TPACK Lesson Plan

Title: Connecting Art Across the Curriculum

Summary: Students will learn about and analyze famous pieces of art, talk about and make their own art, and compare their experiences with the reading selection "The Dot" by Peter Reynolds.

Primary Core Goals/Outcomes:

1E2b.2: Write brief expository (informational) descriptions of a real object, person, place, or event, using sensory details.

1E1b.7: Relate prior knowledge to what is read.

1SSK10: Use technology to gather information and communicate learning.

1SSK12: Use information from print and non-print sources.

*Many other reading standards are hit with this lesson, but I am focusing more on activities going with the reading selection rather than the reading selection itself.

(DoDEA Standards)

Intended Learning Outcomes:

Students will research an artist using pebblego.com, create their own art from NGA Kids, and connect what they learned to the reading selection The Dot.

Pedagogical Decisions:

1. Student-Centered:  Class discussion, Pebblego research, NGA kids exploration, Dot artwork creation. Teacher-Centered: Guided instruction, The Dot read aloud. Student-centered offers students more of a chance to take pride in their work and feel in control of their learning. Teacher-Centered is necessary to provide explanation, guidance, and understanding before student-centered learning can take place.
2. Convergent learning: Classroom discussion of reading selection/vocabulary review. Divergent learning: Artist research and presentation, Dot art creation. The outcome is for students to be able to learn through exploration and allow room for assessment.
3. Fewer Prior experiences: Students can grow upon what they already know through Art and build their vocabulary based on their prior knowledge.
4. Deeper Knowledge: The goal is for students to develop a deeper connection and understanding to artwork; looking beyond the idea of just a pretty picture (how/why art might cause emotion as discussed in The Dot).
5. Shorter vs. Longer Duration: This lesson is meant to be spread over a week-long period and will also come up during Art, which students have once per week. Also, some of my students have been exposed to very famous pieces of art, so this lesson hopefully helps them develop a deeper appreciation for what they are seeing while living in Europe.
6. More Structured Learning vs. Less Structured Learning:  Students will be given a specific amount of time to complete assignments throughout this lesson, but it will be differentiated based on students' needs/ability levels.
7. Whole Group: Read aloud and presentations. Individualized: Art project and Research Project. Small Group: Reading, writing, word work, and spelling 
8. No additional resources required.

TPACK Activity Types: 
Knowledge Building Activities: Read text, view images, group discussion, research
Convergent Knowledge Expression Activities: Answer questions, take a test
Written Divergent Knowledge Expression Activities: Write a report
Visual Divergent Knowledge Expression Activities: Create a picture
Participatory Divergent Knowledge Expression Activities: Do a presentation

Assessment Plan:
Formative Assessments: The Dot Selection Test, classroom discussion while reading
Summative Assessments: Artist biography presentation; final dot artwork

Materials:

Used by the Teacher:  Reading Street unit 4 teacher guide or The Dot by Peter Reynolds, Unit 4 Week 2 Selection Test as well as all other student materials to model instruction.

Used by the Students: Heavy-duty white paper, water color paints, brushes, Reading Street unit 4 book or The Dot by Peter Reynolds, Pebblego artist graphic organizer.

Technologies

Used by the Teacher: Smart board, Computer, Elmo

Used by the Students: Classroom computers (4) and/or computer lab computers

Instructional Procedures:

Day 1 (120 minutes): The lesson will begin by taking a picture walk through the story The Dot using the Reading Street series. Before reading, vocabulary words are reviewed with pictures and definitions displayed on the Smart board. The story is displayed on the Elmo as students follow along during the teacher read aloud with their own books. During reading, students are asked about how they feel when creating art. After reading, a classroom discussion takes place about how to own your work and how the main character felt about her artwork. During a small group center activity, students will use the classroom computers to explore NGA kids, making their own artwork online and learn about different techniques artists use. A short partner discussion will take place at the end of centers to share what they learned using NGA kids.

