Unit Plan

Unit Plan Template
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Unit Author
First and Last Name: Witney Willhite i
School District: Tuttle Public Schools
School Name: Tuttle Elementary School
School City, State: Tuttle, Oklahoma

Unit Overview
Unit Title The Life of a Butterfly
Unit Summary
This unit involves learning about the life stages a butterfly goes through. Students will research and explore the life stages a butterfly goes through. The students will participate in reenact the life stages of a butterfly. The students will use techonology (digital story, powerpoint, voicethread, etc.) to share the information learned and their experience of reenacting information they have learned about butterflies..

Subject Area: Language Arts and Science
Grade Level: 1st Grade
Approximate Time Needed
Approximately two weeks using class times and centers.
Unit Foundation
Targeted Content Standards and Benchmarks

Oklahoma PASS: Language Arts, Grade 1, Standard 1.B: Use blends, digraphs, and diphthongs.
Students will build their language skills by understanding the use of blends, digraphs, and diphthongs.
Students will learn at their language arts center the blends, diagraphs, and diphthongs by trying to find examples of them in the different life stages in a butterfly.

Oklahoma PASS: SCIENCE PROCESSES AND INQUIRY. Standard 2. Classify - Classifying establishes order. Objects, organisms, and events are classified based on similarities, differences, and interrelationships. The student will accomplish these objectives to meet this process standard.

Students will learn to access information learned about butterflies. Students will learn to analyze and evaluate information and will report on their findings in a variety of formats.

Oklahoma PASS: Instructional Technology, Grade 1-12, Standard 3: The student will demonstrate knowledge of technology productivity tool.

The students will use technology tools (presentation, Web tools, digital cameras) for individual and collaborative writing, communication, and publishing activities to create knowledge products for audiences inside and outside the classroom.
Student Objectives/Learning Outcomes
Students have an understanding of the life stages of a butterfly.
Students have a familiarization with technology productivity tools.
Students have learned how to access, analyze and evaluate information.

Curriculum-Framing Questions
Essential Question What is a butterfly?
Unit Questions What are the different stages a butterfly goes through?
Content Questions How do we select the best source for information? How do we use technology productivity tools? What is the best way to communicate the information I have learned?
Assessment Plan
Assessment Timeline

Before project work begins Students work on projects and complete tasks After project work is completed

Day One Day Three Day Five Day Seven Day Eight Day Nine
• A pre-reading worksheet/ activity about butterflies will be given to the students to help determine prior knowledge. • An internet safety course and worksheet will be given to ensure the students' understanding of the importance of proper internet use. • On day five students will meet in groups to see where each group is at with their research and discuss their ideas for their presentation. • I will be taking a look at each group's presentation and address any questions or concerns that each group may have. •The students will be required to participate in the reenactment of the life cycles of butterflies. • The students will make edible caterpillars.


Assessment Summary
Throughout the unit I will rely heavily on conferencing as an assessment tool. I will be meeting with the groups regularly to monitor progress and make sure the students are staying on task. I will occassionally use a worksheet to guage prior knowledge. Although this will not be graded for answers, I will want to use this worksheet as maybe a participation grade. The internet safety worksheet will be taken as a grade for answers. I want to ensure that my students understand the importance of safety and what a responsibility it is to be able to use the internet properly. I will be grading the students' final presentation. I am looking for effort. I want the students to understand butterflies and how important they are to our ecosystem.
Unit Details
Prerequisite Skills
Students will need some prior knowledge of research skills and possibly some technology skills.
Instructional Procedures
Our first day in this unit I will inquire about the students prior knowledge about butterflies. I will use child books about butterflies and open the doors to further exploration into how butterflies go through their life stages.
The next day unit will begin with using the text book to learn basic information about Butterflies and open the doors to further exploration into how butterflies go through their life stages.
On day 3 we will begin taking time to use textbooks and reference materials in our classroom and library to begin doing research on butterflies and their life cycles. I will split the students into groups so now they can begin learning collaborate. Each group will be in charge of gathering information on their life cycle. Every group will discuss a different cycle.
The students will continue their research and we will begin discussing proper internet behavior followed by an assigment. Then I will allow the students to use the internet in the school computer lab to conduct their research. I will also take this time to begin introducing some technology productivity tools. I want to encourage the students to think critically about the information they find and encourage them to truly analyze and evalute the information.
On day 5, the students will be given time to discuss how they would like to share their information. We will begin discussing different options such as building a power point, video recording, voicethread, etc. to share their research with the rest of the class. Students will also be working on their reenactment of the life cycles of a butterfly for the presentation we will be doing at the end of the unit.
The following day students will begin wrapping up their research and discuss how they would like to put their information together. They will begin putting their presentations together.
On day 7, I would like to see what the students have accomplished and encourage them to keep working. This will mark one of the final days to compile their research into their presentation.
On day 8, the students will participate in a sharing their cycles. Using the research they have gathered they will be able to recreate this process. Afterwards there will be games about butterflies and an edible caterpillar stage and the students will have the chance to participate.
The following day the students will put together their presentation of the life cycles of a butterfly for their parents.
On our final day the groups will present their projects. I would like for parents and family to join us so that they can see what their student has learned! I want the students to document their experience. I would also like to encourage parents and family to come join. I would also like to encourage parents to assist in setting up!
Accommodations for Differentiated Instruction

