21st Century Learners:
The Online Graphic Organizer Edition
Classroom Goal:
My goal is to prepare my 4th grade students with the needed skills to be successful members of their classroom community. I will introduce them to many skills and strategies for problem solving and conceptual thinking. I would like to encourage and foster the 21st learners by exposing them to new and innovative technology in the classroom.
Standards and Curriculum:
Shanghai Community International School follows the Common Core Standards, but loosely. Unlike where I taught in Virginia, I have the freedom to veer off course and cover topics and content that actually interest this group of students. This school practices Inquiry Based Learning and a huge part of this type of instruction is to allow students to have a say in where the focus of the unit will go.
21st Century Learner Skills:
Collaboration:
communication.
Creativity:
Problem Solving:
Graphic Organizers:
Inspirations:
We just finished reading Wonder, by RJ Palacio, and I wanted my students to comparing themselves to the main character, August. One theme from this book is that students shouldn’t judge people based on what they look like. My goal was that students see how similar they are to August, even though he suffers from facial deformities. A venn diagram was the best tool for me to use because it allows students to easily compare and contrast. I think Inspirations was the best tool because of all of the many visual aids it provides.
ReadWriteThink:
Our current Writing Unit focuses on expository writing. I am working with my students on how to create and support a thesis. We are just working on the introduction right now, but I love this persuasion map on ReadWriteThink.com. With this graphic organizer students are able to easily organize and visual their thoughts. The map is already laid out for them in a manner that is easy for them to understand. They are analyzing their topic and having to prove why their claim is true.
Instagrok
I think this graphic organizer could be a nice way to start off our unit on Nutrients. The basic parts of the graphic organizer and filled in for students, but the deeper understandings and connections are not. This website seems to be a wonderful took for students to delve deeper into something that interest them. The resources are easily available through the website. Students have access to videos and pictures of different topics related to nutrients and they have the freedom to explore. Students can evaluate what they think is important and create a graphic organizer that caters to their interests.