Our second Digital Citizenship lesson was all about Safety and Security. We ready the story Friends Don't Eat Friends as our intro to our lesson. We determined that Shark did not actually eat Bob and that he was truly playing Hide and Go Seek at the end of Misunderstood Shark. For this lesson, I really wanted students to understand the difference between personal and private information and how some people will use clickbait to try and get people to click on links. Similar to that of our first lesson, much of the information I gathered was from Common Sense Media's Digital Citizenship Curriculum and I put a shark spin on it.
As many of my students haven't used Google Slides or some of the tools beyond basic text and inserting an image, I felt this Shark Shapegram activity would give them an opportunity to see the different tools available in Google Slides as well as how they can combine shapes to make a design. I feel my students definitely had a productive struggle with this activity and I am all for that! I keep on reminding them that in STEAM class, we do hard things because when we do hard things, our brain grows. I think we had some big brains after this class!
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Today we dove into Digital Citizenship fins first! Yesterday, everything was so new new and different to the students that I was so glad I decided to do the STEAM activity first before the lesson. Today we read the story Misunderstood Shark and all of the students loved it! I love it anytime I can include a book as part of a lesson. It gives everyone a common experience/storyline to build from.
Our first lesson in our Digital Citizenship unit was about Identity and Use. We talked about how it is important to be a good person online and offline and how our actions can influence those of others and even hurt someone else's digital footprint. Much of the information I gathered was from Common Sense Media's Digital Citizenship Curriculum and I put a shark spin on it. I have to say, although I have been told that Digital Citizenship and sharks seems like an odd combination, it is working so far. Kids are actually engaged in the activities and it gives me a purpose in teaching them how to do things in Google Slides.
For the student activity today, I created digital LEGO pieces and students had to drag them into the workspace to "build" with them. I tasked them with designing a shark with the LEGO pieces, inserting a callout bubble, and then providing a piece of advice for being a good digital citizen in the callout bubble (they accessed this through Google Classroom so each student had a template to work from). There were so many new things that they had to do in this activity and everyone stepped up to the task! In 3rd grade we built our sharks out of physical LEGO pieces and then brainstormed pieces of advice and wrote them on the board because we were getting a little short on time. It worked out perfectly as a physical or digital activity!
This week we started back in person with students, so I thought I would start with something I feel is important for all students - Digital Citizenship! I feel that this is more important than ever as we are spending a large part of our day on the computer (even if we are in-person) and it is super important for students to recognize inappropriate online behavior and how to work towards addressing it.
As important as this topic is, I completely understand that it is not the most exciting topic for students. You can picture it now, in fact, almost HEAR it, "I know, I know," "This is so boring!" and the list could go on and on. Soooo, I knew I had to "fun it up" a bit in order for it to really hit home and leave an impact. I took a suggestion from the student evaluation from Camp Legend this summer chose a theme of sharks. I figured it would be a perfect topic to weave digital citizenship in, a variety of STEAM activities, and even some Science. STEAM Activity
As Specials at my school started the same day as in-person learning, I didn't want to jump full into full-blown content first thing in the morning. I figured it was not in the best interest of anyone! ;) So instead, I chose to lead into our Shark Digital Citizenship unit with a STEAM activity that I knew would spark their interest as well as give me an opportunity to get to know students a bit better.
I created a choice board based on the book, Smart About Sharks. There were so many great facts and images in this book, that I knew it would be a perfect anchor text for our Choice Board. I was gifted this book by an amazing person in my PLN from my Shark Week Digital Citizenship Amazon Wish List and am so grateful that it made this learning activity come to life! Students were given the Choice Board and could choose any item as their starting point. I had brief descriptions and visuals on the front and more details on the back if anyone wanted more information. The students seemed to enjoy the activity and actually worked through the items pretty quickly. It is amazing the difference in their work when they are not in groups and constantly talking and sharing while they are building. It was one of the things I was hoping to observe as far as their natural collaboration and communication and what would happen when they were not in groups and the natural sharing and conversation was not one of the main parts of their learning. I learned many things today!
As we have several classes that are full remote for the year, I have also been working to not only have the materials our in-person students will need, but also those that can be used by our virtual students. I created a digital version of the print choice board and provided students with some digital LEGO pieces to build and design. I hope that my virtual students have just as much fun as the in-person students with being able to create and learn about sharks!
