Meagan Alvarez

http://meaganalvarez.weebly.com/
EDU-225
May 29, 2016

Raft Task Card

This RAFT Card is designed for __5th__ grade level.
ROLE (student)

AUDIENCE

FORMAT

TOPIC
Choose a Native
American tribe.
Create a 10-15
slide PowerPoint
Presentation
describing the

Row 1
tribes food,
clothing, culture,
and all of their
traditions.
Researcher

Teacher and Peers

PowerPoint

Row 2

As a class we are
going to plant our
own plants that
each one of you
are responsible
for. You are going
Observer/ Record
Keeper

Teacher

Excel

to record the
growth that it

makes over a
period of time and
what parts of the
plants you notice
Author

Readers

Microsoft Word

is growing.
As we are
finishing up
Where the Red
Fern Grows, your
assignment is the
brainstorm and

Row 3

write a 5
paragraph essay
on why the book is
titled Where the
Red Fern Grows
and tell me all
about the book.

RAFT Row 1
Objective:
Arizonas College and Career Ready Standards, Social Studies, Fifth Grade- . P.O.1 Recognize
that Native American tribes resided throughout North America before the period of European

exploration and colonization. P.O.4 Describe the contributions of geographic and economic
conditions, religion, and colonial systems of government to the development of American
democratic practices.
ISTE Standard- 1. Creativity and Innovation (a.c). 2 Communication and Collaboration (b,c). 3.
Research and Informative Fluency (b,c,d). 4. Critical Thinking, Problem Solving, and Decision
Making (c.d). 5. Digital Citizenship (b,d). 6. Technology Operations and Concepts (a,d).
Student Role: Researcher
Audience: Teacher and Peers
Format: PowerPoint
Topic: Choose a Native American tribe. Create a 10-15 slide PowerPoint Presentation describing
the tribes food, clothing, culture, and all of their traditions.

Directions:
1. Research your choice of a Native American Tribe and what their food, clothing, culture, and
traditions are like.
2. Create a 10-15 slide PowerPoint using at least 2 slides per subject matter.
3. Create a short 5 question quiz for your classmates to take as soon as your presentation is
finished with.
Resources:
Native American Tribes

http://www.native-languages.org/original.htm
How to Create a PowerPoint
http://www.instructables.com/id/How-to-Create-a-PowerPoint-Presentation/
How to Create a Short Quiz
http://help.socrative.com/article/create-a-new-quiz/

Assessment:
This assessment is worth 50 points. You will be graded on the quality of your presentation, the
detail that each slide has, and how accurate your information is. There should be references in
the last slide of your presentation to show representation of where you received your
information.

RAFT Row 2
Objective:
Arizonas College and Career Ready Standards, Science, Fifth Grade- Concept 2: Scientific
Testing. PO 3: Conduct simple investigations (e.g., related to forces and motion, Earth processes)
based on student-developed questions in life, physical, and Earth and space sciences. Concept 3:
Analysis and Conclusions. PO 4. Develop new investigations and predictions based on questions

that arise from the findings of an investigation. Concept 4: Communication. PO 2. Choose an

appropriate graphic representation for collected data bar graph, line graph, Venn diagram, model.
ISTE Standard- 2. Communication and Collaboration (b). 3. Research and Information Fluency
(a,b,d). 4. Critical Thinking, Problem Solving, and Decision Making (a,b,c). 5. Digital
Citizenship. (b,c). 6. Technology Operations and Concepts (a,b,c,d).
Student Role: Observer/ Record Keeper
Audience: Teacher
Format: Excel
Topic: As a class we are going to plant our own plants that each one of you are responsible for.
You are going to record the growth that it makes over a period of time and what parts of the
plants you notice is growing.

