Monday, April 20, 2009
Great article at: http://www.edweek.org/rc/issues/english-language-learners
I found this great article about English language learners. It really highlighted some of the points about learning English as a second language and had some good statistics. At the bottom were some great resources.
Monday, April 6, 2009
Technology in the English Classroom: http://www.acs.ucalgary.ca/~iejll/volume4/Coogan/
I found this great article about infusing technology into the English classroom. It helps to enhance student's skills with technology and engage students with learning. I found it really interesting and useful to help connect students with others around the world by making technology universal. It also had a lot of great ideas for ways to use technology in the classroom. Check it out if you have a minute!
Wednesday, April 1, 2009
The Digital Divide: http://www.education-world.com/a_tech/tech041.shtml
After viewing this week's videos, I wanted to look for more information on the digital divide. I found a great site that provided resources and links that really looked into this issue. I was most surprised by the fact that even with technology advancing, the gap between people that have access to computers and those who don't is still growing! With all the advances that make technology easier for people to access, there are still people who aren't able to participate in our society. The site also provided a message board so that educators can share with others which I thought was a great tool. Hope this site is as helpful to you as it was to me.
Michelle
Michelle
Friday, March 13, 2009
Ask and you shall receive
Have you heard about this site, www.donorschoose.com
It's a great resource available for teachers to use to acquire resources for your classroom. Basically you post information about yourself, your classroom and your requests. Let's say, for example, you don't have a SMARTboard but you would really like one. You could post your request on this website. A donor would come along with some money and if they liked your project they might put up money towards it. Sometimes a single person puts up the entire amount of money to fund a project but more often several donors contribute smaller amounts until your project idea is fully funded. Once the funds have been donated a check is mailed out to you. It is a really interesting concept! Check it out!
It's a great resource available for teachers to use to acquire resources for your classroom. Basically you post information about yourself, your classroom and your requests. Let's say, for example, you don't have a SMARTboard but you would really like one. You could post your request on this website. A donor would come along with some money and if they liked your project they might put up money towards it. Sometimes a single person puts up the entire amount of money to fund a project but more often several donors contribute smaller amounts until your project idea is fully funded. Once the funds have been donated a check is mailed out to you. It is a really interesting concept! Check it out!
Wednesday, March 11, 2009
Too Much Technology for Young Children- Is There Such a Thing??
Today at school, while assessing two of my kindergarten students, something happened to me that has never happened in my five years of teaching.
When assessing Jimmy, I had asked him to spell the word "we"- one of our kindergarten high-frequency "bedrock" words. I waited for him to write the word, and when he moved his hand so I could see, there it was- in his sloppy (but legible) handwriting- "wii". After Jimmy, I later assessed Max, and when I asked him to write the word "we", he looked at me (somewhat confused) and asked... "Like the game?".
This experience really got me thinking about how far technology has come regarding exposure to it at home, and how much it touches the daily life of young children.
At lunch I was talking with some teachers about this experience, and one teacher asked "How much technology is too much for young children, anyway?" This question got me thinking, and when I got home and spent some time on the computer, I decided to "google" to see what I could find on the internet regarding too much technology for children.
I found this article, "Kids and Tech: How Much is Too Much?" on technewsworld.com.
http://www.technewsworld.com/story/52677.html?wlc=1236809784
It has a lot of interesting points. A lot of it is about television and video games, but there were portions that involved the internet and computer use.
I could summarize the whole article, but I won't. Instead, I've pulled a few quotes that I found interesting and worthy of reflection.
In the "Pros and Cons" section, there is this quote:
"In the past, we only had to be concerned about too much TV exposure. Now we have video games, computers and cell phones. It is overwhelming for young children and creates patterns of behaviors similar to addiction patterns."
It continues... "[childrens'] brains get used to too much auditory and visual stimulation -- and in the absence of these stimulations, they do not know what to do with themselves," she told TechNewsWorld. "They get anxious, restless, bored and aggressive."
"The use of this technology begins early. According to a Kaiser Family Foundation survey, 31 percent of children age three and under are already using computers. Sixteen percent use them several times a week, 21 percent can point and click with a mouse by themselves, and 11 percent can turn on the computer without assistance."
(This reminds me of those "Windows" commercials, that have really young children doing amazing things on them, like importing photos from a camera, then editing and e-mailing the photo to a family member!)
