I teach.

Reflection on Paideia Seminar

   The article "Is Google Making Us Stupid?" by Nicholas Carr gave a perspective about the internet that I have not thought very much about.  I was surprised at the ways that some people view technology and it's influence on the way that we live and think.  It was eye-opening to read about Google's mission to organize the world's information and make it accessible to everyone.  What hits me is that Google and many other companies are controlling the information process.  They control what we see and how we see it.  I was also very surprised to find out that the more we click and view pages on the internet the more information each company gains from us.  "It's in their economic interest to drive us to distraction" (p.63).  So, is the internet making us stupid?  Who is thinking for us?

  I believe that this issue is not just the issue of how the internet is used and managed but a cultural issue.  We are fed information through many venues, from bill boards on the side of the road, to the radio commercial playing on our radio alarm when we wake up, to the ad that pops up on the internet.  Do these pieces of information dictate how we think?  I believe that we have a choice to make.  We can choose to think critically about how we view these pieces of information.  We can also choose to listen to the information without thinking for ourselves and become conplacent.  We as teachers have an important role as we discuss the Internet, technology and the information that students are bombarded with daily.

  The Paideia Seminar today in class helped me to digest and think more critically about the article.  I realized that it is our job as teachers to teach student how to think deeply.  We need to teach higher level thinking skils.  If we do this then they will have the ability to digest and filter information that they read.  They will have the ability to balance the use of the Internet and the information on it.  In this way we are not allowing others to think for us but we are enabling our students to use technology to the fullest potential to aid them to become more intelligent and use the information to think more deeply and more critically instead of the opposite effect. 

Technology Autobiography

Timeline of Technology:


* I was born on May, 31st, 1982

* When I was little I used to play "bank account" with my sister Lora. We loved to pretend that we were typing on our computers and answering phones :)

* I got my first cd when I was about 12 years old "Go West, Young Man" by Michael W. Smith

* In college I used my dad's old work laptop. All that really worked on it was Word. I got through college with that "dinosaur".

* After my sophmore year in college I got my first cell phone.

* For graduation I received my first ditigal camera.

* When I started working as a teacher it was the first time I had my own personal computer that went online and could write documents, although it didn't have Word.

* After getting married, my husband and I received a Mac and began to enter the Mac World!

* This year at school I began to have my kindergartners use the computers to publish some of their writing. I also now have 4 computers in my room so that I can begin to have the students use the reading software, Lexia!

* This summer I have begun my own blog so that I can share my cooking creations! I also just entered the facebook world!



I think that I have always been behind in technology. Many times it is because it is hard to keep up as well as a lot of money. I do not have an ipod or a cd player in my car. I just received a personal laptop that I share with my husband. This has been the first time in 4 years that I have internet access in my home. I am relient on my cell phone and my computer. My wishlist includes a ditigal camcorder, an ipod and a way to listen to it in my car.



I do not feel very technologically literate. I feel that I know how to do enough to get by everyday. I know how to use each piece of technology minimally but I think that it would be very important to know more. I know that I am not using these to their potential.

Julia's Learning

My name is Julia Brink D'Onofrio. I am a kindergarten teacher and I will be spending my summer doing some learning myself. I will be taking three graduate classes towards my masters in Teaching Reading. I am very excited about all the learning I will do this summer and how it will improve my teaching in the fall!