F2009+8Y34+Lab+2+Activity+Type+Reviews

8Y34 Lab 2

The activity type that I have selected is Web Inquiry. Web Inquiry problems are inquiry-based and are different from WebQuests in that they are more open-ended, intended to foster higher-level thinking; they promote the use of a more discovery-oriented approach, where the student is presented with an initial hook but essentially has to investigate further, using little provided information. There are six stages in a Web Inquiry problem: hook, questions, procedures, data investigation, analysis, and findings. An example of how I would use this in a lesson is by presenting my class with a social studies problem. My hook could be something along the lines of "Class, Waterton (the town located next to ours) is running out of water, and quickly! As you know, we use water every day, for lots of things; for example, we use it to take care of our lawns, we use it for our meals, for washing our clothes, for showering, and most importantly, for drinking. Waterton’s mayor is new to the town, and everybody is in a panic. It would be absolutely disastrous if this town dried up! In groups, let’s find ways to help our friends!" Although I would guide my students through this problem, I would steer away from giving them much more information so that they could work through the Web Inquiry stages and develop their own questions and ways of investigating the problem. One aspect that I would be assessing is students’ ability to ask thought-provoking questions in their approach to tackling the issue presented. For example, I would look for questions that do not necessarily have one answer. I would also assess students’ design of their research plan, analysis of their findings, etc., but the questioning process is just one example of many important aspects that I would need to evaluate within a Web Inquiry project. Kimberlee Ronald, Section #2

8Y34 Lab 2 I really like the websites that allow students to publish their written work. Scholastic's Writing with Writers allows students to share work that they are proud of, which I think is a very important aspect of the learning process. Also, posting work for an audience other than just the teacher may motivate students to set higher goals. Publishing work on the internet can also allow for additional feedback from a variety of people, which may help students to more effectively edit their work and learn to utilize constructive critism. It provides an interactive platform to exchange ideas and work together with people both within and outside of the classroom. The internet may also help students' who are too shy or self-conscious to discuss their work or ideas in a face-to-face environment. I would direct students to this outside source during their writing process as an additional means to discuss and edit their own drafts along the way. Shannon Fox

8Y34 Lab 2 An activity which I have found interesting is MADLibs. I can still remember having great fun and giggling with my friends from the outcomes of inserting our own words into the short stories. MADLibs is a word game, where there is a short story provided, however, there are missing words throughout. For each missing word there is certain criteria you must follow to correctly fill in the blank. For example, there may be a blank requiring a verb, (verb) and the student has to provide a verb. If the student does not understand what a verb is and provides, for example a noun, then the story will not make sense. This game allows for students to be creative with the words they choose. When all the blanks are filled out and the story is read they find can observe how their words create humour to the story. This activity allows students to practice identifying parts of speech and reading comprehension practice. An example of using this activity in my classroom would be in the younger grades have students simply complete the MADLibs activity. To assess the students, I would check to see if they understand and can apply their knowledge to fill out their own verbs, nouns, adjectives, etc. For older grades, I think a good way to use this activity in the classroom would be to create their own short story, which would be a great creative writing activity. Before testing their MADLibs on other students I would want to evaluate the MADLibs and check that they have the correct verb, noun, adjective, pronoun written in the proper blank. Then, students can exchange their work with a partner and have each other complete their own MADLibs. This is a great activity for students to use to enhance their communication and understanding and identifying parts of speech, and have fun while completing it. Aimee Hall

= 8Y34 Lab 2: Type in your Activity Types Reviews below. Then place a line under your entry.=

MADlibs are a fun, interactive way to reinforce language art skills. During the activity, students make lists of words that meet specific criteria (i.e., adjectives, nouns, words ending with -ing, etc). Once they have completed a list, their words are inserted into a pre-written story. The results are usually very funny and generate enthusiasm amongst children.

I would use MADlibs to reinforce topics such as sentence structure and parts of speech. I would introduce MADlibs as a teacher-directed activity and then I would allow students to work cooperatively to complete the activity. I would assess the students by reviewing their MADlib activities to ensure that they comprehended the various parts of speech.

