Katie Menges

SLM 552 - Practicum

Fall 2016

Collaborative Lesson

Standard Description

Overview Activity: Collaborative 5th Grade Spanish Research Project

I worked with our Lower School Spanish teacher, Sra. Martinez, to create a
Spanish Research Project for our fifth grade students. The goal was to increase
cultural and world knowledge for our students while honing research and
digital citizenship skills.

Lesson Structure: E ach class period, students open emails and follow the
e-mailed link to our projects LiveBinder, using tabbed browsing. Students then
follow instructions for the appropriate day, located under the Your Assignment
- Project Details tab.
Dates & hours:
Late August/early September: 5 hours planning and creating/updating
LiveBinder
9/2 - 1 hour collaborative planning
9/6 - 3 hours classroom time & prep
9/12 - 3 hours classroom time & prep
9/19 - 3 hours classroom time & prep
9/26 - 3 hours classroom time & prep
10/4 - 3 hours classroom time & prep
10/10 - 3 hours classroom time & prep
10/13/16 - 3 hours - final presentations and feast
Cumulative total hours for this log: 27
Activity or discussion: 5th Grade Spanish Countries Research Project

Collaborative Planning:
Planning ALA/AASL The full unit plan is available here:
1.3a http://www.livebinders.com/play/play?id=1962826
Both Sra. Martinez and I worked collaboratively to decide the scope and
duration of the end assignment.
For Sra. Martinez and myself, the goal of this unit is to integrate
information literacy skills with Spanish curricular content.
Standards for both Spanish classes and for the Library Media Center
class are listed under Technical Teacher Stuff.
Each days plan is fully online under the tab for that day, under Your
Assignment - Project Details.
Assessment:

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 The Spanish teacher grades the final presentations according to the
rubric attached to the assignment. (Bottom of Your Assignment -
Project Details)
I assessed students daily through entrance/exit tickets (please see
LiveBinder), and use the following summative assessment checklist
during student presentations:
Worked to reach full potential
Ethical user of information
Accurate Works Cited page - cites sites, not searches
Accurate user of information
Approached project with a positive attitude
Respected the needs of others
Standards, Objective Overview for the Collaborative Unit: Students will...
Objectives, Skills Find, evaluate, and select appropriate sources to answer questions
ALA/AASL 1.4 Respect copyright/intellectual property rights of creators and
producers
Organize information and knowledge in a useful manner
Use writing and speaking skills to communicate new understandings
effectively
Demonstrate knowledge and appreciation of Hispanic countries and
cultures

Specific Objectives by Day: Students will...

Day One: review basics for Boolean searches and begin browsing.
Day Two: use available websites and Boolean searches to find two or
more sources of information.
Day Three: reflect on search success or difficulty in order to improve.
Day Four: use print and digital resources to complete at least half of the
required items.
Day Five: arrange information to express learning and share
information.
Day Six: finalize presentation and review rubric.

American Association of School Librarians (AASL) Standards for the 21st

Century Learner
1.1.1 Follow an inquiry-based process in seeking knowledge in
curricular subjects, and make the real-world connection for using this
process in own life.
Discuss database use in the past and for further curricular
research; connect Spanish aspect to real-life applications as
well.
1.1.2 Use prior and background knowledge as context for new learning.
Connect to last year's research project on African Countries
1.3.1 Respect copyright/ intellectual property rights of creators and
producers.
Cite all URLs used; introduce MLA formatting only if time permits
1.3.4 Contribute to the exchange of ideas within the learning
community.
Collaborative Google Doc for Keyword Brainstorming
1.4.3 Monitor gathered information, and assess for gaps or
weaknesses.

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 Checklist on day 3
1.4.4 Seek appropriate help when it is needed.
Throughout the unit, from both Spanish Teacher and LMS
2.1.2 Organize knowledge so that it is useful.
End project; note-taking should be discussed as time allows
2.2.4 Demonstrate personal productivity by completing products to
express learning.
End project
3.1.1 Conclude an inquiry based research process by sharing new
understandings and reflecting on the learning.
End project; presentations and Spanish Feast
3.1.4 Use technology and other information tools to organize and
display knowledge and understanding in ways that others can view,
use, and assess.
End project; presentations
3.2.1 Demonstrate leadership and confidence by presenting ideas to
others in both formal and informal situations.
Informal: Google Doc
Formal: end presentation
3.4.2 Assess the quality and effectiveness of the learning product.
Peer review and editing in last days of unit
4.1.5 Connect ideas to own interests and previous knowledge and
experience.
Spanish knowledge and research experience are necessary in
order to meet with success in this unit.

