TPAK Lesson Plan

Lesson Plan for TPACK integration

Application
Constructing and writing a 5-paragraph essay.

First, provide some details regarding:

• Learners: This activity will be optimal for 5^th or 6^th grade reading students, as reading often incorporates writing in the elementary and early intermediate classrooms.
• Learning outcomes: After this lesson, the students will be able to state the process of writing a 5-paragraph essay as well as creating their own with the proper formatting, use of complete sentences, and grammar.
• Assessment: As a 5-paragraph essay has a standard format, I can easily gauge whether students understand the format of the essay. With the aid of the apps, students will be able to map a story properly as well as write in complete, grammatically correct sentences, and I can gauge their progress on these as well. I’ll check for the formation of ideas, the development of ideas, and the understanding of the essay format.

The lesson will begin with the introduction of the two educational apps, Idea Sketch and Sentence Builder. This will take approximately 5-7 minutes as I’ll explain the apps to the students and provide examples. Idea Sketch offers students an easy way to map out their ideas to more quickly get them onto paper. Sentence Builder provides students a tool to ensure that their sentences are complete and grammatically correct. Students will use both apps when writing their papers. Next, I’ll introduce the structure of a 5-paragraph essay: introduction, body, and conclusion, and explain each section and its purpose. This will take approximately 10 minutes. I’ll now give the students an example prompt, my favorite summer break, and give them a couple of minutes to come up with an idea. While the students contemplate, I’ll walk around the classroom and offer aid, answer questions, etc. Finally, I’ll ask the students the 3 parts of an essay and their purposes. If extra attention is required, I’ll go over the process again.

Reflection

The two technological aspects of my lesson plan, Idea Sketch and Sentence Builder, serve predominately as supplemental or supportive elements for the lesson. Writing stands as a more old school field of study where students rely on their own thoughts and opinions to strive. However, both Idea Sketch and Sentence Builder aid students’ abilities to develop their writing processes and—hopefully—eliminate the need to use these apps in the future.

 Idea Sketch provides students with the opportunity to easily create a brainstorm chart or “spider web” as we used to call it in school. The app allows students to create a main idea and branch off supporting details for their main ideas to create a helpful diagram for which to build their papers. Sentence Builder allows students to check their spelling and some minor aspects of grammar as well. Students merely type a sentence into the program, and it informs them if their sentence contains a misspelled word or where they should place a comma or apostrophe. Again, both apps serve as supplementary avenues of thought when it comes to writing a paper; writing still requires a large amount of effort from the writers themselves.

I employ examples along with lecturing and some self-guided learning in my essay activity. I use the examples alongside the lecturing in my activity to provide the students with a correct way to write the exampled material. For example, when I discuss a thesis statement, I provide the students with a sample thesis statement to show them a correct example. This shows the students what is expected of their writing, and explains the process of writing it correctly. The self-guided learning stems from the students’ own ability to develop their arguments and topics. I allow the students to rely on their own experiences when writing, and I cannot tell them how their experiences have affected their own lives. Writing is quite a personal process, and students must develop their own style and voice to succeed with a paper. Developing their own style and voice requires the students to practice and refine their skills, so self-guided learning is an essential part of the process. A person’s own style and voice lasts as one of the most unique and beautiful aspects of writing. A writer employs his or her own personal experiences, ethnic backgrounds, and memories to create a writing voice as unique as his or her own speaking voice. Writing is akin to thinking, and writers own thoughts bleed through on the page to create a distinct, personal work of art.