Day 2 (120 minutes): When the class has computer lab, they will explore Pebblego, choosing an artist to study and complete the graphic organizer located on Pebblego as well. Each student will receive a printed copy. The students will be presenting information about their author later in the day. The presenters are assessed on the completeness of the graphic organizer for the report and how clear they are when presenting.

Day 3 (30 minutes): Create their own Dot artwork. Students will use techniques they learned from NGA kids, their own personal experience, and information about the author they researched to create their own Dot artwork. The only criteria is to have some form of a dot or use a dot technique. They will be provided with paper as well as water color paints to create their masterpieces.

Day 4 (60 minutes): Students will share their artwork and why they chose to create it the way they did. They will compare their feelings with those of the main character from the story read as a class. They will also be taking Unit 4 The Dot selection test to assess their comprehension, vocabulary words understanding, and high frequency word development.

Challenge: Tie in Digital Citizenship to this lesson. If I were to re-do this lesson, I would look into the My Creative Work lesson on Common Sense Media (Students are introduced to citing their own work and others by creating a time capsule with work created using Picassohead. Students discuss why it’s important to give themselves and others credit based on original ideas).

Technology Integration Matrix (TIM):
NGA Website Exploration: Constructive Adoption
Pebblego: Authentic Adaptation
Elmo/Smartboard: Active Adoption

*I could not find a streamlined and convenient website or video that displayed primary-aged art, but am still on the hunt for one!

TPACK

My most recent grad course assignment is all about Lee Shulman's notion of TPaCK (Technological Pedagogical Content Knowledge). If I broke this apart, I would first take a look at PCK.  Pedagogy and Content Knowledge are two things I learned in undergrad but continuously improve on with experience.  Pedagogy is important because I need to understand my students and how they learn.  I take this information and apply it to what I am teaching.  These two things go hand in hand. Now, I discover how to use technology to add to pedagogical content knowledge.  Technology can help bring a learner closer to the content they are learning that a classroom without technology could never provide.  For instance, my students could view a live video feed of zoo animals in California all the way in Germany when we learn about animal habitats. This is just the beginning of what technology can bring to students. Check out this video for a TPaCK overview.

tpack.org

  

I use technology in my classroom on a daily basis, but it is not always used by students.  At the first grade level, my students are practicing logging on to a computer, accessing and navigating the internet, learning how to use the internet responsibly, and developing typing skills. This has been an important learning process for them.  Once they are logged onto a computer and have access to a specific website or program, they can quickly and easily navigate without many problems.  Some websites that have proven to add to PCK include the following four resources:

1. Google Earth and Google Maps. As part of the first grade Social Studies standards, students are to learn how to read/use maps and discover why they are important. Another standard in Science is understanding the features of the sky and the patterns of the Sun and the Moon. These two programs allow students to get up close and personal with tools that make the learning experience more authentic. 
2. SMART exchange. I enjoy creating my own SMART board activities to go along with the units I am teaching, but there is no reason to reinvent the wheel. The SMART exchange has tons of resources to use with your SMART board.  I love to use these in Math for whole group and also center work.  There are many interactive lessons and my students love seeing unique ways to display information that would take me hours to create.
3. IXL. My school subscribes to this program and I am thankful for that! My students love IXL and see it more as a game than anything else.  After teaching a Math lesson, I use IXL to reinforce a concept to see if students are mastering that specific skill. As a teacher, I can view data by skill as either a whole class or individual students to see what areas or students need more support. I also have a classroom display to add motivation to continue to earn badges on the site.
4. Author Study.  For some units, I focus on a specific author that students are learning about.  There are some great webpages available to learn more about an author, books they have written, and more.  During center time, I have students research more by exploring the author's webpage (if user friendly).  For instance, Dr. Seuss' webpage is engaging and provides students with new information and helps them make connections based on the books they have already read by Dr. Seuss in class. 

Here is a great list of activities by Judi Harris, Mark Hofer, and Denise Schmit with how to incorporate technology into an activity for grades K-6. Also, Kathy Schrock has created some great diagrams with apps and websites to use that meet each level of Bloom's Taxonomy.