Jessie Karr

http://instructionaltechjkarr.weebly.com/
EDU-225
5/15/2015

Raft Task Card

ROLE (student)
Book Illustrator

AUDIENCE
Your readers

FORMAT
A Kid Pix

TOPIC
Have you ever

illustration of their

wondered how the

favorite part of the

illustrations, or

story

pictures in a book

Row 1
relate to the story
Student

Pen pal

BrainPOP jr.

that is being told?

Have you ever
thought about the

Row 2

different symbols
that represent our
Dentist

Patients

Webquest

country?
Have you ever
wondered why

Row 3

brushing and
flossing your teeth
are so important?

RAFT Row 1
Objective: ELAKRL7 (ELA CCGPS): With prompting and support, the student will be able to
describe the relationship between a books illustrations and its story (Barge, 2015).
Student Role: Book illustrator

Audience: His readers

Format: Kid Pix illustration
Topic: Have you ever wondered how the illustrations, or pictures in a book relate to the story
that is being told?

Directions:
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.

Read and listen to the Book, Jack and the Beanstalk on Youtube
Explore the interactive book Jack and the Beanstalk.
Choose your favorite part of the story
Look at the pictures on the Childrens Illustrators Website for inspiration.
Use Kid Pix to create an illustration representing your favorite part of the story.
Share the picture along with the part of the story you chose with your classmates
(readers)

Resources:
Read- along: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Gp0di5U92ws
Interactive Book: http://playtalkread.org/interactive-books/jack-book/
Childrens Illustrators Website: http://www.childrensillustrators.com/?
gclid=Cj0KEQjw1duqBRDPlLKsuJCUiuABEiQAxgHwJwz_gPPI9g1ldATc8fcH1vJSocloSFoV
Ub533FV-iucaAiEP8P8HAQ
Assessment:

Using Kid Pix, create an illustration to represent your favorite part of the book. Present
the picture along with oral presentation to the class.

RAFT Row 2
Objective: SSKH2: The student will be able to recognize and understand the meaning of
important American symbols.
Student Role: Student
Audience: Pen Pal
Format: BrainPop jr.
Topic: Have you ever thought about the different symbols that represent our country?

Directions:
1. Watch the video about American symbols at
https://jr.brainpop.com/socialstudies/citizenship/ussymbols/
2. Click on the game icon to play a game about American symbols
3. Click on the Word Wall icon and click on each word to hear the meaning
4. Click on the Easy quiz Icon to take the quiz (scroll the mouse over the questions and
5.
6.
7.
8.

answers to hear them out loud)

Show me your quiz score on the score screen
Look at pictures of symbols at http://www.enchantedlearning.com/history/us/symbols/
Do coloring sheet
Mail your coloring sheet along with a note to a pen pal in another country.

Resources:
BrainPop video- https://jr.brainpop.com/socialstudies/citizenship/ussymbols/
Game- https://jr.brainpop.com/socialstudies/citizenship/ussymbols/games.weml
Worksheet: http://www.education.com/worksheets/national-symbols/
Pictures- http://www.enchantedlearning.com/history/us/symbols/
Assessment:
Students will take a short quiz at the end of the BrainPop activities. That score
will be combined with observations of small group activities.

RAFT Row 3
Objective: HEK.6: Students will be able to use goal-setting skills to enhance health such as
setting a goal to brush teeth three times per day. HEK.7: Students will be able to practice healthy
behaviors and avoid or health risks such as demonstrating the correct way to brush teeth. (Cox,
2009).

Student Role: Students will pretend to be a dentist explaining to their patient the importance of
good brushing and flossing techniques. Students will be divided into groups of two for this
webquest and take turns being the dentist or patient.
Audience: Patient
Format: Webquest
Topic: Have you ever wondered why brushing and flossing your teeth are so important?

Directions:
1. Visit the Dentist with Marty- http://www.mouthhealthykids.org/en/games-andquizzes/visit-the-dentist-with-marty/
2. Watch Tooth Brushing for Kids- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wdhptrhn2tM
3. Take turns showing proper brushing and flossing using model teeth
4. Take home Brushing chart.

Resources:
Read- http://www.mouthhealthykids.org/en/games-and-quizzes/visit-the-dentist-with-marty/
Watch-Video- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wdhptrhn2tM
Tooth Brushing Chart- http://www.colgate.com/app/Kids-World/US/EN/kids-corner.cwsp?
Game=Brushchart
Assessment: Observe children as they demonstrate how to brush and floss teeth properly.

