2. Technology Integration Rationale
• The lifecycle of a butterfly can be found in
many different books. Therefore, students can
just read about it right? Wrong! In today’s
classroom there is an emphasis on
constructivism, which stresses abstract
learning. Technology allows classroom material
to become abstract, attending to multiple
students unique learning styles.
• The lifecycle of a butterfly comes alive through
videos, podcasts, interactive websites and so
much more, which will be explored throughout
this presentation.
4. Reliabilty of Internet Sources
• All of the internet sources that are used
throughout this presentation are
reliable. There are links provided to
each website in the notes section below
each slide.
• Each image used also contains a link in
the notes section.
5. Podcast
• The podcast I found discusses Molly Webster’s, one
of the producers, trip to butterfly world. She
discusses exactly what she sees while observing
these butterflies and their lifecycle.
• This podcast provides students with a real life
experience through the eyes of another person.
Teachers can play parts of this podcast in order to
provide students with an auditory experience.
(headphones can also be used if the teacher wants to
do butterfly stations)
6. Blog
• Dani Tinker shares her blog about the lifecycle of a
butterfly through writing and pictures.
• Since second graders wouldn’t be able to read
everything she wrote on their own I would project
this blog on the smartboard and walk through it with
them.
• She includes many detailed and up close pictures
that depict the cycle in a very abstract way, which
would be beneficial for students to see!
8. Organization 1
• National Science Teachers
Association (NSTA)
(Double click to access website)
-NSTA was founded in 1944 and is the largest
organization in the world to promote scientific
exploration and innovation. This site offers teachers
scientific books and articles, which can be used in
the classroom. It also contains the scientific
standards that are used when creating lesson plans.
9. Organization 2
Double Click on picture to access website
.Kids.gov is a national organization that provides both teachers
and students with educational information from government
agencies and educational organizations.
.On this website students can select their grade, the subject
they intended to explore (science in this case) and then the
animals tab. After they click on this tab they can select the
animal they want to explore further and this site will bring them
To a reputable site to explore further.
10. Organization 3
• Connecticut Science Teachers
Association (CSTA) (Double Click on name
to access website)
• Composed of a board of
elected members, which
teachers can apply to
be on
. Is a great resource for
science activities and ideas in the
classroom
16. Subject-specific Internet-based Resources
Science Netlinks:
• Purpose
• Context
• Planning Ahead
• Motivation
• Development
• Assessment
• Extensions
• This website lays out a
butterfly lifecycle
lesson plan in the
sections listed to the
left. During
development we will
read the Very Hungry
Caterpillar together
and have a class
discussion. Following
this students will
obverse a caterpillar in
the classroom first
hand and record its
development in a
journal, which each
student will construct.
17. Uses of the Internet: Online Books
Double Click on the picture to access online book website
18. Uses of the Internet: Interactive Websites
Double click on picture to bring to website (specifically butterfly activities page)
19. Web 2.0: Skype
Skype in the Classroom:
. Allows students to learn
from other students
. Gain knowledge through
differing perspectives
. Watch butterflies develop
in different habitats around
the world
20. Web 2.0: Edmodo
Double Click image to access Edmodo Website
Edmodo
. Combines several communicative
websites
. Allows teachers to connects with
Students, parents, and other
Teachers
21. Slideshare
• This powerpoint can also be viewed on
slideshare, which is another great
educational tool.
• Slideshare allows peers to view other’s
work to both further and diversify their own
thinking.
Podcast by: http://www.radiolab.org/story/goo-and-you/
Radiolab is a podcast that is aired on many radio stations around the country. The individual podcasts attempt to combine science and individual experience. Combining one’s experience with scientific facts helps the material to come alive.
-Click on microphone to play podcast!
Blog Source: http://blog.nwf.org/2014/09/a-visual-journey-through-the-monarch-life-cycle/
This blog by Dani Tinker is one of many blogs that is published through the National Wildlife Federation. This federation’s aim is protecting our wildlife and they offer many detailed blogs concerning several different species. For my purpose I only included the butterfly blog since my focus is on the butterfly lifecycle. The image included is taken directly from Dani Tinker’s blog.
The teacher can provide students with the blogs link to explore it with their parents at home if they want to spend more time looking at the pictures, which are clearly associated with the cycle stages.
Video Source: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V5RSpMQQOpw
This is a kid friendly SciShow that is 4 minutes long. The woman in this show is very energetic and walks through the lifecycle of a butterfly using pictures and animation. I would show this video to my students at the beginning of our butterfly unit to get them excited. It provides student’s with a very quick, but fun way to learn the stages of the butterfly cycle and is a perfect introduction to the cycle!
National Science Teachers Association: https://www.nsta.org/elementaryschool/
Kids.gov website: https://kids.usa.gov/index.shtml
For example: after clicking on science, animals, and childrens butterfly site students are brought to a website all about butterflies, which is useful for my unit on the butterfly lifecycle: http://www.kidsbutterfly.org (they even have a tab for the butterfly lifecycle that students can select)
CSTA site: https://www.csta-us.org/mission.htm
The CSTA offers teachers many opportunities to get involved and work to accelerate science throughout Connecticut elementary schools. It also has a resource tab that teachers can reference for potential lesson plans and framework standards that they need to use when creating lesson plans. Furthermore, field trip ideas are shared on this website, which is useful to reference when trying to create a more constructivist classroom where learning extends beyond the classroom.
