"Teachers need to see how technology can create connections among content areas and to everyday life for their students.” -Spires
March Madness Unit
Rationale
I think teachers should integrate topics they are passionate about as often as possible, because when a teacher is passionate about a particular topic or subject area, that rubs off on her students. I am constantly trying to find ways to incorporate what is going on in the world into my classroom. In North Carolina, basketball is a huge part of our state culture. For that reason, and because I am quite passionate about it as well, I created a unit that incorporated the NCAA tournament into concepts and standards that are part of the third grade curriculum. The end result...learning with a fun twist. :)
Project
This unit covered several subject areas: research, geography, statistics, graphing, as well as history. I first had my students research the location (city & state) of each team as well as the team's uniform colors, conference affiliation and time zone location. This research was done using computers and ipads, using several different websites as well as Google Earth. The students then found the location of every team and denoted each location on a huge United States map with a star. This allowed the students to learn about the location of many cities and states that were previously unknown to them. We kept track of how many teams from each state and region made the tournament, and continued to keep track of which states and regions were having the most success as the tournament progressed. Students graphed the number of teams per conference, per region, per time zone, per state and per team color using bar graphs and pictographs. We also created brackets and kept up with the fraction of games guessed correctly during each round of the tournament. The final aspect of this unit had the students choose a team nickname that had a historical connotation and research the meaning and origin of its name. Many students were excited to find out why the Tar Heels are actually called the Tar Heels. The students then used VoiceThread and a digital concept map tool called Mind Mup to publish their findings.
Outcome
My students had a great time throughout this unit. I had multiple parents email me to let me know how much their child was enjoying this unit. Each Monday the students were excited to update their brackets and our class map based on the results of the games from the previous weekend. I found that my students had a much stronger grasp on the location of states, regions and time zones following this month long unit. And as an added bonus I was able to introduce two brand new digital tools to my class that we had not used before: Voicethread and Mind Mup. Both were big hits and will be used again before the year is over.
I think teachers should integrate topics they are passionate about as often as possible, because when a teacher is passionate about a particular topic or subject area, that rubs off on her students. I am constantly trying to find ways to incorporate what is going on in the world into my classroom. In North Carolina, basketball is a huge part of our state culture. For that reason, and because I am quite passionate about it as well, I created a unit that incorporated the NCAA tournament into concepts and standards that are part of the third grade curriculum. The end result...learning with a fun twist. :)
Project
This unit covered several subject areas: research, geography, statistics, graphing, as well as history. I first had my students research the location (city & state) of each team as well as the team's uniform colors, conference affiliation and time zone location. This research was done using computers and ipads, using several different websites as well as Google Earth. The students then found the location of every team and denoted each location on a huge United States map with a star. This allowed the students to learn about the location of many cities and states that were previously unknown to them. We kept track of how many teams from each state and region made the tournament, and continued to keep track of which states and regions were having the most success as the tournament progressed. Students graphed the number of teams per conference, per region, per time zone, per state and per team color using bar graphs and pictographs. We also created brackets and kept up with the fraction of games guessed correctly during each round of the tournament. The final aspect of this unit had the students choose a team nickname that had a historical connotation and research the meaning and origin of its name. Many students were excited to find out why the Tar Heels are actually called the Tar Heels. The students then used VoiceThread and a digital concept map tool called Mind Mup to publish their findings.
Outcome
My students had a great time throughout this unit. I had multiple parents email me to let me know how much their child was enjoying this unit. Each Monday the students were excited to update their brackets and our class map based on the results of the games from the previous weekend. I found that my students had a much stronger grasp on the location of states, regions and time zones following this month long unit. And as an added bonus I was able to introduce two brand new digital tools to my class that we had not used before: Voicethread and Mind Mup. Both were big hits and will be used again before the year is over.
Our class made the news...
Research Using Safe Search Sites
Using Google Earth to Find the Location of Each Team
Research on the Historical Connotations of University Nicknames
Standards Addressed:
3.G.1.1 Find absolute and relative locations of places within the local community and region.
3.H.1.1 Explain key historical events that occurred in the local community and regions over time.
3.H.1.2 Analyze the impact of contributions made by diverse historical figures in local communities and regions over time.
3.TT.1.1 Use a variety of technology tools to gather data and information (e.g., Web-based resources, e-books, online communication tools, etc.).
3.TT.1.3 Use technology tools to present data and information (multimedia, audio and visual recording, online collaboration tools, etc.).
3.SE.1.2 Understand ethical behavior (copyright, not plagiarizing, netiquette) when using resources.
3.SE.1.3 Understand internet safety precautions (personal information, passwords, etc.).
3.G.1.1 Find absolute and relative locations of places within the local community and region.
3.H.1.1 Explain key historical events that occurred in the local community and regions over time.
3.H.1.2 Analyze the impact of contributions made by diverse historical figures in local communities and regions over time.
3.TT.1.1 Use a variety of technology tools to gather data and information (e.g., Web-based resources, e-books, online communication tools, etc.).
3.TT.1.3 Use technology tools to present data and information (multimedia, audio and visual recording, online collaboration tools, etc.).
3.SE.1.2 Understand ethical behavior (copyright, not plagiarizing, netiquette) when using resources.
3.SE.1.3 Understand internet safety precautions (personal information, passwords, etc.).
Spires, H,. Hervey, L., & Watson, T. (2013). Scaffolding the TPACK framework in reading and language arts: New literacies, new minds. In C.A. Young & S. Kajder (Eds.), Research on technology in English education (pp. 33-61). Charlotte, NC: Information Age Publishing.