Assignment #2

Forming Paragraphs

This lesson uses a few different Smart Board features however, in the slides I am going to use I will use the pen feature, the convert to text feature, and a drag-and-drop table.

The NETS for teachers this activity incorporates is 2.a: design or adapt relevant learning experiences that incorporate digital tools and resources to promote student learning and creativity. The forming paragraph activity covers this standard since it takes relevant knowledge for writing paragraphs and transfers it to a digital tool (the Smart Board). Using the Smart Board then encourages students to creatively get involve in the learning by bringing them to the board and having them write their own sentences and definitions.

Also it incorporates teacher NETS 3.b: collaborate with students, peers, parents, and community members using digital tools and resources to support student success and innovation. The activity has this NETS since in this lesson the teacher has the students write their own definitions of paragraphs and then has them write their own paragraphs all on the Smart Board in front of the class. Thus, the student is collaborating with the teacher to learn the content together through the use of the digital tool or the Smart Board.

The NETS for students this activity covers is 1.a: apply existing knowledge to generate new ideas, products, or processes. The activity covers this NET since the students take knowledge they already have about paragraphs and apply that knowledge on the Smart Board to develop new ideas about connecting sentences within paragraphs.

The activity also covers NETS for students 2.d: contribute to project teams to produce original works or solve problems. The activity covers this NET since the students collaborate with the whole class and take turns to write sentences for a paragraph, add to definitions, and answer questions on the drag-and-drop table.

It is hard not to see how beneficial interactive white boards are in the classroom. In this activity I see how such a simple lesson about connection sentences within paragraphs can become a fun creative way for my students to interact in their own learning. I know that my students will be much more engaged in learning if they are apart of it. Any time a teacher takes students out of their seats to put in their own ideas into the learning the students will not get bored. For one thing, boys tend to have a harder time being interested in Language Arts, but if I can get them engaged in the lesson using an interactive white board I will have an easier time getting through to them. I only hope that I become proficient enough at using interactive white boards so that I will not have to spend hours creating activities, and will have an easier time engaging my students into learning about Literature and Writing.