Social Networks are Real Life

Our students are attracted to and use social networks. Where does this fit in at school?

Thinking questions, deep questions with no simple, “correct” answer, are the kinds of questions our students will be challenged with throughout their life. These are also great questions to put out to a student social network.  Student motivation and interest + a bit of teacherly guidance will have students thinking, writing and communicating at the top pointy part of the bloom’s taxonomy.

 

For more info, see: Multimedia & Internet@Schools Magazine: Social Media in the Classroom—For Kindergartners ! Through High Schoolers [Available Full-Text, Free].

Visual Poetry

PicLits Beach Haiku

PicLits [http://www.piclits.com/compose_dragdrop.aspx] is a beautiful new web site that could support poetry, creative writing, or really any descriptive writing.

PicLits.com is a creative writing site that matches beautiful images with carefully selected keywords in order to inspire you. The object is to put the right words in the right place and the right order to capture the essence, story, and meaning of the picture.

There is a vast library of compelling images that you can browse through. Find one that moves you and write about it. This could be a great way to teach poems, haiku, etc.

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Comprehension and fluency with VoiceThread

NCAECT Session 1 – Comprehension and Fluency with Voicethread

http://voicethread.com/

Their wiki at:

http://readingqueens.wikispaces.com/Voicethread+Directions

Fluency – powerpoint on their wiki http://readingqueens.wikispaces.com/Fluency+Powerpoints

• Rehearsal opportunities for automaticity
• get past decoding and to comprehension
• use single words on ppt with voice and wait time – for automaticity – and then add picture with word for recognition

2nd grade Comprehension and Voicethread

• the school has voicethread site
• teacher has her voicethread site
• only 3 for free – so delete and start over
• Use Voicethread for comprehension discussion
• students pick animal image avatar
• Teacher has avatar that they recognize and use that to get prompt
• Parents can get there.
• you can also type your answer – for at home or whatever

3rd grade comprehension and Voicethread

• literature circle with voicethread
• all directions are in teacher avatar
• no name
• all jobs like in regular lit circle
• they can answer each other
• they can doodle on screen

Directions – posted on the site

• be sure to check the what is a voice thread link on voicethread.com
• load icon up for the kids. show them how to select. – identity
• tell the kids “2 re-dos and then you are stuck with it”
• kids can delete other’s work

Publishing! Let them illustrate and narrate their stories

cvereckey@wcpss.net
pdaniels@wcpss.net
sclarke@wcpss.net