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TeachNet Grant: Weather Report: Lessons in New Media and Social Networking
Joshua Gottesmann
joshgottesmann@gmail.com

P.S. 373K, The Brooklyn Transition Center
185 Ellery Street
Brooklyn, NY 11206

9th-12th Grade, Special Education, Science, Life Skills, English Language Arts, Technology
About the Grant:

Materials:

  • Local Newspaper

  • Weather.com or another weather web site (wunderground.com, etc)

  • Video camera

  • Weather photos/graphics (clouds, sun, rain, etc.)

  • Dry erase board

  • Video sharing web site (We used dailymotion.com. Other options include vimeo.com, and ustream.tv. YouTube is frequently blocked on school servers)

  • Examples of TV weather reports from local cable stations and non-cable stations

  • E-mail

Project Description: 

This unit will teach the students how to identify the weather through various means including the newspaper, weather web sites and personal observation and be able to communicate this information using a Weather Report" format. The students will videotape their weather report and upload it to a video sharing Web site, which allows them to share their videos with their peers, family and the school administration. The unit teaches students how to identify the weather, verbally express the weather, learn how to put on a small scale show/production and understand how to use new social media.

How it Works :

  1. Students will use the newspaper, weather Web site and their personal observations to discuss the day's weather. They will discuss their findings and determine what the weather will be for the day. This includes the temperature as well as the weather (rain, sun, snow, etc.)

The students will learn how to use various sources to find the weather. They will learn to use their own intuition and personal observation to determine the weather

  1. After identifying the weather, each student will assume a role in creating the weather report. In our class of six students, the roles are as follows:

    1. Video camera operator

    2. Temperature reader

    3. Weather report reader

    4. Video uploader/emailer

    5. Two (2) students who will write the weather on the dry erase board and place the appropriate graphic on the dry erase board

In addition to learning public speaking, students will learn presentation skills. Additionally they will learn to use technology such as video cameras. Students will also learn new media and sharpen their emailing skills

  1. Students do a weather report rehearsal in which each student practices his or her role.

  1. After the students feel comfortable with their report, one student will tape it. The students may need various takes, but as time goes by, the students will be more comfortable with the format and it will come more easily.

  1. When the video is taped, one student will upload the video on a video sharing web site.

  1. The students will work together to compose an email, so that they can share the video link with others.

Final Project/Product :

The culminating activity will be for the students to compose an email that will accompany the link to their weather report. The letter will discuss how the students completed the project and why it is important. This allows for student self-reflection.

How This Grant was Adapted:

Overall Value:

This project is powerful for students for several reasons. Figuring out the weather is a life skill. More importantly the means to finding the daily weather, such as reading the newspaper and surfing the Web and using deductive reasoning are skills that can be applied to other areas of their life. Social networking and new media are an aspect of Web 2.0, which is the direction the Internet is moving. This unit teaches the students a life skill, while also teaching them about new technology. Web 2.0 allows people to connect to one another and because social development is a major struggle with autistic children, this can be a way to encourage social development. This unit also teaches public speaking, which is something that can be very difficult for some special education students.

Tips for the Teacher:

One of the most important tips for teaching this lesson is to encourage creativity. Students can design their weather report the way they want to--perhaps they want to include music, or present the weather in a unique way. No matter how they do their report, the students will learn several basic skills including learning to find the weather, public speaking, presentationsskills, Internet skills, social networking, new media and email skills.

Project URL

http://dailymotion.com/PS373/video/x83ida_mvi0025

Objectives

Objective 1: To learn how to determine the daily weather using the newspaper, using deductive reasoning and the Internet

Objective 2: To practice public speaking and presentation skills

Objective 3: To practice performance and production skills

Objective 4: To learn about social networking sites and new media

Websites Used

Link 1: www.weather.com

Description: Weather Web site

Link 2: www.newyorktimes.com

Description: New York newspaper site that will include the weather

Link 3: www.nydailynews.com

Description: New York newspaper site that will include the weather

Link 4:  Daily Motion

Description: Video sharing Web site (other good choices are vimeo.com or ustream.tv)

Link 5: Gmail

Description: web-based email service

Standards Addressed:

Standard 1: Students will access, generate, process, and transfer information using appropriate technologies.

Grade: 9th Grade

Subject: Life Skills

Standard 2: Apply statistical analysis techniques when appropriate to test if chance alone explains the result

Grade: 9th Grade

Subject: Life Skills

Lesson 1:

Looking up the weather

Aim - To look up the weather using the newspaper and the Internet

Project Objectives - List the learning objectives for this lesson.

Please list at least two objectives per lesson. Leave areas blank if needed.

Objective 1: Students will identify how to use the newspaper to look up the weather.

Objective 2: Students will identify how to use the Internet to look up the weather.

Materials - Please list the materials or software needed for this lesson. Leave areas blank if needed.

Materials 1: Newspaper

Materials 2: Computer/Internet

Procedures - List in a step-by-step fashion what the teacher and students are required to do in order to complete the lesson.

Leave areas blank if needed.

Procedure 1: Students will go to the front of the classroom and pick up copies of that day's newspaper.

Procedure 2: The students will be asked to find today's weather in the newspaper by locating the table of contents and turning to the weather page.

Procedure 3: When the students find the weather page, they will be asked to write down the weather report on a worksheet.

Procedure 4: In small groups, students will be asked to get onto the web and go weather.com to find out the weather for the rest of the week.

