PowerPoint Presentation

Butterflies Grade 2 UnitBy Sarah Gaffney

Rationale of Technology UseIn todays culture, technology is used in everyday life by both children and adults worldwide. The frequency in which technology is utilized continues to grow, and incorporating it into classrooms will benefit children for many reasons. Because children are so attuned to using technology outside of school, making the connection between everyday and classroom technology is easier and adds to their sense of consistency. Technology, when approved for quality and effectiveness, can assist students with grasping material more as a result from a different media representation. This PowerPoint will explore the ways in which technology can be utilized for elementary lessons through research.

Internet ContentWhile the internet can be a beneficial wealth of information, it can also lead to untrustworthy or unqualified sites giving false information. Because of this, its important to ensure websites being used within the classroom are high quality and have been assessed for accuracy. The next few slides will show examples of different types of informative websites that add to the content of lessons and an overall understanding for the concepts.

YouTube Content

Video 1: National Geographic Kids is a great resource for obtaining quality information in a format that is easy to understand and entertaining for younger grades. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1b87rwtXGzA

Video 2: Kids Education Online allows students to follow the journey of a Monarch butterfly through its stages of life. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xT6UsQwZyy0

These videos are examples of 2 different approaches to the medium: one is a shorter clip filled with a large amount of quality information, while the second is a more in-depth (but not too long) exploration of the Monarch butterflys experiences.4

Online BlogThis online blog-site is an interactive choice for young students in the classroom setting. The site provides descriptions of butterfly types, information on their life cycles and anatomy, and visual examples of the many different types of butterflies.

http://mrnussbaum.com/insects-play/butterflies/

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Internet PodcastsPBS Kids is a great source for audio and visual technology tools to incorporate into elementary lesson plans. This website includes a podcast and written blog to go along with the questions that arise during the podcast. These questions/text can be a reinforcing technique that helps with absorption of material.http://pbskids.org/dragonflytv/show/butterflywings.html

http://www.npr.org/podcasts/2036/kids-family

This website is also a great resource to search for quality podcasts for kids specifically. 6

Internet ResourcesNational Geographic Kids is a resource that allows for a detailed overview of specific animals, such as butterflies, while also providing key facts that correlate to the species. National Butterfly provides a large amount of information about butterflies answering topics such as How did the population grow? to Monarch Wing Patterns.Nature Mapping consists of butterfly information in an easy to read format with fun facts to keep children engaged and entertained.

Source 1: http://kids.nationalgeographic.com/animals/monarch-butterfly/#monarch-butterfly-grass.jpgSource 2: https://www.learner.org/jnorth/tm/monarch/jr/KidsJourneyNorth.htmlSource 3: http://naturemappingfoundation.org/natmap/facts/monarch_k6.html7

Inspiration

I used Kidspiration to create this layout for butterfly research. Kids can use this technology tool to visually represent their findings and be able to see their research in a different setting. Organizing their research with this programs allows them to understand and use groupings to their advantage, while also making the activity more engaging than simple pen and paper assignments.

There are many different forms that this program can take, whether its with visual representations like my own, more textual information, or different visual formats, the app allows for creativity to play into the research project and helps kids visualize in varying formats.8

Teaching Materials 1

This worksheet allows for my 2nd graders to apply their online research into a visual form. The activity will have them think about the many different factors of animal species and how they are similar and different to others that they know.

Source: https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Monarch-Butterfly-Research-Unit-682313 Picture: https://www.google.com/search?q=butterfly+fact+worksheet&espv=2&biw=1444&bih=780&source=lnms&tbm=isch&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwjTwrumgovSAhXC4IMKHYuuBUcQ_AUIBigB#imgrc=tk3WFA4FRVMqDM:

During this activity students would take their sheets to the computers/iPads to record the information they find.9

Teaching Materials 2Another way to incorporate technology into a lesson on butterfly migration is an interactive life-cycle activity.

This activity has students not only type, but drag, drop, and interact with the pictures that are presented. This keeps their attention in an organized, yet informational approach.

This is just one of many examples from this website that allows for interactive life-cycle games/activities.

Source: http://interactivesites.weebly.com/life-cycles.html10

Subject-Specific WebsiteKids Growing Strong (kidsgrowingstrong.org/monarch)

In this in-depth, informational website, children can both read and see visuals that pertain to the specifics of the plant that Monarchs feed off and need most: Milkweeds.

Source: https://kidsgrowingstrong.org/monarch/

In this in-depth, informational website, children can both read and see visuals that pertain to the specifics of the plant that Monarchs feed off and need most: Milkweeds.11

Uses of the InternetResearch InformationThere are many different types of informational websites that allow kids to retain quality information in many different formats. With some being more textual, some having more direct facts, and some obtaining many visuals, research can be enormously beneficial with technology.Interactive ActivitiesThese aspects of technology are what allow the students to process information in a fun way, while getting their minds working in a way separate from mundane paper work.

Research Information Sources:https://kidsgrowingstrong.org/monarch/https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Monarch-Butterfly-Research-Unit-682313https://www.learner.org/jnorth/tm/monarch/jr/KidsJourneyNorth.htmlhttp://naturemappingfoundation.org/natmap/facts/monarch_k6.html

Interactive Activity Sources:http://interactivesites.weebly.com/life-cycles.htmlhttp://kids.nationalgeographic.com/animals/monarch-butterfly/#monarch-butterfly-grass.jpg

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Web 2.0Facebook is the source for information on one of the most popular activities regarding butterflies: the monarch watch. This page allows for children to witness the conversation surrounding butterfly migration, see statistics for the topic, and follow along with the rest of the country as butterflies make their trip across the land.

Source: https://www.facebook.com/monarchwatch/

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