By: Dina Discepolo

Google Classroom Project-

Animal Habitats

Classroom Demographics

I created a Google Classroom assignment for a 1st grade general education class

Due to the age and limited computer backgrounds of the students, I made the decision to have the class complete one assignment in Google Classroom

At the beginning of the lesson, it quickly became apparent that the students had very limited experience with typing, using a mouse and navigating the internet

With this understanding of the students’ prior knowledge, I had to make some alterations to my original plan for the project!

Project DetailsStudents were given an option as to what animal

habitat they would like to research and learn more about

All of the habitats were previously taught and reviewed in a science unit a few weeks prior to introducing the Google Classroom project

Once a habitat was picked, students were asked to log into BrainPop Jr, watch a video and take notes about animals, plants and special facts about their habitat

Then, they would fill in a pre-made Google Slides presentation with the information they researched

Timeline

Students were given a week in the computer lab to work on their projects

Two of those days were spent teaching the students how to type, use a mouse and how to log into their Gmail accounts/Google Classroom

A third day was spent teaching students how to insert pictures into their presentation

Preparation

Before introducing Google Classroom to the students, there was a lot of preparation work

involved: Inviting all the students to the classCreating a folder for each habitat of pre-

approved pictures that the students can use for their project

Creating a Google Docs page with links to videos about their given habitat

Works cited pages for each picture included

Student WorkHere are some examples of completed student

work from the 1st Grade Class:

Student WorkHere are some examples of completed student

work from the 1st Grade Class:

Student WorkHere are some examples of completed student

work from the 1st Grade Class:

*Close!

Student WorkHere are some examples of completed student

work from the 1st Grade Class:

Student WorkHere are some examples of completed student

work from the 1st Grade Class:

Google ClassroomHere’s what my First Grade Google Classroom

looked like:

Google Classroom

Here is what my homepage looks like:

Google Drive- Habitat Pictures

Using the students’ district Gmail accounts, I was able to share a folder I titled: “Habitat Pictures” Students would be able to click on

their habitat and choose pre-approved pictures for their project.

Google Drive- Habitat Pictures

This is what the folder for the African Savanna habitat looked like. I searched Google Images for images that the students could use for

their projects. During my search, I made sure to include pictures that were free to reuse without copyright.

Video PageEach habitat folder had a Works Cited Page and a Google Docs

page with links to BrainPop Jr. videos to watch for research purposes.

Reflection on the completion of the

project• The students are still completing their projects in the

computer lab with a tech coach• They will also be presenting their projects for the

principal and other first grade classes!• In all, I think that the project was a success• The class learned a great deal through their

experiences working in the computer lab about how to use a computer

• More importantly, they were able to see what they can accomplish with patience and dedication!

• When I get my own class, I look forward to implementing Google Classroom with my students