Digital Storytelling Lesson Plan

Digital Storytelling

Lesson Plan

NCES:

1.P.1 Understand how forces (pushes or pulls) affect the motion of an object.

NETS:

1.SI.1   Recall useful sources of information.

1.IN.1 Understand the difference between text read for enjoyment and text read for information.

1.TT.1 Use technology tools and skills to reinforce classroom concepts and activities.

1.RP.1 Remember the steps of a simple (or simplified) research process.

1.SE.1 Understand safety and ethical issues related to the responsible use of information and technology resources.

Website Used:

http://www.tarheelreader.org

Link to DS example on TarheelReader:

http://tarheelreader.org/2011/02/10/force/

Purpose:

• To reinforce key ideas learned about force. This lesson extension will be used to define force as the push or pull on an object.

Essential Question:

What is force and how is it performed?

Procedure:

·         Read Force by Daltynn and Tristen. Students will view the digital storybook using the AverKey in the classroom.

·         Using the essential question, students will read and take notes using a graphic organizer.

·         Place a stack of three or four washers or coins on top of a strip of paper on a table or flat desktop surface, making sure that most of the paper is hanging off the surface. Ask students to predict what will happen if you quickly pull the strip of paper off the table. After they have made their guesses, grab the paper and swiftly pull it out from under the washers or coins in a downward motion. (The objects should stay on the table.) Explain how the coins or washers resisted movement even though the paper below them was moved away.

• Explain to the students that objects at rest, like the washers or coins lying on the table, tend to stay at rest. Introduce this property as inertia. (Inertia also involves moving objects that stay in motion.) Objects only move if we push or pull them in a new direction. This pushing or pulling is called force.

• Have students stand up behind their chairs. Ask, “Why isn’t your chair moving?” Invite responses and then explain that the chair is standing still. Nothing is forcing the chair to move.

• Ask students to help you make a list of things that could cause an object, such as the chair, to move. (For example, someone pushing or pulling it, another object hitting it, a strong wind pushing it, a magnet pulling it, etc.)

• Encourage students to think of daily activities—at home, at school or on the playground—that require them to push or pull an object. (For example, pushing a swing forward, pushing on a pencil to write, pulling a sheet up to make the bed, pushing a door open or pulling it closed, etc.) Write a few of their ideas on chart paper.

• Invite students to play a game of charades. Have volunteers take turns acting out an activity that uses force. Have other students guess the action and identify it as pushing or pulling.

• Remind students that an object at rest tends to stay at rest unless a direct force (push or pull) makes it move. Ask students to recall the coins or washers on the paper at the beginning of this lesson. Reinforce the idea that the objects themselves—not the things around them, like the paper—have to be pushed or pulled.

Guided Practice:

• Tell students that they will go out to the playground to learn about force. Explain that they will choose an activity and decide whether it involves pushing or pulling.

• When you go outside, have students try a few of these activities:
• Doing a chin-up on a horizontal bar
• Climbing up a slide
• Rolling a ball down a slide
• Moving a partner on a swing
• Rolling or kicking a ball across the grass
• Playing a game of tug-of-war

• After students have completed the activities, review each one and discuss whether it involved a pulling or pushing motion.

Independent Practice:

• Photocopy a Push/Pull recording sheet for each pair of students in your class. Pair students with a partner and explain that students are going to test how force is used to move a variety of objects.

• Have each pair stick a small piece of masking tape to the floor to use as a starting line. Give each pair three or four small objects to test (e.g., a pencil, a penny, a ball, a toy car, etc.), some measuring tape and a copy of the Push/Pull recording sheet.

• Challenge students to place the objects on the starting line and give each object a push. Ask students to measure and record on the sheet how far each object traveled before it stopped.

• Have students repeat the test, giving each object a pull instead. Ask them to measure and record how far each object traveled this time.

• After they have tested the objects, engage students in a discussion about their observations. Ask:
• Did you find that certain objects traveled farther than others when pushed or pulled? Which ones? (Explain that the weight of an object can affect how fast it moves.)

• Did any of your objects stop moving on their own? Did other objects have to run into something else that made them stop? (Introduce the concept of friction, explaining that objects slow down when they come in contact with each other. For example, a toy car rolling on the ground can slow down when it hits pebbles or a clump of grass.)

• Do you think the strength of your push or pull motion affected the outcome of these tests? (Help students understand that the amount of force used to push or pull an object affects the distance it travels.)

Ticket-out:

·         A completed Push/Pull recording sheet

Modifications:

·         There will be no modifications needed for this lesson extension.

Student Assessment Plan:

·         This will be graded as an informal assessment.

Reflection:

During this unit on Force, students will identify whether the force being exerted on an object is pushing or pulling. Students will also understand and demonstrate that an object at rest tends to stay at rest. Digital Storytelling can be a tool for students to create their own stories. Being that I teach first grade, writing is a very difficult part to my students learning. I realized that students who participate in creating digital stories enhance their communication skills by learning to organize their ideas, ask questions, express opinions, and construct narratives. This is hard for some students to do. It can help students as they learn to create stories for an audience, and present their ideas and knowledge in an individual and meaningful way. Digital Storytelling helps students with diverse learning styles and can increase collaboration when students are able to work in groups, and provides value in enhancing the student experience through personal ownership and accomplishment.

I chose to use Tarheel Reader because there are so many books related to specific topics. They incorporated visuals, text, and voice. The book that I chose was written by children, an added bonus for my young students. It was easy to read so even my non-readers would be able to use to pictures to comprehend the text. This lesson will allow students to use the book to further explain what force is and be able to complete the hands on tasks also. I did not produce my own book due to not getting a user code from Tarheel Reader. Hopefully at a later date I will receive the code because I would love for my students to produce their own books about force and use pictures of themselves displaying the actions. This would be a great way to display what the students have learned throughout the year as a digital portfolio for their parents and my principal at the end of the year. The students would have the opportunity to share their work with their peers.