Directions:
Plant the plants in the designated area that we have for our classroom. You are going to be
responsible for watering them and keeping them healthy. You are going to keep a record of the
measurements of your plant week by week. When the time is up, you are going to create a chart
using Microsoft Excel to document all of the changes that your plants have made over time. You
are going to present it to me and tell me everything that you learned about how the plant grew
and what changes you may have noticed.
Resources:
Documenting Plant Growth:

http://www.sciencebuddies.org/science-fairprojects/project_ideas/PlantBio_measuring_growth.shtml
How to use Microsoft Excel:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8L1OVkw2ZQ8

Assessment:
This assessment is going to be worth 25 percent. I am going to grade you on how accurately your
observations are. I am also going to be watching how each and every one of you take care of
your plants over the time.

RAFT Row 3
Objective:

Arizona Reading Standards- Literature and Informational Text- 2. Determine a theme of a story,
drama, or poem from details in the text, including how characters in a story or drama respond to
challenges or how the speaker in a poem reflects upon a topic; summarize the text. (5.RL.2)
ISTE Standard: 1. Creativity and Innovation (a,c,d). 3. Research and Information Fluency (a,b).
6. Technology Operations and Concepts (a).
Student Role: Author
Audience: Readers
Format: Microsoft Word
Topic: As we are finishing up Where the Red Fern Grows, your assignment is the brainstorm
and write a 5 paragraph essay on why the book is titled Where the Red Fern Grows and tell me
all about the book.

Directions:
When we are finished reading Where the Red Fern Grows as a class you assignment over the
next few days will be to reflect on the book and tell me all about it. I want to know about the
characters, the plot, and why the book is titled Where the Red Fern Grows. You will be using
Microsoft Word to format your essay. You should have an introduction paragraph, three body
paragraphs, and of course a conclusion.
Resources:
How to format an essay

http://digitalwriting101.net/content/how-to-format-papers-in-standard-academic-format-usingmicrosoft-word/

Assessment: This assignment is going to be worth 20 percent. You will be graded on the
organization of your essay and whether or not you talk about the three points that I want to know
about.

Section Four: Differentiating Instruction through Technology

Introduction (4-6 sentences)
There are always going to be students in every single classroom who will be learning at
different levels. It is going to be the teachers job to make sure that he or she is making sure that
all students, high and low are being reached. Having a student- centered technology classroom
can be beneficial for all students no matter what level they are at learning wise. There are so
many different ways to reach all of these students. Teachers are the foundation of reaching all

students at all different learning levels and utilizing these technologies in the correct ways can be
beneficial for the students and also for the teacher themselves.
Technology to Differentiate Instruction (300-400 words):
Newsla:
This piece of technology called Newsla allows students to read the same current events
content, but it is differentiated to fit the needs of the specific student (Stern, J., 2015). This is
great for the teacher because he or she does not have to worry about teaching each students
individual and all at the same time. This device is already formatted to reach all students at all
different learning levels. This is such a great thing for the students as well because they will not
be feeling as though they are not as smart as their friends. Teachers never want to see their
students feel down on themselves or think that they are less than. All students learn at different
levels and this is the perfect way for students to grasp what is being taught to them and make it
just a little bit easier for them. Another benefit for using this device is boosting up the students
confidence. It is always very rewarding for the teacher to see that the students really believe in
themselves and feel like they can do anything. The use of this technology Newsla will do just
that and help the children have confidence in themselves once again. Teacher are able to assign
where they believe the student is at academically and have them read those articles or reading
based off of that. All of the quizzes and questions that the students have answered on the
different topics are saved to the teachers account so they will be able to see how the student is
doing with the readings that were assigned to each of them. This is also great for the teacher
because there is no paper work involved, everything is already saved to the computer and right at
their fingertips whenever the information is needed.
ISTE Standards

