Creating an Extended Rotation Center with Concentration on Third grade Math and Reading EMPACTS PROJECT Introduction to Education Fall 2006 Christy Dewey, Beth Sexton, and Andrew Andrews

Introduction There is a need for more interactive learning experiences for elementary students. Our group developed a set of interactive activities, within learning centers, to enhance the learning experience of a local third grade class.

Project Overview The project served three purposes: To enhance the learning experience for each elementary student. Assist the classroom teacher by providing center activities and teaching materials. To serve as a vehicle for professional development of the college student facilitators.

Community Aspect This project serves the community by providing educational materials and activities to a local school.

Course Content Objectives The teacher’s learning perspective – a teacher is a continuous learner. Lesson Planning and Implementation Classroom Management Techniques Development of Activities within a specific curricullum

Team Members Christy Dewey Beth Sexton Andrew Adams The teacher we worked with was Angie Stafford. She is a third grade teacher at Central Park Elementary. She has been teaching for 8 years and she really enjoys it. We learned a lot from her.

Project Goal We worked on our project for three weeks for a collection of 12 hours per group member. Our goal was to teach the students about reading fluency and 3 rd grade math. We achieved our goal.

Materials We Used: Reading Fluency literature Math literature Poster boards Hand-outs Timer Rulers Writing Utensils Measuring items Digital camera The total cost of materials used for this project was $63.96.

Technology Used in Project Digital Camera – Sony Cybershot Microsoft Word Processing Computer and printers Internet Search engines Power Point Adobe Photoshop

Day One November 10,2006 We decided to do extended rotation centers for our project.

Day Two - November 13,2006 We developed our thesis statements for our centers and we began to work on the activities for our centers. Day Three- November 17,2006 We assigned duties to each team member and decided who would teach which subject. Day Four- November 20,2006 Reading Fluency Rotation Center Day We split the class into 3 groups of 8 and decided to make each center last 25 minutes.

Reading Fluency Center Thesis: We want the student to be able to improve on their ability to read smoothly, easily, and readily with freedom from word recognition at the conclusion of the reading center portion of the extended rotation center. This fluency is necessary for good comprehension and enjoyable reading. Fluent reading is a major goal for our lesson because decoding print accurately and effortlessly enables to read for meaning.

Andrew’s Center “Thanksgiving” Andrew taught the groups about reading fluency. He read, “The Best Thanksgiving” aloud and then instructed the groups to read aloud individually. He then passed out word finds that our group created that implemented the class’s spelling words.

Beth’s Center “Sheila Rae the Brave” Beth focused on the book, “Sheila Rae the Brave.” After her group read over the story individually and as a group, Beth passed out scripts of the story and assigned roles from characters in the story. The group practiced acting the story out while Beth taught the importance of expression while reading aloud. The kids loved this group.

Christy’s Center “Waiting out Winter” Christy focused her center on a story called, “Waiting Out Winter.” Her group read the story aloud and completed worksheets that dealt with comparing and contrasting, and fluent reading.

Day Five – November 21,2006 We began the outline of our math rotation centers and brainstormed with Mrs. Stafford about fun ways to teach measurements, area, perimeter, and estimation. Day Six- November 26, 2006 We reviewed our rotation centers. We made stimulating visuals to go with our centers. Day Seven- November 27,2006 Math Rotation Center Day We split the class into three groups of 8 and decided to make each center last 25 minutes.

Math Rotation Center Thesis: Our purpose of the Math Rotation Center is to meet the needs of all students, from the least to the most capable. The students will experience peer teaching and independence with each center. It is a fun way to introduce concepts in a small group setting. The students will be introduced to a variety of math concepts such as measurements, area, perimeter, and estimation. These concepts are the frameworks of the state standards and are required to be taught in the third grade.

Andrew’s Center “Measurement Quest” Andrew taught the groups about the different types of units of measurements. He then gave each student time to measure items at the table using different units. When they completed this task, they were informed to write their spelling words and to measure the length of each word.

Beth’s Center “Calculation Carnival” Beth set up 4 mason jars containing different items. The different contents included gummy bears, marshmallows, golf tees, and life savors. Her group was instructed to document their estimations of how many items each jar contained. When they completed this assignment, they continued to write down the other students’ stats and compared them with their own.

Christy’s Center “Kiss ‘N’ Count Christy had the groups put lipstick on their lips and kiss a piece of paper. Then, they stuck beans on their lip prints and counted how many beans it took to fill in their lip prints. She explained how this was the area using a non standard measurement. The group went on to do this same procedure with perimeter. The kids had a blast and they learned a lot.

What did this project reveal to us? We had a blast doing the IMPACT project. It revealed to us the real world of teaching. Teaching requires a lot of work outside of the classroom. Planning lessons can be a little stressful but very rewarding when you see the positive effects implemented on the children.

How is this assignment relevant to real life? The concepts that we taught in our Reading Fluency and Math rotation centers will be used as the foundation of their academic journey. They will build on these concepts and will eventually become successful adults.

Thank you!!! We gained a lot from this experience. Every student working on a education degree should participate in an EMPACT project.

Acknowledgements Mrs. Stafford, Third Grade, Central Park Elementary School Mrs. Dewey, Assistant Principal Dr. Regina Ryel, Faculty, NWACC Mr. Pat Kelly, Technology, NWACC Ms. Dianne Phillips, EAST Facilitator, NWACC