The Tech Savvy Teacher

September 25, 2008

The Tech Savvy Teacher

By: Christina Sears

As teachers we all know that technology is worming its way into education more and more. Students these days are becoming more technologically advanced than their peers and even their parents, and at younger ages as well. It is imperative, then, that teachers find ways to incorporate this new technology into the classroom. Below is a good example of a Kindergarten science lesson that incorporates technology, effective pedagogy, and the Utah core curriculum content in a fun and exciting way.

This lesson comes from the Utah Kindergarten Core Curriculum. It is found in Standard 3, which states that students will develop an understanding of their environment. More specifically, as stated in Objective 1, students will investigate the changes in the seasons. Keep these other goals in mind as you conduct this lesson:

-identify the seasons and represent each with pictures and songs

-observe and describe typical weather for each of the seasons

-describe the information each of the five senses provides with the changing of seasons

First you want to introduce and describe what a season is to the class. Discuss what different seasons feel like, using the five senses (ie do you feel warm or cold when the sun comes out?). Explain that there are four seasons, and ask if anyone can name them. Using a projector, so that all the students may see, open up Kidsperation. Open up the Kidsperation activities, and then open the Science activities. Scroll down until you find the activity named "Weather and Seasons", and open it up. Explain to the class that you are going to place what weather happens in each of the seasons. Pick Utah as a state (or the state that you are in at the moment). Drag it into the lower right blue box, and name it as "Utah". Next, ask the class to describe to you what each of the pictures means. Point to a picture (a sun, cloud, etc) and have the students describe what that feels and looks like, so that the students know what each picture means. Next, have the class describe what the weather is like for summer. Have them help you, as a class, to choose which icons to drag into the "summer" box. Make sure to help them understand when summer is and what it feels like, so that they know how to describe it.

Divide the class into groups of two or three. Have each of the students open up Kidsperation on a computer, and let them try to do the same thing you did as a class, but for "fall", "winter", and "spring". Help students as needed. Make sure that the students take turns using the computer, and that everyone is participating. Bring the class back together, and have them contribute, as a class, to help you as the teacher fill in the other seasons, discussing why different symbols go in each of the boxes.

It is easy to see how easy technology can be incorporated into the classroom. Students learn and grow in so many more ways when they get to experience technology hands-on and utilize it themselves. This lesson was an effective way to teach students about weather and the changing seasons, while at the same time enjoying themselves and strengthening their technological abilities. What a great way to learn!