Procedure 5: When the two groups are able to the find the weather for the rest of the week, they will write down their findings from the website onto a worksheet.

Procedure 6: The teacher will then go over the worksheet with the class.

Homework - List any homework assignments required of this lesson. Leave this area blank if needed.

Students will be given a worksheet questioning the forecasts they looked up on the Internet and the newspaper.

Assessment - How do you know that the students have learned the material? Please include any formal or informal assessments for each lesson. Leave this area blank if needed.

Students will be assessed by the answers they write down on their answer sheets

Lesson 2:

Videotaping a weather report

Aim - To videotape a weather report

Project Objectives - List the learning objectives for this lesson.

Please list at least two objectives per lesson. Leave areas blank if needed.

Objective 1: Students will identify how to use the video camera

Objective 2: Students will identify how to write their observations on the dry-erase board.

Objective 3: Students will identify how to articulate their observations in front of a video camera.

Materials - Please list the materials or software needed for this lesson. Leave areas blank if needed.

Materials 1: video camera

Materials 2: computer/Internet

Materials 3: dry-erase board

Procedures - List in a step-by-step fashion what the teacher and students are required to do in order to complete the lesson.

Leave areas blank if needed.

Procedure 1: Students will create a calendar for the rest of the week on the dry-erase board and write down the forecasts from the answer sheet they filled out yesterday.

Procedure 2: One student will operate the camera by reading a modified instruction sheet prepared by the teacher. 

Procedure 3: One student will read the weekly forecast from the dry-erase board in front of the video camera while another student will be operating the camera and recording it.

Homework - List any homework assignments required of this lesson. Leave this area blank if needed.

Students will answer a worksheet on how to operate the video camera prepared by the teacher (base it on the model available to you in your classroom)

Assessment - How do you know that the students have learned the material?

The students will be assessed on how well they complete the homework assignment.

Lesson 3:

How to upload a video onto a website

Aim – To learn how to upload a video

Project Objectives - List the learning objectives for this lesson.

Please list at least two objectives per lesson. Leave areas blank if needed.

Objective 1: Students will learn how to use web video sharing sites. 

Objective 2: Students will identify how to upload a video onto a website.

Objective 3: Students will identify how to use video camera software on the computer.

Materials - Please list the materials or software needed for this lesson. Leave areas blank if needed.

Materials 1: video camera

Materials 2: computer/Internet

Procedures - List in a step-by-step fashion what the teacher and students are required to do in order to complete the lesson.

Leave areas blank if needed.

Procedure 1: Students will follow a modified instruction sheet on how to sign up for an account on www.dailymotion.com

Procedure 2: Students will follow a modified instruction sheet on how upload a video from the video camera into the computer.

Procedure 3: Students will follow a modified instruction sheet on how to upload a video from the desktop onto a website.

Procedure 4: Students will be assigned a worksheet based on the lesson, prepared by the teacher.

Procedure 5: Teacher will go over the worksheet with the class.

Homework - List any homework assignments required of this lesson. Leave this area blank if needed.

Students will be assigned a worksheet on how to upload a video clip onto the computer

Assessment - How do you know that the students have learned the material?

The students will be assessed on how well they complete the homework assignment.

Please include any formal or informal assessments for each lesson. Leave this area blank if needed.

Lesson 4

How to type an email

Aim - To learn how to type emails

Project Objectives - List the learning objectives for this lesson.

Please list at least two objectives per lesson. Leave areas blank if needed.

Objective 1: Students will identify how to sign up for an email account

Objective 2: Students will identify how to type an email

Objective 3: Students will identify how to send an email

Materials - Please list the materials or software needed for this lesson. Leave areas blank if needed.

Materials 1: Computer/Internet

Materials 2: dry-erase board

Materials 3: Get a Gmail account for your class, and be prepared to show students how to use gmail.com

Procedures - List in a step-by-step fashion what the teacher and students are required to do in order to complete the lesson.

Leave areas blank if needed.

Procedure 1: Students will read a modified instruction sheet on how to sign up for an email account.

Procedure 2: Students will then go on the web and go to gmail.com. They will register for an account on their own or use the classroom account created by the teacher (this is the teachers' decision, but remember to collect student account names & passwords). For more information about how to set up student Gmail accounts, visit: http://google.com/a/help/intl/en/edu/index.html

Procedure 3: Students will then return to their seats and brainstorm ideas on what to write in the email.

Procedure 4: Students will write what they wrote on the dry-erase board and the class will vote on which entry is the best.

Procedure 5: The students will take turns typing the body of the email and one student will copy and paste the video link onto the email. Then the email will be sent to the students' families and friends.

Homework - List any homework assignments required of this lesson. Leave this area blank if needed.

Students will be assigned a worksheet on how to sign up for an gmail account, prepared by the teacher.

Assessment - How do you know that the students have learned the material? Please include any formal or informal assessments for each lesson. Leave this area blank if needed.

The students will be assessed on how well they complete the homework assignment.

Joshua Gottesmann is a first-year New York City Teaching Fellow, teaching special education at The Brooklyn Transition Center in the Bedford-Stuyvesant section of Brooklyn. Gottesmann grew up in Brooklyn and is a graduate of the New York City public school system. Gottesmann joined the New York City Teaching Fellows program shortly after graduating from Baruch College where he earned a BA. in history. He is currently completing his M.S. in education at Pace University.


 

 

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