"[A researcher] summarized a point on which most medical experts can agree: Parents should supervise their children's use of technology."
I think that the last point really is THE most important... That parents need to respect technology, use it with caution and use it appropriately- not as a "babysitter" or as a replacement for real-life experiences that need to be shared between a child and a parent.
When assessing Jimmy, I had asked him to spell the word "we"- one of our kindergarten high-frequency "bedrock" words. I waited for him to write the word, and when he moved his hand so I could see, there it was- in his sloppy (but legible) handwriting- "wii". After Jimmy, I later assessed Max, and when I asked him to write the word "we", he looked at me (somewhat confused) and asked... "Like the game?".
This experience really got me thinking about how far technology has come regarding exposure to it at home, and how much it touches the daily life of young children.
At lunch I was talking with some teachers about this experience, and one teacher asked "How much technology is too much for young children, anyway?" This question got me thinking, and when I got home and spent some time on the computer, I decided to "google" to see what I could find on the internet regarding too much technology for children.
I found this article, "Kids and Tech: How Much is Too Much?" on technewsworld.com.
http://www.technewsworld.com/story/52677.html?wlc=1236809784
It has a lot of interesting points. A lot of it is about television and video games, but there were portions that involved the internet and computer use.
I could summarize the whole article, but I won't. Instead, I've pulled a few quotes that I found interesting and worthy of reflection.
In the "Pros and Cons" section, there is this quote:
"In the past, we only had to be concerned about too much TV exposure. Now we have video games, computers and cell phones. It is overwhelming for young children and creates patterns of behaviors similar to addiction patterns."
It continues... "[childrens'] brains get used to too much auditory and visual stimulation -- and in the absence of these stimulations, they do not know what to do with themselves," she told TechNewsWorld. "They get anxious, restless, bored and aggressive."
"The use of this technology begins early. According to a Kaiser Family Foundation survey, 31 percent of children age three and under are already using computers. Sixteen percent use them several times a week, 21 percent can point and click with a mouse by themselves, and 11 percent can turn on the computer without assistance."
(This reminds me of those "Windows" commercials, that have really young children doing amazing things on them, like importing photos from a camera, then editing and e-mailing the photo to a family member!)
"[A researcher] summarized a point on which most medical experts can agree: Parents should supervise their children's use of technology."
I think that the last point really is THE most important... That parents need to respect technology, use it with caution and use it appropriately- not as a "babysitter" or as a replacement for real-life experiences that need to be shared between a child and a parent.
The Daily Topic- Students receive up to 6 writing prompts per week!
http://writingfix.com/classroom_tools/dailypromptgenerator.htm
I found the daily topic on the above website. I thought it would be so great to have students choose one writing prompt per week to respond to and then either post on the classroom blog or email to their teacher. The best part is that it is a free service and the topics are always new and exciting!
The Daily Topic: A Yahoo Group
Did you know you could have six random prompts e-mailed to you weekly from this prompt generator? All you have to do is join the Yahoo Group called "The Daily Topic." Click here to sign up for this free service.
Also on the writing fix website are lesson plans, journal prompts, writing traits, writing process, writing genres, writing tools for the classroom, and writing across the curriculum. Each of those topics have numerous sub-topics to assist in teaching writing.
http://writingfix.com/process_workshop.htm Tools for a Writing Classroom: The Writing Process & Writers Workshop ideas for managing and maintaining a workshop environment in your classroom. I found this site to be chalk full of writing resources.
"Writing Workshop:one teacher's approach" is an incredibly comprehensive explanation of one teachers approach to setting up an effective writing workshop for her students.
Setting Up and Maintaining a Writer's Workshop in a Secondary Classroom .
I found the daily topic on the above website. I thought it would be so great to have students choose one writing prompt per week to respond to and then either post on the classroom blog or email to their teacher. The best part is that it is a free service and the topics are always new and exciting!
The Daily Topic: A Yahoo Group
Did you know you could have six random prompts e-mailed to you weekly from this prompt generator? All you have to do is join the Yahoo Group called "The Daily Topic." Click here to sign up for this free service.
Also on the writing fix website are lesson plans, journal prompts, writing traits, writing process, writing genres, writing tools for the classroom, and writing across the curriculum. Each of those topics have numerous sub-topics to assist in teaching writing.
http://writingfix.com/process_workshop.htm Tools for a Writing Classroom: The Writing Process & Writers Workshop ideas for managing and maintaining a workshop environment in your classroom. I found this site to be chalk full of writing resources.
