Phase+2

Determine Relative Advantage

Why use technology to teach about the rainforest? media type="youtube" key="xiisteObuhk" width="333" height="277" align="right" Science - food chains and webs, ecosystems, habitats. Art - the arts and crafts of the rainforest people Writing - forming sentences and paragraphs, experience in expository and persuasive writing and journal keeping. S.S. - need for conservation, the culture and history of the people of the rainforests Math - maps**  Using Technology to Differentiate Instruction: Adding Technology to our lesson plan will enhance our opportunities to differentiate instruction in our classrooms. We will use a variety of methods to reach all students no matter their reading ability or interest level. We will use 'travel buddies' to accomplish the complex task of finishing our travel journals, utilizing their various strengths and varying intelligences. We will use a variety of drawing and writing mediums at a learning center that revolves around observational drawing and writing. We are using instructional technology that utilizes audio, visual and tactile means to complete the rainforest project.
 * We would like to increase our students knowledge of the rainforest and their excitement for learning while incorporating other content areas: Science, Art, Writing, Social Studies and Math. Our students will gain experiences in all of these areas:

Embedding Technology in the lesson plan appeals to all the senses and learning styles : Using rainforest sounds, music, visual images and 'implied texture' (animals of the rainforest), a complete sensory journey will be embarked on by the students. Technology will provide information not available in classroom resources or textbooks, which only briefly touch on rainforests. Also, the information will be more meaningful to the students when the learning occurs across the content areas. All technology needed for this unit is available within the school, so there are no added expenses.