The Tech Savvy Teacher

As fellow teachers, we are constantly looking for new ways to get our students interested and excited about learning. Technology is a great way to enhance your content and pedagogy and spark all of your student's interests. In this Tech Savvy Article, I will discuss how we incorporated two certain technologies into our lesson plan centered on the four seasons. For the Kindergarten state core of standard 3, objectives 1a and 1e it says, respectively, students should be able to, "observe and describe typical weather for each of the seasons" and "describe how people change their behavior as the seasons change." By incorporating these standards and having them inquire about their environment through the use of technology, the students will receive a more hands-on activity and be independent learners.

We began with a discussion of the changing of the weathers. We asked them questions like, "Is every day hot and sunny?", "Do you notice how some days are hot and some days are cold?", "When does it snow- when it's hot/when it's cold?", etc. We then discussed the four different seasons and the various attributes of each. Then each student used the computer program "Kidspiration" and used the activity named, "seasons" under the science section. They then scrolled through the numerous pages of clip art pictures and drag them into the specific season box to which they thought it belonged to.

We then had the assignment to take the class digital camera and pair up with someone to take pictures of what people would wear in that season.

They used the classroom's dramatic play costume box to dress each other up (each student wore the attire for two of the seasons- four in total). They then brought the camera back to the computer with their Kidsperation piece still open. With the assistance of the teacher, they imported the four pictures. After they were imported, they placed them in the corresponding section of season.

Kidsperation is a really useful computer program. They have resources for reading, writing, math, social studies, science, and more. Using the 'seasons' activity, it helped the students organize their ideas and facts about the different seasons. It encouraged them to inquire the reasoning for the classification of the pictures. There was much discussion on why or why not certain pictures belonged in certain seasons. They learned about their environment through testing out ideas and through inquiry. Through using the digital camera, the students were able to interpret their ideas of the seasons and how one would dress during that season. They independently acted out their ideas and saw them carried onto the computer and then onto printed paper. They saw for themselves how to collect and organize different types of data- not just numbers, but clip art and their own life pictures. It brought technology and the idea of seasons alive and made it much more personal.