"Writing Workshop:one teacher's approach" is an incredibly comprehensive explanation of one teachers approach to setting up an effective writing workshop for her students.
Setting Up and Maintaining a Writer's Workshop in a Secondary Classroom .
4Teachers.org resources to help you organize
"4Teachers.org works to help you integrate technology into your classroom by offering online tools and resources. This site helps teachers locate and create ready-to-use Web lessons, quizzes, rubrics and classroom calendars. There are also tools for student use. Discover valuable professional development resources addressing issues such as equity, ELL, technology planning, and at-risk or special-needs students."
This site has links to numerous resources, some better than others, but I am sure most of us can find something useful here. The one thing I think we all need to be aware of us is not overwhelming ourselves with resources. If you don't already have a way to organize all your favorite links, beyond bookmarking, I think that is imperative. Whether you use Porto Portal or TrackStar, which is available through this link, it is important for a teachers sanity to know there is a structured place to go to that allows easy access to links, sites and lesson plans we would like to use in the classroom. This blog alone, with all of the wonderful input you have all contributed, has provided me with multiple resources that I plan to incorporate into my classroom in the future.
This site has links to numerous resources, some better than others, but I am sure most of us can find something useful here. The one thing I think we all need to be aware of us is not overwhelming ourselves with resources. If you don't already have a way to organize all your favorite links, beyond bookmarking, I think that is imperative. Whether you use Porto Portal or TrackStar, which is available through this link, it is important for a teachers sanity to know there is a structured place to go to that allows easy access to links, sites and lesson plans we would like to use in the classroom. This blog alone, with all of the wonderful input you have all contributed, has provided me with multiple resources that I plan to incorporate into my classroom in the future.
http://www.eduplace.com/tales/
This is such a silly yet fun site! It is essentially on-line madlibs. In case you have never heard of madlibs, it's an English teacher's rainy day/Friday afternoon dream. Madlibs came in books that you could use over and over if you photocopied the pages. Essentially, without knowing the content of the story, students are asked for example to give a plural noun__________, past tense verb___________, adverb_____________, adjective____________, place___________, famous person___________...to name a few examples. Then you plug those words into the story, and it is guaranteed laughs for both the teacher and students. Generally, learning grammar is confusing and tedious so finding any sort of fun alternative is a bonus for middle and even highschool English teachers as well as fourth and fifth grade teachers. My students never tired of madlibs. I also liked that students can work independently or with a friend on the computer. The program also offers part of speech support if they are stumped.
http://www.eduplace.com/kids/hme/
Above is the link to the entire Houghton Mifflin site. It has language arts activities for students in grades K-8. My favorite link besides the web tales is the site that offers tons of graphic organizers to aid in the writing process. They have cluster graphs, desribing wheel, KWL charts, and a sandwich chart to help students learn to write paragraphs. I use to do the hamburger paragraph, which is the same idea. The graphic organizers for the younger grades has a graphic organizer for paragraph writing, but it is an ice cream cone. It is worth looking at each of the charts because they would be very useful.
This is such a silly yet fun site! It is essentially on-line madlibs. In case you have never heard of madlibs, it's an English teacher's rainy day/Friday afternoon dream. Madlibs came in books that you could use over and over if you photocopied the pages. Essentially, without knowing the content of the story, students are asked for example to give a plural noun__________, past tense verb___________, adverb_____________, adjective____________, place___________, famous person___________...to name a few examples. Then you plug those words into the story, and it is guaranteed laughs for both the teacher and students. Generally, learning grammar is confusing and tedious so finding any sort of fun alternative is a bonus for middle and even highschool English teachers as well as fourth and fifth grade teachers. My students never tired of madlibs. I also liked that students can work independently or with a friend on the computer. The program also offers part of speech support if they are stumped.
http://www.eduplace.com/kids/hme/
Above is the link to the entire Houghton Mifflin site. It has language arts activities for students in grades K-8. My favorite link besides the web tales is the site that offers tons of graphic organizers to aid in the writing process. They have cluster graphs, desribing wheel, KWL charts, and a sandwich chart to help students learn to write paragraphs. I use to do the hamburger paragraph, which is the same idea. The graphic organizers for the younger grades has a graphic organizer for paragraph writing, but it is an ice cream cone. It is worth looking at each of the charts because they would be very useful.
