2 Google Apps Lesson Plans (Week 3 Blog #2)

While looking for a relevant lesson plan in Google Apps for my area of concentration I searched all Google App lesson plans for grades K-3. I found the following 2 as examples of excellent ways to use Google Apps in the classroom.


LESSON PLAN #1. TELLING TIME AND GOOGLE CALENDAR:


(link): http://docs.google.com/View?id=ddv49vkt_6htvmb3d6


This lesson focuses on teaching students how to read time and how to calculate certain blocks of time (i.e. 1 hour, 1/2 hour, 15 min, 2 hrs). First, students are asked to view review their knowlege of time based on how to read an analog clock and how to block out time frames such as a half an hour for lunch or an hour for a lesson in the classroom. They are then introduced to the calendar/agenda format in Google Apps. The teacher shows them how certain spans of time are blocked out on the calendar. She/he then uses her/his own schedule or asks a student in the class to give an example of a day their life to create a sample of a daily agenda in Google Calendar.


Once the students are familiar with how the calendar format works, they are asked to create their own agenda in Google Calendar. I really liked the idea of asking them create an agenda for their idea of a "Perfect Saturday". This allows the students to use their imagination to create their perfect day, while also effectively conveying the true lesson of telling time and calculating specific time frames. Depending on the education level of students; they can simply block out the day in hour increments or break it down into 1/2 hours or 15 minute intervals. Students are evaluated on the relevance of their individual "Perfect Saturday" agenda assignment.


LESSON PLAN #2. "Graphing with Google Docs and Forms"


(link): http://docs.google.com/View?id=ddv49vkt_13vwgvzxhm


I loved the idea of this lesson. It allows students to get to know their fellow classmates by answering a series of questions compiled by the class as a whole. It also enables them to understand how to interpret graphs and charts all while incorporating technology into the lesson.


Prior to the lesson the teacher asks the students what they would like to know about their classmates (not open ended questions, but questions that can be answered via multiple choice or yes/no answers). Once these questions are compiled the teacher enters them into a Google Form. This form is then placed onto the classroom or school website.


On the day of the lesson, students are asked to complete the form that has been created for them by answering the questions they discussed the previous day. Once all of the students have answered the questions, they are brought together as a group to review the responses on the interactive board in the classroom. The teacher reviews with the class how the information they all contributed has been summarized in one speadsheet. The students and teacher review the graphs together and answer specific questions about what they see. (i.e. What do the numbers on the bottom of the graph represent? How many students completed the form? etc.) Students individually analyze the results of the graph by answering specific questions such as the number of students who are 7 years old or whether there are more boys than girls in the class. Students will learn such things as range, max, min, how to read a bar graph, etc. Students are assessed on how well they understand numbers and operations as well as data analysis and probability.