Special Needs Students

Special Needs Students will be given more time to complete assignments. Most assignments will be done collaboratively allowing students will special needs assitance from their peers.

Nonnative Speakers

Nonnative speakers will be allowed more time to complete assignments. Peers in their groups will also be able to assist these students in the research process.

Gifted/Talented Students
Gifted and talented students will also be learning about butterflies from their gifted and talented teachers. We have arranged for them to make models of butterflies.

Materials and Resources Required For Unit
Technology – Hardware (Click boxes of all equipment needed)
© 2008 Intel Corporation. All Rights Reserved. Page 3 of 3

Intel® Teach Program
Essentials Course

Camera
Computer(s) X
Digital Camera X
DVD Player
Internet Connection Laser Disk
Printer
Projection System X
Scanner
Television VCR
Video Camera X
Video Conferencing Equip.
Other
Technology – Software (Click boxes of all software needed.)
Database/Spreadsheet
Desktop Publishing
E-mail Software
Encyclopedia on CD-ROM X Image Processing
Internet Web Browser X
Multimedia
Web Page Development X
Word Processing X
Other
© 2000-2007 Intel Corporation. All Rights Reserved. Page 4 of 5


Printed Materials Textbooks and reference materials will be used to learn about Butterflies and also to conduct research about Butterflies.
Supplies Video Cameras and Digital Cameras will be used to document the students' experience throughout the learning process and will also provide a means of communication for them to share their experiences and what they learned.

Internet Resources
Wikipedia.com,
Encyclopedia.com,
http://butterflywebsite.com/,
http://www.kidsbutterfly.org/
These internet resources will be used to conduct research over the life cycles of butterflies, their innate ability to migrate, and their contributions.
Voicethread.com will be allowed as an option for the students to share their story about their experience with this unit.

Other Resources I would like to use guest speakers who can give information on the history butterflies. This way students can learn how to care for a butterfly and learn even more facts they didn’t know before.

Parallel Play or Collaboration

I really enjoyed watching this video. I feel like this is a video that every teacher should play in their classroom. Mrs. White addressed numerous ways that students can post their thoughts, ideas, and even questions about subjects they may be struggling with. Wiki pages can be used for entertainment as well as for education. Mrs. White's understanding of is very appearent.

I really enjoyed with this video. I have tried adapting new technology into my life and been unsuccessful multiple times. I will use videos such as this one in my classroom to help students use their voices in a different and exciting way. I believe kids would enjoy using something such as wiki pages because it's somewhat looked at as a 'grown up' thing and kids alway want to do what the 'big kids' are doing, so to speak. I think that Wiki sites and other sites like the Parallel Play or Collaboration have loads of potiential to serve as educational outlets for both students and teachers.

