The Letter S

Welcome "Letter Explorer!"

Letters are apart of the alphabet. There is a letter that needs to be discovered.

This special letter is the letter S.

In this special quest you must discover the sound of letter S. 

You must also discover words that begins with the letter S.

In order to complete your quest, you must have fun and complete all the interactive activities and games! Are you ready? 

You are on a Letter WebQuest!

After you would have completed this Letter Quest, your skills will be much keener than ever before. 

You will have the ability to recognize the letter S. 

You will be able say the sound of the letter S.

Finally, you will be able to identify words that begin with the letter S.

All of this can be done with interactive activities placed together just for you.

Minimal adult assistance is needed. 

This Letter WebQuest can be done individually or in a small group.

Now, grab ahold of your search goggles and magnify glass! You have a mission to get to little explorer!

1) Your first mission is to click the play button below.

• You must watch the clip and sing along with the song. One more thing: you must trace the letter in the air. 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_8oRsEQD2nI

 2) Excellent, after you would have watched the clip above, click on the link below to play the "Letter S Game." The link will carry you to another page. Look out for ALL the letter S you spot and click on them. Leave none unclicked! When your done exit the page and come back to this one. Ready Explorer? Let's do it:

http://more2.starfall.com/n/level-k/letter-s/load.htm?f&redir=www

3) Now, keep your eyes open Letter Explorers; you must "Read A Word." In this game you will be given words that start with the letter S. Here's the tricky fun part: you must click on the correct letter word that is called. Here's the link below to get started. What are you waiting for? Get to it!

https://www.learninggamesforkids.com/alphabet_games/the-letter-s/read-s-words.html

4) After you have completed step three, you need to use your handy Explorer's Journal and write down a new letter S word you had discovered. Then, draw picture of your S word. Left click and hold down to draw. Click on the link below to use the handy Explorer's Journal. Then, click the start button to begin.

https://www.learninggamesforkids.com/alphabet_games/the-letter-s/practice-with-letter-s.html

5) You're doing a super job so far little explorer! Now, there is someone important who wants to tell something about the Letter S. Give it up for Superman! Go on and click the Start button!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IFd-nQ2GBzc

6) You're adventure is just about complete! It's time to bring this exciting adventure to an end, but first, you can practice writing the letter S in the air one more time with Explorer Jack Hartmann. He's is at the bottom waiting for you to help sing and draw the S. Click the start button to begin and remember: do as he does!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IaFlt1TjM-k

We learn by doing some interactive worksheets, playing games, drawing and singing, but we learn even better by talking about what we did.

By completing this quest you should be able to identify the Letter S anywhere. You may see the Letter S in signs outdoors like "STOP Signs."

Moreover, because you know what the letter S looks like you can also write the letter S and even words that begin with this letter! Isn't that great? 

Furthermore, you are not only able to recognize or write the Letter S, but you can also say what sound the letter S makes. Wow what a skill that'll follow you for a lifetime!

For more practice you can print out some S work sheet activities below and hang up on your fridge with other letters you may have discovered. One more thing: Never Stop exploring!

Download pintables here: https://www.education.com/worksheets/letter-s/ .

The Letter S charts from: https://momztutelage.wordpress.com/pics/a/more-words-on-s/ and https://www.spelling-words-well.com/preschool-computer-games.html

The Letter S images at: https://goo.gl/images/KcLs8e and https://goo.gl/images/HoV6ud

The Letter S game at: Starfall.com

The Explorer's Journal, Read A Word, and Games at: https://www.learninggamesforkids.com

The Letter S Clip from: YouTube at: Sesame Street: Superman's Favorite Letter S

The Letter S song clip at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_8oRsEQD2nI

Learn The Letter S | Let's Learn About The Alphabet | Phonics Song for Kids | Jack Hartmann at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IaFlt1TjM-k

Stop sign picture at: https://goo.gl/images/yDLhdx

Gif at: https://giphy.com/gifs/design-illustration-neon-l0EwYIdgjxrHOqSkw

                                                               The Letter S

                                                                                         A WebQuest for elementary

                                                                                         Designed By Sarah Coakley 

                                                                                          spcoakley570@ub.edu.bs

What are the benefits of WebQuests?

