Learning to use and understand a database

Patrick S. Oliver
2nd grade/ Science, Math, Social Studies, English, Reading

Content Area Objectives Addressed: 
Creating and using a simple database
Using a website to complete research
Building a Presidential timeline to answer a quiz
Drawing conclusions from building a graph

Technology Objectives Addresse:
Creating and using a database
Observing the use of a Smart Board
using a website dictionary to answer questiond

Activity Description

What was the process that your students went through to complete this lesson?  
During the week the students were rotating through six learning centers.  Each center was designed to either reinforce something that we have learned or introduce them to something new.  The students at the computer center were to open a bookmark to a website Little Explorers.  Each student was given a research paper and they were to answer the questions using the information found on the website. The website was a dictionary where the students would click on the letter to where they would go to find the answer to their question on their sheet.  The next center was where the students were using a large canvas graph along with colored paper plates and dishes. The students were then given 23 cards with student pictures and information about each that they would use to complete the graph.  Each card had the student hair color, eye color, weight, height, etc. They had to follow directions on their hand-out and complete a series of four questions.  The next center was where the students were building a timeline of presidents Washington and Lincoln.  Then they had to complete a short quiz about each president using the timeline as their focus.  Another center was used for Reader’s Theater, and the final center was where the students were reviewing nouns, verbs, and synonyms through the use of pre-made folders.  While the students were working in their centers I would draw one student over to me where I was using the Smart Board.  I would show them what a database looked like and how they would be entering in their dinosaur information.  The student would then enter in the information that we would use in a whole group situation. 

How did you monitor student progress?

Since the students were working in centers, this allowed me to move freely from center to center and monitor their progress.  It also allowed me to work one on one with the students while they entered their data into the database.

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

How much time did you dedicate to this project?

Total  6 hours

Daily (approximate) 45 minutes to an hour

How was the final product presented?

For the center work the students were expected to put their finished product from each center into their portfolios where I could grade it and add it to their completed portfolio work if I choose.  The completed database was shared in a whole group discussion where we did sorts and queries.  We used the Smart Board to complete this activity, which made it easier for students to see and ask questions.

Who was the audience for the final product?

The classroom students were the audience as well as the school principal.

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 have some prior knowledge of the two presidents.  They had to know how to access the Internet to find the website where they would be working.  They had prior knowledge of nouns, verbs, and synonyms. They also had to have a information sheet about their dinosaur  so that they could enter the information into the database.

Resource Management

What was the student to computer ratio?

One student to 1 computer

How did you schedule your students’ computer time?

The students were working in centers this week.  Therefore I had four students per day working on the computers.  Sometimes I would have to use recess time to finish up work.  If they required more time than what was allowed during the center time, the students were allowed to come in at lunch to work.

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.)

If beginning teachers are lucky enough to find a school where there is a PTA then that is a great place to start looking for computer resources.  If they are in a district where technology is important, then contact the district person who is in charge of technology and ask them if they know of any resources. Very often they will have a variety of suggestions that will help the beginning teacher get started.  Contact your local university.  They might have resources available to you. They might have a computer donation program.  Talk to parents.  They might have one that they would be willing to donate.  Finally check with your principal and ask if there are any technology conferences that you could go to during the year.  This is a wonderful way to pick up ideas of how to start technology in your classroom.

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

The level of access for computer use is high.

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 required for students during this project is medium.

Materials

What hardware was required for your project?

Computers, Smart Board, Projector.

What software was required for your project?

Microsoft Access

Anything else?

Little Explorers ( A website used to complete the ground hog activity)

Assessment

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

Participation, completed timeline, completed Groundhog research paper, graph, and teacher observation.

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

I assessed the correctness of their work.  I assessed if the work was completed on time,  I also assessed their ability to work together in a group.

Other

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

The product that I submitted is an average example of what the students did.  most of the students submitted work of this quality, although I did have a few that were of higher quality and one or two were of lower quality.

What did you like best about this project?

I liked how the students were so involved in their centers.  I really enjoyed how the students worked together.  I also liked how the centers allowed me to re-visit subjects one more time before we moved on.

What did the students like best about this project?

The students always enjoy working on the computers.  they also enjoyed working on the canvas graph because it was big, different and they got to take their shoes off to complete the graph.  They also liked completing the database and seeing how the information they put into it could be used.

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

The level of student involvement in this project was high.

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

The level of student interest in this project was high.

Would you teach this lesson again?

Most definitely yes!  I have already gathered examples from the centers and put them in my February drawer to use again next year.