International Society for Technology in Education (ISTE) Standards

3. Research and information fluency; students apply digital tools to
gather, evaluate, and use information.
3.a. Plan strategies to guide inquiry
Note taking layout; keyword brainstorming; unit overview
3.c. Evaluate and select information sources and digital tools based on
the appropriateness to specific tasks
Throughout research process students must evaluate sources;
digital presentation tools must be evaluated and selected prior to
project completion
3.d. Process data and report results
the result of research will be shared upon project completion

COMAR 13A.04.11.01.2
Culture: Students demonstrate knowledge and understanding of
another peoples way of life
the underlying beliefs and values that guide and shape their lives.
Students demonstrate knowledge and understanding of the relationship
between the products, symbols, beliefs, and values of the target culture.

Instructional Observed Lesson: Day Five: Peer-editing and polishing (see

Sequence http://www.livebinders.com/play/play?id=1962826&backurl=/shelf/my)
ALA/AASL 1.2 Objective: Students will arrange information to express learning and share
information.

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Entrance Ticket: Follow your class link to fill out the survey in your email.

Good Morning,

Today is our second to last day to work on our Spanish projects in class.

Your entrance ticket today is to follow your classs link and fill out this Google
Form:
For Mrs. Yetters Class: https://goo.gl/forms/zpRTGl9ApW5ORlSP2
For Mrs. Martinez Class: https://goo.gl/forms/IiYwmlIFf2TFsZTg1

We will continue using our LiveBinder, available

here:http://www.livebinders.com/play/play?id=1962826&backurl=/shelf/my

Best,

Katie Menges
Media Specialist
Gerstell Academy

Opening: When students enter the computer lab, they know to quietly log on to
computers, open their email, and go to the class LiveBinder. Once all students
are logged on, I discuss the entrance ticket and the importance of asking for
help if they need it: if they need help with pronunciations, then they need to ask
Sra. Martinez, since I do not have that skill set; if they need help with specific
information or images, then they should ask me - if we dont get to it in class,
then send an email and I will send an email link for them to use. Reminder: this
is our second-to last class, and all of the projects are looking good, but we do
need to be wrapping up and finishing up. As day five, we have a goal of finishing
today and beginning to peer-review.

Brainstorm importance of illustrations and how they help us; importance to

visual learners.

FIRST: Find and select appropriate images to illustrate information, using the
same search tools. Finish information gathering with online and print
resources.

If you finish your presentation:

1. Peer-edit presentations, using the rubric as a guide
2. Make all suggested changes to presentation
3. Format presentation as desired: change fonts, transitions, colors, etc.
4. Practice with a partner

Reminder: to earn FULL POINTS, you will need to...

Include all of the following items:
1. Greeting
2. Flag
3. Map
4. Capital
5. Culture (music and traditional dress)
6. Currency
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 7. Food
Include all of the following illustrations:
1. Flag
2. Map
3. Capital
4. Culture
5. Food
You must speak clearly and distinctly at all times and properly pronounce all
words. You will need to be completely prepared and have obviously rehearsed.

Analysis of Student In this lesson, I use the formative/diagnostic tool of a survey to establish areas
Assessment of weakness for students as they finish with their projects. I am also circulating
ALA/AASL 1.2 throughout the class, assisting individual students as needed. If many students
are not comfortable at the end of this (second-to-last) class, then I try to
arrange additional lunch/recess time for students to spend in the computer lab
for additional, small-group or individual assistance. By asking students to
assess their ability to finish by the end of next class, and to identify areas in
which they are already finished or need work in the survey, emphasis is placed
on authentic, student-centered self-assessment.

Based on data from this classs survey, I may decide to focus on a shared area
of weakness as a class during the last research period, or ask Sra. Martinez to
review more Spanish vocabulary and pronunciation.
Instructional Throughout the entire unit, students are provided lists of directions for each
Strategies and day, as well as a general overview. This helps students with Executive Function
Differentiation disorders, as they can easily lose track of multi-step directions without
ALA/AASL 1.2a written prompts. By allowing students to see a simple version of the end
product, and by allowing them to see the whole timeline, they gain
comprehension of why each days tasks are important and how they
contribute to their end goal. This is reviewed and referenced each class, and
toward the end of the project we also discuss the reward of enjoying Spanish
food from around the world on the day of presentations, for additional
motivation.

As class wraps up each day, students are encouraged to share one

super-cool fact from their country, or something that they specifically
learned today. This helps with student motivation for those students who
benefit greatly from peer attention, and rewards students for finding new
information.

