I thought the scenarios were all very interesting and it was challenging to come up with a variety of ideas that were not only creative and engaging but also could be differentiated to meet the varying needs of the students.
I really wanted to work on the astronomy scenario but in my research, I discovered that many of the resources were linked through the US government specifically NASA and NOAA which of course are temporarily suspended.
Many of the other resources that I found referenced using NASA as a primary source of informationI found myself not only looking for resources for researching but also for resources that students could use to create and share their new learning. I think it is easy to get lulled into making the same types of presentations. We need to remember that not only are there many options available but that some modes are better than others for specific scenarios. Students are also different types of learners and it is great to allow students to work in a mode that best exhibits their learning and personal style.
Some resources for the 4th grade social studies unit include Blue Planet Biomes. This site gives an overview world map and links to definitions and photos of each of the biome types. Use Google Maps to examine the land formations. It is important to remove the roads and town information on the map. In the right hand corner of the map, click on the the square map to change to satellite setting. There is a drop down menu located there so that labels can be removed. The weather feature could be used so the students could see the different temperatures found in the regions. This type of navigation within Google Maps could be differentiated depending upon the student. I understand Misson:Biomes-NASA Earth Observatory is a great resource, but is also not available at this time.
The math scenario sounded like lots of fun.
Some of the issues I noticed with this site was that for elementary aged students it was difficult to find tools that were user friendly and allowed the students to create floor plans. I thought it would be interesting for students to see images of floor plans. Most children are not going to be familiar with the layouts found in floor plans. By researching google images for floor plans, a teacher would be able to find appropriate plans to show to the class prior to creating their own.
There are many websites and apps available but from what I can see most are too difficult to be used by elementary students.
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