My teaching profile

Bloom's digital taxonomy stage 1: Remembering

This activity is created for young and/or intermediate language learners at the 8th grade level.
References to the Norwegian curriculum after 7th grade:

- use digital resources and other aids in one's own language learning.
- use listening and speaking strategies
- express and give grounds for own opinions about familiar topics

Aims for the lesson:

- the student should be able to find relevant information regarding the chosen topic
- the student should be able to search on the internet
- the student should be able to select valid sources from the vast opportunities on the internet
- the student should be able to tell about his/hers chosen topic in front of the class
- the students should be able to give reasons behind why they wanted to present this chosen topic in particular

Technologies used:
- Powerpoint. A program to create slideshows for their presentation.
The reason I chose Powerpoint for this lesson is because it is a tool which can be at aid for the students when they are presenting. They can choose to have the Powerpoint consisting of mostly pictures, and have cards with key words instead of having an abundance of text on their slideshows. It is a flexible tool in terms of language competence in the different ways you can use it.

Lesson plan:
The students are at first introduced to the different topics they can choose from. The topics include different world records from The Guinness World Record books.
To get the students intrigued in the subject, there will be shown a short video consisting of different world records. This provides some background, and can be used to ask the students afterwards what they know from before about the Guinness World Records. This is the "into"- stage.
When the students have decided upon their choice of record, they then can start finding more information about it on the internet on their computers. There will be some examples of internet links that the students can use to get them started. When the students organize their Powerpoint presentations, it is on the "through"-stage.
Then the students write down explanations on their Powerpoints or give oral explanations of their chosen world record with only pictures in the background in front of the class. This part is the "beyond"-stage, where the students has an explanation and/or reflection about their chosen world record. In addition, the students are encouraged to explain exactly why they chose this particular world record. When the students are finished creating their presentations and done finding information, they will be able to present in front of the class.
If the lesson runs out of time without any of the students being ready for the presentation, their work will continue onto the next lesson, which will now definitely include the presentations.

Assessing the success of the activity:
By observing the students when they are working, if they use the digital tools for the right purpose. For example if they use their computers for research and finding information. The end product of the students' presentations is how i would also evaluate the success of the lesson. There it will become apparent how well they have used their time to prepare, and how they have used the tool of Powerpoint to support their presentations, whether they only read off their slides, or facing the audience and using notes.

Thoughts and reflections:
Challenges that can be encountered is the usage of computers. The students spend a lot of time on their computers for this lesson, and you have to be on edge as a teacher and monitor if they are spending their time for preparation and research correctly. By reflecting upon the success of the lesson, the continuation of internet research and working individually can be emphasized in future lessons, however, if students found it difficult doing it by themselves, pairing the students or groups will be considered for similar future lessons.