Sam's EduTopia Digital Youth Portrait

I am just amazed by the things our youth are capable of doing now a days. I feel like us as teachers need to adjust to the times like these students teachers have. 7th graders are capable of doing so much and Sam proves it in this video. I am called "electronically challenged" because electronics and myself do not usually get along. However, as I watch this video I reflect back on the things I can do. This video makes me want to learn more about technology and blogging. This way I can keep up with my future students. Maybe I will even educate them on something I have learned before they have! :)

Week 11 Scribe Post

This week we did not do too much. Dr. Owens discussed our concerns with the class. Many of us were not finished with many of our assignments. Many of us were also worried about our grades. Dr. Owens promised us that no one in the class will be getting a grade lower than a ‘C’.
We also started to discuss the Unit Plan. We are to approach this assignment as if we were in the classroom and teaching a Unit to our students. I am early childhood so with mine I will be setting it up with different centers instead of a Unit. The curriculum-framing questions contain essential questions where we talk about very broad questions. The unit questions narrow down questions over your unit. Finally the content questions are the essential content questions. Be very thorough with the Unit Plan.

Voice Thread- Alaska Trip

This is my video about my recent trip to Alaska. In the video, you will see the five pictures I took on one of my excursions. In this excursion, we took a private helicopter where we were dropped off on the side of a mountain. Our tour guide took us on a six mile hike up to a glacier and back down.

Week in the Classroom

This was a very fun video! I especially enjoyed the fact they incorporate fitness into the classroom. I never thought to use youtube postings to get children active. However it works and this video proves it. I also thought the Digi-art was a fun idea.
I will definitely try to incorporate their writing idea too. The idea of learning to write a narrative with another class in a different area of the world is so exciting to me. However, since I am an Early Childhood major and will mainly be working with Kindergarten I am not sure how realistic this goal is. We will just have to wait and see. :)

Digital Generation Project Youth Portrait: Nafiza

I think it is great the opportunities our children have today. However, the one thing that I truly can not believe is that there are games that allow you to be a Darfur girl or boy. She says it allows them to realize that is going on there and how they can help. Unfortunately, I think a game will not allow you to realize what is going on in the world. If someone wants to help, they can watch the news and donate money. Not play a game pretending to be a starving child. I truly am disgusted by that.
Besides that, I think the fact they can create avatar videos is fun and cool. As long as people realize that is a fake world and not real life. My problem with avatar games is that I have done too much research in psychology classes to realize that many people blur the lines of reality and fiction and I don't think these avatar games help. As long as my students do not spend to much time on fiction games like avatar or world of worldcraft I think it is a fun way to spend some time.
I think Nafiza shows us the life of a teenager in a positive way. I like how she seems so self suffiencent. I hope I can adopt some of the things I saw in this video into my teachings.

Digital Youth Portrait: Luis

Luis seems like a hard working person. He gets up early to get his brother and himself to school each day, takes AP classes, and is even in after school programs. His parents, being immigrants, do not seem to speak English and he tutors them on how to use the internet. Which, to me, is pretty remarkable. I can relate to him because I myself check my facebook account every morning before school and when I return. I think social networking sites allow people to keep in contact all over the world. Making it simpler to keep in touch with friends and family. While watching this video, I reflected on my own experiences with technology. I hope by the end of this class that I too will be able to tutor my own parents or the parents of the students in my classroom about all the different options the internet provides us.

Cameron Video

This is a great video for future educators and parents! This video allows people to see how amazing a child's mind truely is. What is so fascinating to be is how much Cameron knows how to do on the computer, making videos, and even tutoring his own teachers of how to use different technology. Keep in mind that Cameron is only in 6th grades and he already makes his own movies weekly!
I think teachers should embrace technology more. When I was in Kindergarten until 2nd grade I lived in Germany. When I was a student there we did activities on the computer every week. These experiences were my introduction to technology and the world. When I start teaching, I plan on inviting children to experience any and all aspects of technology. Our children are our future and so is technology.

About Me!

Hello everyone! My name is Witney Willhite and I am attending the University of Central Oklahoma. My major is Early Childhood Education and I student teach in the Spring of 2011. I am very excited! My grandfather was a Principal, my grandmother a teacher at Brink Middle School, and I have three aunts that are teachers as well. Needless to say, education runs in my family. I would love to teach Kindergarten through Second Grade. I have a passion for children and work well with others.