This past October, I attended and did graphic recording for the ISTE No Fear Coding Lab. It was an amazing experience doing graphic recording, but was also re-energizing for ways that Computer Science and Coding can be integrated into content to help students be critical thinkers and problem solvers. It got me thinking about how I can refocus some of the activities I do with teachers and students to focus on the elements of computational thinking - decomposition (breaking down a problem into smaller parts), pattern recognition (identifying similarities, differences, and patterns), abstraction (identify important information and filtering out unnecessary information), and algorithm design (identify and organize steps to solve a problem) (Source: Exploring Computational Thinking via the Backpack Redesign Challenge). So, why not code? There are so many great reasons to teach students coding!
Set the Stage to Engage
One of the teachers I work with on a weekly basis for STEAM activities had shared that her students had found code.org on her website and she was teaching them how to access and use resources on her site and they loved it. I think I had this in the back of my mind after I returned from the ISTE conference and knew that I had to do something - the stars were aligned too perfectly!
As I had determined Wall-E would be the theme for the day (other than the big word of ALGORITHM, which we said computers understand algorithms, not directions), why not have fun with a little room transformation? Some black lights, laser lights, rope lights, and other decor can quickly and easily change the look of the classroom for a dramatic effect. Plus, I found a cute little stuffed Wall-E and Eve on Amazon that I just couldn't resist! I always second guess myself if a classroom transformation is worth the time, energy, and potential distractions from students. This was simple with pretty much just additional lights (2 black lights, a small laser light, and 1 rope light string), but it is amazing the effect that it has on students. Don't get me wrong, there definitely is a few minutes of the wow-factor and exploration (even with just lights!), but it definitely sets the mood for the day, activities, and learning. Computers Need Directions
To start off the day, I wanted the students to really understand that computers NEED directions to do anything. Even though it might seem like we are typing letters and numbers on the keyboard, we are actually giving a computer directions to make a letter or number display on the screen. Each click and button pressed corresponds to a set of directions that tell the computer what to do. To really drive this point home on following directions, I asked the students to write directions about how to brush their teeth. At first they were a little confused because they thought we were doing a hands-on activity and not doing writing. They played along with me and then the teacher selected a student to read his directions to the district nurse who came by to see what they were doing (she helped me get toothbrushes and toothpaste for the activity) and she did an AWESOME job acting like a robot and carrying out his directions in front of the whole class. The students quickly realized that they needed detailed instructions and started adding more steps to their own directions even before the demonstration was done. Then we had the students read their directions to their partner and carry out the directions. This was pretty entertaining to watch! Students had a blast and I heard from several students that they never thought they would be brushing their teeth at school that day and how funny that was to them. Talk about an activity that will tell a story when they leave the building!
Enough can't be said for the amazing people who made this activity happen!
Name Coding
Once we had established that computers need directions and only follow the ones they are given, we talked about the language that computers understand and read when they are given those directions. <sarcasm> I know that the world of binary is very riveting, so talking about ones and zeros would get students super excited. </sarcasm> I thought that if I was able to help teach them that each character is read as a binary number, they would understand that even small words end up having long code behind them (once the computer interprets the code).
To help them understand how a code for a word might appear to a computer, we coded our names. Students had to identify the letters of their name, find the corresponding binary code, and then determine how many ones and zeros were in each binary letter string. Once they figured how many ones and zeros were needed for their name, they could begin assembling their binary name necklace. At first I think they seemed a little overwhelmed by the worksheet, but quickly realized that they could quickly build their code and do the necessary math to find out how many beads they would need. They were so proud of their necklaces and were excited to share what they did with their families. Guest Speaker
Prior to our day of code, I put my feelers out there for anyone who works with coding and would be interested in sharing what they do with 4th graders. Marc Petz was highly-recommended from other EdTechs in my county (as he teaches 3D Animation and Game Design at our county Tech Center). The kids were totally captivated by what he had to share (he hooked them with Epic Games and Fortnite - what 4th grader wouldn't be hooked?!) about how he uses coding as well as projects he is doing with his own students (their autism app looks amazing!). Marc was awesome in how he shared and engaged with the kids and was even so kind to share some 3D printed sharks and coins that he and his students had printed. Students had never thought that there was coding that was necessary to 3D print something! I am so grateful for my PLN and their suggestions! Having Marc as a guest speaker was an AMAZING part of our day and gave students a fresh face with fresh ideas for how coding is embedded in the world around them. Thank you, Marc!