Saturday, March 7, 2009
"The Other Side" of the Internet
I understand that the Internet is a powerful tool that can bring us to new places and learn new things, but did you know that almost one in four children between the ages of 11-19 have been the victim of cyberbullying. Imagine if that was your child. Imagine if your child was doing the bullying...
Last weekend I saw a movie called "Odd Girl Out". It was a movie all about cyberbullying. As I was watching the movie I was also thinking about the past discussions about how we are not prepared for the new technologies. It made me wonder, are we ready for all of the new crimes that are happening/will happen because of the use of the internet?
Did you know that identity theft is on the rise? Be careful what you are actually doing on the internet and giving your credit card to.
Internet romance is also on the rise - but so are crimes in which people meet on the internet and one ends up dead.
I don't mean to sound negative about the internet and the great things we can do with it...but I think as a reflection to the You Tube video we need to consider if we are also prepared for all of the cyber crimes that will be on the rise in the future. Yes, schools should absolutely expose students to great websites/technologies, but we also have to have discussions/seminars about internet crimes and how to protect our children.
Just something to think about...
Last weekend I saw a movie called "Odd Girl Out". It was a movie all about cyberbullying. As I was watching the movie I was also thinking about the past discussions about how we are not prepared for the new technologies. It made me wonder, are we ready for all of the new crimes that are happening/will happen because of the use of the internet?
Did you know that identity theft is on the rise? Be careful what you are actually doing on the internet and giving your credit card to.
Internet romance is also on the rise - but so are crimes in which people meet on the internet and one ends up dead.
I don't mean to sound negative about the internet and the great things we can do with it...but I think as a reflection to the You Tube video we need to consider if we are also prepared for all of the cyber crimes that will be on the rise in the future. Yes, schools should absolutely expose students to great websites/technologies, but we also have to have discussions/seminars about internet crimes and how to protect our children.
Just something to think about...
Raz-Kids Reading Program
Raz-Kids (http://www.raz-kids.com/) is a great site for developing reading skills (fluency, decoding and comprehension) for elementary level students. They have an extensive set of short stories that are leveled (based on grade, DRA, Reading Recovery and Fountas/Pinnell). You can allow students to pick the books they want to read from the library or what I like best is set up individual libraries for each student based on their reading level. Students can read or listen to the stories and there is a short comprehension assessment after each one. You can generate a set of reports that track student progress. New books are added on a regular basis. I use it as part of my Reading Workshop, primarily for my struggling readers, but it can also be used for centers or whenever a student has access to a computer and time to read. This site is associated with another excellent resource, Reading A-Z (http://www.readinga-z.com/theme/index.html).
The only negative is that there is a cost associated with the site. It’s dependent on the number of computers that are licensed. They do have a set of books that can be tried free of charge. I’m curious if anyone knows of a similar site that may be free of charge?
The only negative is that there is a cost associated with the site. It’s dependent on the number of computers that are licensed. They do have a set of books that can be tried free of charge. I’m curious if anyone knows of a similar site that may be free of charge?
Free Resources for Elementary Teachers
Hello everyone,
I have noticed through our class presentations that we have quite a few elementary level teachers. While pulling together my own Internet Workshop activity I came across, and utilized information from www.mrdonn.org and found this to be a fantastic site, especially for those of you teaching at the grade school level. While you can find links at the bottom of the page for all subject matter, the focus for the site is social studies/history. The site offers free unit/lesson plans, free stories and handouts, and free PowerPoint presentations that you can use in your classrooms.
This is the site that led me to the list of sites I am using for introducing the 6 + 1 Writing Traits to secondary students, so I would not say it is strictly for grade school, although it is geared toward that level. Anyway, check out the site and really spend some time looking at the different types of lessons and material it offers, at the very least it is sure to inspire you.
I have noticed through our class presentations that we have quite a few elementary level teachers. While pulling together my own Internet Workshop activity I came across, and utilized information from www.mrdonn.org and found this to be a fantastic site, especially for those of you teaching at the grade school level. While you can find links at the bottom of the page for all subject matter, the focus for the site is social studies/history. The site offers free unit/lesson plans, free stories and handouts, and free PowerPoint presentations that you can use in your classrooms.
This is the site that led me to the list of sites I am using for introducing the 6 + 1 Writing Traits to secondary students, so I would not say it is strictly for grade school, although it is geared toward that level. Anyway, check out the site and really spend some time looking at the different types of lessons and material it offers, at the very least it is sure to inspire you.
