Lesson Plans in Mathematics and Science

1. Whole Frog Dissection

http://www.itq.lbl.gov/ITG.hm.pg.docs/Whole.Frog/Whole.Frog.html

I believe this to be one of the premier and pedagogically sound lesson plans on the web today which meet my expectations for both content and inclusion of technology.

This lesson plan will:

• Allow the user to be self-paced as an active participant in this dissection.
• Allows for individual or group interactions.
• Encourage students to reflect and evaluate their performance.

• Be the strongest lesson to incorporate various forms of technology i.e., photos, 3-D renderings, quick-time movies, and web connections.

If I were doing life science in my classroom, I would choose to incorporate this lesson as opposed to having students handle the actual instruments and frog cadaver.

2. Sharks

http://www.ed.sc.edu/caw/lessons/sharks.html

This is an incredibly "techy" sight. The entire lesson plan is based on various software, sights, and hardware.

This lesson plan will:

• Work primarily for larger groups 5-6 students.
• Allows the individual groups to be self-paced.
• Gives various output products from the groups.
• Allows for individual assignments within the group
• If done over several periods, could allow for journalizing.
• As with the Frog Dissection, this lesson incorporates many forms of technology i.e., on-line encyclopedia, software products, and the World Wide Web.

I might give an extra credit assignment just to see how well this would work with motivated middle school students.

3. Mexico

http://www.ed.sc.edu/caw/lessons/mexico.html

This lesson is more indicative of the lessons one might find on the World Wide Web. It incorporates 3-5 links, which far surpasses a majority of the lesson plans I found.

This lesson is:

• Good for individual or small groups.
• More teacher centered than student centered, although it is the students doing all of the work at the various links.
• Limited in the use of technology, in that it only uses links. This lesson does have strong possibilities for improvement.
• Journalizing is a strong possibility considering it is directed at younger students.

If I were to use this lesson, I would incorporate other technological medium such as; laser discs, CD-Roms, more web sights, as well as the technology of making some of the Mexican cuisine.

4. The History of American Transportation

http://www.ed.sc.edu/caw/lessons/hist.transport.html

This lesson is pedagogically sound in that it give an accurate history of the development of the various form so transportation within the United States. It is student centered in that it is the student who is doing the work exploring the various links.

This lesson is:

• Good for individual or small groups.
• More teacher centered than student centered, although it is the students doing all of the work at the various links.
• Limited in the use of technology, in that it only uses links. This lesson also has strong possibilities for improvement.
• Journalizing is a strong possibility.

Again, this lesson is a good start to an outstanding experience for students using technology. To develop this lesson further, one should incorporate other forms of technology to make this lesson excellent.

5. Plants, Ecology, Seed Planting

http://www.ed.sc.edu/caw/lessons/plants.html

This lesson was very interesting for me in that, I had no idea first graders could use a computer to go out to the World Wide Web or to navigate around age appropriate software. The links used were sound in that they were very appropriate for the age group.

This lesson will:

• Give students an opportunity to work in cooperative groups.
• Be used as an integrated part of a thematic unit.
• Encourage students to become familiar with technology.

I believe this lesson is pedagogically sound for first grade students. They are emerging readers and therefore, could benefit from icon driven software.