1. Creativity and Innovation (a,c,d). 3. Research and Information Fluency (a,b). 6. Technology
Operations and Concepts (a).
Dragonfly Visual Learning:
A lot of students are visual learners, which is why this piece of technology would be very
beneficial for these learners. For example, if students were assigned to make a PowerPoint
presentation this would be a great tool. When a student is creating a PowerPoint it is all up to
them and they can be as creative as they wish. This assignment will provide them with the
freedom that a lot of children long for when they are working on a project. Often, the regular
learning materials for visual spatial learners are insufficient (Bhaskar, S., 2013). When students
are provided with the opportunity to work with things hands on, they are able to see the big
picture of the topic that is being taught. Creating a PowerPoint is very hands on for students and
they will grasp more from the topic than they would if they just had to do a reading and write
about it. There are also many other activities that can be used with this app and with other
materials around the classroom. When children are visual learners, the little things that are
normally done in a classroom are not good enough and they need something that is bigger and
better. Another way that teachers can grasp these students is by getting them out of the classroom
and showing them things by playing a sport of different little games that will grasp their attention
and keep it.
ISTE Standards
1. Creativity and Innovation (a.c). 2 Communication and Collaboration (b,c). 3. Research and
Informative Fluency (b,c,d). 4. Critical Thinking, Problem Solving, and Decision Making (c.d).
5. Digital Citizenship (b,d). 6. Technology Operations and Concepts (a,d).

Learning Centers Using Computers:

Learning centers make it easy for teacher to put students in certain spots to make sure that
they are being taught at the speed that is going to be good for them. For example, some students
can be working at a center that has to do with math and the students can write a short essay when
the center is complete and explain what it was that they learned during that time. This will also
allow the teacher to see exactly what their students are grasping from the lesson and will allow
them to adjust things that need to be adjusted. Although this may take a little bit more time for
the teacher to go through each paper and apply it to the centers for the next time, the students
would really benefit from the extra time that would be put into it. Students would also like to
rotate and see different things rather than being stuck at their desk all day long. Learning centers
offer teachers the opportunity to present the same information in a variety of different ways that
engage all students (Cox, J., n.d.). There are so many times when students struggle from being
behind from where their peers are at. This can be a way to help them have confidence in
themselves and make them realize that they really can do anything and everything that they set
their minds to. Teachers will also be able to observe how their students are learning as they are in
the learning centers. Perhaps the teacher can take the time to work with the students that are
academically behind while they are working in the centers. This will show the students that the
teacher is really investing their time in their education and that they really do care. That one on
one time could mean the world and work wonders in a childs educational journey.

ISTE Standards

2. Communication and Collaboration (b). 3. Research and Information Fluency (a, b, d). 4.
Critical Thinking, Problem Solving, and Decision Making (a, b, c). 5. Digital Citizenship. (b, c).
6. Technology Operations and Concepts (a,b,c,d).
Pros and Cons (150-250 words)
Just like any other issue there is going to be pros and cons. Some pros that come along
with using technology to differentiate instruction would be that the students would get to work at
their own pace and do not have to wait for the teacher to try and reach the students that may be a
little behind. Teachers will also be able to come up with fun things for each student to do. Some
cons would be that the children that work at their own pace would get too far ahead and the
teacher would not be able to help them yet. Another con would be that the teacher would have to
take a lot of time out of their day to try and come up with different lessons for each student to
make sure that they are grasping the correct material. Although there are pros and cons, as long
as students are being taught to the best of their ability that is all that really matters.
Concluding Paragraph (4-6 sentences)
All in all, reaching children at all learning types is extremely important. Luckily teachers
in this day and age are able to use these many different styles of technology to make sure that all
students are comprehending what is being taught. Although there are pros and cons to using
technology with differentiated instruction, there is never a bad time for students to be learning. It
is so great to see how far technology has come and all of the different things teachers can use in
their classroom for the benefit of the students. Students will do nothing but benefit from this, and
at the end of the day that is the main goal.

References

Apecsec.org. (2015, February 27). Retrieved from http://apecsec.org/pros-and-cons-ofdifferentiated-instruction/

Bhaskar, S. (2013, July 26). Technology is Helping Students to Adopt Their Own Learning Style.
Retrieved from http://edtechreview.in/trends-insights/insights/465-technology-helpsstudents-to-adopt-their-learning-style
Cox, J. (n.d.). Implementing Differentiated Instruction Strategies. Retrieved from
http://www.teachhub.com/top-ways-implement-differentiated-instruction-strategies
Stern, J. (2015, March 30). Enhancing Learning Through Differentiated Technology. Retrieved
from http://www.edutopia.org/blog/enhanced-learning-through-differentiated-technologyjulie-stern