Identifying Shapes with Online Math Maps

Overview:

            This mathematics lesson is designed for second grade students to provide further practice and exploration finding, identifying, and constructing geometric shapes. This lesson follows other math lessons on geometric shapes. Students will use Maths Maps and Google Earth to provide real world application of shapes and structures. This tool also allows for differentiation with students needing support or more challenging material.

Standards:

National Standard:

2.G.1 Recognize and draw shapes having specified attributes, such as a given number of angles or a given number of equal faces.5 Identify triangles, quadrilaterals, pentagons, hexagons, and cubes.

State Standard:

2.4.5    Recognize geometric shapes and structures in the environment and specify their locations. Example: Look for combinations of shapes in the buildings around you.

NETS:

7. Demonstrate safe and cooperative use of technology. (5)

10. Demonstrate the ability to navigate in virtual environments such as electronic books,    simulation software, and Web sites. (6)

TPACK/TIM:

            Content: geometric shapes, like triangles, quadrilaterals, pentagons, hexagons, and cubes, identifying shapes in the environment. Pedagogy: Collaborative student work with minimal teacher support. Technology: website navigation. All three areas are combined to create a lesson that engages students and encourages collaborative, relevant learning.

          On the Matrix, this lesson is authentic adaptation. This lesson fits in the authentic cell because students use the technology tool to link the math activity to the world outside of a school setting. This lesson fits in the adaptation cell because the teacher is facilitating the students as they use and explore the tool independently.

Learning Objectives:

Students will correctly identify geometric shapes within a shape Maths Map of Paris.

Instruction and Activities:
Duration: 1-2 sessions; following prior lessons on shapes

Introduction/Whole-Group Mini-Lesson:  

        Remind the class that we have been working on shapes in math this week. Explain that these shapes can be found around us all the time. Give a few examples of shapes we can find in the classroom and ask the students to provide examples as well. Explain that today the students will be working with a partner to identify shapes from an online map.

Partner Practice:

            Assign or allow selection of partners. Provide a brief explanation and visual guide of the Maths Maps site – 55 Shapes in Paris Activities. Give the students ample time to explore the site and answer at least six of the ‘Name this Shape?’ questions. Encourage more advanced students to explore and solve some of the other activities within the site. Have the students record their answers on an answer sheet or piece of paper. Assist students as necessary.

Conclusion:

            Provide a brief time to explore the site together as a class and share student answers.

Materials:

          Computers

            Direct Link to 55 Shapes in Paris Activities - Math Map

            Skill Rubric

                        1-3 Correctly Identified Shapes: Developing

                        4-5 Correctly Identified Shapes: Proficient

                        6 or More Correctly Identified Shapes: Mastered

            Answer Sheets (Paper) & writing utensil

           

Assessment:

          The teacher will use informal assessments by observing student work, correcting, and reinforcing learning objectives throughout the lesson. The teacher will use a rubric to check for mastery of identifying shapes.

Related Resources:

Tom Barrett's Maths Maps

FreeTech4Teachers Article on Math Maps

Writing, Illustrating, and Recording Online Narratives

Overview:

            This writing lesson is designed for second grade students to provide further practice on writing narratives in sequence. This lesson follows other writing lessons on writing narrative stories with a beginning, middle, and end. Students will write, illustrate, and publish stories using Little Bird Tales . These texts will then be shared with the class to further student understanding of the concept of narratives by providing additional visual and auditory examples.

Standards:

National Standard:

W.2.3. Write narratives in which they recount a well-elaborated event or short sequence of events, include details to describe actions, thoughts, and feelings, use temporal words to signal event order, and provide a sense of closure

State Standard:

2.5.1    Write brief narratives based on experiences that:

·        move through a logical sequence of events (chronological order, order of importance).

·        describe the setting, characters, objects, and events in detail.

NETS:

1. Illustrate and communicate original ideas and stories using digital tools and media-rich resources. (1,2)

10. Demonstrate the ability to navigate in virtual environments such as electronic books,    simulation software, and Web sites. (6)

TPACK/TIM:

            Content: narrative writing, creating stories, sequencing events in order, transition words, adding details to writing, sentence structure, punctuation. Pedagogy: Gradual release of responsibility through teacher modeling, shared writing with teacher and students, and independent student practice with minimal teacher support. Technology: website navigation, illustrating with online tools, typing, recording through a microphone and headphones. All three areas are combined to create a lesson that engages students and encourages a creative, successful learning product.

          On the Matrix, this lesson is active adoption. This lesson fits in the active cell because students are actively engaged in creating their own stories through writing, illustrating, and recording text. This lesson fits in the adoption cell because the teacher is choosing the tool used by all students, modeling its use, and pacing the students through the lesson.

Learning Objectives:

Students will create a narrative using Little Bird Tales that describes an experience in chronological order.

Instruction and Activities:
Duration: 3-4 sessions

Introduction:

*Over the course of several days, read examples of narratives to the class (in regular book and ebook form) and identify each text as a narrative that has a beginning, middle, and an end.

Begin this lesson by reminding the class that we have been reading examples of narrative writing lately and that today they get to write their own narratives that they will share with the class when everyone is finished.

Whole-Group Mini-Lesson:

Begin by modeling how to write a short narrative story in a sequence on chart paper or a graphic organizer (beginning, middle, and end). Be sure to model the use of strong transition words and adding details to the text while you are writing. Then show your already completed narrative story on Little Bird Tales

Shared Writing:

Write a short narrative together with the class on a graphic organizer or chart paper. Transfer your narrative to the Little Bird Tales site with the class. Model each step of the process while the students watch and actively participate. Create illustrations that match your text together. Explain the different tools and what they do. Stress the importance of saving your work as you go. Model how to read the text into the microphone while recording.

Independent Writing:

Give the students plenty of time to create narratives on notebook paper or a beginning, middle, and end graphic organizer. Allow them ample opportunities to transfer their writing into Little Bird Tales, create illustrations to correspond with the text, and record themselves reading their writing. Circulate and help students as needed.

Conclusion:

Have students share their narratives with the class. Students can go back and listen/read the narratives again during their Listen to Reading station on later days.

Materials:

          Narrative Picture Books

            Chart paper, markers

            Graphic Organizer (Beginning, Middle, and End) Example

            Overhead projector with computer/Internet access

            Little Bird Tales Website

            Microphone, possibly headphones or a complete headset

            Writing Rubric (created with the class in another lesson) Example

           

Assessment:

          The teacher will use informal assessments by observing student work, correcting, and reinforcing learning objectives throughout the lesson. The teacher will use a class created writing rubric to assess each student’s narrative at the end of the lesson.

Related Resources:

http://www.eduplace.com/cgi-bin/schtemplate.cgi?template=/rdg/hme/benchmark/3/index.thtml&grades=k_5&alt=K-5

http://www.thewritesource.com/studentmodels/

http://www.thewritingsite.org/exemplars/list.asp?type=wd&grade=3&genre=2&btnSubmit.x=23&btnSubmit.y=13

http://www.thewritingsite.org/exemplars/list.asp?type=lc&grade=3&genre=2&btnSubmit.x=24&btnSubmit.y=18

Here is an example of the finished product:

• Click to view my story.
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