Sara Jackson

EDR 317

Title: Volcanoes iBook for Small Groups

Rationale:
The students in Mrs. Colvens first grade classroom are currently learning
about rocks and minerals in science class. I have created a book for the
classroom on iBook Author about volcanoes as an extension of their rock
unit. This book is written at a first grade level, and has a myriad of
definitions, videos, and interactive photos to engage and guide students. The
qualities of an interactive book bring together innovative technology and
literature in a way that sparks new interest in reading. Lastly, the iBook will
be a great way to integrate what Mrs. Colvens class is currently learning
about in science to the reading portion of their day.

Objective:
1. The students will be able to correctly answer at least 2 out of the 3
review questions at the end of the book.
2. Students will be able to fill out a K-W-L Chart on volcanoes.

Standards:
1. CC.1.2.1.L: Read and comprehend literary non-fiction and
informational text on grade level, reading independently and
proficiently.

2. CC.1.2.1.E: Use various text features and search tools to locate key
facts or information in a text.

Materials:
iBook: Volcanoes
iPads
K-W-L large Chart (see attached)
Pencils
K-W-L small worksheet
Post-it notes
Index cards with the vocabulary words written on them (word wall idea
retrieved from: http://www.csub.edu/~bruff/Vocabulary%20Concept
%20Map%20Activity.pdf )
Tape or tacks to hang up vocabulary words

Technology
iBook created on iBook Author application
iPads to display the iBook
Before Reading Activities
Introduce book
Today we will be reading an interactive book I have created for you on
volcanoes! Mrs. Colven and I thought it would be a great idea to learn about
volcanoes since you are learning about different types of rocks and minerals
in science. So as a quick review, can any of you tell me about what you have
learned so far about rocks. Do you know what kind of rocks make up a
volcano?

Vocabulary

1. Solidification
2. Tectonic plates
3. Igneous
4. Dormant
5. Active
6. Extinct

You will see these six vocabulary words in the volcano book as you are
reading. I want to make sure you all understand how to pronounce the vocab
words and know the definition. Therefore, we are going to play a short game
that will help us to learn the words!

Before Reading Strategy #1- Vocabulary Cards and Word Wall

Alright first graders, to help us learn about these new vocabulary words we
are going to create a word wall! Each student will receive an index card with
a vocabulary word on it. If there are more students than there are
vocabulary words, I will pair you up. When you get your vocabulary word,
you/you and your partner will look up the definition of the word in the
volcano iBook in the glossary. Write the definition on the back of your index
card. When person/group have copied the definition on your index card, we
are going to share it with the entire group. When you come up to share your
word and the definition, try to use the word in a sentence! I will be walking
around while you are working if you need help.

Before Reading Strategy #2- Know and Want to know part of a

K-W-L Chart

Give each student a K-W-L Chart for them to complete. Provide a large
version of a K-W-L Chart to complete while the students are doing their
individual chart. So students, now that we have learned a few vocabulary
words that we will encounter during our volcano book, we are going write
down some information you may already know about volcanoes in the
know section of our K-W-L Chart. Also, if you have questions about
volcanoes, you can write it down in the want to know section of your K-W-L
Chart. While you are reading, you can look for the answers to the questions
you have written down. Does anyone want to share their thoughts or
questions? I will write them down on the big chart for the whole group to
see. Take examples from students, and write them on the before portion of
the K-W-L Chart. Alright, now that we have written down a few questions and
facts that we already know about volcanoes, we are going to read our
volcano book on our iPads.

During Reading Activities

Okay first graders, before we read our story, there are a few things to keep
in mind! While reading, I want you to stop after each chapter and highlight
or write a note about something that you found interesting on your iPad. If
you dont want to use the iPad to take notes, you can use post-it notes that I
have for you. If you found an answer to a question you had, feel free to mark
that as well. We will be sharing what we found at the end of the book and
writing them down on our K-W-L Chart. Have the students read the volcano
book. Help students who are struggling, and observe that students are
marking details in each chapter.

