Service Learning Section

             

                  Blog Entry #1    Service Learning Section

     I'm excited to start the service learning section of this class.  Service Learning is where I go and volunteer at a school and assist the teacher, a total of 20 hours.  The school I have chosen is Legacy Elementary in American Fork, Utah.  My daughter went there and I think it's a great school.

     After getting familiar with the census website I learned some facts about American Fork.  The average home in Am. Fork is $216,600 and has 3.61 people in the household.  The 2010 census records show that 92% of the citizens are white and only 7.2% of the households speak non-english at home.  94% of the citizens have graduated from high school and 32.7% have bachelor's degrees.  It sounds like the community values education and the majority of the children will speak english in the home.

   

Breathe and Relax

Standard 1
The students will learn ways to improve mental health and manage stress.

Standard 7
Use telecommunications and on-line resources (e.g., email, online discussions, web environments) to participate in collaborative problem-solving activities to develop solutions or products for audiences inside and outside the classroom. (4, 5)

**This activity is great for the kids in my classroom.  I want them to know their feelings are important and real.  I want them to be able to deal with the stress and anger they will feel in life. Some days are happy, some days are sad.

HOW ARE MOUNTAINS FORMED?

Ed Tech Standard 8
Use technology resources (e.g., calculators, data collection probes, videos, educational software) for problem-solving, self-directed learning, and extended learning activities. (5, 6)

Standard 2
Students will understand that volcanoes, earthquakes, uplift, weathering, and erosion reshape Earth's surface.

**To help my students understand the plate tectonics lesson, I will do this experiment in class.  I think hands on experiences that engage students have a tendency stick with the student longer than facts.  I loved this lesson because we have many mountains in this area, I can help my students understand why we have so many here in Utah and how they were formed.

This section of the lesson is aimed at helping students understand the cause of earthquakes: movements in the tectonic plates. Here are two experiments to help the children visualize.

Using graham crackers, fruit roll ups & pudding/frosting/yogurt, students experiment to understand what happens when plates move: Snack Tectonics
Using paper plates, have students cut the plate into two pieces that fit perfectly together. Guide their understanding by asking them how the paper plate is like a tectonic plate. Then, ask them to model the main movements of the plates: divergent, convergent & transform. Ask: What happens to the land when each of these movements occur? Which movement occurred to create the new land in Pakistan? Can you think of any examples in the U.S. that have been formed by any of these movements (i.e. San Andreas Fault)?

MATH IS FUN

Standard 1
Represent and solve problems involving addition and subtraction.

Ed Tech Standard 7
Use telecommunications and on-line resources (e.g., email, online discussions, web environments) to participate in collaborative problem-solving activities to develop solutions or products for audiences inside and outside the classroom.

I loved this assignment to bring math into my student's home.  The focus is to use mental math and watch for patterns.  I don't want them to focus on being fast, I want them to focus on understanding what they're doing and why. I always try to give an activity in every at home assignment, is this one I ask them to add things up in their house.

SAY NO TO DRUGS!

Standard 2
The students will adopt health-promoting and risk-reducing behaviors to prevent substance abuse.

Standard 7
Use telecommunications and on-line resources (e.g., email, online discussions, web environments) to participate in collaborative problem-solving activities to develop solutions or products for audiences inside and outside the classroom. (4, 5)

I want the kids in my class to understand the harmful effects of alcohol, cigarettes, chew and prescription pills.  I realize having a lesson one time in elementary won't change the course of their life, but my hope is if they hear this message over and over it just might stick.

To the parents in my class, I heard an addiction specialist relate this story to me and I've always remembered it.

Three seniors go out drinking on the night of graduation.  One kid gets so sick he is throwing up in the toilet all night long, this kid refuses to drink ever again.  The second kid has a good time, doesn't drink too much and for the rest of his life he will be a casual, responsible drinker.  The third kid has just unleashed a dragon into his life, he will battle this dragon forever.  The message is, don't try it and you won't gamble with releasing a dragon into your life.

America

Standard 2
(Citizenship): Students will recognize and practice civic responsibility in the community, state, and nation.


Standard 7
Use telecommunications and on-line resources (e.g., email, online discussions, web environments) to participate in collaborative problem-solving activities to develop solutions or products for audiences inside and outside the classroom. (4, 5)

This will give students a touch of history about voting and the American Flag.  We will then move into a classroom setting of voting for a class president and other officials.  We might even come up with a class flag.

I see the MOON!


Standard 1
Students will understand that the shape of Earth and the moon are spherical and that Earth rotates on its axis to produce the appearance of the sun and moon moving through the sky.
Objective 1
Describe the appearance of Earth and the moon.

Standard 7
Use telecommunications and on-line resources (e.g., email, online discussions, web environments) to participate in collaborative problem-solving activities to develop solutions or products for audiences inside and outside the classroom. (4, 5)

I loved using THINGLINK!   I love the idea of my students doing a VERY BRIEF assignment at home and then plugging in an activity to go along with it.  I think having my student go outside and look at the moon brings learning home to my student and their family.