Lesson+9

Lesson #9

Drawing Mt. St. Helens In this lesson we will first read about the volcano, right in our own backyard. Then you will take that knowledge and draw your own version of the volcano, using maps found online.

The Assignment: ﻿The students will first watch the video story I created, detailing the eruption of Mt. St. Helen in 1980. After watching the video separately, the students will get in groups and discuss what they learned and talk about volcanos in general. After the group discussions we will talk over some questions I have created, so that I can assess their learning. Then I will give the students some materials to draw their own Mt. St. Helens. They will have the option to draw the volcano before the eruption or after based on pictures and maps found on the internet. I will give them 30 minutes to research what the mountain looked like. After that they will have another 30 minutes to draw. If they do not finish the drawing in class they can take it home over the weekend or work on it in their free period. The drawing must have a minimum of 5 details about the mountain. Meaning details like river placement, and the names of geological features. If the student does not want to do the assignment on paper but would rather use a technology in the form of a Web 2.0 tool, they may do so! They could use QuickMap to add details to a google map and draw on it! They could also use Cacoo to draw their own map from scratch, or the could use Sketchfu to create an animated drawing of the volcano and add details using these Web 2.0 tool. It the student decides to use a technology instead of an actual poster board material they must post their product on the classroom posting webpageAgain the students will need the password Learning to use this site for posting their material. Either way the student is still required to include 5 different geological features of their map of Mt. St. Helens. I also expect the student to understand what each of those features are, and that if I asked they would be able to explain the features to me. Look below for an exemplar posting of each tool, right below the digital storybook video.

The Materials : You will need, a computer, the internet, access to the materials for drawing, or access and accounts with Quick Map, Sketchfu, or Cacoo, also might need access to the Classroom website and the password Learning, a critically thinking mind, and a great attitude.

The Technological Aspects:  The students will be able to gain a better understanding of the Mt. St. Helens eruption using a story time feature through the internet. They will be more comfortable learning from an excited familiar voice rather than the monotone voices of education videos of the past. It will be an interesting way to present educational material that will hopefully keep their attention over the long run. Students used to fall asleep during class videos that were long and tedious. I am hoping this new method for telling a digital story will keep them engaged and that they will appreciate it's brevity. By offering the option of using a technology versus an actual paper type drawing, I think I can make all students happy and give them more control of their learning. I also like that students can break out of their shells and start using technology that will help and benefit their computer skills for later life.

My Evaluation of the Lesson After it has Been Completed : ﻿I am hoping this will allow some students to get out their creative styles when drawing their mountains. I want the children to be able to think about the mountain using their photographic minds. By allowing more choice in the assignment I felt the students expand their control and their projects because they felt comfortable with the medium. Overall I think the students will appreciate the time to relax and draw.

My Concerns: I am concerned for the students who have motor disabilities, I might need to provide them with an alternative lesson, especially if they are having a hard time using fine motor skills to control a pen and a mouse. Something that they can create and still do when learning about Mt. St. Helens, maybe an alternative Web 2.0 tools. I am also concerned that some students might use this time of a relaxing assignment to goof off. I don't want students taking time and materials to draw something not related to the classwork. I think I will need to police the work the students are doing to make sure they are staying on task.

The Digital Story Mrs. Meyer created about Mt. St. Helen ﻿media type="youtube" key="gqM4HoSybGg" height="390" width="480"

Here is the QuickMap exemplar.

<span style="color: #114aee; font-family: 'Palatino Linotype','Book Antiqua',Palatino,serif; line-height: 0px; overflow-x: hidden; overflow-y: hidden;">media type="custom" key="9132962"

<span style="color: #114aee; font-family: 'Palatino Linotype','Book Antiqua',Palatino,serif; line-height: 0px; overflow-x: hidden; overflow-y: hidden;">Here it the Cacoo exemplar.

<span style="color: #114aee; font-family: 'Palatino Linotype','Book Antiqua',Palatino,serif; line-height: 0px; overflow-x: hidden; overflow-y: hidden;">media type="custom" key="9134410"

<span style="color: #114aee; font-family: 'Palatino Linotype','Book Antiqua',Palatino,serif;">Here is the Sketchfu exemplar, each step is one of the details from the above Cacoo exemplar. If you choose this option I will have you explain each detail to the class!

<span style="color: #114aee; font-family: 'Palatino Linotype','Book Antiqua',Palatino,serif; line-height: 0px; overflow-x: hidden; overflow-y: hidden;">﻿media type="custom" key="9135836"