Project Daily Five

The integration of technology to help students write with word processors, create PowerPoint presentations, listen to online books, play language building online games, use Excel to graph individual growth, and have more exposure to 21st Century technology will be a staple in their future educations. Currently, students are limited to small classroom libraries, notebooks, and 3-5 classroom computers. The integration of new technology would foster student growth.The school district has yet to allocate funds toward this program. The belief being, that this donation would create a technology movement that this school district would want to foster.

Timeline
• Project Daily Five will benefit 5 second grade homerooms with approximately 22 students per class.
• Project Daily Five will be implemented during the 2011-12 school year. During the months of August and September, students will be trained on the guidelines of the program and the proper ways of using the equipment.
• Starting October through November 2011, students will have independence within Project Daily Five and have flexibility with operating the available technology. Students will have freedom in their writings, choose from a list of teacher directed reading websites, enter personal assessment data, and have the opportunity to listen to on-line books.
• December 2011-January 2012, students will be guided toward researching classroom topics such as Holidays from Around the World and the Moon. During this time students will write short responses using Microsoft Word, research topics on teacher directed websites, and enter personal data from common assessments.
• February-March 2012, students will begin introduction of PowerPoint and have the expectation of finding information to present on topics such as American Presidents and American Heroes/Inventors.
• April-May 2012, students will have the expectation of writing complete paragraphs using the word processors. Students will work within peer groups to write plays, stories, songs, and poetry. Students will also be entering data and viewing personal growth from throughout the school year in different subject areas.


Objectives and Plan of Action
• Each second grade student will have exposure to technology that will improve upon language literacy abilities.
• Each second grade student will have the ability to work on specific areas of language development to demonstrate growth through an entire school year.
• Each second grade student will be able to express personal feelings through writings and improve upon the individual writing style.
• Each second grade student will be given opportunities to conduct classroom presentations, which will establish personal confidence.
• Each second grade student will demonstrate problem solving skills and make decisions that develop into successful classroom and school community members.
• Project Daily Five strives to ultimately help each student take a large piece of ownership in personal literacy development. This program allows each student to build individual strength and stamina in the language arts content area. Through the integration of the program during August and September, each student will be properly trained to use the tools that each laptop computer offers. Students will then be given the opportunity through the coming months to use the laptop computer in any desired program area. As the school year proceeds from February through May, students will be given more freedom and less specific direction from the teacher. Throughout the entire year, each teacher will monitor student use and assure that the tools are being used in a positive, educational manner.


Effectiveness
• Project Daily Five will impact the improvement of student language literacy. Students will have the opportunity to be exposed to thousands of on-line texts and language development programs to improve reading fluency and comprehension. Each student will be able to dictate their desired learning path through programs that are completely literature based. These programs include the ability to listen to and read along with literature, work on phonics, and help build grammatical skills.
• Project Daily Five will improve student learning with 21st century technology. Each student will have access to the internet and browse teacher directed websites. Students will have the ability to express personal thoughts through Microsoft Word, PowerPoint and improve typing skills. Students will take ownership in graphing personal growth from common assessments through Microsoft Excel. Students will have access to streaming videos, from such websites as BrainPop Jr. and Discovery Education, which will help build background knowledge to express individual ideas and thoughts from multiple subject areas.
• With students having the ability to graph data from assessments, individual teachers will be able to review the information and complete item analysis. Each teacher will be able to use the classroom data to direct on-line reading programs to work on specific, differentiated skills for each child. The teacher will also be able to pull small groups of students and work with each student closely on problem areas.


Alignment
• The district vision: To be the best organization for learning. This applies to the direction the team is taking with each student. In order for each student to achieve to the highest potential the organization, or staff in this case, needs to be well equipped with the best resources available. These resources will allow teachers to create learning opportunities that allow students to reach outside of the box and experience unique opportunities.
• The district mission: Providing education to achieve success. The education that the team is providing to each individual student is the foundation to future learning and success throughout life. This staff has been given the responsibility to prepare each student to successfully interact with their future. Teachers need every tool available to help establish each child’s skill level. The integration of new technology will help bring opportunities to each student, allowing individuals to advance within the district’s curriculum.
• A district objective that shines through the rest for this project states: Engaging students and staff with dynamic learning experiences. A dynamic learning experience that is new and exciting for all students. This program is bringing a new type of learning style and equipment to many students. Project Daily Five is giving students personal ownership of literacy education and allowing each child to use 21st century technologies. Students are taken away from the traditional classroom and given opportunities to interact with students and teachers on a new and exciting level.