Angela Wallace

Vocabulary Bingo-I think the vocabulary bingo is an interesting activity type to review because it is an interactive tool that will not only engage students, but motivate them to participate in an enjoyable manor. A vocabulary bingo card can be constructed, using the table feature of Microsoft Word. Regardless of the topic, vocabulary words can be used to create the content for the game. The vocabulary words will be identified by the Bingo Master as he/she reads corresponding definitions. Players highlight their answers and call out ‘bingo’ when someone forms a bingo card pattern. I could see myself using this activity type in my consolidation part of my lessons to assess the amount of acquired knowledge gained from a particular learning experience. I would be using this activity to draw attention to important words and evaluate important vocabulary achievement to promote student success. This is a way for students to communicate their understandings in a non-threatening way and for them, in addition to the teacher, to identify whether or not there is any room for improvement. Jannette Cote Section #2

I also found the “MADlibs” activity (page 130) had really caught my attention. When I read the chapter, this made me smile because as a child, I remember playing versions of this game either at home (the board game) with my family/friends or in classes. Basically, MADlibs is a worksheet with a storyline on it, and blanks are left all over the story. Each blank is specified as a noun, verb, action verb, etc. Before the worksheet is filled in, teachers ask students to write down the appropriate word for each blank on the back or on a separate piece of paper. (I.e. choose any noun and label it spot #1, choose any adjective, label it spot # 2, etc) Later, the students are told to put each word in the correct blank space, creating an original (often hilariously offbeat) story that will either make complete sense or be utter jibberish... but it is jibberish they created by themself! It appeals to many different kinds of learners, because if done on the computer (Paul’s Madlibs and MadLibs), it can be visual and possibly auditory if students read their creations to one another. Along those lines, MADlibs can also be done with think-pair-share, or kept as an individual activity. I can certainly see myself using this in the classroom (either for language arts or a computers period) because I love activities that can be humorous, interactive, upbeat, and yet, educational. For younger grades, I would be assessing, via a checklist, whether the student matched a correct word to the blank. (I.e. a verb in the verb spot, a noun in the noun spot) MADlibs may also be used as a quiz, to make sure students know what verbs are, adjectives are, etc. For older grades, I might make them create their own MADlibs scenario. They could exchange their story with a partner, and/or do a peer assessment, wherein students mark eachother’s work. Overall, I would most certainly consider this as an appropriate activity for my classroom. Tasha Deacon

3D Book Reports Book reports can now be done in a more creative way, that allows students to demonstrate and utilize their technological skills. Students can use features in Microsoft PowerPoint to organize and prioritize their information and thoughts in a word processing document. They can arrange their information in a variety of different ways to show their understanding of the novel they have read, and have ample room to add their own creativity to it. I could see myself utilizing this as an opportunity for one of the students’ book reports during the school year. Students of all grades could use it to tell about a book they have read. It can be I would access their ability to present their material visually, through a standalone slideshow. Janelle Cressman

The activity which I will review is the Bingo game which was used as a fun technique to quiz the class on what they know about the topics discussed based on a simple description. Not only is this activity very visual and interactive, but it also is an effective assessment tool. I can see myself using this technique for a variety of subjects in the classroom because it is very adaptable, meaning that making connections between pictures and descriptions is easy to set-up for any kind of subject material or information from a unit, and the list goes on. The way I would go about incorporating assessment would be to have students answer questions independently on a concealed piece of paper. I could assign a number of correct connections. However, I could extend this learning process by coming back and having a group discussion about each so that the concepts or ideas are completely clarified for all, even if the students did not answer correctly at first. Having said that, I may even have all the students write down answers independently two times, so that the improvements in the number of correct responses could be compared and used to get a more accurate assessment. Overall, I learned a lot about myself and what helps me remain engaged with the tasks at hand, along with how I would go about implemented this activity within my classroom!

One activity type that I find interesting is the word game MADlibs. In the MADlibs game, students are given templates of familiar stories or descriptive paragraphs-with a catch! Specific words in the story or paragraph are missing and instead are represented with blank spaces. Underneath each blank space, the description of a word type is given (for example, a verb or a name). Each blank space corresponds to a number on a list found at the beginning of the story or paragraph. Before skimming the text, students would be required to fill out the list with appropriate word types. Next, students would place the words from the list into the text. Students then read the story or paragraph with their words added in and usually laugh at the results. I would use the MADlibs activity in different ways during a lesson depending on the grade level of my students. For younger students, I would use a pre-existing MADlibs game as a revision tool following previous teaching about different word types. Students would be required to complete the activity independently and to the best of their ability with limited assistance. I would use the MADlibs game to see how accurately my students could discriminate between different word types. When used in conjunction with other formative assessment activities, the MADlibs game could be used to evaluate if the students knowledge of the material is progressing. For older students, I would use the MADlibs word game for two purposes. Firstly, I would use a pre-existing MADlibs activity to find out what prior knowledge my students have about different parts of speech. Students would complete the activity independently and hand it in. I would not mark the activity but review the work to determine if further revision of concepts is needed and to help me plan future instruction based around the students’ current understanding. Secondly, I would adapt the MADlibs activity in order to be a creative writing project for my students. Students would first write their own short story or descriptive paragraph. Based on my expectations for the project, students would need to include a range of word types in their writing. Students would then revise their work in order to transform it into a MADlibs activity. After the revision process, students would present their MADlib activities to each other in pairs. The MADlib games would be created at the end of a writing unit and used as a summative evaluation. This project would enable my students to communicate their understanding of multiple writing expectations in a creative and fun way. -Sarah Reynolds, Section #2

