Recycling In Our Community

Title of Project: Recycling In Our Community

Should Island Park participate in recycling?

Schools and Teachers

Francis X. Hegarty Elementary School Teacher: Nick Givoanelli Co-Teacher: Tiffany Maksimowicz

ENL Proficiency Level | ENL Program | Standards | Technology

Entering, Emerging | Integrated ENL/ELA | 1W1 | BrainPOP, Flocabulary, Pear Deck, Nearpod

Assessments

Throughout the "Recycling in our Community" lesson, a variety of formative and summative assessments are utilized to gauge student understanding and progress.

Formative assessments include teacher checklists used during class discussions and Nearpod activities to monitor student participation and comprehension. Additionally, students engage in self-assessment and reflection through interactive Pear Deck quizzes and drawing activities, allowing them to self-check their understanding of key concepts.

Summative assessments consist of the final public service announcement (PSA) project, where students create a multimedia presentation on the importance of recycling. A rubric is used to evaluate the PSAs, assessing criteria such as content accuracy, creativity, use of vocabulary, and technological proficiency. This rubric ensures a comprehensive evaluation of both content knowledge and language skills. The combination of these assessments provides a well-rounded picture of student learning and achievement.

Description

In the "Recycling in our Community" lesson, 1st-grade students learned about recycling through engaging videos from BrainPOP and vocabulary songs from Flocabulary. They interacted with Pear Deck slides, participated in discussions, and used technology to create public service announcements. Scaffolding and differentiation ensured all students could write opinions and support them with reasons, meeting the state standard. The collaborative planning with the ENL teacher enriched the experience, making it inclusive and effective.

Content

I can explain why recycling is important for our community.

Language

I can write an opinion about recycling and give two reasons to support my opinion.

Technology

I can create a public service announcement with the help of digital tools.

Student work

Student work hand drawn posters about keeping the ocean clean

Procedure

Introduction and Engagement:

The lesson begins with a short video from BrainPOP about recycling to introduce the topic and capture students' interest.
A class discussion follows, where students share what they know about recycling and why it's important. This activates prior knowledge and sets the context for learning.

Vocabulary Building:

Using Flocabulary, students learn key vocabulary related to recycling through songs and videos. This multimedia approach engages students and helps them remember new words through music and visuals.

Interactive Learning:

The teacher uses Pear Deck to present interactive slides that include polls, quizzes, and drawing activities about recycling. This keeps students actively participating and reinforces their understanding through immediate feedback.

Instructional Strategies and Scaffolding:

The teacher demonstrates how to write an opinion piece, using a graphic organizer to break down the parts of the writing (introduction, reasons, and conclusion).
For ENL learners, the teacher provides sentence starters and word banks to help them construct their sentences. Visual aids and gestures are used to ensure comprehension.

Differentiation:

Students are grouped by language proficiency levels for collaborative activities. Advanced learners are encouraged to write more detailed reasons and provide examples, while beginners work on simple sentences with the help of the teacher or a peer.
Nearpod activities are designed with varying levels of difficulty, allowing students to work at their own pace and level of understanding.

Language Domains Addressed:

Listening: Watching videos and listening to songs.
Speaking: Participating in discussions and sharing ideas.
Reading: Reading information on slides and vocabulary lists.
Writing: Writing their own opinion pieces on recycling.

Creating the Public Service Announcement (PSA):

Students create their PSA on poster paper. They can explain their opinion on recycling and provide two reasons why it is important.

Presentation and Reflection:

Students present their PSAs to the class. This final step reinforces their learning by allowing them to practice public speaking and listen to their peers' opinions.
The class discusses the PSAs, giving positive feedback and reflecting on what they learned about recycling.

Resources and Other Materials

BrainPOP
Flocabulary
Pear Deck
Nearpod
BrainPOP: Recycling Lesson
Flocabulary: Reduce, Reuse, Recycling Unit

Reflection

The design of the lesson was well-structured and incorporated multiple teaching strategies and technology tools to engage students and cater to diverse learning needs. By integrating videos, interactive activities, and a creative project, the lesson maintained high levels of student interest and participation. The use of technology tools like BrainPOP, Flocabulary, and Pear Deck was particularly effective in making the content accessible and engaging for 1st-grade students. The vocabulary-building through Flocabulary and the interactive elements of Pear Deck provided a strong foundation for students to understand the concept of recycling and express their opinions. Grouping students by language proficiency and providing tailored support ensured that all students could participate and succeed. The use of sentence starters, word banks, and visual aids was crucial for ENL learners, enabling them to construct their sentences and ideas more confidently.

After conducting the lesson, observations and areas for improvement would be in the pacing of the lesson and technical difficulties. Some students may need more time to complete their PSAs, especially those who had more detailed reasoning. Ensuring that there is sufficient time for all students to finish their projects without feeling rushed would be beneficial. Anticipating and troubleshooting technical issues beforehand can save time and reduce frustration during the lesson. Luckily, we had a backup plan with offline options that were helpful in case of technical problems.

Co-planning with the classroom teacher (Mr. Giovanelli) and the ENL teacher (Mrs. Maksimowicz) had a significant positive impact on the learning experience. The collaboration allowed for a more inclusive and well-rounded lesson plan that addressed both content and language development. The ENL teacher's insights into the language needs of the students helped in designing appropriate scaffolds and supports, while the classroom teacher provided expertise on managing the class and integrating the lesson into the broader curriculum. For the students, the co-planning ensured that they received consistent support and instruction tailored to their language proficiency levels. This collaboration also modeled teamwork and communication for the students, showing them how different perspectives can come together to enhance learning.

Before implementing the project again, we would allocate more time for the PSA creation phase to ensure all students can complete their projects without feeling rushed. As well as conduct a brief technology orientation session for students who may need extra help with using the tools.

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