Monday, March 2, 2009
Create your own Rubrics using Rubistar
I use to create my own rubrics using a template I put together until a fellow teacher told me about this site. It allows you to create rubrics using a large collection of templates that you can modify very easily. You can also create a rubric or search their database for an existing rubric. There is a teacher home page that lists all of the rubrics you have created that you can then view, modify, duplicate. or delete. It also includes a helpful tutorial. You do have to register, but it's free. It has been a tremendous timesaver for me. Hope this helps.
http://rubistar.4teachers.org/index.php
http://rubistar.4teachers.org/index.php
Assistive Technology for Children with Autism
For years, different technologies have been used to improve the quality of life for people with developmental disabiltiies. This is also the same with people who have autism. Children with auitsm typically have high interest in teh area of technology. Teachers are using this strength and interest to help teach the overall understanding of their environment, expressive communication skills, social interaction skills, attention skills, motivation skills, organization skills, academic skills, self help skills and overall independent daily functioning skills. Remember when teaching children how to use the computer, that these technologies are also improving the lives of our most special children.
Blogging with James Patterson Fans!
Hey Guys and Girls! When I was looking for Internet Workshops ideas on James Patterson, I noticed that on his official website there was ways that I can incorporate blogging into my classroom. Since he has a series of young adult books titled Maximum Ride, he invites kids to blog on his site. This is a really good idea to globalize children's learning. Let it go outside the walls of the classroom! Let me know if you want to try this with me!
Sunday, March 1, 2009
Using technology to make a difference
For anyone who doubts that high school students can make a difference, I invite you to view this website http://www.dhsthepromise.com/ associated with Danbury High School. In 2006, a group of students was challenged by a teacher to make a difference. Through the use of technology, these students made a powerful video entitled "The Promise". Use this link - http://www.dhsthepromise.com/ThePromiseResources.htm Besides the discussion and education that ensued after the production of the video (including national attention), the students moved our CT government to sponsor legislation to cease all investment of state dollars in companies who support the government of Sudan. This legislation was passed into law on May 8, 2006. School just does not get any more authentic that this example. Please view this video as well as the new one entitled "Child of Hope"and see the impact these students have had through the use of technology.
Thursday, February 26, 2009
SMARTboard Lessons
If you're looking for a host of pre-made, interactive SMARTboard lessons that support many different curricular areas, check out this website...
In addition, each lesson is correlated with a state standard, and an option allows you to view the Connecticut state standards associated with it, which is very helpful (especially if planning to use the SMARTboard lesson as part of a lesson being observed by an administrator).
http://www2.smarttech.com/st/en-US/Support/Downloads/SBS/NBSv10WinEval.htm
Fantastic Teacher Created Websites for Primary Grades
I've decided to post my first blog about two phenomenal teacher-created websites (which, I think, are often the best kind there are!), that I use a lot in my own classroom (or when planning lessons). These two websites are definitely worth spending some time on, looking around to see what online resources, fun learning games or teacher resources are available to help supplement and strengthen instruction (or teacher organization).
Both of these websites are really helpful for primary/early childhood teachers, although they may be suitable for teachers of other grades, too (depending on student ability level).
The first website is made by a teacher at an elementary school in Arizona. I have provided a link below that directs you to the teacher's page of useful links. I love the ease of her page- she divides the subjects up and provides a ton of nice links for each one. Definitely bookmark this page into your browser. A lot of videos, relevant "games", etc. can be found here. Be sure to check out all her links (for all subject matters). Most are really great.
http://www.amphi.com/teachers/kpedersen/kpedersen.html
The second website is made by a kindergarten teacher who has an extensive array of "teacher helping/time saving" materials! She provides links to Microsoft documents that you can actually open and save (and modify) on your computer. This website offers great pictures of an actual classroom, and is really helpful for just about anything you can think of! She provides parent letters, links to games and other websites, and offers tons of great strategies, documents and other "goodies" that would help any teacher!
http://kellyskindergarten.com/
Both of these websites are really helpful for primary/early childhood teachers, although they may be suitable for teachers of other grades, too (depending on student ability level).
