Choosing a lesson plan was slightly difficult. When I saw this lesson plan, I chose it because I have taken a Holocaust class before and I have also read the novel Night, which the lesson incorporated. This made is easier for me to understand the lesson and what the teacher was looking for in the project. I think that the teacher was able to implement technology successfully and within the standards. I believe that she could have expanded the project a little more than she did and would have definitely gotten the students to understand more aspects of technology such as blogging. Symbols and finding images that represent the symbols is a good project for a 7th grade class which was the grade that I focused on. If this was an 8th grade class lesson, I would implement more technology and the idea of blogging and interacting with each other while using professional language in order to get students ready for high school. I believe that this teacher was trying to allow the students to have fun while exploring the internet and making it more student centered rather than her lecturing to them for the class period. I do believe that this project was important to the curriculum for the students to understand symbolism. This project and technology could have been done in many different ways. I believe that it was successfully executed but not necessarily life long impacting for the students to experience technology wise. Finding pictures online does not call for an extreme amount of authenticity of the website like a research project would, especially when using cartoon like images. I like this project for a way to show symbolism through pictures. The lesson would have been more student centered but the group discussions will definitely help the students analyze their symbols.
Lesson Plan Spreadsheet
SYMBOLS! In one of my classes, the chapter of the textbook we're reading mentioned logrographs (the kind of symbols that represent larger meanings like a stop sign or a yield) as an effective way of teaching to children. Because the symbol has physical form and can be viewed easily depending on how simple it is drawn or what bright colors are used, it will draw that child's attention immediately. Connecting definitions to these symbols are imperative in bridging the gap between reading and understanding. While I was subbing over winter break, one of the parts of the lesson plans left to me was first person perspective. In order to stress "I" as an instant indicator of a first person POV, I drew an actual eyeball to remind them of "I". Next thing I know, the worksheets they needed to complete, the top right hand corners of the papers had an eyeball drawn. I believe logographs are important in teaching in that they teach so much in an easy and effective way. Such a strategy would make teaching a controversial subject like a Holocaust a lot easier. Especially since symbols played an important role in that time period during WWII. Like the Nazi swastika being a symbol of hatred and authority, or the yellow Jewish star used to identify Jewish citizens. I think connecting logographs to the subject of History, and a very important part of World History I might add, is a good idea.
ReplyDeleteYou've written about a question that I keep asking myself: do we teach how to use technology, or do we use technology to teach? I don't think that there's a right or wrong answer, but it is important to consider when planning lessons. What technology did the teacher try to use? Google? How did these pictures/symbols relate to the novel Night? You also raise another good question: how do we, as English teachers, implement more thorough research methods? That's an entirely different conversation about website authenticity and verification. Perhaps you should integrate this into the lesson plan. You can create two rubrics: one for the symbols they use and one for online source verification. Perhaps you should also give them well-established websites as examples.
ReplyDeleteYou chose a great lesson plan! After reading through and analyzing the lesson plan, I agree, this lesson could have integrated the use of technology a little more. When I read "Students then choose and analyze passage from Night that uses darkness as a symbol, and then brainstorm how they might reinterpret their selected passage as an image" I thought of a way to slightly change the lesson plan and incorporate my own ideas. After students analyze the darkness passage, maybe they can choose to rewrite the passage using light/lightness symbols and images. It not only challenges them, but also allows them to be creative. The two go hand- in- hand and are ultimately the best pair/duo. To use technology within this newly revised lesson plan, students can create an online page like a wiki page and have two columns, one with their darkness passage and analyzed commentary and the second with their creative lightness passage. Furthermore, they can pair up with another student and have that student comment on their new, creative passage. All in All Danielle, great work in unpacking and analyzing your standards and lesson plan!
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