EDUC 2220- Educational Technology

Infant-Pre-K Curriculum Plan: Technology-Based Lesson/Activity

Your Name ____Cat Lynch___________

Activity Title _Careful Noticing in the Natural World____

Number of children participating at one time __5 to 18______ Ages ___3 to 5_______
Activities written for previous classes cannot be re-used and must be the original work of the
student.
Ohio Early
Learning &
Developme
nt
Standards:

Domain: Approaches towards Learning

List at least 1
standard that
is addressed
by this
activity. Write
out each
component
completely
and exactly,
as published
in ELDS.

distractions.

Strand: Engagement and Persistence

Topic: Attention
Standard Statement: Focus on an activity with deliberate concentration despite

Domain: Cognition and General Knowledge

Strand: Science Inquiry and Application
Topic: Inquiry
Standard Statement: Make careful observation

Lesson
Summary:

.Using a variety of tools (including analog pencil + paper and technology like ipads and

Estimated
Duration:

This lesson will take place over 5 weeks, both to allow the childrens ideas to
develop and to allow for changes in the natural environment.

smart boards), as a class and in small groups, children will practice careful looking to learn
more about the natural world. By developing a relationship to the natural world, the
children will become more engaged and interested in how to care for it. By looking closely
and slowing down, children will practice several critical thinking skills.

The lesson will be broken up roughly this way each week

15 min. group meeting at the beginning of the week.

25 min. in small groups throughout the week

15 min. group meeting at the end of the week.

For a total of 250 minutes

Preparatio
n of
materials
and
environme
nt

What preparation is needed?

Creating the QR codes, assembling the required materials (below), signing up for Storybird
account/sharing with families how to access a shared Storybird book.
What materials will be used?
Paper, pens, ipads (1 per child), audio recorder, smartboard,
Zoom by Istvan Banyai
What I have learned so far by Mary Oliver
How will the learning environment be set up?
Because so much of the activity takes place outside or within our normal morning meeting,
theres very little additional set up needed.

Instructional Procedures:
Week 1:
To begin, we will use 15 minutes our morning meeting (when we meet as a group) to talk about
what kinds of things we remember noticing when were outside. During our conversation, I will
use the record function on my phone to be sure I capture every childs words. These I will put
into a Wordle to create a snapshot of the kinds of things the children remember noticing, as well
as the vocabulary they use.
During small-group time throughout the week, I will take groups of 4-5 children to our outside
space for 25 minutes. For this first week, the children will be given pencil and paper to record
anything they want to remember. I will be outside as well, making note of what areas and
aspects of the garden seem most interesting to the children, asking them to tell me about what
theyre noticing and recording their answers.
At the end of the week, Ill share back the Wordle, their drawings and their words. As a group
well figure out any big questions we have about outside. Finally, Ill introduce ipads, as a tool to
take pictures and provide the opportunity (during Fridays choice time) for children to mess
around with the ipads so that they are a little more familiar.
Week 2:
Monday Morning Meeting (15min.) Reminding the children of the work we did last week (sharing
images and words on the smartboard), collecting any questions that may have come up over the
weekend, sharing with them the focus for the week: Looking very closely. Well read Zoom by
Istvan Banyai.
Small group time throughout the week (25min): the same groups of 4-5 children will take turns
going outside again, this time with ipads and the invitation to take pictures of what they find
interesting or curious, and to try their own Zooms (i.e. taking a picture, getting a bit closer, a bit
closer, etc).
Friday Morning Meeting (15min.) Using the smartboard, well share back some of the photos
taken by the children throughout the week. Well talk about what we noticed while zooming that
we didnt notice before. During choice time, the children will have a chance to add words
(through dictating to an adult) to the images they or their classmates took.
Week 3:
Monday Morning Meeting (15min.) To begin, well ask the children once again, what they
remember noticing outside. As with before, Ill record their responses to be turned into a Wordle.
Well also share back any words that have been added to the childrens zooms.
Small group time throughout the week (25min) Before we go outside, Ill hide a QR code in a
place that many children seemed interested in (to make sure they find it). As with before, well
invite each small group (4 to 5 children) to explore and take note of anything thats changed
from the week before.
Friday Morning Meeting (15 min.) First well ask about what the children notice about changes
theyve seen outside- What questions do they have about them? Well also talk about the clues
that each group found. Ill share the idea of a QR code as a secret message that well have to
look carefully for and use these machines (ipads) to decode. During choice time later in the day,