Code a Path
Out of all the activities for the day, this one was probably the most challenging and tested their grit level to the extreme. The teacher shared some of the math concepts they were reviewing, so I created task cards with a variety of those types of problems. Students had to first solve the problem and then find the corresponding correct answer from a multiple choice list on their task card. Then (based on their answer), they placed a green start circle and a red end circle on their coordinate graphing grid. This set up where they would have to begin their coding. At the top of each coordinate graphing grid, there were instructions to place other pieces on the grid. These represented the roadblocks that coders encounter as they are working on a problem. They then had to code their way from the start circle to the end circle using 3D printed coding pieces. I knew that this activity had a lot of steps and would challenge them, but I wanted to incorporate their math content into an activity to show them that coding is not always separate from everything else that they do. The struggle was definitely real, but once some groups (of two) picked up on how this activity worked, they started making some progress forward. The part about being able to code around the pieces was the incentive to help them persevere through the math problems.
Run the Red Carpet
After a couple of activities, I knew we would be ready for a little break. I found a perfect video on GoNoodle that would fit perfectly with our coding theme - Run the Red Carpet! The kids loved it, loved getting up and moving around, and as teachers, I think we needed the brain break as much as the students!
Code the Red Carpet with Ozobots
Our Day of Code ended up being many unplgugged activities due to testing that was going on in the building. I am so glad so many unplugged coding activities in my back pocket that would really help students understand the basics of computational thinking and coding. Our semi-plugged activity that we did was using Ozobots to "Code the Red Carpet." The last activity we had completed was our "Run the Red Carpet" brain break, so now it was time to introduce the robots and let them "Code the Red Carpet!" The kiddos were SO EXCITED about this! We gave them some scrap paper to play around with the different Ozobot codes before moving their big code to a long piece of paper. They worked really well as a group to come up with a code and were so excited to see what other groups had created. At one point, a student placed their groups' Ozobot on another groups' red carpet while they were demonstrating and their minds were blown that multiple Ozobots could work on the same line of code at the same time. It was a great moment as a teacher to see when their ideas come together into something even bigger and better than their individual thoughts and ideas.
Code a Dance Party
This was the final activity that I planned for the day, but time got away from us and we never actually were able to code a dance party. I thought I would still share the resources I had prepped in case anyone else would find them useful! For this activity, I was simply going to have them create a "code" for a partner that started with "START" and "ended" with "LOOP." The teacher would play a song and the students would have to dance out the code. Then the students would switch positions and the coder would dance and the dancer would code. This activity was going to be the final activity that really demonstrated the executing of an ALGORITHM and how computers do what they are told, which is where coding comes into play!
Additional Resources
The students noticed right away that I was wearing a coding shirt and thought it was so cool because it looked like the coding that they had done on code.org. They loved the hand stamp even more because it looked just like my shirt and I used my grape smelling stamp pad. I would consider our Day of Code/Hour of Code to be a success!
Back towards the end of September, one of our 6th grade teachers and I started talking about a book that she was going to be reading to her class. I am not even really sure how our conversation turned into a conversation about thematic learning, but it eventually started moving in that direction and we started brainstorming some ideas for different teaching approaches for the book she was going to be reading, Trash by Andy Mulligan with the theme of child labor. We were able to talk to some other teachers to be part of the unit and they were on board to try something new with us!
The involvement in the unit we did ended up including the following teachers:
At the beginning of the unit, we pre-assessed students on how they preferred to learn. We wanted to pre-assess more than just the content, but also the life skills that our students need to be successful in beyond the content (collaboration, communication, critical thinking, creative innovation, and confidence). We know the self-assessment was not the most accurate way of gauging growth, but we wanted to start somewhere (as the 6Cs are new to us as well as students!), and we felt seeing what the students preferred for learning would give us some good insight that might help us develop theme activities.
Below is a highlight video of our work within our thematic learning experience. Keep in mind, even doing video interviews was out of our comfort zones as staff, but was a great way to reflect on the experience. I have also outlined the elements of the theme that I was involved with in some way.