    WebQuest are very beneficial educational tools used by teachers. This is so because tomorrow's workers will need to be able to work in teams. Tomorrow's workers and citizens will need the ability to grapple using ambiguity. Additionally, commitment is needed for a lifelong process of learning, honoring multiple perspectives and evaluating information before acting on it. These workers and citizens are sitting in our classrooms today. Furthermore, persons will move through several careers in the course of a lifetime. Also, the issues citizens face will become more and more complex, and societal problems will resist easy fixes or black-and-white categorization. Lastly, the amount of information available to everyone will increase at a fast moving pace; most of it will enter directly from a growing amount of various sources without filtering or verification. Thus, using WebQuests in classrooms can help build a solid foundation that prepares these individuals for the future. 

How did WebQuests start, and how have they developed since they became popular?

    A professor of educational technology at San Diego State University named Dr. Bernie Dodge had developed and named this concept, and at the same time was teaching a class for preservice teachers in the spring of 1995. Thus, He had desired to give his student teachers a format for online lessons that would make the best use of student time and at the same time fostering higher-level thinking skills. Moreover, after this event, Tom March who worked at San Diego State as a fellow funded by Pacific Bell, developed the first fully developed WebQuest as part of PacBell's Knowledge Network. Dr. Dodge made a paper on the topic, "Some Thoughts About WebQuests." Soon, staff developers at schools and teacher educators at universities had used his WebQuest Page as a source of training materials and ideas for courses. As a result, the WebQuest Page grew, and it developed links to WebQuests which is created all over the English-speaking world.

What are the essential parts of a WebQuest?

The essential parts of a WebQuest is the introduction, task, process, evaluation, conclusion and credits or resources.

    The introduction should provide background information and motivational scenarios. It should be written in the 2nd person "You." Furthermore, it also contains an overview of the learning goals to students.The goal of the introduction is to make the activity desirable and fun for pupils. When projects are related to students' interests, ideas, familiar experiences, or future goals, the student are inherently more interesting. The goal of the motivational component is to engage and excite students at the start of each WebQuest.

    Moreover, the task is a formal description of what students will have accomplished after completing the WebQuest. Firstly, the teacher must find resources for a particular topic. Then, the teacher devises an activity for the students that incorporates the information from a few sites. This task is doable and of interesting. The development of the task can be difficult, but, the creative aspect of creating a WebQuest. Teachers can ask the students to publish their findings on a Web site, collaborate in an online research initiative with another site or institution, or create a multimedia presentation on a particular aspect as a result of their research. The task is a content that is visually and aesthetically appealing, which holds absolute importance.

   Next, the process is a description of the steps which learners should go through in accomplishing the task. It can include links embedded within each step.

    Moreover, evaluation is very important. Each WebQuest should have a rubric for evaluating students' work. The standards  or grading scheme should be fair, clear, consistent, and specific to the tasks. Many of the theories of standards, assessments and constructivism apply to WebQuests; these are the clear goals, matching assessments to tasks, and involving the learners in the process of evaluation are all concepts from earlier workshops that may apply.

    Furthermore, a list of the resources or credits are listed in a section of their own. In some recent WebQuests there are resources which are embedded within the Process section. This is done like this in order to be accessed at the appropriate time. Moreover, non-Web resources can also be used thoughout content. WebQuests are enhanced or engaging by materials that supplement the online resources. Resources can include videos, audio cassettes, books, posters, maps, models, manipulatives, and sculptures, etc.

    Finally,  the conclusion will end and wrap up the Web Quest. The conclusion  will allow a reflection by the students and summation by the teacher. An excellent conclusion contains a time for discussion of possible extensions or applications of the lesson honors the constructivist principle. During this concluding section, the teacher can encourage your students to suggest ways of doing things differently to improve the lesson. 

What kinds of topics lend themselves to WebQuests?

    WebQuests can be applied to a wide range of subjects. However, WebQuests is not appropriate for everything. WebQuest should not be used to teach the times table, the chemical symbols in the top two lines of the periodic table, or the state flags of New England. In other words, do not use a WebQuest to teach important pieces of information or those that are hard to grasp. A WebQuest format is not created for mastering raw facts. The WebQuest format is best used for topics that are less well-defined and tasks that welcomes creativity and problems with many possible solutions and address open-ended questions.

What do I need to create a WebQuest?

