After studying the vocabulary words from Jack and the Beanstalk, and using many of them (without being asked, by the way) in our virtual comic strips, it was time to make sure we had mastered them! I am really loving Google Forms for simple quizzes! I created our vocab test using the drop down option so the kids could read the definition and had to choose from four choices on the drop down menu. I embedded the form right on our website on Today’s Jobs. The kids worked at their own pace through the quiz and then clicked “submit” and viola, their answers appeared in my spreadsheet. From there it was easy to pick out the incorrect answers and record the grades. Since there weren’t many incorrect answers (yippie!) I will probably “share” this spreadsheet and the kids can go check out their grade using our class Google account.

Most of the students have now finished their virtual “comics” using the template planning sheet for Jack and the Beanstalk. They are adorable! Yes, some are better than others, but the cleverness is in the details! Make sure you stop by The Cove Bookshelf on our website where we house books and stories we’ve written, you won’t be disappointed! If you don’t have much time, make sure you click on these in particular! Jack and the Beanstalk meets 21st century digital native: Calvin’s Part 1 and 2, Jamie’s, Calizia’s, Jasmine L’s, Brandon’s Part 1 and 2, or Whitney’s. You’ll get a chuckle, I guarantee!

Today was another one of those days that I beg my Principal to allow me to loop to 5th grade with these kids! (Seriously, I sent him an email begging – again!)
So we were beginning our math class and I had decided we needed another good dose of review working with two digit by two digit multiplication. As I handed out the five problems I wanted the kids to complete as a warm-up, and we were talking about how we’d have to dig way back in our memory banks to remember how to complete them, I hear from Joey, “Yeah, Mrs. C., it’s like pressing the refresh button in our brain!”
Wow! Loving my Digital Natives!

Photo Credit: Bulubula’s Photostream via Flickr

Today we continued our reading/listening/planning activities with Jack and the Beanstalk. To model what I thought were some of the important events in the story without coming right out and telling them, “I think you should include this…”, I decided to create a PowerPoint slide with the numbers 1-8 down the left side and 8 events on the right side. I created each event in its own textbox so the kids would be able to drag and drop each one into a new position, and of course, mixed them up well before sending it to them.
When they went to Today’s Jobs, they were told a new assignment awaited them in their Edmodo account. Here’s what they saw when they got there:

I love Edmodo’s Assignment tool because once the kids complete the activity, all they have to do is click “Turn In” under the assignment and submit their work to me. When I click “Turned In” as the teacher, it displays all my kids on one page and the words “NOT TURNED IN” or “NOT GRADED” (which turns to “GRADED” once I assess it) so I know exactly what each child has completed. This feature also sends a message to the child with the grade I’ve given on the assignment! So Cool!
After completing this sequencing activity the kids continued the work they have begun using one of the neatest tools we’ve “played with” yet! Story Creator is a wonderful free site that allows you to register your school (unless you want to save all your kids’ work in your personal account – a pain because you continually have to enter your password for them to access their work) and your kids can create myth and legend comic strips. The site is jam-packed with backgrounds, objects, characters, speech/thought bubbles, animations, and really neat editing tools. The kids are using their main event templates to create what Story Creator calls “Chapters”. Oh my goodness…the creativity that is emerging gives me chills! Please check back on my next post and I will provide a link where you can see what they’ve done with Jack and the Beanstalk. Magic Beans for sure!

