Week 1

    My name is Emma VanBuskirk, and I am an elementary general education teacher in a small rural town in Illinois. I spent my first year teaching in a 4th-grade classroom and will continue to teach 4th grade in the upcoming school year. I am currently pursuing my Master’s degree with hopes of becoming an instructional coach within my school district. 

    Knowledge Constructor indicator 3a asks students to plan and employ effective research strategies to locate information and other resources for their intellectual or creative pursuits. Students in a 4th-grade English Language Arts class could address the ELA standard CCSS.ELA-Literacy.W.4.7 by conducting a short research project about a National Park of their interest to build their knowledge through investigation of the park. Students could use the National Park’s website to obtain accurate research to generate inquiries. Afterwards, students could apply their research on the National Park to create an inquiry letter to send to a park ranger who works there. After conducting their research, students can have 2-3 inquiries they may want to ask the park ranger and include them in their appropriately structured letter. Students can then send off their letters and wait for answers to their inquiries from an expert. 

    During this lesson, I would utilize Kolb’s Triple E Framework by using all 3 components of this tool. First, to ENGAGE the students, we could have a group discussion about a trip or vacation they have been on or want to go on, to see one of the National Parks in the United States. We could then add a visual aid to the discussion by looking at pictures of the National Parks that come up in the discussion. Adding these pictures could spark interest in the students, therefore creating questions they may have about the park. From here, students would then ENHANCE their understanding of National Parks by researching a park of their choice. Students of this age would be given guidance by the teacher on what they should be looking for on the park’s website. To target technology efficiency, the teacher would first demonstrate how to find the park’s website. Then they would show what information within the website is helpful, and where to find it. Next, students when then begin exploring their National Park’s website by using the skills that were just demonstrated. After a few days of research and taking notes using a guided research packet, students will be asked what questions they may still have about the park that they didn’t find in their research. The lesson would then EXTEND the student’s knowledge by writing a letter to a park ranger that includes information about the park that they found during the research portion of the lesson and the inquiries they still have about the park that the park ranger may be able to answer. The letters are then sent off to the respective park, and students will be waiting eagerly for a response. Using this framework in this lesson emphasizes Kolb’s idea of how to appropriately integrate technology to engage, enhance, and extend student learning inside and outside of the classroom. For example, a student may go home and share their park research with their family to plan a trip or even begin thinking of ways they can help preserve National Parks around the world.


Comments

  1. Mrs. RichJuly 6, 2025 at 12:35 PM

    Emma,
    Your lesson on National Parks sounds very engaging. It is a great way to implement technology into lessons so students can gain necessary research skills. My favorite part of your lesson is writing a letter to the park ranger so students can ask questions that they may have. Writing letters is a good cross-curricular activity and exposes students to the lost art of letter writing.

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