After Reading Activities:

After Reading Strategy #1: Comprehension Questions
Students will answer the questions on the iPad at the end of the story. The
questions are as follows:

1. What type of rocks are volcanoes made out of?

2. What type of volcano has not erupted in a while, but may erupt at
anytime?
3. What is the major difference between magma and lava?

The questions are multiple choice, and the students can check their answers
after they complete each one.

After Reading Strategy #2: Learned part of K-W-L Chart

Now that everyone has finished reading the book on volcanoes, we are going
to complete our K-W-L Charts. I will write down one of my observations first. I
am going to say that I learned that there are 4 different shapes of volcanoes!
Write this statement on the Learned section of the K-W-L Chart. Does
anyone remember what the 4 types are? Great, now can someone else share
what they learned about volcanoes? Take a few examples and write them on
the class K-W-L Chart. Alright, now that we have gotten some great new
information on volcanoes, I need everyone to finish completing their own K-
W-L Chart. You may use the information we shared together on your chart, or
you can add more information that you found on your own.

Closure

So first graders, today we read all about volcanoes in the iBook that I made
for you. We learned some new vocabulary words about volcanoes and
created a K-W-L Chart on all the information we learned. Remember, you can
use a K-W-L Chart when you are reading about other topics too! It can help
you to remember what you have read and keep you more organized while
reading. I hope everyone enjoyed reading about volcanoes. Now you will be
experts in science when you talk about igneous rocks!

Assessment
Formative assessment: I will be observing the students while they are
reading the book about volcanoes. I will be looking to see that the students
are marking interesting information or answers to questions via the iPads
highlight or notes tool. If they are not using the iPads tools to mark
information, I will be looking to see that they are recording the information
down on a post-it note. I will also be looking to see that the students are
correctly filling out their K-W-L Chart.

Summative assessment: I will be checking their comprehension questions

on each of their iPads. I will be looking to see if they at least answered 2 out
of the 3 comprehension questions correctly. I will record how many questions
each student answers correctly.

Differentiation

For students who need extra support: I will be guiding them while they
read by tracking with my finger. I will also help them by providing examples
on my large K-W-L Chart for the students to model. I will be giving frequent
reminders that the answers of the comprehension questions can be found
within the iBook, and that they can go back at anytime to look up
information. During the vocabulary activity, the student will only have to
provide the definition of their vocabulary word and not the definition and a
sentence using the word.

For students who are more advanced: I will have students provide more
information that they learned on their K-W-L Chart than the information we
shared as a class. I will also have these students write a sentence about their
favorite part of the book, and draw a picture of it on the back of their K-W-L
Chart.

Reflection on Planning

For this lesson, I decided to use a K-W-L Chart to accompany my iBook

on volcanoes. According to Readingrockets.org article, written by Texas

Education Agency, K-W-L Charts helps students learn to activate their

background knowledge and to set up purposes for reading. The use of a K-

W-L Chart in my lesson will be a great tool to activate the students

background knowledge about volcanoes. Previously, Mrs. Colven informed

me that the class is learning about different types of rocks in science. A

lesson on volcanoes became the perfect subject to expand the students

knowledge about types of rocks and connect literacy and science.

Because I want to help the students become accountable in their

reading, a K-W-L Chart also helps students to create their own questions to

answer while they are reading. When students are answering their own

questions in the learned part of the K-W-L Chart, students are more likely

to actively monitor their comprehension (Texas Education Agency). Also,

when students are able to write in their own words what they have learned,

[they] better understand what they know and what they do not (Texas

Education Agency). Students can become overwhelmed or distracted by the

iBook format, so I believe that the use of a K-W-L Chart during my lesson will

not only hold the students accountable for what they are reading, but also

ensure that they remain focused.