   After designing and setting up the WebQuest; a Web editor is needed to specialized equipment that is used to get started. Word processors can also be used. Moreover, a Web server is needed in order to post WebQuest. However, a server is not an absolute critical requirement. If there isn't a server space, it can copied to the WebQuest onto the hard drive for each of the students' computers. Then, run the WebQuest on a browser like the Internet Explorer. Moreover, the students' computers should have Internet connection and encourage schools to develop its Web connections.

What are some critical perspectives?

    WebQuest are used to teach and factually recall simple procedures, or definitions. Because many curricular standards address content of that type, there are portions of the curriculum that are taken out off the WebQuest territory.

    It is crucial to make time when establishing WebQuests. It is necessary to learn to use some new tools, which uses a lot of time. However, once the WebQuest is created, most of the work is completed. Daily lesson plans or scintillating lectures will become much easier after this. Many teachers find that instructions through WebQuest is better than being the "sage on center stage."

    Moreover, for WebQuests it is required that students have a certain level of reading ability. Additionally, using highly visual sites or an adult ready to read the screens to the students is also useful for WebQuests. Because of this, it can be difficult to create a good WebQuest for children younger than the third grade or for those with language and reading difficulties. These disadvantages can be overcome by paying special attention to the design of group work, however, it maybe harder fit.

    Furthermore, there are students those who prefer that the classroom learning should be focused on facts and content. Those students may deride WebQuests as "fluff," because they emphasize critical-thinking skills rather than particular information.

How can I use WebQuests in conjunction with other educational techniques? 

    WebQuests are mainly centered around constructivism and inquiry. WebQuests should include incorporate cooperative and collaborative learning, because students may take on projects in groups. Therefore, there is  a role in teaching certain concepts with WebQuests.

    Furthermore, WebQuests assists students in meeting certain standards focused on critical-thinking and analysis skills. It is also used for social studies and sciences. Also, multiple intelligence work is also used through the multimedia tasks in WebQuests. Alternative kinds of evaluations can be used to determine or judge the results of WebQuest projects. Finally, WebQuests are excellent tools to use the Internet in education. Quests are tools, not educational theories, hence, they are used virtually in any classroom with appropriate computer access.

Introduction

    This lesson was developed as a revision tool about the letter S. This was created as a follow up activity after the lesson was taught in the classroom. This WebQuest will help kindergarteners to deepen their knowledge about the letter S and have fun the same time while doing so.  

     The lesson is about identifying the letter S, the ability to recall the sound of the letter s, hearing the /S/ sound in word and being able to list words which begins with the letter S. After a series of tasks, students will become familiar with the letter S. For this WebQuest, students are required to use online tools to access information about the letter S. After researching, students will be asked to draw pictures that begin with the letter S, say the /S/ sound, and describe objects from the lesson any object around them that begins with the letter S. Lastly, student will also be asked to write the letter S.

Learners

     The lesson is designed to cover Kindergarteners level. It is anchored for the Elementary division and involves adult assistance to a lesser extent. The lesson can easily be extended to challenged students in upper grade levels.

     The learners will need to know how to use a computer mouse prior to beginning this lesson. 

Curriculum Standards

Kindergarten English Language Arts

According to General Overview of Skills:

     "Writing is many things. It is an art that can be taught and learned. It is an invention—one of the greatest inventions in human history. It is a technology that enables us to do things we could not do without it—a technology every bit as exciting and amazing as airplane flight or electric power. But it is not natural. The same is true of reading, which is simply the process of unpacking, or decoding, what somebody else has written.

     Reading and writing are both highly artificial. We tend to recoil at that word. We have internalized the idea that natural is good and artificial is bad. Therefore, we think, reading must be natural. In fact, as the reading researcher Philip Gough has written, reading is a highly unnatural act.

     The first step toward good reading and writing instruction is to understand that reading and writing are artificial—but not necessarily in a bad sense. We need to remind ourselves that the word artificial derives from the word art. To say that reading and writing are forms of art that had to be invented and that need to be taught to children does not make reading and writing any less wonderful or important. On the contrary, it makes these things more wonderful and precious, and it also emphasizes the importance of your job as a teacher. There is no job more important than teaching young children the magnificent, valuable, and highly unnatural arts of reading and writing. 

