Why did you choose this lesson? The original lesson plan teaches students the proper way to write a letter to someone. We think that it is both effective and essential for students to learn the process of letter writing because it can be used throughout the students education and future careers. The original lesson plan asks for students to participate in a read-aloud about a young girl who writes letters to her family. After students will learn the different parts of a letter and learn how to write a letter on their own.
Define new lesson plan design/goals of lesson. The revisions we made to the lesson allowed students to expand their knowledge of writing letters and make it more realistic. Although letter writing is still a form of communication, it is not nearly as popular as sending someone an e-mail. For our new lesson plan we decided to take the features of writing a letter to someone and through a website called ePals, allow students to write actual letters to a pen pal found through the website.
Which tool or tools did you choose to incorporate into this lesson to potentially improve it? We decided to use the website ePals as our tool for our students. The website allows teachers to collaborate with other teachers around the globe and eventually set up blogs and mail boxes for students to communicate with one another. This could improve the lesson because it becomes more interactive and is more beneficial to an age group that relies heavily on technology to communicate. Students will not only learn the skills to write a letter, but also the skills to type and send an e-mail.
Why did you choose this tool? We chose this tool after researching the web for a reliable site that allows educators to collaborate and find potential pen pals for students. The tool is credible and has a lot more activities for students and teachers to use.
What standards were you using to guide your decision on this? see Standards on the navigation.
Do you feel this will improve your teaching? Student learning? We feel that this lesson plan will definitely improve our teaching. As teachers we have found a way to engage the students and make them more eager to learn. By using a computer, students get excited and are more willing to participate. The lesson is more engaging for students because they are interactively collaborating with peers and connecting with other peers across the globe. The students will enjoy the hands on experience and will also learn a lot about technology.
Define new lesson plan design/goals of lesson. The revisions we made to the lesson allowed students to expand their knowledge of writing letters and make it more realistic. Although letter writing is still a form of communication, it is not nearly as popular as sending someone an e-mail. For our new lesson plan we decided to take the features of writing a letter to someone and through a website called ePals, allow students to write actual letters to a pen pal found through the website.
Which tool or tools did you choose to incorporate into this lesson to potentially improve it? We decided to use the website ePals as our tool for our students. The website allows teachers to collaborate with other teachers around the globe and eventually set up blogs and mail boxes for students to communicate with one another. This could improve the lesson because it becomes more interactive and is more beneficial to an age group that relies heavily on technology to communicate. Students will not only learn the skills to write a letter, but also the skills to type and send an e-mail.
Why did you choose this tool? We chose this tool after researching the web for a reliable site that allows educators to collaborate and find potential pen pals for students. The tool is credible and has a lot more activities for students and teachers to use.
What standards were you using to guide your decision on this? see Standards on the navigation.
Do you feel this will improve your teaching? Student learning? We feel that this lesson plan will definitely improve our teaching. As teachers we have found a way to engage the students and make them more eager to learn. By using a computer, students get excited and are more willing to participate. The lesson is more engaging for students because they are interactively collaborating with peers and connecting with other peers across the globe. The students will enjoy the hands on experience and will also learn a lot about technology.