Photo Credit: Munkin’s Photostream via Flickr

My kids struggle with the idea of summarizing a story. They have a lot of trouble picking out the main ideas or events that occur in narratives they read. After coming upon the oldy, but goody “Jack and the Beanstalk” on an audio book website called Light Up Your Brain, I decided this would be the perfect opportunity to practice this skill while continuing our adventure using online audio books.
The kids had all heard the story of Jack and the Beanstalk, but the original story which we were about to read was full of wonderful, rich vocabulary. I created a list of 18 of words I thought my kids would struggle with and linked that document on “Today’s Jobs“. I had them all pull that list up on their laptops and we went over them together, discussing if we’d seen them before and using them to predict what might happen in this version of the story.
I also created a very simple template for the kids to fill out (with their pencils) as they read/listened to the story. It basically had 4 large boxes on each page where the kids were to write only the important things that Jack does throughout the story. They were given three of these sheets, so they had to limit the important events to 12 at the most! (I linked the template on our Today’s Jobs page as well, just in case someone “messed up” and needed another, they could take the initiative to solve the problem and print a new one. Wireless is wonderful!) The kids were told we would be using these very important planning sheets to develop virtual comic strips tomorrow. Oh, boy! That piqued their interest!
There was silence for the rest of the morning! Engagement, reading, listening, pausing, thinking, deciding, writing, planning….

Picture Credit: Spysgrandson via Flickr

So the other day I had the kids visit a new link on our class website called the Cove Online Library. This is a place I have begun to collect free online stories and books for kids. They had to choose a story (at the time, all of the stories had audio capabilities so the kids could choose to have the story read to them as they followed along) and take notes of main events and words they thought would make great vocabulary words. They really seemed to enjoy this and were captivated. They were actually SO captivated that when I Skyped with a room of teachers downtown being trained to start our additional 1:1 program at the middle school level, half of my kids were unaware! I actually turned the camera so my videoconferencing colleagues could see the magic in action!
I decided for today’s jobs to have the kids digest their new information in three ways. They were asked to address our newest classroom blog post which asked them to tell all about the story they read! Please check some of these summaries out and tell me SOME of these kids are not improving their literacy! Whitney, one of my young ladies made my whole week when she said (after working for 60 minutes straight), “Mrs. C. I really learn a lot of grammar when I am blogging!” Yes!! Never heard that when we were copying sentences out of the grammar book….
Their second extension of the online story activity was to take the vocabulary words they had collected (choose your favorite 5), look up the definitions (I gave them a link to an online kid’s dictionary), and add them to our new Vocabulary Wall (also embedded on our class website). I used Wallwisher for this, and it worked out wonderfully! The kids loved adding the virtual sticky notes to our wall, and now we have a wonderful collection of challenging words to learn! Make sure you check out our collection HERE.
And finally, I really wanted to get an idea of how the kids felt reading on the computer versus holding a paper book. So I created a quick survey on SurveyMonkey and linked it on our Job List for today. Here are some of the results:
1. 77% of my kids would rather read a book on their computer.
2. When given the choice 53% would like to follow along as the computer reads the story (more details below), followed by 41% wishing to read with a partner, and in last place reading a book to myself (only 4 of my 19 kids).
3. When asked, “What did you like about reading an online story?” some of the interesting responses were:
“I learned more about the story than I would if I read.”
“It read it to you and you could pause it and play it.”
“I liked I experienced something different that day.”
“I like reading on line because I don’t like to read a lot.”
4. When asked, “Is there anything you did not like about reading an online story?” most of the responses were “nothing”, but here are a few others:
“I didn’t like how they read it needed more insperation and excitement.”
“I didn’t like how long it was but other then that no.”

I feel good today! I think we’re heading in the right direction!

