KATE

September 1, 2008

Blogging to Facilitate Collaboration in Portfolio Reviews

Instructional Illuminations

Lyon County seniors, while working on their writing portfolios, post their writing pieces on a blog called Lyon's Lines and the pieces are critiqued by Murray State University writing students. This project, which is in its second year, is the result of collaboration between Debbie A. Bell, MSU English instructor and Debbie J. Bell, Supervisor of Instruction for Lyon County Schools. KATE director, Brenda Nix, set up the initial planning meeting for the two Mrs. Bells and facilitated training for them on the use of blogs. The KATE website hosts the blog, powered by an extremely friendly program called WordPress.

Considerations in the planning phase involved proper techniques for on-line conferencing, security issues regarding high school students' blogging with college students, and overall security issues. We addressed the conferencing concerns by conducting Code of Ethics trainings for the pre-service English teachers. Their instructor, Debbie A. Bell, is a former English teacher at Murray Middle School and has served as a school cluster leader for many years. She is also co-director of the Purchase Area Writing Project. The comments made by the university students are carefully monitored by their instructor, as well as Mrs. Bell at Lyon County and by the twelfth grade teacher, Curtis Brown. Security issues were addressed by making the site and all submissions password protected.

Students in both classes have reacted very well to this initiative. They learned the techniques for uploading their files very easily, but still need to be reminded from time to time to preserve anonymity by removing names from title pages and headers. The high schoolers anxiously await comments from the university students, because it seems they value the reaction of additional persons, especially those near their own age. The high school students rework their pieces and repost them for the university students to view additional times. University students enjoy seeing "real world" student work, and have learned to ethically react to student writing so as to preserve the proper student ownership.

For additional information contact: Debbie J. Bell, Supervisor of Instruction, Lyon County Schools, debbie.bell@lyon.kyschools.us .

Related Lesson Plans, Activities, and Classroom Resources

• 10 ways to use your edublog to teach
• Blogging for teachers and students, made easy

September 1, 2008

Simple Machines in Young Students’ Lives

Core Connections

By:  Jessica Shepherd, Ballard County Elementary

Providing students with hands on activities is a very simple, engaging way of teaching them about simple machines in early childhood years. Simple machines sounds like a difficult subject for Kindergarten or first graders but can be very simple if the right approach is taken by teachers. Primary teachers must not try to make things too difficult for young children to understand and must relate it to their every day lives and interests. Teachers must demonstrate the concept on a daily basis to allow their little minds to connect. A great book for helping incorporate science in an early childhood classroom is titled "First Science Experiments: Mighty Machines" by Shar Levine and Leslie Johnstone. For example: a wheel is great for spinning and to move things it must have an axle. Use a toy car or tinker toys to model examples of wheel and axles. Let the students create and make them on their own.

 

Easy hands on activities that people use everyday can teach young children about simple machines. In describing a lever the teacher could use outside objects such as a bottle opener, crow bar, see-saw, etc. to allow them to relate to something they are familiar with in their everyday lives. Students will become familiar with different types of simple machines and how these machines help make our lives easier. They will become familiar with the appropriate vocabulary for each machine such as wedge, pulley, screw, wheel & axle, lever, etc. Students can make sense of different simple machines by observing various hands on examples, videos, books, experiments, web quests, and much more. Students will be able to define & draw each type of simple machine and tell how each type of simple machine can make their lives easier, relating to simple machines they use everyday and don't even realize it. They will build an understanding that simple machines help in their daily lives and go home telling their parents what types of simple machines they use each and every day to make their lives easier. They will gain a new respect for the usefulness of simple machines that they already use in their every day lives and not even realize it.

Making learning fun is essential in the early childhood years. Simple machine sounds like a difficult subject but can be differentiated to fit very young children. This unit focuses on learning about simple machines using a fun, engaging, hands on approach. Teachers need to realize the sooner concepts are introduced and built on the better students will understand as they get older.

Related Links

• Simple Machines - This is a glossary of simple machine terms.
• Pro Teacher! Simple Machines - This is a collection of lesson plans, activities, information, etc. on simple machines at different grade levels.
• Simple Machines Jeopardy - This is a jeopardy game on simple machines by Jessica Shepherd.

Related Lesson Plans, Activities, and Classroom Resources

• Simple Machines Webquest
• The Lever as a Machine
• Go Go Gadget Machine
• Simple Machine Lesson Plan
• Stuart Little and Simple Machines
• Simple Machine Activities

September 1, 2008

Somebody’s Got To Win…

Core Connections

By:  Leslie Wright, Heath High School 

Somebody's got to win - might as well be you! At one time, this Kentucky Lottery slogan could be heard on televisions across the state. Sure somebody has to eventually win, but what is the chance that it will be you? Probability is the ratio of favorable outcomes to possible outcomes, or in other words the likelihood (or chance) that something will happen. Students may be amazed at how often they are engaged in probability on a daily basis. Probability is found anywhere from weather forecasts, to flipping coins, to batting averages, to playing board games, to guessing on a multiple-choice test, and even to opening a pack of baseball cards searching for that special insert card. Because of these events, the topic of probability becomes more important in the classroom. With today's falling economy, many people are looking for a quick-fix in lotteries and casinos, to only come out further in debt. It is important to make students aware of the likelihood of beating the dealer in blackjack or winning the $5 scratch-off in order to better equip students with the ability for good decision-making.

Students often find the concept of probability both interesting and confusing. They struggle with the difference between combinations and permutations and when to incorporate permutations within their probabilities. Including visual examples of these concepts often helps. For instance, demonstrating a three number lottery, one combination-style and the other permutation-style, emphasizing how much harder it is to not only choose the correct three numbers but to also choose those three numbers in a specified order will often provide an "ah ha" moment for the students. Students are often surprised at the number of ways something as simple as rearranging the letters in one's name are possible and at how unlikely it is that one will be dealt a full house when being dealt five cards. The internet offers various lottery simulators that provide students with the ability to engage in mock, fast-paced lotteries in order to witness just how long it would take someone to win the lottery. A Rubik's Cube has 43,252,003,274,489,856,000 different color permutations. Wow! There are numerous ways to engage the students' interest and help clear up the confusion they have with these concepts because it is crucial in probability that students master these concepts of finding ways events can occur through the fundamental counting principle, combinations, and permutations.

Having a strong understanding of probability can lead to some interesting findings along with aiding students in making wise decisions when it comes to events such as card games and the lottery. As students grow more in-depth in their knowledge of probability, they could find for themselves that the theoretical probability of winning the lottery is extremely small. Although, somebody's got to win - might as well be you! (But probably not.)

Related Links

• Fish Tank - This is an interactive game where students learn to create fractions and determine probability.
• Probability Games - Have a little fun while exploring the concepts of probability.
• Lottery Simulator - This site provides a lottery simulator that allows the user to choose lottery numbers and then simulates how unlikely it is that those numbers will win. It also includes the amount the user would have had he/she invested the money instead.
• Probability and Odds - This site provides a Smart Notebook activity that includes a probability simulator with a spinner and die.

Related Lesson Plans, Activities, and Classroom Resources

• Probability in the Real World
• Probability
• Conditional Probability
• Sticks and Stones
• Geometric Probability