This simple cycles diagram was created on kidspiration. Students would complete this towards the end of the unit as a formative assessment to see if they have grasped the four stages of the butterflies lifecycle. They would each get a mini laptop and this website would allow them to select pictures to drag to each step in the lifecycle. The students can also switch to the writing view after they have found their pictures to include a few words describing the unique stage to the best of their ability. Since students are still working on their writing skills in second grade I like kidspiration because it allows them to start with pictures and then move towards writing if students are ready for this step. During this time I would walk around and evaluate how well students were completing this diagram. If they were struggling I would know that I need to review the stages of the butterfly lifecycle.
Activity from pintrest: https://www.pinterest.com/pin/292030357059584634/
This activity would be fun and educational for second grade students. Students would cut out all 5 squares and then i would come around and mix them up. Students would them have to work with their table groups to rearrange the squares in the correct order to that it displays the butterfly lifecycle. I would come around to check each group following completion. We would then do it once all together as a class to make sure everyone understood the order of the stages.
Activity from Pinterest: https://www.pinterest.com/pin/13792342583641367/
Students would complete this worksheet towards the end of the unit (after the matching game was completed successfully by all students). This is because this worksheets requires students to write out what happens during the butterfly cycle. In addition to correctly pasting the pictures in the square they have to describe what is occuring, which is difficult for second graders sometimes. Therefore, i would give this worksheet out towards the end to evaluate their understanding of the lifecycle through both pictures and words.
Source: http://exchange.smarttech.com/details.html?id=2d523e13-05a0-4801-85ab-16783480d6f2
Clicking on the link will bring you to the SMART exchange. Here you can download the SMART activity. This particular download walks students through the lifecycle of a butterfly in a very interactive way, which supports constructivist teaching. I would have this activity displayed on the smartboard and use it during stations. Therefore, a group of students would be at the board and would be asked to interact with the board and drag pictures and words around to correctly display the lifecycle. For example, if they were shown the picture above they would have to use their fingers to drag the pictures to the correct number and would not move on until they got it correct. (There are a few different activities presented on this smartboard download, but I would only use the beginning few slides, not the edible lifecycle part).
Image source: https://www.google.com/search?q=smartboard+butterfly+life+cycle&biw=999&bih=601&source=lnms&tbm=isch&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwjPs-Kt2rbKAhXJ0h4KHbuyB7EQ_AUIBigB#imgrc=PZ2RwAsFQpbkzM%3A
The two pictures above are screenshots from the app itself. This app can be used be single students or groups of students in the classroom. Students can press play and visually observe the butterfly lifecycle. They can also click on the interactive button, which allows them to help identify the stages in the butterfly lifecycle and learn more about each stage. The anatomy button is also useful for learning about the specific parts of a butterfly and their functions. If students have their own classroom ipads this can be downloaded on those or it can be downloaded on the smartboard for the whole class to use.
Site Link: http://www.sciencenetlinks.com
Activity Link from site: http://sciencenetlinks.com/lessons/butterfly-1-observing-the-life-cycle-of-a-butterfly/
This website is useful because its breaks potential lesson plans into several sections. The teacher can then pick and chose which aspects of the lesson are suited for their classroom’s needs. This website has a search bar that allows teachers to search multiple science subjects, which is another useful aspect of the website. I really liked the organization of this site and it is a resource that I will definitely use in my future classroom!
Website Source: http://onlinebooks.library.upenn.edu/subjects.html
Image source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Very_Hungry_Caterpillar
This online book website would be very useful when teaching units such as the lifecycle of a butterfly. This website allows teachers to search for books that may be useful to their lesson, such as The Very Hungry Caterpillar in this lesson. The site is very organized and allows teachers to browse by subjects. Therefore, if they are unsure of what they are looking for they can browse by subject and see what types of books appear.
Site source: http://www.primarygames.com/science/butterflies/butterflies.htm
This interactive website is great for station work! When conducting a unit on the butterfly lifecycle I would have one group of students at the computers with this website up. There are many different subjects that this site can be used for as you can see by the top bar on the picture above. However, for the purposes of my topic I searched butterflies and the link I provided brings students to a page that has several different activities all revolving around butterflies. For example, they can choose to read facts about butterflies to become experts, write a story or letter about butterflies and their lifecycle, or play one of six different butterfly games. This station would allow them to spend some times learning about butterflies themselves instead of focusing solely on the lifecycle since we will be focusing our attention on the lifecycle itself in other classroom stations.
Skype in the Classroom link: https://education.microsoft.com/skypeintheclassroom
Images:
http://myunietdblog.blogspot.com/2014/10/95408-teachers-worldwide-use-skype-in.html
http://www.slideshare.net/madebymany/introducing-skype-in-the-classroom
I believe that students learning from students is key to a successful education. Skype in the classroom allows students to connect with classrooms around the world and share their knowledge (of the butterfly lifecycle in this case) with others who are learning about this at the same time. Furthermore, showing students butterfly habitats from around the world would be very exciting for them and show them that butterflies live in many different countries around the world.
Source Link: https://www.edmodo.com
Image links:
https://wiki.itap.purdue.edu/display/INSITE/Edmodo+Research+Page
http://www.edison.k12.nj.us/Page/6419
Edimodo is a great resources for both teachers, parents, and students. It allows teachers to create their classrooms online and upload their students assignments. This allows parents to track their childs progress so there are no surprises. For example, as a teacher I would upload students work throughout our unit on the lifecycle of a butterfly so parents could follow what their students were learning and could help them after school on areas that they seemed week. Furthermore, this site allows teachers to communicate with other teachers. If another teacher had done a unit on the butterfly lifecycle I could chat with that teacher to get lesson plan ideas for my class. Overall, this site is a great way to remain organized and stay in contact with individuals both inside and outside of the classroom.