MADLibs is one activity that definitely brings back childhood memories! I can remember carrying around a MADLibs book and completing these silly puzzles with my friends. Little did I know that I was actually learning Language Arts at the same time, by differentiating between verbs, adverbs, pronouns, nouns, and adjectives. The curriculum expectation that focused on parts of speech was never delivered within my classroom in any interesting or exciting ways. Filling out these puzzles were a fun and interactive game in my mind, which produced funny stories for myself to read. I was also practicing my reading and writing skills as well. MADLibs was simple. There would be a short story that would be missing certain words on one side of the puzzle. The other side would have a list of fill in the blanks which would need to be filled in by the player. Beside the fill in the line blank, there would be a description of the type of word the MADLib was looking for. For example, the puzzle would say "Adjective _". The player would fill in the blank within the appropriate spot of the short story to reveal the full story. The players could be creative and place any adjective within the blank. I would definitely reccommend this activity to others as it is a creative and fun way to learn about the different parts of speech. Once you begin to play a few rounds, you begin to challenge yourself to find different words then you have used in previous puzzles. This game begins to expand your vocabulary. As a teacher using MADLibs, I would like to expand and alter the existing MADLib stories. I would like to have my students create their own MADLibs, which would allow them to explore their writing skills. Once they have created a short story, they can decide which words they will remove from their story. There would be certain criteria in which the students must follow. A rubric may be the best way to assess their understanding. For example, a section of the rubric may be labelled "Word removal." A level four would require the students to remove 15 or more words. There must be at least 3 words removed for each part of speech (verbs, adverbs, nouns, pronouns, and adjectives). They must label the correct part of speech as they remove it. For example, if they remove the word 'run', they would have to replace it with 'a verb.' ETC. The rubric would have various categories for assessment. This would be one option to implement into my classroom as a teacher using MADLibs. I hope you all have a chance to explore MADLibs yourself! You will not be disappointed. Explore the official MADLibs site for more information and a wide range of MADLibs puzzles. [|MADLibs] Sincerely, Vanessa Di Carlo, Section #2

Reading about the KeyPals Activity reminds me of elementary school when we tried to maintain penpals with another school. I remember beginning a penpal connection with several places, including a school in Toronto and one in China! The difficulty with penpals was that it was often difficult to read the writing in the letter, or to maintain the penpalship over time. However, having a penpal informally taught us basic letter writing skills, grammar and spelling. Personally, I found the most difficult aspect of penpals was MAILING the letter! KeyPals brings letter writing into the 21st century! Although students may find the same difficulties as I did with Penpal writing in elementary school, I think KeyPals is more likely to last longer. With the convenience of email, students can easily create drafts of the letter, and send it to their teacher for editing or correcting. Then, once the good draft has been completed, the student can easily address the letter to their penpal, and send a carbon copy to their teacher for evaluation. It is also much easier for each student to continue to respond. Students may even be able to use instant messaging to have a real-time conversation with their penpals. Traditional letter writing skills as well as computer skills are communicated through this activity. Children learn proper writing technique as well as netiquette. Victoria Culp, Section #2

Melissa Ross, Section 2, Education 8y34 One of the activities that I found interesting was the Vocabulary Bingo or GeoBingo under the project-based learning lessons. This activity involves creating Bingo cards in Mircosoft Word that have different graphics or vocabulary words in each square. Here the normal rules of Bingo apply. Playing Bingo with these graphics/vocabulary words helps students to develop a better understanding of the graphics/vocabulary words and could also be used to assess the student’s existing knowledge and understanding of the concepts learned. This activity was used within our technology class to assess our knowledge of different concepts/graphics that we were learning at the time. I could see myself use this activity in my grade two placement with the student’s word wall words that they practice every week. One of their word wall words this week was Ontario. If the word on the Bingo card was Ontario I would say to the students, “What is the province that we are located in?” allowing me to see if the students can identify which province we are located in by marking it on the Bingo card. One aspect of the activity that I would be assessing would be the students understanding and ability to identify the specific graphic or vocabulary word on the Bingo card.

