Presentation Video Link

I had a difficult time getting my presentation uploaded on YouTube. I did cut the beginning part out that plays the song as well as the end of the presentation, the end of the song. I did this to make it shorter so it wouldn't take as long to upload. So if it seems weird that I stopped and fast forwarded that is why. Go ahead and click on the link below to watch the video. Thanks!

Puff the Magic Dragon Presentation

Presentation Lesson

                                                            DAILY LESSON PLAN TEMPLATE

 

NAME: Heather R. Hug
SUBJECT/COURSE: Kindergarten Reading with Music Integration                  DATE: 31 May 2013
 
CONCEPT/OBJECTIVE: (What do you hope the students will know/understand at the end of the lesson?)
Explain who the two friends are in the book.
Summarize what happens in the illustrations.
Come up with 4 things that begin with the same sound and draw a picture of each.
Sing the chorus of Puff the Magic Dragon.
 
STANDARD(S) MET: (List school and/or state standards addressed by this lesson.)
LA 0.1 Students will learn and apply reading skills and strategies to comprehend text.
LA 0.1.2 Phonological Awareness: Students will demonstrate phonological awareness through oral activities.
LA 0.1.6.i Generate and/or answer clarifying questions (who, what, when, where, why, how), supporting answers using prior knowledge and information from the text
LA 0.1.6.m Respond to text verbally, in writing, or artistically
LA 0.3.1.a Communicate ideas orally in daily classroom activities and routines
LA 0.3.3.b Demonstrate conversation strategies (e.g., face the speaker, listen while others are talking, take turns talking, eye contact)
LA 0.3.3.c Participate in learning situations (e.g., small groups, show and share, cooperative problem solving, play)
Music: Singing, alone and with others, a varied repertoire of music.
 
MATERIALS NEEDED FOR LESSON:
(by you):
Puff the Magic Dragon Book with CD
Brown paper bags (lunch size)
White paper cut into fourths (4 cut pieces for each student)
 
(by the students):
Crayons
Colored Pencils
Markers
 
INTRODUCING THE LESSON (Bell Ringer):
I will begin the lesson by having the students listen to the song from the CD. After the song is over, I will ask them to picture the land of Honalee in their minds and have them share what it looks like. I will then ask them how they picture Puff. Finally I will ask them what their views are of Jackie Paper. After each question I will give them quite a bit of think time before choosing students to share their thoughts.
 
INSTRUCTIONAL PROCEDURE: (How will you conduct the lesson? Content, sequence of activities, etc.)
I will introduce the book to the students showing them the cover and telling them that the song actually comes from the book. I will read the book aloud to them, stopping along the way to point out some significant things such as: the elements of friendship, how does Jackie show his love for Puff? How does Puff show his love for Jackie? I will encourage the students to look at the illustrations to indicate the close relationship the boy and the dragon have. I will then explain the reasons why Jackie leaves Puff towards the end of the book but first I will ask them questions such as: Why does Jackie stop visiting his friend Puff? What do you think he is doing instead? Do you think the grown up man at the end of the book is actually Jackie? Who do you think the little girl is? After listening to the song again and going through the illustrations in the book at the same time, I will conclude the book by telling the students that the book doesn’t have a sad ending after all because Puff has a new friend to play with.
I will then point out the illustration that contains the bag of “strings and sealing wax and other fancy stuff,” and I will explain to the students that they strings and sealing wax both start with the /s/ sound. I will give them instructions that I want them to think of things they like to play with that start with the same sound, and draw a picture of those things. I will hand out pieces of paper that are cut into fourths and I will give them a bag to put their things in.
 
MODIFICATIONS FOR SPECIAL NEEDS STUDENTS: (includes high ability, low ability, physical limitations)
Students with visual impairments will be given a copy of the book to follow along and look at the pictures closer.
I will utilize a microphone for students with hearing impairments.
Students who have a learning disability will be allowed to utilize the book when creating their retelling of the story.
 
ASSESSMENT: (How will you assess students’ learning of the concepts/objectives?)
I will have the students share what they put into their bags when they are all finished. I will instruct them to let us know which sound the things in their bag start with. I will fill out a rubric as they share. 
 
