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Sara Montalbano is a fifth grade teacher at Weare Middle School in Weare, New Hampshire. She graduated from New England College in May of 2000 with a degree in Elementary Education. Since graduation, Sara has been teaching at Weare Middle School. Derek Geddes is an eighth grade Language Arts teacher at Weare Middle School in Weare, New Hampshire. He graduated from Keene State College in May 2000 with a degree in Elementary Education and English. Derek had been teaching in Weare since September of 2000.
Weare is a rural town in New Hampshire located just north of Manchester. The Middle School houses grades five through eight and has approximately 630 students. Currently, the fifth grade is set up in a pod style, meaning that each student is a member of a two teacher pod in which he/she will be instructed. There are fifty students to a pod and two teachers. For the sake of this project Sara is utilizing half of her pod. The classroom, located in the white building, is spacious and well lit. The students are organized into groups as a great deal of collaborative learning happens in the classroom. There are work tables in the front and the rear of the classroom and a whiteboard in the front. There is an internet accessible computer with a computer lab conveniently located just around the corner. The eighth grade is set up in a four teacher pod and a two teacher pod. Derek is a member of the four teacher pod and is utilizing his sixth period Language Arts class for this project. The classroom, located in the main building, is well lit with a set of lockers along the side wall. The desks, which have the desktops attached to the chairs, are arranged into rows facing the white board. Down the hall is the library with a large number of computers with internet access which can students and teachers can use freely.
The purpose of this lesson is to introduce students to the state standards and to teach them how to document their learning via a personal learning portfolio (PLP). Through a collaborative project working with the eighth grade on the human body, students in both grades learn how to navigate the PLP and become comfortable with the state standards associated with this lesson. Students are able to demonstrate their learning of the human body transport systems by documentation via their PLP. Students learn how to scan samples of their work into the computer, populate their electronic learning portfolios, and align them with state standards.
Visit our school’s web site : http://wms.weare.k12.nh.us
Visit Sara’s web site: http://wms.weare.k12.nh.us/webb/
Visit Derek’s web site: http://www.geocities.com/dgeddes03/geddes
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