each child will get a chance to try using the ipad to read the QR code. Either my co-teacher or I
will be on hand to offer help with troubleshooting or to help with conflict resolution/turn-taking.
Week 4:
Monday Morning Meeting (15min.) Well reintroduce the idea of the QR code as a secret clue.
Well talk about finding clues and what it means to look really closely and attend to something.
Well read the section of Mary Olivers poem What I have learned so far which talks about paying
attention. As a group well try to describe how it feels (in our bodies and our minds) to pay
attention.
Small group time throughout the week (25min) Each group will be invited to be careful
observers- both to find the 2 QR clues hidden and to answer the questions that each leads to.
This week, there will be only one ipad per group (to promote turn-taking/group work/group
focus). Each child will have a sketchbook and pen to help draw or write their ideas. The QR code
will lead to a few open-ended questions about something in the environment near to where it
was found (ex: a QR code hidden in an old log might read This log used to be a tree- what do
you imagine happened to it? What kinds of creatures do you imagine live here? What do you see
that makes you say that?)
Friday Morning Meeting (15min) Well share back the work from the week so far- our shared
definition of paying attention, the experience of looking for the QR codes and the drawings/notes
collected in trying to solve the mysteries each presented.
Week 5:
Monday Morning Meeting (15min.) First, well ask, for a third time, what the children remember
noticing outside. Once again, Ill record the childrens words to create a Wordle.
Small group time throughout the week (25min) In their small groups of 4-5, well invite children
over to the smartboard to help us create a Storybird book of their experience, starting with our
first time outside and ending with our QR scavenger hunt. Children will help decide what
pictures/stories should be included, as well as the order that their group wants to tell the story
Friday Morning Meeting: Well share back the three wordless and talk about how they changed
(and how what we noticed changed) over the five weeks. Next, well read back through the whole
Storybird book created so far. Later during choice time, well open the edit page on the
smartboard so that children can add to a list of questions on the last page of what we want to
ask the special grown-ups in our lives about outside. Afterwards, well save and send the book to
each family so they can see what weve been working on for the past few weeks and so that
families can have conversations around the big questions the children formed by the end.

Extension
The Bug Chicks: http://thebugchicks.com/je/
Because so much of this lesson will be taking place outside, during the spring, its very likely that
the children will encounter bugs which could be scary for some. Students (and grown-ups) can
benefit from this website which has a lot of facts about bugs, presented in a fun and relaxed way.

The Bug Chicks are two entomologists who make videos/short articles about insects with the aim
of turning fear into fascination. This particular link goes to their junior entomologist page,
which has material curated especially for younger students.
Differentiated Instructional Support: The writing and recording tasks can be put into the
hands of children who have mastered or will soon master writing.
Small groups will be determined by student ability. Each group will try to have an equal balance
of those children who are more advanced cognitively and those who require support. With the
support of a teacher, the advanced students will be encouraged to help those students who need
a bit more support. The teacher will also try to find moments when the reverse can be true to
(highlighting that each of us has strengths).
The teachers will also carefully model the type of language and observation were hoping to
foster. (I notice that youre really looking closely at that leaf. When I do that, I notice all these
bumps and ridges I didnt see before)

Vocabulary: Seeds, habitat, roots, underground, seasons, seedlings, petals, QR code

For teachers

Smartboard
Pens
Paper
Ipads (1 per child)
Digital camera
Audio recorder.
Creating the QR codes
signing up for Storybird account/sharing with families how to access a shared
Storybird book.
Zoom by Istvan Banyai
What I have learned so far by Mary Oliver

For students

Sketchbooks
Pens
Magnifying glass
Ipads
Smartboard.