Lesson Spotlight: Name
"We go about our daily lives understanding almost nothing of the world." ~Carl Sagan
Get the unit: Do you want students to remember what they learn from videos? These videos are guaranteed to engage your students. Great time was taken to locate these amazing videos about some of the most extreme situations on earth. Topics include the following:
The most dangerous routes for students to go to school
The most dangerous roads in the world
The most dangerous places in the world
The most dangerous beaches in the world
The coldest village in the world.
One of the videos shows how a free diver went under water in the ocean without oxygen for over 10 minutes. It is absolutely mesmerizing. Another video shows how an engineer came up with a solution for students in Bangladesh who were not able to get to school on many occasions because of the constant flooding. Students will enjoy these videos and learn from them by taking notes, writing complete sentences, locating images to complement the content and then asking compelling questions about the topic so they can do further research.
Students will have to choose the most important facts and write with limited characters to make sure the words fit in the limited space allocated for the write up. This is a fantastic writing skill, since many final products require a certain number of characters, especially when being printed. Eric Curts, an educator and blogger, posted a fantastic blog about limiting characters. He added “The point is, the students will need to boil down their ideas to a smaller set of words, which forces them to really consider what is most important and how to communicate that clearly.” This is a great read and might provide more ideas for a writing unit.
This unit also requires students to use visual literacy by locating images that complement their write up. According to the blog Shift Learning, “One of the easiest ways to ensure that learners store information in their long-term memory is to pair concepts with meaningful images. Visuals help students make sense out of the content and direct attention, increasing the possibilities that the learners will remember the material.” Another compelling finding visuals can improve learning by up to 400 percent.
Students are sure to remember much of the content in these videos because it is interesting and engaging content.
After completing my lessons with your students, I would love your feedback on any of my units. Fill out the survey and I will randomly draw names for another free digital lesson at the end of each month. I encourage any educator who uses my resources to reach out to me if they have issues. I plan on dedicating my time to helping teachers to make their lives easier. I know how hard it is to be a teacher. We have so many hats to fill and teaching is only part of a teacher's job. I think back on my first years of teaching and am amazed how much technology has changed. I have spent a great deal of my free time to become more proficient with tech integration in the classroom. I have continued to modify my lessons to maximize the learning experience of my students. I find it challenging and very exciting. You can see student comments by visiting this link.
