Investigating Leaves of Plants

First grade students are required to learn about and explore various plants from their environment. It is important for children to understand that not all plants are the same and, therefore, be able to identify the differences between them. For this activity, I worked with Diane Hanks to plan an activity that involves technology in carrying out a science lesson. The objective we focused our lesson on was that students should investigate plants through observing and drawing pictures of plants. Further, we extended the lesson to explore identification of plant leaves.
To start off our science activity, we would have the students get into groups and gather various leaves from outside. Once the students bring these leaves inside, we would have them draw pictures of the leaves they collected. The picture below show our drawings of our leaves.


After the students have drawn their pictures, we would have them go to a leaf identification website, www.fw.vt.edu/dendro/forsite/key/intro.htm, where they would use this technology and their observation skills to identify the type of plant their leaves came from. One of the leaves we identified as we did this activity was a leaf from a sumac plant. In the picture below, you can see the image of our leaf next to the plant it came from on the identification site.

Once the leaves have been identified by the children, they would put their leaves under a microscope to observe in more detail. The children will notice that the leaves are not just one solid color, but have speckles and different colored veins. Also, there are often holes and blemishes in the leaves. Below is shown how our leaf is actually many different shades of green, unlike the dark green color that is seen without the microscope.

Additionally, each leaf contains veins, blemishes, and even tiny hairs, which are hard to examine without the help of a microscope. Below, you can see the veins of a dried leaf that we observed while doing this activity.

After the children have observed the leaves carefully under the microscope, we would have the children make new drawings of their leaves, making sure to show the new details that the learned about and observed.

Science/Math Technology Exploration

In class we were able to use some really interesting tools to better our understanding of what was in the world around us and to measure temperature. I really liked the microscopes that we used in class. It fascinated me that you could hook up a microscope to a computer so that you could take a video or a picture of what was being looked at under the lens. Also, I remember that when I was younger and we used microscopes, they were really big and difficult to use/understand. These microscopes seemed simple. The teacher could just use on if necessary and hook it up to a projector so that the whole class will be able to see what the teacher is talking about or looking for. This would help to cut back on the confusion of what the student is supposed to be doing. Also, these microscopes are not that expensive so that it will be possible to put them into the school budget in order to get enough for the class. This will truly help the students to get more involved and feel more connected with science.

TPACK

In class we learned about TPACK. This is the combination of three types of knowledge: technical, pedagogical, and content. Each of these different types of knowledge can be taught separately or connected in different ways. Technical knowlege is when you have a lot of information on a specific subject and it's content. When you know different strategies of teaching and ways to get information across, you have pedagogical knowledge. Technological knowledge is when you use technology to help or increase something like your knowledge or teaching. All of these types of knowledge can be used in teaching but the most effective ways of teaching are when you use all three types of knowledge. Teachers should always strive to use TPACK because they will be able to learn and and grow which will in turn provide them with a better understand of how to help their students. By using all three types of knowledge and teaching then the lessons of the teacher will reach out to more students and the students will learn more effectively.

RSS and Web 2.0

Wow! I never Knew anything about RSS before. I found it ever fascinating that we were able to put updates on our blogs that tell us when there has been any changes to a website that we like. Many websites have them and this is a great way to keep informed. I really like that you can have a lot of information from many different sites in one area, such as your blog, so that you do not have to go to many different sites to see what is going on. Plus, you do not have to check the site many times to see if anything new has come up because it will tell you at the location that you added the RSS. Also, what we learned in web 2.0 will be very helpful as a teacher. I never used things like this before so I think that being connected with many different teachers and seeing what they have to say about books and websites will help me out in the future.

My Technology Experience

Hi! I'm Heather. I've moved a lot of places and so I don't really have a home town that I claim. My favorite place that I lived was in Guatemala! It was so amazing to be around such a different culture!

I come from a fairly big family with 6 kids. I'm the last one of the bunch but I like it that way, most of the time. I'm not very experienced with technology. I have a computer at home but I've just done word and email.