Cooperation

Mary Kinney

Links to Files Associated with This Lesson 

  1. Cooperation Unit
  2. Cooperation

Content Area Objectives Addressed:

  1. Writing for a purpose

  2. Writing for an audience

  3. Public Speaking-sharing information 

Technology Objectives Addressed:

  1. Using a story board for planning

  2. Using a Smart Board for presenting

  3. Elements of a Power Point Screen

Activity Description

What was the process that your students went through to complete this lesson?

We explored the word cooperation.  First we listed what students thought or knew about cooperation.  Then we discussed a poster titled  “Cooperation” and completed a worksheet about actions that were cooperative or not cooperative.  Next we read the book The Seven Chinese Brothers by Margaret Mahy and talked about how the brothers cooperated with each other.  We also read  The Little Red Hen by Paul Galdone and talked about the animals not cooperating.  After that we did a cooperative group activity called “Build An Animal.”  In groups of 4, students took for different animals and created a new one.  Each old animal had to be a part of the new one.  Each person made a body part out of construction paper and then the group put the parts together like a puzzle.  The groups also had to name the new animal using parts of the old name.  At the end of activity each student used a form to rate their own cooperation and they also rated the cooperation of another member of the group.   We talked about the meaning of cooperation again.  The next step was to make a storyboard for a PowerPoint slide.  Students drew a picture about cooperation and then wrote a sentence to go with it.  Then I worked with each student to scan their picture or move it from Paint and complete each slide.  Finally, after some practice, we gave our Power Pont presentation to two other classes.               

How did you monitor student progress?

Teacher observation

            Was there a template or an example that students were expected to follow?

There was not a template, but as I worked with each student I explain that font style was standard through out our presentation.  Students did get to choose font size and color.

            How much time did you dedicate to this project?

This project stretched over a period of two weeks.                   

Total—20 hours

                        Daily (approximate) 3/4 – 2 hours

            How was the final product presented?

The final product was a Power Point presentation.  The students narrated and navigated through the presentation by themselves.

Who was the audience for the final product?

The audience was a class of first graders and a class of second graders.

 Learning Issues

What prior knowledge was required on the part of the students in order for them to be successful in this project? (include curriculum and technology knowledge)

The students had to be able to:

            write a sentence

            illustrate a sentence

            use Paint and know if they usually liked the finished pictures they produce(Paint is very frustrating for many of my students—they love to work in it, but they never like their end product)

Resource Management

            What was the student to computer ratio?

Five students to one computer

How did you schedule your students’ computer time?

Students worked on the computers as part of their morning work-it was one center they completed each morning.

What was the location of the computers and other technology equipment used by students?

In the classroom

            How would you suggest beginning teachers obtain computer resources for their students? (Knowing some of your strategies would be valuable for our pre-service teachers.)

Write grants; apply to be part of the technology team so it becomes known that you are interested in using technology; take classes like Teaching With Technology sponsored by the Albertson’s Foundation; barter for time on an established teacher’s computers

Rate the level of access for students to use computers/other technologies as they needed  --high, medium, low

High- we are so lucky in our district; this is a recent improvement!        

Rate the level of supervision required for students during the project, specifically for computer and other technology use –high, medium, low

The level of supervision was low during the independent work time; high during the 1-1 portion and practicing for the Power Point presentation.

Materials

What hardware was required for your project?

Computers, scanner, Smart Board, projector   

What software was required for your project?

Power Point 2000, Paint          

Anything else?

Construction paper, glue, crayons, drawing paper, pencils 

Assessment

            What kind of assessment did you use for this project? (Include a copy if you can.)

Teacher observation and student self evaluation

What categories did you assess? (I.e.:  content, screen design, depth/breadth, etc.)

Participation, student self direction during independent stages, oral presentation

Other

How does the product that you submitted compare with other students’ products for this same project?

All end products were submitted

What did you like best about this project?

 I loved seeing what students could produce and how eager they were to share their knowledge.

What did the students like best about this project?

The student’s liked using the Smart Board to make their presentation.

            Rank the level of student involvement in this project –high, medium, low

 High

            Rank the level of student interest in this project –high, medium, low

 High

            Would you teach this lesson again?

 Yes—Next fall I will do this lesson close to the start of the school year and do a similar lesson for Honesty, Respect, and Responsibility.  Each character lesson will use a little more technology and student independence than the last.