As students finish with research and populating their PowerPoint document,

they may investigate additional presentation options of Prezi or Microsoft
Publisher. As projects are completed, students who finish will be assigned to
mentor students who still need help on search criteria and aide in presentation
layout.

All students will receive regular feedback, and entrance tickets that display a
lack of understanding will be addressed during the same class period.

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 Although this project incorporates most learning styles, kinesthetic learners
are not specifically addressed. Students who need to get up and move should
be guided to the use of print and digital resources, so that they are doing
more and moving more throughout the class periods. These students can also
be encouraged to act out their greeting for their presentation, beyond simply
speaking the words properly. Students who need to be more active may also
create a "script" for their country's greeting, to act out with a classmate or
teacher.

Student Resources The LiveBinder utilized for this unit is both a student and a teacher resource.
ALA/AASL 1.1
As a teacher resource, the LiveBinder includes
Teacher Resources, The basic unit plan on a summarized, day-by-day basis for both
Bibliography teachers
The lists of standards for COMAR (Spanish), AASL, and ISTE are
included
Differentiation for students who succeed quickly or find research
difficult
A list of general, essential questions for the research project
A Bibliography

As a student resource, digital resources are all linked via the LiveBinder; tools
include
CIA World Factbook
KidRex (a search engine)
CCPL databases
Explora Primary School
Funk & Wagnalls New World Encyclopedia
National Geographic
AccuWeather

When visiting me for Library Media Center classes, students will use
computers in the computer lab for each class in this unit; they will use
Microsoft OneDrive to create and save PowerPoint presentations, and will
respond to entry/exit tickets via email correspondence with me.

Sra. Martinez has a variety of books in her room that are spanish-specific;
these will be utilized when students are with her, and are available to borrow
for extra information. We have also collected several issues of National
Geographic Magazine for student use, with relevant articles on
Spanish-speaking cultures.

Analysis and Reflection

This unit is a favorite of mine for many reasons. I enjoy the LiveBinder as a collaborative tool for Sra.
Martinez and myself; we both find it much easier to plan using the LiveBinder and minor adjustments
to individual days along the unit as necessary. This means that if I change a days plan, Sra. Martinez
will know that something changed the next time that she opens the LiveBinder to look at what our
students are or have just been working on. Especially with this group of students, I feel that teaching
with very clearly delineated, UDL- formatted goals and timelines are useful. Many students in this class
have some degree of minor accommodation that requires written directions and frequent reminders,

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and having a very structured routine for each class really helped these students especially to
understand exactly what is expected each class. The ability to look back and forward along the
projects timeline was also helpful for when students were absent: they could catch up easily from
home or travel.

I personally love teaching with technology in part because of the fantastic assessment tools that are
available with real-time feedback options. Using my Google Survey entrance ticket, I learned that the
majority of my class had found information and an image of the flag of their country, but that many
students were lacking information for the greeting, culture, and currency of their nation. I also learned
that 57.1% of my students still needed help with pronunciation from Sra. Martinez; because of the
efficacy of my assessment tool, I was able to share this information with her the same day, and ask her
to review what she expects students to say in Spanish, as well as reviewing greetings and culture.

At the stage of completion that was observed, many of the students are intrinsically motivated to learn
more about their country and make the best-possible PowerPoint presentation. For those students who
are not intrinsically motivated, the light at the end of the tunnel promises a break from research in
the near future, with the added bonus of food during presentations in the following week. This was Sra.
Martinez idea, and it was wildly successful as an optional add-on to the assignment both last year and
this year. I have learned that each year that I collaborate with other teachers, the projects become
better and better, partly because we plan well and communicate before teaching our lessons, but also
because we take what works from the previous year and emphasize those items, while cutting out or
diminishing the aspects that were not as successful or as student-oriented.

Next year, I hope to give my students a little bit more time to relax with their entrance and exit tickets,
rather than rushing through these important tools. Sra. Martinez and I discussed adding in some times
for each day of the LiveBinder, so that students will be able to see that some questions, surveys, or
tasks should require more time than others. I think that this will ensure more accurate data, entrance
tickets that uniformly occur at the of class (unlike several students who waited until the end
of the class, so that they could report having more information), and additional student introspection
and mindfulness. The idea of making the day-by-day part of the LiveBinder into even more of a lesson
plan by adding in approximate times for various items seems like a complete no-brainer now, but it
was a little bit of an aha! moment for me when we first discussed this idea. I really like that this will
encourage students to slow down and think about what they are doing, and hopefully focus more fully
on the individual goal of the day, rather than feeling overwhelmed in the face of the greater project.