Section Four: Differentiating Instruction through Technology

Introduction
The ever-increasing diversity within the classroom calls for teachers to diversify their
lessons in order to meet the needs of every student. While differentiated instruction is a
common-sense approach to teaching, meeting the needs of every student can be a daunting task.
Technology can simplify that task because it enables teachers to work more efficiently as they
vary the rate of instruction and level of difficulty to engage and challenge students in different
ways. Technology also helps decrease learning gaps, keep students motivated, and increases
student autonomy (Stanford, Crowe, and Flice; 2010).
Technology to Differentiate Instruction
Kid Pix
Using kid-friendly graphic software such as Kid Pix allows students to express
themselves creatively by clicking and dragging a mouse (ISTE-S 1b). Even young children can
easily manipulate the graphics in this software. The interesting sound effects and bright colors
make it fun and engaging. This program is easy to edit and creates another format for students to
showcase their work. The text feature encourages writing participation. This software is easy to
differentiate because students control the activity. Kid Pixs encourages autonomy because
students are able to work independently to use shapes, colors, sound, and pictures to express
themselves creatively (Edyburn, 2004)
BrainPOP jr.

Utilizing educational web pages such as BrainPOP jr allows students to work

independently at their own pace as they explore learning opportunities. Because BrainPOP jr is a
web page, students can access it anywhere there is an internet connection. BrainPOP jr features
videos, games, quizzes, reading writing, and art activities that are engaging and appealing to
multiple learning abilities. There is a wide variety of subject matter, so teachers can easily find
activities for their lessons. It is virtually a one-stop-shop for lesson activities (jr.BrainPOP.com)
WebQuests:
Teachers can either create their own webquest to go along with any learning domain;
however, the teacher can also access hundreds of pre-made webquests at
www.webquest.org/index.php. These interactive scavenger hunts are organized by content,
grade-level, and domain. They are easily accessible from any device that has an internet
connection and provide support and organization for students and teachers. Webquests give
students a list of tasks to achieve in order to complete a learning objective. Teachers can assess
students based on the number of activities each child completed as well as the quality of each
completed task. This activity is student-centered in that the student can work at his own pace
and spend as much or as little time as he needs on each task. Webquests also teach important
research skills (ISTE-S 3; Kara-Soteriou, 2009).

Pros and Cons

There are many benefits to utilizing technology to differentiate instruction. Technology
allows flexibility in teaching and organizing lessons, engages various learning styles, and
supports authentic learning. It also offers many choices of activities and encourages
collaboration and communication among students, parents and teachers. Next, technology

provides a means to target learning objectives and gives teachers a way to analyze data and
design differentiated instruction plans. Finally, technology offers teachers a variety of ways to
differentiate instruction by modifying the activities that students participate in and the methods
the students use to present their work. (Kara-Soteriou, 2009).
Despite all the benefits of using differentiating instruction, there are some drawbacks as
well. First of all, utilizing technology requires a reliable internet connection. Many schools do
not have the necessary connection strength to support the use of multiple computers at once.
During assessment times, some schools experience a system crash because of having so many
computers utilizing the internet at the same time. Furthermore, using technology requires
multiple computers and software programs in each classroom. Many schools do not have the
budget for this expense. Also, sifting through all the available technology tools can be
overwhelming for teachers and for students. Finally, the use of communication tools can cause
miscommunication since things like facial expressions, body language, and tone of voice cannot
be detected through text (Kara-Soteriou, 2009).

Concluding Paragraph
In conclusion, both teachers and students benefit when teachers use technology to
differentiate instruction. Teachers are able to work more efficiently, focus on essentials, and pay
more attention to students because technology offers ways to plan and assess learning outcomes.
Meanwhile, students get to participate in meaningful, engaging activities. Technology also offers
a means for students and teachers to collaborate during learning to create a unified, respectful
learning environment (Edyburn, 2004).

References:

Barge, J. (2015). Kindergarten English Language Arts Common Core Performance Standards.
Georgia Department of Education. Retrieved from
https://www.georgiastandards.org/Common-Core/Common%20Core
%20Frameworks/CCGPS_ELA_Kindergarten_Standards.pdf
Cox, K. (2009). Georgia performance Standards for health Education. Georgia Department of
Education. Retrieved from https://www.georgiastandards.org/standards/GPS%20Support
%20Docs/Health_Education_2-11-2010.pdfEdyburn, D. (2004). Technology Supports for
Differentiated Instruction. Journal of Special Education Technology, 19(2), 60-62.
Retrieved from http://library.gcu.edu:2048/login?
url=http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?
direct=true&db=ehh&AN=14530978&site=eds-live&scope=site
ISTE Standards for Students. (2015). ISTE. Retrieved from http://www.iste.org/standards/ISTEstandards/standards-for-students
ISTE Standards for Teachers. (2015). Retrieved from http://www.iste.org/standards/ISTEstandards/standards-for-teachers
jr.
Kara-Soteriou, J. (2009). Using technology to differentiate instruction across grade levels. New
England Reading Association Journal, 44(2), 86-90. Retrieved from

http://library.gcu.edu:2048/login?url=http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?
direct=true&db=ehh&AN=36835985&site=eds-live&scope=site
Stanford, P., Crowe, M. W., & Flice, H. (2010). Differentiating with Technology. TEACHING
Exceptional Children Plus, 6(4). Retrieved from http://library.gcu.edu:2048/login?
url=http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?
direct=true&db=eric&AN=EJ907030&site=eds-live&scope=site