 For vocabulary practice, I chose to use vocabulary cards and create a

word wall. My thought was that the students can first become familiar with

the iBook by using the glossary to look up the definition of the vocabulary

words. Next the students would share the definitions with the rest of the

class, and they will be placed in front of the room on the word wall for the

class to use as a reference while they are reading. In Strategies that Work,

Stephanie Harvey and Anne Goudvis talk about how content word walls can

be used in science to learn about a new topic (2007, p. 214). Because the

students are going to be expanding on the topics of rocks in their reading, I

chose to use a content word wall in my lesson to familiarize the class with

the vocabulary words. Harvey and Goudvis also explain that when kids

illustrate and write about concepts in their own words, they are much more

likely to remember the information (Strategies that Work, 2007, p. 215).

Hopefully, through the use of a word wall, the students will be able to

understand and retain the vocabulary words given to them, and it will help

them to better understand the scientific content of the iBook.

Work Cited

Agency, T.E. Strategies that promote comprehension. Reading Rockets.

Retrieved from:
http://www.readingrockets.org/article/strategies-promote-
comprehension

Harvey S., & Goudvis A. (2007). Strategies that work: teaching

comprehension for
understanding and engagement. 12, 214-215.
Reflection on Instruction

After teaching this lesson, it went very different than I expected it to. It

did not go as smoothly as I had hoped, and I had to modify my lesson with

each group that I taught.

Strengths of my lesson were my planning and preparation. I worked

very hard to create an interesting and engaging iBook for the students, and I

collaborated with my co-operative teacher and the school librarian to set up

the iBook on the iPads. I also created a large K-W-L Chart, individual K-W-L

Charts for the students, and vocabulary cards for each group. In addition to

the charts, I also provided the students with post-it notes for them to take

notes about the book. I thought that I had been well prepared in advance to

teach the lesson; however, there were some things that I did not take into

account while teaching this lesson.

Another strength of my lesson would be my assessment. Even though

a lot of students were moving quickly through the iBook, almost every

student got at least 2/3 questions correct on the three comprehension

questions at the end of the book. I was happy that the students were able to

comprehend what I had written. It was also nice to see that if a student did

not know the answer, they could go back into the iBook and search for the

answer. Further, every student was able to find at least one interesting fact

in the iBook. Some students even wanted to write more than one fact, which

is always a pleasant surprise! The assessments that the students

participated in validated my lesson objective, which I was really pleased

with.

One area that could have been improved on was the organization of

the lesson. Because the iBook took a longer time than expected for each

group to finish, I had to change the note taking to just one interesting fact

per person. This was instead of having each student write one interesting

fact down for each chapter. The second, third, and fourth groups did not get

to utilize the glossary to find the vocabulary definitions or use the K-W-L

Chart to write down questions and facts they already knew about volcanoes.

With all these changes, the lesson quickly became chaotic and a shortage of

time was an issue and it made it difficult for each group get through the

iBook. This chaotic atmosphere affected my classroom management. I was

told last lesson that I need to work on my classroom management skills, and

believe that I need to strive to achieve better control of the classroom each

time I teach students.

My experience with using the iBook with small groups of students

definitely came with a learning curve. I think that the students need to

become more familiar with how to use and read an iBook. A lot of the

students were not familiar with how to use an iBook and needed my

guidance. During my lesson, I was showing the students on my iPad all the

cool features an iBook has to offer. However, if I was to teach this lesson

again, I would probably prepare the students with how to utilize the iBook

before giving them one to read. Another interesting experience with the
iBook was using it with a small group instead of just an individual student. It

was difficult to write an iBook that encompasses the range the reading

abilities within the classroom. I tried to provide enough support for students

who are struggling to read through the glossary, pictures, and

supplementary videos, while also writing enough information for a strong

reader to keep a more advanced reader engaged.

I believe that if I was to teach this lesson again, I would allot myself

and the students additional time to complete the iBook and the K-W-L Chart.

From this lesson, my future teaching goals are to more successfully

implement a technology lesson plan in small groups with better classroom

management. I would also love to try to use an iBook with just an individual

student to see whether or not it is successful in helping the student improve

their reading ability. This was the first time I struggled to implement a lesson.

However, I am glad that I was able to encounter problems so that I can learn

from my mistakes and am able to set goals for my next lesson.

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