The first website is made by a teacher at an elementary school in Arizona. I have provided a link below that directs you to the teacher's page of useful links. I love the ease of her page- she divides the subjects up and provides a ton of nice links for each one. Definitely bookmark this page into your browser. A lot of videos, relevant "games", etc. can be found here. Be sure to check out all her links (for all subject matters). Most are really great.
http://www.amphi.com/teachers/kpedersen/kpedersen.html
The second website is made by a kindergarten teacher who has an extensive array of "teacher helping/time saving" materials! She provides links to Microsoft documents that you can actually open and save (and modify) on your computer. This website offers great pictures of an actual classroom, and is really helpful for just about anything you can think of! She provides parent letters, links to games and other websites, and offers tons of great strategies, documents and other "goodies" that would help any teacher!
http://kellyskindergarten.com/
A Learning Site for Middle School Students: http://students.resa.net
I like this site because it provides students with online resources for grammar, literature, reading tips, and vocabulary. It was designed by a technology teacher and is very easy to navigate. I especially like that it has a "Writing Tips Center" that students can use when going through the writing process. This is not the best site I have found, but one that has some good information.
Ipod Inspired Writing Lessons - Ben Harper & John Mayer
As a middle or high school English teacher, it is always a challenge to get students to write let alone enjoy the experience. In order for most students to engage in a challenging task such as writing, it helps if they are interested in the topic. Some online forums that encourage online writing and collaboration are blogs, wikis, and discussion boards. These can be used in numerous ways to encourage students to think more critically, reflect on various topics they study, self-assess, peer-edit, and collaborate with their peers within the classroom or within a public blog. Teachers have created with their classes online magazines, novel discussions, poetry clubs, book clubs, book review blogs, and even online literature circle groups. I was determined to find an even more creative way to engage students in the writing process and during my search I came across this site:
http://writingfix.com/I_Pod_Prompts/With_Own_2_Hands3.htm
The lesson was created by Rob Stone. In this lesson, he integrates in the use of music through the Ipod. The lesson title This Lesson's Title:
With Your Own Two Hands
Are you changing the world (or waiting for the world to change)?
Uses Ben Harper's song "With My Own Two Hands" and John Mayer's song "Waiting on the World to Change." The lesson begins with a pre-step before students listen to the songs. There is a link to the classification graphic organizer. The graphic organizer list sixteen different memorable people known throughout history. Students are asked to think about how each of them break the people into different groups based upon shared characteristics. Next, students fill out the pre-writing graphic organizer in which they think of ways the world needs to change and then write a few sentences that explain how, if possible, they can impact change in any of those areas. The lesson then goes onto having them see the lyrics and listen to the songs. They also view a video link called "The Year of the Rat" and a video of Hugh Laurie singing a protest song on Saturday Night Live. They move on to look at student models of writing. Next, they use a graphic organizer for to begin their pre-writing. The lesson moves students through the entire writing process through publishing their work on their online portfolio. The use of music and the process presented throughout the lesson are exceptional, and will definitely engage even our most reluctant writers.
http://writingfix.com/I_Pod_Prompts/With_Own_2_Hands3.htm
The lesson was created by Rob Stone. In this lesson, he integrates in the use of music through the Ipod. The lesson title This Lesson's Title:
With Your Own Two Hands
Are you changing the world (or waiting for the world to change)?
Uses Ben Harper's song "With My Own Two Hands" and John Mayer's song "Waiting on the World to Change." The lesson begins with a pre-step before students listen to the songs. There is a link to the classification graphic organizer. The graphic organizer list sixteen different memorable people known throughout history. Students are asked to think about how each of them break the people into different groups based upon shared characteristics. Next, students fill out the pre-writing graphic organizer in which they think of ways the world needs to change and then write a few sentences that explain how, if possible, they can impact change in any of those areas. The lesson then goes onto having them see the lyrics and listen to the songs. They also view a video link called "The Year of the Rat" and a video of Hugh Laurie singing a protest song on Saturday Night Live. They move on to look at student models of writing. Next, they use a graphic organizer for to begin their pre-writing. The lesson moves students through the entire writing process through publishing their work on their online portfolio. The use of music and the process presented throughout the lesson are exceptional, and will definitely engage even our most reluctant writers.
RTI - Response to Intervention - Video for teachers
http://www.readinghorizons.com/solutions/markets/rti.aspx
This is a great explanation of the Response to Intervention Model (Also known as RTI). This system will be in place in July 2009, so it is important for all educators and others in the schools to be aware how the program works.
