Hand out of project overviewWeek 1
Both lessons 1 and 2 are each one, one hour class period.
Lesson 1
Instructional Objectives:
Familiarize students with the project, review computer rules, expectations, rubrics. Place students in groups, select body system. Begin work on question and Answer sheet.
Advanced Preparation/Prerequisite knowledge:
Hand out of project overview
Hand out of computer rules
Hand out of Rubrics
Hand out of Question
and Answer Sheet
The teacher should have placed students (at least on paper) in groups of 4 prior to this lesson, based on abilities, personalities, productivity and behavior. (If you have more computers or a smaller class, make your groups smaller)
Students should also have basic knowledge of the body and have read the science chapter on the 7 body systems for this project. We used our district adoption, Harcourt Brace Science Grade 5, Chapter 1.
Both the teacher and the students should have a basic understanding of the internet, what its purpose is, and how it works even though they may not have necessarily used it before.
Materials Needed:
Science text
Encyclopedias
Reference texts
Computers with internet access
Procedures:
Part 1 (30 minutes)
1. Hand out Overview Sheet
Read aloud and go over with the children.
Take questions
2. Hand out Rubrics
Read aloud and go over with children.
Take questions
3. Hand out computer rules
Read aloud and go over with children.
Take questions.
I have 14 computers in my classroom that I own. I have begged, scrounged and spent hours making these dinosaurs work and hence my rules are very very strict. There is no room for errors and I make sure that the children understand that if they abuse the computers they will receive a grade of F for this project. I spent quite a lot of time going over these rules. Your situation may not warrant the degree of time I spend here.
4. Hand out Question and Answer sheets to all students.
Read aloud and go over with children.
Take questions.
Even though students will be working in groups they are all responsible for completing the Question and Answer sheet before they will be allowed to use PowerPoint.
5. Assign groups
6. Have students get into groups and decide on the body system they would like to study.
7. Have students begin research by starting with their text books, moving on to the encyclopedias and other reference materials.
8. Introduce the Internet
If your students have never used the internet before, here is a really good lesson I use. Do this prior to introducing this unit. This is an additional 60 minutes.
Some of the web sites the students will find in answer to the Cyber Hunt questions are as follows:
1. http://student.carleton.edu/E/Eiperta/media/broccoli.html and
http://broccoli.com/mainpage.htm
2. http://ams.usda.gov/farmersmarkets/map.htm
3. http://worldhungeryear.org/programs/kids.asp
4. http://agriculture.com/agweather/
5. http://schoolmeals.nal.usda.gov/
6. http://battlecreekmich.com/
7. http://lassenvolcanic.areaparks.com/parkinformation.html?content=maps
8. http://cabrillo-aquarium.org/recyclenet/acodes/805/805-042.htm
9. http://eduplace.com/science/dw/
10. http://www1.lusd.org/index.jsp
Part 2 (about 30 minutes)
9. On the other hand if your students are familiar with the Internet, assign computers to students and have them start exploring the resources on the Web Site Sheet. It is probably a good idea to go over one of these as a group just to refresh their memories and to trouble shoot any computer problems (connections, browsers updates, etc).
10. Have students open the browser on the desktop (my computers are so mixed and matched that I have both Netscape and Explorer).
11. Have students type in http://kidshealth.org/ in the address dialogue box found on the Body Systems Web Sites sheet.
12. This is an excellent website for Kids, parents and Teens. Be sure that your students click on the "Kids" icon as the "Teen" icon deals with sexuality and puberty issues as well as body systems. For younger kids this may not be appropriate, however I did have some kids go through this section with their parents at home and had very positive feedback from parents.
13. Have students click on "My Body" once they are at the main kids page. It will look like this:
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It is in "My Body" that they will find the answers to many of the questions on their particular body system.
13. Allow students to navigate throughout the site. You will find that they are curious about things other than just the answers to the questions and this is a really good site to allow for exploration.
14. Be sure students know how to exit the browser and return the computers to the desktop position (or wherever you have them when they first started).
Extensions:
Students may wish to work a body system individually. Extra credit may be given for this.
