Natalie+Andryk+Native+Americans

I used the Smartboard to enhance instruction during our Native American unit. On Day 1, I tapped into their curiosity by playing a Youtube video loaded with photos of Native Americans with authentic background music. They were immediately interested! We then brainstormed and listed on the Smartboard ideas my students had about shelter, importance of the horse and buffalo, and clothing worn by the Native American. For the next several days, using the document camera, our Native American practice books, and the highlighting tool, my students and I read about many different tribes. First, we previewed comprehension questions asked about each tribe at the end of every selection. Then, as student volunteers read aloud from the text on the Smartboard, other students came to the board to highlight portions of the text that answered the questions. Normally, my class does not sit well for lessons like this, however, knowing they would have a turn to come to the Smartboard to highlight kept them engaged. Each time we learned about a new tribe, we located this tribe on a map of North America. These lessons helped them decide on a tribe to write about and it prepared them for the notetaking skills they would need to gather information for their reports. I used the Smartboard to introduce my expectations for their reports. Then, using the doc cam, I showed them an article we previously read and the ideas we highlighted. I then showed them how I took these ideas and wrote them in my own words on sample notecards on the Smartboard. I purposely wrote them in an order that wasn't sensible, then had my students help me rearrange them. Using the notes and the text box, my students helped dictate a paragraph to me while I typed. I left this paragraph on display during writing time each day to help them take notes and eventually write their reports. Writing is a difficult subject to teach, and some of my students are resistant about it. Due to the high interest level of the subject matter and their love of using the Smartboard, this unit and our reports were a wonderful learning experience!