Teddy Bear Project
Project Name: Teddy Bear Project
Age Level:
15-18 (Secondary)
Subject Areas:
English as a Foreign Language
Summary: English as a Second Language learners will have a Teddy Bear help them learn English. (COMMON CORE STATE STANDARDS ALIGNED)
Teddy Bear Project
This project plan was developed for the iEARN Teddy Bear Project
Teacher goals:
My goal is to motivate my students so they will be eager to practice their new English language skills.
Student goals:
- Practice everyday vocabulary words
- Practice English language grammar and syntax.
- Practice written conversational skill
What knowledge will students acquire by engaging in this project?
- New vocabulary
- English grammar, usage, and syntax
State, local, and/or national curriculum standards that this project addresses
Common Core State Standards
- Reading – Craft and Structure 4. Determine the meaning of words and phrases as they are used in a text, including figurative and connotative meanings; analyze the impact of a specific word choice on meaning and tone.
- Reading - Integration of Knowledge and Ideas 9. Compare and contrast one author’s presentation of events with that of another (e.g., a memoir written by and a biography on the same person).
- Reading - Integration of Knowledge and Ideas 7. Integrate and evaluate content presented in diverse media and formats, including visually and quantitatively, as well as in words.
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Writing -Text Types and Purposes 2. Write informative/explanatory texts to examine a topic and convey ideas, concepts, and information through the selection, organization, and analysis or relevant content.
a. Introduce a topic; organize ideas, concepts, and information, using strategies such as definition, classification, comparison/contrast, and cause/effect; include formatting (e.g., headings), graphics (e.g., charts, tables), and multimedia when useful to aiding comprehension.
b. Develop the topic with relevant facts, definitions, concrete details, quotations, or other information and examples.
c. Use appropriate transitions to clarify the relationships among ideas and concepts.
d. Use precise language and domain-specific vocabulary to inform about or explain the topic.
e. Establish and maintain a formal style.
f. Provide a concluding statement or section that follows from the information or explanation presented. - Speaking and Listening - Comprehension and Collaboration 1. Prepare for and participate effectively in a range of conversations and collaborations with diverse partners, building on others’ ideas and expressing their own clearly and persuasively.
- Language - Conventions of Standard English 1. Demonstrate command of the conventions of standard English grammar and usage when writing or speaking.
- Language - Conventions of Standard English 2. Demonstrate command of the conventions of standard English capitalization, punctuation, and spelling when writing.
Timetable
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Week 1 (Sept. 12 – 19) 3 classes
Introduce project; motivate students; connect with iEARN Project Forum; begin journaling about experience with project
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Week 2 (Sept 19 – 23) 2 classes
Send/get bear; begin recording and connecting through iEARN forum; continue journaling -
Week 3 (Sept 26 – 30) 3 classes
Continue communicating information; research other country; continue journaling - Week 4 (Oct 3 – 7) 2 classes Wrap up project; conclude; write reflections; continue journaling
How many times a week will you be involved in the project?
2 to 3 times a week (class meets every other day for 84 minutes)
Specific lessons
Introduction
How will you present this project to your students?
Discuss penpals; how many communicate regularly with friends in home country; value about learning about other cultures, etc.
How will you tie it into their curricular studies?
Tie in by researching other country/culture – history of the country/culture; can tie into math by figuring out how far away country is, etc.
How will you get them interested in the topic?
Model for them; have them set goals; benefits of projects such as this
What background knowledge do your students bring to the project?
Coming from another culture; have developed skills in communicating (not afraid to speak with other cultures)
Productivity of work
Will your students need to do research for their project?
Yes, my students will have to do research for their project. Most of this research will be completed during the introduction portion of the project. The research will focus around learning about the cultures and countries of the other students in the project. There will also be some research during the conclusion of the project because students will have to research and decide which type of with what type of media would be most effective to present their final project outcomes.
How will they be organized to gather information?
Students will be gathered into small groups or partners to gather information. Then we will meet as a class and divide up the information we need to find. Each group/partnership will be assigned specific topics to research and report on.
Who will be responsible and in charge?
The class as a whole will be responsible. The groups will check in every day and update their progress on a chart that will be posted on the wall.
How will you handle the project exchanges, how often, who will be in charge?
- Project exchanges will be made during a portion of every class.
- At the beginning of each class, we will read the exchanges and discuss how to answer. This decision will be made as a whole class. Then a group will be chosen to be the responder (there will be a schedule, so all groups get a chance to respond). They group responding will prepare a response and share it with the class for approval. Then they will respond.
- The entire class will be charge because everyone will get a chance to collaborate about what to put into the email and then again when listening to the group’s response.
Collaboration
How and when will your students collaborate or communicate with other students in the iEARN network?
My students will communicate with other students in the iEARN network during a portion of every class. They will experiment with different types of communication (email, video, photos, etc.). This way, my students can discuss what pros and cons there are to each type of communication.
Assessment of student work
How will the appropriateness of student work be evaluated?
The class as a whole will spend time reading about Netiquette and discussing how to be appropriate on the in their communications. Each class, one group will be responsible for checking the appropriateness of the other groups. Issues of inappropriateness will be discussed by the entire class.
How will you assess the student work in the introduction stage of the project?
- K-W-L chart about the country of the other participants
- Videotaped presentations about the culture (sent to our partners for critique as well)
How will you assess the student work in the implementation of the project?
- Learning Journal entries
- Exit slips
- Quality of group collaboration
How will you assess the student work in conclusion of the project?
- Reflection on project
- Final Project assessment (this grade will be based upon a rubric that will be made up by the class)
Conclusion of activity
When does your participation in the project end?
Our participation in the project ends after six weeks, and when we have shared our final project with our iEARN partners and local community.
How will the students draw their projects to a conclusion?
- They will present their projects and write a reflection about the project as a whole.
- Action items to consider in this phase
- Getting TV time or an okay from the newspaper.
Possible skills students will use/learn
- Computer skills - Email, power point, iphoto, video
- Research skills -Internet research (besides google), note-taking, summarizing, questioning, evaluating
- English language skills - Writing, speaking, listening, vocabulary building, grammatical structure
- Critique skills - Netiquette
- Social skills - Collaboration, giving effective criticism sensitively, leadership, organization
- Artistic skills - Visual art, performance, music, newspaper
