Reflection 7

I chose a second grade Social Studies objective for my lesson plan. (A) Identify major landforms and bodies of water, including continents and oceans, on maps and globes. I chose this because I am sometimes amazed how little students at my school know about geography. When I was in grade school, I knew where the continents were, the difference between states and countries, US states and capitals (Montpelier always gave me trouble), and also capitals of most countries. I have a lot of interactions with all the grades, and I can see areas that need to be improved, especially in social studies. So, I thought it would be a cool lesson to use Google Earth to locate the continents and the oceans of the world. I think this app. is so cool to use. I've used it several times, but I'm still fascinated by it. I have it on my iphone as well.

The expectations are for students to become familiar with the basic controls and functions of Google Earth by going through the tutorial, using the "fly to" tab to locate the seven continents and four oceans, identify which hemispheres the continents are in, and identify which continents touch what oceans. Students would work in small groups of 2 or 3. Each group would have a scavenger hunt list with the continents and oceans. Students would take turns typing in the names to find the various locations. Students would then have to translate the locations to a 2D map and write the names on their locations.

I think students would really have fun with this app and lesson. I had a lot of fun with it as I went through the steps they would go through to complete the lesson. I think it is important, especially when incorporating more technology in lesson plans, to go through the steps the students will go through. A lot of times trouble spots can be avoided and pointed out to them before they start their lesson.

I am viewing instruction a little differently now. I see that I have an obligation to make things more appealing and less stale. Incorporating more technology makes it more exciting for students, but it also makes it more exciting for me as well. If I'm more excited and enthusiastic, then the students are more likely to be as well.