Transforming 4th Grade Learning

Meadowmere teachers, Nicole Cirese and Jennifer Belk, are transforming learning with their 4th grade students using several technology tools for a class project. Students in advanced reading and Read 180 students are working together in mixed groups of 4 to 5  on the topic of 5 different presidents. They began with an activity using close reading strategies to become more familiar with the text about the presidents. Then, using Edmodo, students had to make inferences with supporting details from the text, compare and contrast two presidents, and draw conclusions about their leadership. 

Students were asked to pick  a president who they believed had the best leadership qualities, and are currently in the research process. They are filing out a graphic organizer that shows the president's leadership qualities and providing supporting information from their research. The students were posed the question, "How would the leadership qualities your president possess help them if they were president today?" After the research process, students will be creating a biographical presentation (using Powerpoint) to present to 3rd grade students, providing some background knowledge about their president. 

Their next activity will require students to create a campaign commercial for their chosen president using iMovie. The campaign videos will be from the perspective of their chosen historical president running in the 2016 presidential election. Teachers will be leading a discussion with students regarding current issues the United States faces with education, the economy, the environment and civil rights. The students will be studying campaign commercials and learning how to persuade their audience to vote for their candidate. 

What a great way to integrate technology in the classroom! Using some of the technology tools we have available in the district, Nicole and Jennifer have transformed learning in their 4th grade classrooms. 

Reflecting with SAMR

Pia Rosimo-Lee