Gail+Essex

Lesson 1 My first lesson on the SMART Board was a review of spelling words. I did a word sort to emphasize two spelling patterns. I had created a table with columns for "ure" and "er" endings. I put my 8th grade reading students in groups. I said a word, and then someone from the group had to write the word in the correct column. After that, I showed the students some of the words, and I asked them to think about something that the words had in common. I had put in a shade to hide the answer, but I forgot to use the shade. For the last part of the lesson, the students drew pictures of the words, and other students guessed what word was being illustrated. Normally, we would do the sort on paper. With the SMART Board, the students were exchanging information with each other. Also, they were highly engaged. During the sort, they spelled almost all of the words correctly.

Lesson 2 My second lesson was on the use of sequence in writing. The 7th graders are writing a how-to piece. I had prepared a SMART Board page that showed steps in brushing your teeth. However, the steps were out of order. The students moved around the steps to show the correct order. Then the students looked at another series of steps, this time adding "signal" or sequence words such as "first" and "after that." Then the students created instructions for opening a locker. During this lesson, I also showed them how to convert their writing to type. They saw that their handwriting had to be quite precise in order for the computer to convert accurately. Without the board, I probably would have done this sequence lesson on paper or just by asking students to say the steps for some activity such as the brushing of teeth. Again, students were highly engaged, and they coached each other. Most of their answers were accurate.

Lesson 3 This third lesson was another word sort, this time carried out with 7th graders. After that, they wrote a small part of a story with the spelling words. Then they played a Concentration-type game in which I had covered pairs of words with moveable rectangles. The students were very interested in the game. Without the SMART Board, I would have had the students practice the words with paper-and-pencil sorts, storywriting, and the creation of cartoons. The students were very active in the lesson.

Lesson 4 The fourth lesson was a review of the same spelling words in preparation for the next day's spelling quiz. I made up game-type questions involving the spelling words. I used shades to hide the answers. I used a spinner to determine whose turn it was. Also, I put in some sounds. One small problem with the sound was that I didn't have external speakers connnected to the computer, so the sound was very faint. Next time, I would use speakers. If I hadn't used the board, I probably would have use a paper-and-pencil exercise to review the spelling words. As with the other SMART Board lessons, the students were active and interested, and they worked with their groups. The students took the spelling quiz the next day, and they did quite well.

With the creation of these lessons, I am gradually becoming more skilled at using the software. I'm also becoming more skilled at using the board. I want to continue to try out various features of the Notebook software to add effects to lessons. Also, I want to use webpages for reading and vocabulary lessons. I can see that the SMART Board helps to create interaction among students. Also, the students are engaged and interested.

A few days ago, it was my turn to present a learning strategy to the 7th grade team at my middle school, and I showed them one of the SMART Board lessons that I had created.