Lesson Plans
Lesson Plan #1: Alphabet Rainbows
http://www.lessonplanspage.com/CILAEarlyComputerUseToLearnAlphabet-AlphabetRainbowsIdeaK.htm
Project Name:
“to teach alphabet recognition and upper and lower case letter.”
Description of Learning Goals and Standards:
Students will be able to recognize different alphabets on sight. Students will also be able to differentiate between upper case and lower case letters. Teaching the fundamentals of the alphabet to students at an early age is very important because this may set a foundation to their study skills in the future. If a student has a problem with learning the alphabets, how should that student be expected to learn and write fluently? This may lead to other learning problems in other subject areas. The students will learn the alphabets by engaging in a fun activity.
QCC K.18: Distinguishes between written letters, words, and sentences
K.19: Identifies upper- and lower- case letters of the alphabet out of sequence
Rationale for Technology:
The use of technology may probably be more effective in teaching the alphabet to young students rather than teaching the alphabet by sight memorization (i.e. use of flash cards). The students will be in awe of using a computer at such a young age. Children so young do not have a long attention span, and teachers must do whatever they can to hold the attention of their students as long as they can. The use of technology does just that. The technology use is appropriate, because it also provides an introduction to the use of a computer to young students.
Description of Lesson Implementation:
Students are taught to open the Excel program. They are shown the letters across the top of the paper on the screen. They are then shown the numbers down the left side of the paper on the screen. They are asked to notice the rectangles on the paper. They are to notice the arrow and how it moves with the movement of the mouse. They are to find the rectangle with the dark black line around the edge of the rectangle, and told that is the place where the computer is ready to type letters. With the dark black rectangle in the top left rectangle they are instructed to hold down the SHIFT key and at the same time type the letter A. Demonstration is done at the same time on the overhead projector. Then the students are to type the letter a again without the SHIFT key to get the lower case a. Then the students are shown the arrow keys and told to press the one that points to the right. (This moves the cursor box to the rectangle (cell) under the letter B. Each student is to continue typing a capital and lower case letter under each of the different letters until they get to Z. When they finish with Z they are instructed to press the HOME key to get back to the beginning. Then they are instructed to place the little arrow on top of the number 2 at the far left side of the monitor and click. They are told to watch the whole row turn black. Then they are to find the letter A with the line under it in the tool bar and click on the tiny triangle to the right of that A. (Demonstrating on the overhead makes this much easier than it reads.) The students are then asked to pick a very bright color and click on the color block. Then they are asked to click on the rectangle under their first "Aa" combination and type the "Aa" again. This will show up in the color they chose for the entire row. Repeat the process until the students do 10 rows of different color letters. (After the computer recognizes the pattern of the letters being typed the letters will highlight as they type and if they press ENTER it will type the letters correctly for that cell. Students usually pick this up as they go along.) This class exercise usually takes about 3-4 38 minute class periods and saving the spreadsheets is down either on disk or file on hard drive. When the students are done, highlight all the column headings so the whole spreadsheet is black and double click on one of the little black lines between the heading letters. (There will be a line with a double headed arrow appear - double click the mouse with that visible.) This "chucks" the columns together for a more colorful effect.
Assessment:
Assessment is the participation of the students. I do not feel that students should be graded by the content of their work, but simply their effort. Every child should try his/her best and that should count for something.
Other places to use this solution:
This lesson may be sent home to the parents by the teachers. The parents may then review what the child has learned on their home computer.
What I learned and what I would improve next time:
I learned that children at such a young age are able to learn many things by using technology. I thought that children should be exposed to technology at a later age. However, this lesson has helped me to realize that even younger kids have an advantage at using technology for educational purposes. I would have to make sure that each child is comfortable with using Excel, let alone a computer. Each child should participate in the activity and therefore gain some sort of knowledge from the activity.
Lesson Plan #2: Introduction to Word Processing
http://www.lessonplanspage.com/CILAIntroToWordProcessingComputersK2.htm
Project Name:
“children are being introduced to the computers in the school.”
Description of Learning Goals and Standards:
Children are being introduced to the computer in the school (Macintosh and PC). They should be able to recognize their name and draw a picture of themselves. They will also be able to name certain parts of the computer. Technology is everywhere these days. Students learning to use a computer may be resourceful to them in the future. They will be able to research any topic by using the internet, and they will also be able to write well-written reports using Word Processing. I think that students using Word Processing may help them to be better learners because they become open-minded on learning new educational material. Students also learn the importance of patience when dealing with technology. Not only is this an educational lesson, but the students also grow sociologically. After the completion of this lesson, students should be able to recognize and write their own name, recognize the letters of their name on the keyboard, and be able to recognize pictures and name parts of the computer.
QCC K.34: Draws pictures and/or uses letters and phonetically spelled words to write about experiences, stories, people, objects, or events.
K.36: Prints name, self-selected words, and letters of the alphabet
K.41: Explores the use of the media center, picture books, audiovisual resources, and available technology for reading and writing.
Rationale for Technology:
The use of technology makes the lesson more interesting. Using technology will hold the attention of young students. This will help make the lesson become more effective. The students will learn new material while having fun. Also, students should be exposed to technology at a young age, because this will give them access to more educational activities. The use of technology provides effectiveness and efficiency to the instruction process.
Description of Lesson Implementation:
Children have been previously shown pictures of: the mouse, the keyboard, the CPU and the monitor. These pictures have been displayed to the children and several children are questioned. Where is the mouse? Where is the keyboard? Where is the CPU? Can we see anything on the monitor? What does it look like? Children are then given a stencil to match the names with the pictures. When this is completed they are then asked to go to the computer and write their name and draw a picture of themselves underneath. With Kindergarten it is necessary to have the computers set to the Word Processing Package and then have them quickly changed to the Drawing section. This is best used with Microsoft Works or Claris Works. The actual skill of changing to the Drawing package is too difficult at this stage.
Assessment:
The students will be graded on completion of work. Also, effort is the key in the assessment process. The students are expose to something new and should not be expected to perform perfectly. Also, students will be noted for their participation in answering questions.
Other places to use this solution:
This lesson could be used in many other different subjects. Word Processing could be used as a creative tool by students writing about experiences or simply writing a fictitious tale.
students may create a problem, especially if the kids are very young. This lesson may require more than one teacher. Also, students may have the tendency to explore other
What I learned and what I would improve next time:
I think that having only one teacher teach a new program to numerous programs in the computer besides Word Processing. Teachers should keep a close eye on all students to make sure that they stay on task. I learned that not every lesson has to be taught the old-fashioned way. There are numerous methods in which a child is engaged in the learning process. I think this approach may lead to a more successful learning instruction.
