Materials development

Individual or Group

200 points

 

It is important while you are still in school to create/obtain/adapt materials that you can use in your classrooms; there are several reasons for this. First, you have an opportunity and support to reflect on how your materials will meet the needs of ALL of your students. In addition, you have time to develop your materials well and have access to resources that you might not have in your classroom. Finally, you can get many good ideas by looking at the materials that your peers create. The goals of this project are for you to accomplish all of these.

 

You may work in groups on this project, but each person in the group must have his/her own set of materials.  The exception is the technology materials, where each team member may turn in a copy of the technology created by the team.

 

Choose ONE of the following activities to complete:

 

1.      Activity cards

 

Students often need activities to do when they are done with class tasks early or when they cannot participate in regular tasks. To fill this gap, you will create 10 activity cards based on your future teaching context. One side should feature a graphic or text, and the other side of each will contain 3 related descriptions of short tasks that students can complete. The activities should range in level and vary in type, involve thinking and responding in some way, and be appropriate for a wide range of students. Include a 1-page reflection about what grade and type of student the cards are for, what you did, why, and how you feel about the effectiveness of your finished product. See the rubric for additional information.

 

Here is an example of an activity card (note that there are an infinite number of ways to create them):

 

 

 

(A picture of a young dark-skinned

boy smiling broadly)

 

 

Card 1 - Emotions

Level One: How does this boy feel? Write the word on your paper.

 

Level Two: Find 3 pictures that show other emotions. Label each emotion.

 

Level Three: Write three sentences that explain why the boy might be smiling.

 

 

 

 


 

 

            FRONT                                                 BACK

 

 

2.      Picture file

 

Visuals work for all students, particularly those with a visual learning preference and learners who are unfamiliar with the topic/vocabulary.  It is important, however, that the visuals you use address the lives of all of your students. In this activity you will develop a great resource for your classroom.

 

Your picture file must contain at least 20 images (magazine pictures, photos, drawings, clip art, etc) divided into at least five categories. The images must be

á        mounted in a professional manner on separate backgrounds and filed in a convenient and secure manner (an expandable file folder works great!) ;

á        labeled in an effective and useful way;

á        representative of the diversity of the items in that category.

You may put more than one image on one background but it will only be counted as one image.

 

In addition to the file, write a reflection in which you briefly describe five different, specific activities that you can use with one or more of your pictures in your classroom. Be specific -  for example, rather than writing, ÒI can use my pictures to help learners understand vocabulary,Ó you should write something like, ÒThe picture of the five students with different skin colors and clothes can be used to introduce the text ÒYo! Yes?Ó by generating pre-vocabulary such as boys, friends, communication and introducing plural nouns.Ó

 

See the rubric for this activity for more information.

 

3.        Podcast

 

Design and create a video or audio Podcast for your studentsÕ parents. Your original Podcast should be a minimum of 2 minutes long and be accompanied by external documents that explain and support its use. It is STRONGLY recommended that you discuss your idea with your instructor before you begin the creation process. Pre-recorded material is not allowed for this assignment.

 

See the rubric for more information.

 

4.        Accessible Web site to accompany a grade-level trade book.

 

Create a content-based, accessible Web site that could be used for content and language support for your students and/or their parents. A list of links is NOT appropriate for this assignment Ð your Web page must contain original material based on a theme, topic, or text. A WebQuest or Web Inquiry Project that differentiates would be a great choice for this assignment, but there are also many other options.

 

See the rubric for more information.

 

 

5.        TIPS

 

Create five original TIPS assignments that you might use in your classroom. Explain in a clear, concise one-page reflection how your assignments meet each of the criteria in the rubric.

 

 

6.        Text adaptation

 

Adapt a chapter from a trade or text book that you might use in your future class.  Follow the guidelines given in class for text adaptation. Explain in a clear, concise one-page reflection how you adapted the text and how your changes meet the criteria on the rubric for this assignment.

 

7.        Your choice

 

Design and carry out a materials development of your choice. You must receive approval for this project from your instructor at least two weeks prior to the due date and include categories for evaluation with your project.