8Y34 Lab 2 Vocabulary Bingo or Geo-Bingo – Project Bases Learning This activity can be used with words or pictures that represent landmarks. The words that are used can be spelling words and definitions could be given to test the student’s knowledge on what the words mean. This method can help in word recognition and help to evaluate vocabulary. As it was talk about in using this method in Language Arts. I would use this as part of my spelling tests. I would make sure that they can spell the word first by putting the words on a bingo card in any order they would like. Then I would give the definitions of the words and let the students cross out the words that were given. This would allow me to assess both their spelling of the words, but also the understanding of what each word means. This shows me if they know the meanings of the words that were being used in context. Josh Heisler

8Y34 Lab2 - Sheila Deb Keypals - Project Based Learning This activity would be a great tool to use for starting in grade 3 and up for language arts and social studies. I would have set questions or topics that would relate to a subject we are working on in class for the students to discuss with their email pals. I would begin with the students communicating with each other via email. Next step would be to round up some peers from other classes to discuss through email making sure the teacher and I are on the same page and we set up a program together. Once we are into our unit in social studies studying USA, Africa or the cultures of South America I could try to line up a program with teachers from a school of the place we would be studying. I would make sure the grades and age levels were similar to prevent. All written communications will be sent to all the teachers involved or would be printed out for assessment purposes. Are they discussing the topics that were asked to be discussed, was there a solution or any new a information shared about the topic and how was their writing stlye: letter format with beginning (Dear Jane...) and an end (Goodbye from...), correct letter structure. I would also have the students print off certain letters and discuss them with the student. I would also have the students reflect on their conversations with their keypals about anything they found out that was new about them or their culture. The students will know that they can also share this information during social studies class. I think it is a great idea what better way to learn than from the people that know the best or may have a different perspective then I do.

Allison Green The activity type I am assessing is the KeyPals activity. This activity has students paired off with a corresponding buddy, in either another class or school. This could include students who are across the city, country, or world. I think this is a really great activity to connect them to others. They can learn to correspond, and communicate with others in written form. This is a great real life skill, that they will use their entire lives. I would have students write to their keypal, and ask them questions about where they live, things they do, what they like. I would love for the students to get to know another child living in another place in the world. I think this would fit in well with the social studies, and language curriculum. In older grades it would fit into the geography and world studies units. To assess student learning, I would conference with students to hear what they have been discussing with their buddy, and what kinds of questions they are asking next. I will ask to see a part of their letters at times, for assessment purposes. I think KeyPals is a cool activity over all that can bring a level of personal involvement and interaction.

Sarah Gouveia

The activity type that I chose was the Treasure Hunt. This activity provides a set of questions that need answering on a certain topic and includes URL or graphic links to the different sites in order to answer the questions. The answers are then collected. I could use this activity type in a social studies class where I would generate questions on a certain unit or topic that the students are learning and have them record their answers by visiting different links and websites on the subject matter. It would be a good way for students to learn how to browse different websites, learn information on the unit of study and record their answers on paper. By having them record their answers I would be able to assess how well they located the websites to find the answers and if they did it correctly. I would also be able to assess if they followed and understood the instructions given to them.

Donna Rheams, Section 2, EDUC 8Y34 I can envision using impersonations with my students. In this activity, students exchange emails with a fictional character from a novel or with a person who is no longer living. They are encouraged to use their background knowledge to ask specific questions and I, as the teacher, impersonate that character/person and provide them with accurate answers. The Grade 5’s in my current placement are doing a Read-Aloud with the novel //Run// by Eric Walters. Impersonations would be a great activity to use, having students email Terry Fox and ask questions about his journey, his motivation and his experience. Students would demonstrate through their emails an understanding of the information and ideas being presented to them orally. Further, they would extend their understanding by connecting the ideas in the novel with their own knowledge, experience and insights. The emails provide concrete data for the formative assessment of this understanding.