Kentucky Academy of Technology Education

Persuading Students to Learn Persuasion

Core Connections

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By:  Jennifer Gream, Mayfield Middle School

The KDE Program of Studies states that middle school students should be presented with a wide range of reading experiences, both print and non-print materials, which have informational purposes including persuasion. As part of Kentucky's reading core content, middle school students must be able to identify and evaluate persuasive and propaganda techniques. Not only is it important that we teach persuasive reading as it is on the KCCT test, but also because it is a very important life skill. As consumers, students need to be able to make wise and informed decisions rather than get caught up in advertising hype.

More times than not it is difficult to keep middle school students engaged and motivated; especially in the reading classroom. Another struggle in middle school can be getting students to complete authentic, quality work. However, this unit accomplishes all those goals while helping them master persuasive reading content! With the help of technology, hands-on activities and group work, this unit will not only keep students interested, but they may even start asking to be given more assignments!  

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Rock and Minerals are Everywhere!

Core Connections

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By:  Ashley Humphries, Christian County Schools

What does a penny, toothpaste, and pencil lead all have in common with each other? They are all made from minerals. Most children can tell you what a rock is. But when asked what rocks are made of or what objects are made from rocks they have a hard time giving a correct answer.

Rocks and Minerals can be a very engaging unit of study for primary age students if the lessons are embedded with technology and real-life connections. Students should have the opportunity to explore and test the properties of rocks and minerals with real samples in order to teach the classifications. There are several student interactive websites available for children to access during a unit on rocks and minerals. United Streaming is an excellent best practice resource to use to enhance the instruction of the three types of rocks. Students can visually learn from the clips to help distinguish the formations of Igneous, Sedimentary, and Metamorphic rocks. It's always nice to include a fun song to enhance student comprehension.

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Technology Makes the Way "Wii" Learn Fun in Sedalia

Instructional Illuminations

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Sedalia Elementary fourth graders are engaged in teacher Keri Dowdy's science class project, "Is it real or is it...Wii?". In the southeastern Graves County school, students review force, friction, mass, motion, and acceleration through the Wii bowling game. Each of them "roll" using different amounts of force to determine how the motion and acceleration change. Following the Wii experience, those same students participate in sports outdoors to compare and contrast the concepts between the real sport and the virtual game.

Teaching fourth graders scientific concepts like force, friction, motion, acceleration, and mass holds the potential to be as dull as a lawn mower owner's manual. But when Sedalia Elementary teacher Keri Dowdy combines popular sports and Wii technology, her students think she's hitting a home run...or a lucky strike, depending on their favorite game!

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