Key Aspects of the Skills Strandards

Some key aspects of the Skills Strand of CKLA are listed below.

• CKLA teaches reading and writing in tandem, since they are inverse processes. English writing involves making pictures of sounds; reading involves translating those pictures back into sounds and blending the sounds to make words. 

• CKLA explicitly teaches letter-sound correspondences as opposed to leaving students to figure these out on their own or deduce them by analyzing familiar whole words (as in some kinds of “analytic” phonics).

• CKLA focuses on sounds, or phonemes, as the primary organizing principle of the program, rather than letters. 

• CKLA includes words, phrases, and stories for students to read and worksheets for them to complete that allow for focused, distributed practice working with the letter-sound correspondences the students have been taught.

• CKLA does not require students to read words that go beyond the letter-sound correspondences they have been taught. In other words, all words students are asked to read as part of the program are decodable, either because they are composed entirely of letter-sound correspondences students have been taught or because they are tricky words that have been taught. This means students have a chance to begin reading words and stories that are completely regular before tackling words and stories that are full of spelling alternatives." 

    Moreover, in this letter S lesson, students will exercise thinking and communications skills such as Critical thinking and Creative production. Creative problem solving skills, categorization, observation, and teamwork are also  encouraged by this lesson.

Process

Have students watch the Letter S clip and sing along with the song. Also, have students trace the letter in the air.

After students would have watched the clip, have them click on the link below to play the "Letter S Game." The link will carry them to another page. Next, have students look out for ALL the letter S they can spot in the game and click on them throughout the game. Leave none unclicked! When your done exit the page and come back to the student process page. If adobe flash is required, click "allow." 

Now, have them play the interactive worksheet call "Read A Word." In this activity, the students will be given words that start with the letter S. The students must click on the correct letter word that is called. A  link is provided to carry them to the interactive worksheet.

In addition, have students use a Journal and write down letter S words they had discovered. Then, allow them to draw picture of S word. this can be done digitally as well. A link is provided to carry the students to page to journal. Left click and hold down to draw. 

 After this, have students watch the clip of a superhero discussing the letter S. 

Finally, the students should practice writing the letter S one more time. A video with Explorer Jack Hartmann is embedded with him singing and drawing the S; the students should join him as he traces the letter S and sing. 

The lesson is organized with charts and posters for students to look at first. Then, the lesson continued with song about the letter S, followed by activities and worksheets. Next, the student will watch clip of superman stating words that begin with letter S and a final video encouraging students to write the letter S. The lesson does not involve more than one class. This revision can be taught in one period per day. It can be repeated to an extent of the teacher's discretion. Finally, it is interdisciplinary.

Dividing students into groups is optional.

If Adobe flash appears click on it, then click "allow once." After the videos are done playing proceed to the next step.

This lesson is easy enough for a novice teacher to direct.

Variations

     This lesson can be done in a lab or in a classroom.

Resources Needed

     The human resources needed would be the teacher and teacher's aides to monitor process of students; depending on the amount of students the teacher has in the classroom. 

Evaluation

Conclusion

After students would have completed the WebQuest, they should be able to identify the Letter S anywhere. They will have the skill to identify the letter S on food can labels, store signs, books or television, for example.

Moreover, because the students will know what the letter S looks like they will also be  able to write the letter S and words that begin with this letter.

Furthermore, students will not only able to recognize or write the Letter S, but they can also say what sound the letter S makes.

Credits & References

https://www.engageny.org/resource/kindergarten-english-language-arts

Letter S chart from: https://momztutelage.wordpress.com/pics/a/more-words-on-s/ and https://www.spelling-words-well.com/preschool-computer-games.html

The Letter S images at: https://goo.gl/images/KcLs8e and https://goo.gl/images/HoV6ud

Explorer's Journal, Read A Word, and games at: https://www.learninggamesforkids.com

Letter S game at: www.Starfall.com

Letter S clip from YouTube at: Sesame Street: Superman's Favorite Letter S

The Letter S song clip at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_8oRsEQD2nI

Learn The Letter S | Let's Learn About The Alphabet | Phonics Song for Kids | Jack Hartmann at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IaFlt1TjM-k

Stop sign picture at https://goo.gl/images/yDLhdx

Giph at https://giphy.com/gifs/design-illustration-neon-l0EwYIdgjxrHOqSkw