Sunday, May 2, 2010

Last Entry

How did you and your partners prepare?
My group and I might several times before we taught our lesson. We decided which order we would teach, and what would be the most effective way to teach our lesson.

Explain the object and assessment aspect of your lesson.
Students will be able to identify the reasons for the United States entering World War I.
Students will be able to identify the technological advances used in major battles.
Students will be able to define what mustard gas is.
Students will be able to explain, in their own words, the effects of mustard gas, and how it was used in WWI.
To assess these objectives the students will write a short response to the Zimmermann Telegram, and the use of Mustard Gas, placing themselves in the position of a soldier or leader of the USA.

Was your lesson executed exactly how it was written?
No, our lesson was not. Do to behaviors in the classroom, we had to skip the podcasts, and time made us cut some of the lesson short.

What was the most important thing you tried to teach your students?
The most important thing I, personally, tried to teach the students were the causes of WWI and mainly the causes for the the USA entering the war.

How do you think it went?
I feel the lesson went over well. When I was teaching, many students were acting out, but they were still asking questions, and were engaged in the lesson.

What did you learn from your students?
I learned that keeping the students spread out is important, especially if I am going to lecture. We had a group of students that were causing trouble, but they stopped when they were moved around and spread out more.

What would you have done differently?
I would have created more of a behavioral plan. We had an idea of what we would do for certain situations, but we didn't set anything in stone. Also, I would try to create some sort of hands on project to add into the lesson, rather not just lecture.

What do you think you need to improve?
I think some activities need to be added to make the lessons more enjoyable for the students.

Reflection of Podcast

How did you and your partners use the podcast in your lesson?
We had the students listening to it so they could hear the Zimmermann Telegram being read, and hear about the effects of mustard gas.

Did you use it during your lesson? Why or why not?
No we were not able to use it. We decided to cut it due to the students behavior, and felt it would not be used effectively with the way the students were acting.

Reflection of Other Students' Lessons
I felt that many of my peers did a great job with their lessons. The first group that went handled the class extremely well considering they did not realize how out of control their fellow classmates would get. Also, the english group that taught the Edgar Allen Poe story. I was impressed how they were able to take a no nonsense approach to what was happening around them. They were able to keep their composure and a straight face the entire time. That was impressive considering when I taught, I laughed several times during the lesson.

Tuesday, March 2, 2010

Good Work

My group got a lot of things done today. My partners were able to complete the first part of our podcast, and I wrote out our five questions. I will be doing the second part of the podcast at home. We will work together to write the lesson plan as well. Overall, today was a really productive work session.

Questions

1.What are the symptoms of a mustard gas attack?

2.Does a mustard gas affect a person immediately?

3.What was promised to Mexico if they allied with the Germans against the United States of America?

4.What type of warfare were the Germans planning on starting on the first of February, and how long did the Germans think it would take for this type of warfare to make England want peace?

5.What would your reaction be to this telegram if you were the president of the United States? What would it be if you were the president of Mexico?
I'm hoping that my group can get a lot done today. I missed the last class, but my partners were working on our podcast on mustard gas. They will continue on this today and I will create the podcast for the Zimmerman Telegram. I am also hoping to start working on our five questions.

Friday, February 19, 2010

End of Day 2 Podcasting

Today was really productive. Everyone in the group is getting comfortable with speaking on the podcast. Next class we will start the main podcast on the Zimmermann Telegram. I will bring a printed version so it will be easier to read. We still have to decide if one person will read the entire thing or if we will take turns.
So today is the second time the class is meeting and working on our podcast. My group is all present today so hopefully we can get working on our podcast presentation. I am interested to see if Luiz or Andrew found anything else we can add to the podcast, and I'm excited to get started working on it again.

Friday, February 12, 2010

Podcasting Lesson

The lesson was quite informative. The speed of the computer made it frustrating at times, and the heat in the classroom did not help either. After hearing my voice I realized how monotone i sound when I speak, and I am going to have to work on that for the future. My partners and I also discussed the possiblity of bring more information into our podcast to corporate Andrew's subject of Biology into Luiz and I's subject of history.

Test Podcast

http://mbritanak.podomatic.com/entry/2010-02-12T07_21_40-08_00

First Class in the Computer Lab

My partners are Luiz and Andrew. Today, I am hoping that we can discuss our podcast project and possibly get started. We have not offically met as a group, so today will also be a good chance to have a brainstorming session about what else we can do with this podcast.
I see the Podcast as a valuable teaching tool. It will allow the students to hear important speeches and articles from history, rather than just reading them. I have never experienced a podcast as a teaching device, but have heard it used for music and comedy. I find the idea of it being used as a tool for teaching interesting.

Wednesday, February 3, 2010

I will be making a podcast of the translated version of the Zimmermann Telegram.