This video is quite long...so get a bowl of popcorn before you view)!
After the RTI model is explained, this district explains the "Discover Intensive Phonics" computer program that they use to assist students on all Tiers of the RTI Model.
This is a great explanation of the Response to Intervention Model (Also known as RTI). This system will be in place in July 2009, so it is important for all educators and others in the schools to be aware how the program works.
This video is quite long...so get a bowl of popcorn before you view)!
After the RTI model is explained, this district explains the "Discover Intensive Phonics" computer program that they use to assist students on all Tiers of the RTI Model.
Internet4Classrooms
During my internship at Anna Reynolds Elementary School, I accompanied a third grade class to the computer lab. During this time, students accessed the Internet 4 Classrooms website, found at http://www.internet4classrooms.com/grade_level_help.htm, to experiment with a hands-on Internet resource. This Internet resource was on telling time and required students to move hands on a clock to represent a pre-identified time. When students finished this task, they were provided feedback on their accuracy. In addition to this resource, Internet 4 Classrooms provides hundreds of other grade appropriate (K-8) interactive tools for language arts, math, science, and social studies. Before using the links provided, they would need to be reviewed and considered for use within the classroom. I found this site, and the resources provided, to be very comprehensive and useful if trying to incorporate the Internet into your everyday plans. Take a look and let me know what you think!
Tuesday, February 24, 2009
Mindware
MindWare has a series of puzzles entitled "Venn Perplexors" among others that can be used to promote literacy at all ages. Here is the link to samples that can be viewed: http://www.mindwarewholesale.com/SamplePuzzles/SamplePuzzles.aspx This is not a free resource unfortunately. While the puzzles surround the concept of the Venn Diagram, they can be used multiple ways in the classroom. Some are simply fun and easy - see Level A/B for elementary samples. As you move up in level to expert, they become quite challenging. These puzzles can be used for bell work, differentiation, extra credit etc. The samples are slightly misleading since they do not offer the full range of puzzles. There are perplexors where they give you just words with the ovals around some of them and you determine that they are homophones, homographs and homonyms. There are also ones with just numbers and you determine what the ovals represent - could be prime numbers or another math concept. MindWare has provided an educational yet interesting and creative way to promote literacy and critical thinking in the classroom.
Monday, February 23, 2009
Brain Child
Today during my internship, a fourth grade teacher discussed with me a tool she used in the computer lab to assess student achievement on Connecticut Curriculum Frameworks. Student scores were used to identify areas of opportunity to plan future instruction for the Connecticut Mastery Test (CMTs). The tool that was used is called Brain Child and can be found at http://www.brainchild.com/. This website allows you to select your state, take a grade 4 student demo, sign up for a free trial, or purchase the product (prices depend on the number of students who will be using the product). When reviewing the grade 4 student demo, I was able to select assessments in language arts, math, or science. Additionally, this tool is available for students in grades 2 through 8. I found this online tool to be useful when preparing students for the CMTs. Take a look and let me know what you think!
Alison C.
Alison C.
Friday, February 20, 2009
ArtsEdge by the Kennedy Center
This is another great site that I found a little over a year ago when searching for new ideas for lesson plans. It has great information on teaching lessons and units, as well as different articles to explore topics. I found it particularly interesting that I was able to explore Art concepts that I could translate into English topics in the classroom. I thought that it was a great way to bridge different subject areas and allow students to use different multiple intelligences.
Thursday, February 19, 2009
Brain Pop
During one of my graduate classes this week, another graduate student discussed with our class that she uses a website titled BrainPop to supplement her science and social studies curriculum. Following this class, I decided to locate this website and sign up for a free 5-day trial. BrainPop can be located at http://www.brainpop.com and mostly includes interactive videos on a variety of subject areas (science, social studies, English, math, art & music, technology, and health). I previewed a few videos and found them both humorous and informative. Interestingly, this website has a video describing blogs which we will be studying this week in class! One thing to consider when thinking about using this website is that it does have a cost. I would suggest checking with your school to see if they already subscribe to this website. This site is definitely worth checking out!
Alison
Alison
English Companion Ning
I know that our class has teachers or future teachers for all subjects and grade levels, but I wanted to share a site that is directed toward English Teachers, http://englishcompanion.ning.com/. A former classmate introduced me to the site and I have found it to be a great resource, although sometimes a little overwhelming. This is a community of more than 2200 (and growing daily) English teachers, professors and professionals - and novices. It is a wonderful resource for sharing ideas, gaining feedback and learning what works, what doesn't and what might. There are subgroups for literature circles, teaching writing, teaching grammar, and teaching with technology! Check it out, even if you aren't an English teacher, membership is free. The site was started by Jim Burke, well known educational author.