Picture Credit: Real Ink vs. E-Ink via Flickr

Today was a great day back from vacation. The kids were ready to get back to work and so was I!
Although we have been learning how to comment on our classroom blog (more like addressing a writing prompt, really), I introduced the kids to their Gaggle Blog capabilities. I plan to allow them to blog about whatever topics they find interesting. I think they need that individual creative outlet as opposed to always being told what to write about.
They loved it! They learned how to find each other in our county’s Gaggle directory (we have our subscription set to county only for safety at this point), and immediately started commenting on each other’s posts! Wonderful!
Also tried out Primary Pad today in both a goal setting activity and a science mini research activity. In language arts each group was provided a link to “their” pad. They were to add goals they have set for themselves for the coming year. The nice thing about Primary Pad is that users don’t have to register to collaborate on a document (no email required!). I set the pads up so that they only had to know our class password to be able to add their ideas to it!
Primary Pad also has other fantastic features. Each child chooses a color and types his/her name next to it. Then whatever he/she adds to the pad is highlighted in his/her color, and other group member can see in real time what their peers are typing. Up to 30 different kids can be editing the same document at the exact same time! Another cool feature is the “Timeliner” tab which allows you to view all the changes that have been made to the pad over time, as well as the authors of those changes. This worked out to be a great alternative to going the Google Docs route with my kids who are under 13 (would require special parental permission).
We used Primary Pad again in Science as I had the kids conduct a little Internet research concerning rocks and minerals. Dr. Same and Dr. Different each had a link to their own pad. The kids were to research whether rocks and minerals are the same thing or different things. Following that research they were to add facts to the pad of the Dr. whom they supported. Here is a screenshot of some of the results! You can get a closer look at the pad here. Lots of learning… lots of fun!

Thanks to my great colleague, Danita, for passing along this link to a December 3rd BBC News article entitled, “Children Who Use Technology Are ‘Better Writers’”. My favorite quote from the article states, “The more forms of communications children use the stronger their core literary skills.” I couldn’t agree more, and am seeing it in our classroom as we pilot the 1:1 initiative this year.

In an effort to prepare my kids for two upcoming events at the end of this week, we are once again, very busy! The kids are getting ready to take the second of the state’s formal writing assessments. This one must relate to content information they have learned. The fourth grade team chose to focus on Roanoke Island, the Mystery of the Lost Colony. As we were watching a short video and reading an article about the Lost Colony together, they were given the choice to take notes in their notebooks, or on their netbooks using a Word document. All but 1 chose the computer! They will be able to use these notes as they pilot the writing test for the first time on their netbooks. I am anxious to see the results!

Also, we are preparing to enjoy a theatrical presentation of Charles Dickens’ “A Christmas Carol” this Friday. I decided to use this week to study the story as our literacy work. I was fortunate enough to find this wonderful unit written by Kim Meyer from South Carolina. It has some wonderful activities to go along with the story, including creating an old English village reminiscent of that in which Dickens lived. We’ve begun collecting our cereal boxes which will turn into a decorated village! I’m currently selecting some sites with illustrations for the kids to go by, so look for picture of our village to appear soon!

There are several things in our classroom that have made the 1:1 situation run more smoothly and efficiently. Although on this blog I have spoken mostly about software and web 2.0 merging with the curriculum, these five minor details have added a great deal of instructional time (not to mention CALM) to our day!

#1: Tables – We started the year with 22 desks. However in preparation for the netbooks, I decided to exchange the desks for four long tables. This has really helped my kids collaborate more easily, gain an identity (the table groups include the Shark Sandbar, Barnacle Bay, Jellyfish Junction, and Stingray Station), and have plenty of room for notebooks/textbooks alongside their netbooks.

#2: Chair Bags – These organizational miracles have helped for two reasons. Our classroom is in a mobile unit (we call them “Learning Cottages”) so there is absolutely no storage! In addition, due to losing the storage provided by the desks, we needed a place to keep our “stuff”. We decided all textbooks would be stored on a few bookcases we have in the room (which works out because we use them only for occasional support) and we sent home many notebooks that would not be needed now that we have our netbooks! We purchased the chair bags from a wonderful company called Happi-Nappi. They are made of very sturdy denim with extremely durable, reinforced seams. They have one large pocket for our clipboards, notebooks, and larger items, as well as two small pockets for our pencils/pens and little necessities!