CLOSURE: (How will you close the lesson? i.e. will you review key points, summarize, assign homework, etc.)
To close the lesson I will teach the students, through rote learning, the chorus of the song: “Puff the magic dragon lived by the sea.” Once they have that part down we will go onto the next part: “And frolicked in the autumn mist in a land called Honalee.” Once they have the two parts down together we will continue by trying to sing both parts twice in a row. Once the students are comfortable we will listen to the song and sing along when we hear the chorus.
 
BACK-UP: (Your emergency plan - what will you do if you cover everything above and there is still time?)
If we cover everything and there is still time left, I will have the students illustrate their favorite part from the book and possibly share the illustrations, or just tell their favorite part, depending on how much time there is.
 
COOPERATING TEACHER’S SUGGESTIONS/COMMENTS:


 

Rubric for Presentation Lesson

	4	3	2	1
Task	The student completed all four picture.	The student completed 3 pictures.	The student completed 2 pictures.	The student completed 1 picture.
Accuracy	The 4 pictures started with the same sound.	3 pictures started with the same sound.	2 pictures started with the same sound.	There was only one picture with a beginning sound.
Oral Communication	The student was able to say the sound all of the pictures started with and say what each picture was that they drew.	The student was able to say what each picture was that they drew.	The student was able to say what sound all of the pictures started with that they drew.	The student refused to share their work with the class.

Final Presentation Proposal

For my final presentation I plan to integrate music with reading utilizing the book Puff the Magic Dragon and the song. I will have the students’ first listen to the song and then I will read them the book. At the end of the lesson I plan to play the song and have them sing the chorus.

Student Performance and Effective Teacher

I personally do not think that teachers should be paid based on student performance because there are so many factors that can contribute to a student's performance other than the teacher. It also seems as if teachers would start discriminating students without really knowing them as a person because their pay would be based on the performance each individual student makes. For example, if Suzie gets low scores on her NeSA test then her future teachers will see those test scores and say I don't want her in my class, because they assume she will get poor scores again or they will have to work really hard to get her caught up and make sure that she doesn't get low scores again while they are teaching her. 

I believe that an effective teacher will do anything and everything to make sure that all students are as successful as they can be. They are passionate about their profession and care enough about their students to build relationships with them. They are willing to differentiate instruction to meet the needs of all learners and are flexible when it comes to different circumstances and situations. An effective teacher is planned and organized and helps their students set goals and challenges them while also helping them reach their goals. They are also knowledgeable in their content area and able to teach in a way that students understand, if students don't get it the first time, they are willing to go back and re-teach until the students do get it. Effective teachers also incorporate a variety of resources into their lessons such as technology. 

Teacher Unions and Tenure

When it comes to teacher unions and tenure I think reforms are needed because bad teachers do not deserve to be impossible to fire just because they are a part of the unoin or because they have been in the school district for a number of years. In my opinion they need to be held just as accountable as a first year teacher and they need to do what is best for the students.

Balancing Extra-Curricular Activities with Classroom Expectations

We can easily balance extra-curricular activities with our expectations in the elementary classroom, in a sport driven society, by making connections between sports and other extra-curricular activities and using them to teach with. For example if you are teaching a math lesson and incorporate a concession stand selling food at a game, the students will more likely be intrigued because it is something they are familiar with.

Students should be able to meet school expectations as long as they have good attendance. As a teacher I think we should really encourage students to come to school as much as they possibly can, and if they must miss for whatever reason then they are still required to do some makeup work or come in before or after school so they can e taught what they missed when they were not present. I think that if the attendance goals are made clear to the students as well as their parents and only small amounts of homework is given, if any, then balancing school expectations and extra-curricular activities should not be an issue.

However, I think teachers must also express the opinion that school comes before extra-curricular activities and if students start doing poorly in school then they should not be spending as much time doing extra-curricular activities. These extra-curricular activities should be thought of more as a reward or privilege and should be taken away if students are not meeting their school expectations so they have more time to practice whatever they are getting behind in or having trouble with.

Developmentally Appropriate Instruments

It is developmentally appropriate to introduce a recorder to students who are ages 9-11 because they must have large enough hands to cover all of the finger holes and have enough hand eye coordination to play the instrument. At ages 5-9 students may be introduced to the xylophone if they are only expected to follow a two or three note pattern. It is appropriate for rhythm sticks and finger cymbals to be introduced at ages 5-7 because the students are capable of using their large muscle movements and fine motor skills to operate these instruments in the correct manner. A kazoo can also be introduced to students ages 5-7 because it is fairly easy for them to put it up to their mouth and blow air through to make sound.