Sewing Wallets & Keychains
Without giving too much away, in the book, one of the characters finds a wallet. The contents of the wallet are critical to the remainder of the book and students understood the connections the wallet had to the bigger part of the story. So, as a STEAM component, we had the students create faux leather wallets and keychains. The idea stemmed from the ELA teacher's children's wallets and keychains they made at summer camp one year. We used those as a guide and created templates for the students to use in cutting out their leather.
For most students, this was their first time sewing anything. It was a great lesson in following a pattern/directions, measuring, and troubleshooting problems with their peers. So many truly enjoyed the experience! What was particularly surprising to me was that many of the boys were the first to comment on how fun it was to sew and how relaxing it was creating the wallets and keychains.
Guest Speaker
To tie in a real-world experience into the thematic learning, we were able to find out that one of our School Community Coordinators (Miss Marie from Kent School Services Network) had visited a dump site in Guatemala when she was in college. She share pictures of her experience and how Safe Passages/ Camina Seguro (that is close in proximity to the dump) helps children receive an education and other social services while their parents and families are working at the dump site. At that time, Guatemala was coming off a 36-year civil war, so the country was in the process of starting to regroup and rebuild. The students were totally captivated by information and pictures she shared (some of the images she shared are below). It really helped them connect the story of Trash to a real-world situation.
Some facts she shared that surprised the students:
Spanish Market
Each year our High School Spanish Club puts on a Spanish Market where students cook, create, and sell items to raise money for scholarships sponsored by the Spanish Club. These scholarships are in memory of Spanish teachers from the MS/HS who have passed away (Fred Solis - Solis Scholarship - and Elayna Durso -Elayna Durso Scholarship). Students take a lot of pride in this day and it is a culturally responsive teaching opportunity in our district.
During the Spanish Market, our 6th graders had a table set up where they were selling their wallets and keychains. They decided they wanted to set out a donation jar as well to raise money for Safe Passages/Camina Seguro. The students donated half of their proceeds to the Spanish Market for their scholarship fundraising and then the other half to Safe Passages. The remainder of the wallets and keychains were donated to our school fundraiser for Operation Christmas Child.
When the students came up to the Media Center for the Spanish Market, they beelined for their table and had to look and see if someone had purchased their creation. If they were still there, many purchased their own to give as gifts. When their wallet or keychain was not there, there was an initial look of disappointment, but that quickly faded to pride as they realized that someone had wanted to buy what they had personally made. One student even claimed she was "Gucci" after finding out her wallet sold (complete with a little celebratory dance). Breakout EDU
At the end of the unit, students participated in a Breakout EDU game. I designed the game so that it not only covered key elements of the book, but also incorporated the vocabulary they used as part of their article exploration. Students were so excited when they walked in and saw the boxes! I love doing Breakout games when I get to see a different side of the students and how they work under a bit of pressure as well their innate competitive nature that comes out in wanting to be the first to solve all of the clues. We definitely learned that the students knew the content with no problem, but struggled with some of the critical thinking, collaboration, and communication skills that were necessary to solve the puzzles. And let's not forget about logic puzzles...oh the logic puzzles! One of the clues incorporated a logic puzzle and the ELA teacher and I quickly realized this was a skill that was not one of their strongest and we could definitely do more with logic puzzles in the future!
Overall
To my knowledge, this was the first time this group of students had participated in a thematic learning experience. We used the same scale for measurement, and my opinion for the decline in the averages was that students might not have known on the pre-assessment what a "Level 4" truly meant until they had an experience to connect it to (compared to the other levels). Interestingly, the "Content" area scored the lowest overall, with the other 5Cs being significantly higher - our students seemed to want and enjoy learning experiences that are beyond individual learning!
We also asked students in the post-assessment to rate how they felt about the activities that they completed as part of the unit. The thought was that this would give us insight not only to the activities that they enjoyed, but the skills that were incorporated into those activities.
Without a doubt, I would definitely encourage a thematic learning experience for teachers and students! It helped the students make deeper connections (have a conversation with any of them - they will tell you the entire book and how it related back to their learning experiences!) and provided them with different opportunities for learning. Yes, it definitely requires some additional time on the teacher's end to front-load work and activities, but the payoff is huge! Conversations from teachers that participated in this unit have already begun for things we want to build upon for next year - definitely a sign of a good experience on the teacher's end!
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