#3: 15 foot long surge protectors – We started with an old laptop cart that was not being used. Thanks to our technology director, we were able to get several long extension surge protectors to replace it. This has been beneficial for several reasons. Storing the netbooks in a cart adds a lot of wear and tear on the computers and cords. Now, they stack nicely on our tables at the end of the day and I take about 3 minutes (literally) to bring the cords (already plugged into the surge protectors) to the computers. We call them our Octopus Arms! It has also added learning time to our classroom. I unplug the arms every morning before the kids get in the room, store them close to the various outlets, and the kids are able to get right into their work! Much less chaos and chance for accidents when the charged netbooks are already on the tables!

#4: Sharing bins – Prior to getting these dollar store storage bins, kids were always getting up to get supplies (borrowing pencils, getting crayons, sharpening their pencils, etc.) which takes longer than you might think in an elementary classroom! These bins have become community sharing boxes. They are each marked with the group name (Sharks, Barnacles, Jellyfish, and Stingrays). Each group decided early on they would pool their individual storehouses of materials and share with each other! How wonderful!! They’ve even taken pride in making sure their bin is more organized than other groups’.

#5: Clipboards – The tables I purchased for the classroom are not smooth on the surface (lesson learned!). They have minute grooves and bumps. The kids hate writing directly on top of them. In addition, we participate in a program called Clipboard Math (we call ours Pirate Ship Math) in which there are 6 posters around the room which house math problems that are changed several times throughout the week. The kids’ clipboards (which I purchased at the Dollar Store as well) play three roles. They create a smooth surface on which write, they make working while moving about the room very easy, and they organize the loose papers that are needed on a daily basis (spelling list, Tic-Tac-Toe Spelling, Pirate Ship Math template, etc.). We have almost no papers being lost since we put these to use. And, they fit nicely into our chair bags!

So, although these things may seem minor to the outsider looking in, they are crucial elements of our classroom’s efficiency and time on task throughout the day! Something to consider…

As many of you know, I’ve been struggling to feel comfortable with my language arts program this year. I think I’m finally getting to a point where I’m using strategies that match my beliefs about what is important in a literacy program while still preparing my kids for the all-important End of Grade test.
I am very thankful for Laura Candler’s newsletters and wonderful site. Having used Accelerated Reader as the backbone of her reading program (just as we do at my school), this year she has given it up for other foundational experiences for her kids. Her transition has been perfect timing for me, since I have never really loved AR either!
After reading about her use of Reader’s Workshop, and exploring other wonderful sites like that of Mandy Gregory which also provide support for using Reader’s Workshop, I decided to give it a try!
Today I taught my first mini-lesson (using the picture book The Rough-Faced Girl by Rafe Martin) on WOW pages. My kids were so engaged and excited to use their sticky notes to find their own WOW pages, I was amazed!
Tomorrow we will work on using the notes from our WOW stickies to write some reactions on our reading wiki pages.
Between our Comprehension Krill, Spelling Tic-Tac-Toe, Literature Circle Groups, and the Reader’s Workshop mini-lessons, I am hoping all the great ingredients are coming together for a powerful literacy program!

Some things happen for a reason! I had been wanting to download Skype onto our netbooks for quite some time, but hadn’t had the minute to do it (it literally takes just about that long). So when my Principal came to me today (at 11:00) asking if my kids would like to Skype with a gathering at the Cental Office in about an hour, I hesitantly said, “Sure, we’ll do it!” The last day before any holiday is a little stressful, but what the heck!

So I quickly downloaded Skype onto one of our mini HP’s (and our IT savior, Donna, came to help us out! Thank you!). My students had not actually written any Thanksgiving stories, but we sure had been doing a lot of research on the 1st Thanksgiving! I chose one of the students I knew I could count on in a pinch to not freak out, and sure enough she even found a perfect Thanksgiving story to read from the Internet (Thank you, Jordyn!). We tweaked it a bit, she practiced it over lunch, and at 12:30 the Skype call went flawlessly! The netbook’s video was perfect and the sound was loud enough for all the students in the room to enjoy!

Thanks to Mrs. Johnson for thinking of us, and allowing us to join the festivities downtown, and now world…. here we come!
Skype anyone?