Susan
Susan
Wednesday, February 18, 2009
Thinkfinity
One of my favorite sites that I use over and over again is the Illuminations site (from the National Council of Teachers of Mathematics), a strictly math website. However, there is a partnership with www.thinkfinity.org , a website striving to improve student achievement in the traditional classroom. The organization has partnerships with ARTSEDGE, Smithsonian History Explorer as well as ReadWriteThink. The site is very interdisciplinary using a variety of media - from regular lesson plans to pod casts to video. There are "Family Literacy" lesson plans: one is a video from ReadWriteThink on how to help a teen prep for an interview to a pod cast on Orangutan U from Science Net Links. The common threads throughout the site are a focus on literacy, use of various media forms not just traditional lessons and an interdisciplinary focus. I hope that you can find something useful.
Monday, February 16, 2009
http://edsitement.neh.gov/
I have always liked this site. It provides great ideas for lesson plans and units as well as provides a monthly calendar that tracks important dates and time periods in history. I find it to be a wealth of knowledge...hope you are able to use it as well.
Saturday, February 7, 2009
Read Write Think
I have always found this website to be full of great lesson plans. I like how it breaks down the lessons by grade band and additionally by literacy topics, if needed. All of the lessons are backed by research and provide clear, concise step by step instructional plans. Sometimes they also include graphic organizers, assessments, and additional resources. I have used it for lessons on introducing Readers Theatre and developing fluency through poetry.
http://www.readwritethink.org/lessons/lesson_view.asp?id=172 - Readers Theatre
http://www.readwritethink.org/lessons/lesson_view.asp?id=22 - Fluency
http://www.readwritethink.org/lessons/lesson_view.asp?id=172 - Readers Theatre
http://www.readwritethink.org/lessons/lesson_view.asp?id=22 - Fluency
Wednesday, February 4, 2009
Examples of Literacy with Technology
This week you were asked to explore the following web sites:
After looking at some (or all) of the links on these sites, did you find anything useful that you could see yourself using in the classroom? If so, please provide a link and description of the site, as well as how you would incorporate the site into your classroom.
Thursday, January 29, 2009
Digital Storytelling
Digital storytelling is very new to me. Actually I never heard about it before last class! So the link, 7 Things You Should Know about Digital Storytelling was VERY Helpful! It really gives a brief explanation on why and how to use it. With all of the information learned, I bet a ton of people will do digital storytelling to showcase the life of Barack Obama. Digital Storytelling is creating a short movie with strong emotional content. It mainly has content that is instructional, persuasive, historical and/or reflective.
Sunday, January 25, 2009
Literacy Resource for K/1 Teachers!
Hi Everyone!
I'm a bit new to blogging - so hopefully I'm doing this right!
There is a great website that is FREE online where teachers/parents can download and print mini sight word readers for emergent readers. There are also word family readers as well. This is a great resource if you are a K/1 teacher, are a parent of an emerging reader, or know someone who may benefit from the site!
www.hubbardscupboard.org
Click on "Literacy"
Click on "Printable Booklets"
Enjoy the rest of your weekend! See you on Thursday!
Keegan
I'm a bit new to blogging - so hopefully I'm doing this right!
There is a great website that is FREE online where teachers/parents can download and print mini sight word readers for emergent readers. There are also word family readers as well. This is a great resource if you are a K/1 teacher, are a parent of an emerging reader, or know someone who may benefit from the site!
www.hubbardscupboard.org
Click on "Literacy"
Click on "Printable Booklets"
Enjoy the rest of your weekend! See you on Thursday!
Keegan
Thursday, January 22, 2009
Welcome!
Welcome to our class Blog for EDUC584: Integrating Technology and Literacy. You will be required to regularly check and contribute to this class blog.
This blog is meant to be a place to share practical and innovative ideas related to literacy and/or the use of technology in the classroom. As we progress through the semester, I encourage you to post links to sites/tools that you think your peers will find useful in their own classroom. Sometimes I may post a question or two to encourage participation. However, the main goal of this blog is to share excellent and valuable educational resources.
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