Students may talk to family doctors, or high school, university or college professors to get answers to the questions on the Question and Answer Sheet.
Homework
Question and Answer sheet, with the exception of the 5 diseases/disorders is to be completed by the next Science Class Period. All of the answers to the questions are found in the student text in addition to the websites, with the exception of the diseases/disorders, which may require encyclopedias or additional books or web sites.
Evaluation
Answers to the Question and Answer sheet are to be in the complete sentences in the students own words, with the exception of the new vocabulary words. Those definitions should be accurate.
Lesson 2
Instructional Objectives:
Students will access the internet using the Web Site List in order to complete Question and Answer Sheet. Students will also learn book marking.
Advanced Preparation/ Prerequisite Skills:
Question and Answer
Sheet completed except for diseases/disorders question.
Cooperative Groups
Information and Evaluation Record
Materials Needed:
Computers with Internet Access
Procedures (Allow 60 minutes)
1. Verify that all students have completed the Question and Answer sheet with the exception of the diseases/disorders questions. Any students who have not completed it will spend part of the class period finishing and will not be allowed on the computers until it is completed.
2. Have students proceed to their assigned computers and begin accessing the websites on the Web Site List sheet.
3. Once students have accessed their first site by typing in the address they will then go to Book Marks, Add New, Education. Students will do this for each new site they visit. Each group will visit the sites in a different order since they are working on different body systems.
4. Students will work in this manner, accessing sites and taking down information on diseases and disorders of their assigned body system. They are responsible for 5 diseases/disorders. They are to summarize information in their own words on a separate piece of paper or the back of the Question and Answer sheet. New vocabulary words they encounter should be written down with the other new vocabulary.
5. If this is only the second time students have accessed the Internet, repeat the procedure in Lesson 1 for accessing a site as a group, but go to a different site.
A. Have students access the browser.
B. Have students type in http://innerbody.com from the Body Systems Web Site list.
C. This is an excellent site with which to address pop ups. It is a very good information site but is burdened with numerous pop-ups.
D. Have students click on "Human Anatomy Online". This will take them to the information they need to answer the question on the Question and Answer Sheet. This is what they will see next. Have them select the body system they are studying.
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Click on any of the 10 pictured systems below for more detail. |
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E. In the next screen (which cannot be copied), the Screen will split in two and the right hand side will reveal information about an area of the body when you click on a marker. For example if you click on the marker on the skull, this will appear at the right of the screen.
The skull is the bony section of the head. The skull encases and protects the brain, houses the brain senses, provides attachments for muscles of the head and neck, and helps to form the first portions of the respiratory and digestive tracts. The skull rests on the first vertebra, which is called the "Atlas". At birth, the skull is large in comparison to the rest of the body, and a baby's skull is compressible. The "soft spots" in a baby's head harden and grow together until the bones meet and mesh like a jigsaw puzzle. The largest of the six main soft spots is a diamond-shaped area near the middle of the top of the skull. This is the last area to harden and close, usually at about the age of eighteen months. "Skullduggery" is some kind of trick or some unscrupulous behavior.
F. Once students are comfortable again with navigation have them select some of the other websites and begin gathering the information they need to complete the questions.
6. Be sure students have returned the computers to their original state at the end of the work period.
Extensions
More than 5 diseases/disorders may be found or one or more may be summarized in more detail. For example, the information available on heart attack and stroke is staggering. Information on Multiple Sclerosis and osteoporosis is also abundant. Students may choose to explore those diseases/disorders in greater depth. They may use the search box in the browser to access additional websites with more specific information.
Homework
The diseases/disorders question will need to be completed by each student if it was not finished in class. You will find however that the majority of students are able to complete the assignment in class. Each disease needs to only be about a paragraph.
Evaluation
This will be your first opportunity to observe students as they work in their groups. I am constantly reminding them that I am assessing them on their ability to be team players every minute that they are together. I use the Cooperative Groups Information and Evaluation Record each time they work together for at least the first 10-15 minutes of class, depending on how much of my help they need while using the computers.
