Amber+Genzink

Amber Genzink's Lesson Plan Presentation

Peer Assessment by Alacia Herring

Amber, I loved your use of Edmodo. I think you made this project user friendly for your students to be able to access all of the needed resources in one place. You also gave your students clear expectations with the checklist and rubric provided. It sounds like they knew what was expected from day one. I know from my own experience in school how helpful it is to know where you are going and how to get there. It was great to hear how excited the students were when working on their projects. I found it interesting to hear how the students were talking and collaborating on the project so that all student’s voices could be heard. It is so hard for us as teachers to relinquish complete control, but it sounds like you did a great job of being a guide and mentor to their learning allowing for student-directed learning and it worked!! I am sure they worked harder because they were engaged in their learning. The classroom blog was a great way for students to publish their work and share with parents. Just wondering, have you ever done a project like this before? Your project seemed well planned and beneficial to your students, great job!!

Peer Assessment by Karen Leonard

Can I first say, Wow! I want my daughters to be in your class! What a fun assignment! I am sure the students were so caught up in the project that they did not even realize how much they were learning. I loved your use of Google Docs. I strongly believe that this is a tool we should be using with much more frequency. When my students save their Word documents on our server, they are often "lost". This does not occur when using Google Docs.:) I love how the students were able to collaborate on their writing. I know you mentioned pairing up students as a form of differentiation. Did all students work with partners or were they merely commenting on the work of others to add the collaborative element? The fact you were able to provide students comments alongside the student writing was a great way to your students. So many times teachers are only able to provide guidance with writing projects upon the completion of the project.

I liked how you had created back-up plans for computer issues. Hopefully, your IT person was able to assist you. It is also wonderful that your media specialist was willing to take any students who may have needed access to another computer. I also liked your different rubrics. I am sure they were helpful to your students as they worked. I especially liked the rubric you created for the use of Edmodo, Google Docs, and Screencasts. I had not thought to create a rubric like this for my project. I am not sure it would have worked for my project; I was only a facilitator and not the lead teacher in the execution of my project.

What I think I enjoyed best was the excited and pride you shared at the end of your screencast. I could tell this project was successful and that the students not only met your requirements but seemed to go beyond what you expected. That is always exciting for us as teachers. Awesome lesson!

Amber, What an amazing lesson you have created! I'm glad to know that Google Docs will work with students. This has given me a few ideas to springboard off of, if you don't mind? I think your lesson was beautifully implemented and well designed. I cannot find anything that is missing or unclear to me. I will also be taking a look at Harris Burdick. I also have quite a few ESOL students and we are piloting Lucy Calkins, which I am loving. The only suggestion I dare make is to now take the collaborative nature of the project and find a writing buddy class in another part of the state, county, world, and write a story with them. What as amazing job! I'm sure your students will talk about this lesson for years to come. Sterling Hope