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The Water Habitat Project
Unit Timeline
The following timeline provides an overall framework for doing one cycle of the following three major components of the unit in 10 weeks: Habitat Observations, Pond Photo Journals, and Pond Writing for E-mail Messages. Prior to and within each of these three components of the Water Habitat Unit, there is direct instruction on keyboarding skills, using the writing process, writing software, e-mail software, website publishing software, the digital camera, and digital images editing tools. The topics, text, and digital image content in these direct instruction lessons always pertain to the pond water habitat. In this way, the direct instruction content is meaningful for the students and builds direct bridges for students to use the skills from direct instruction in their pond work.
WEEK 1
CLASSROOM ANTICIPATORY LESSONS IN PREPARATION FOR POND WATER HABITAT OBSERVATIONS:
Lesson #1
Reviewing Previous Pond Photo Journals
Time
: Two one-hour lesson blocks
WEEK 2
CLASSROOM ANTICIPATORY
LESSONS IN PREPARATION FOR POND WATER HABITAT
OBSERVATIONS
:
Lesson #2
Predicting Pond Observations for Next Field Trip to the Pond
Time
: One 45 minute Lesson Block
POND OBSERVATION FIELD TRIP
Time
: 1 1/2 Hours
WEEK 3
PHOTO JOURNAL
LESSONS
:
Lesson #1
Downloading the Digital Images to the Computer
Time
: 15 minutes
Lesson #2
Editing the Digital Images for Use in the Photo Journal
Time
: 4 half-hour small group sessions with groups taking turns doing the image titling, ordering and editing. Each group can do some of each step (1. verbal narrative for images, 2. titling, ordering and numbering images, 3. Editing images) or each group can do one of the steps.
WEEK 4
PHOTO JOURNAL LESSONS
Lesson #3
Reviewing the Edited Slide Show
Time
: One 30-minute session as a whole class or four 15 to 20-minute sessions for small groups for more in-depth viewing and conversation
Lesson #4
Authoring the Photo Journal
Time
: Three 45 minute lessons with small groups for each lesson or six 20+ minute lessons with small groups for each lesson (Number and length of lessons is determined by the teacher depending on literacy/collaboration skills and goals of the students.)
WEEK #5
PHOTO JOURNAL LESSONS
Lesson #5
Reading Instruction and Practice with Photo Journals
Time
: One hour daily reading lesson time blocks
Lesson #6
Sending Photo Journal Document to Online Collaborating Classrooms and Schools
Time
: 20 minutes
Lessons #7
Uploading the Photo Journal into the Classroom Water Habitat Website (Optional Lesson)
Time: Sequence of 30 minutes sessions until the Photo Journal is uploaded and edited as a website document
This activity can substitute for a reading instruction time in Lesson # 5 because the students will be doing reading of the text in the process of uploading the photo journal pages onto a website.
WEEK # 6 to WEEK #9
WRITING INDIVIDUAL POND DOCUMENTS E-MAIL MESSAGES AND READING POND E-MAIL RESPONSES
Lesson #1
Reviewing the Pond Digital Image Slide Show
Time
: 20 minutes
Lesson #2
Writing the Individual Pond Documents for Sending as E-mail Messages
Time
: Repeated 45-minute sessions in the computer lab and on the classroom computers until the writing process has been completed.
Lesson # 3
Uploading and Sending E-mail Messages to Collaborating Classrooms and Schools
Time
: Three 1/2-hour sessions over three days (plus additional time as needed)
WEEK # 10
READING CLASS WATER HABITAT E-MAIL AND WATER HABITAT E-MAIL RESPONSES
Lesson # 1
Reading Classmates E-mail Messages
Time
: Daily half-hour reading sessions in combination of small groups, paired reading partners, and individual sustained reading practice.
Onto:
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