#nt2t Twitter chat

I participated in a Twitter chat for the first time this morning.  I have to say it was pretty amazing, if not a bit exhausting :).  The topic was Global Tweeting.  It took me a bit to navigate the conversation.  After a few minutes, I found my way to TweetDeck which helped a bunch.  What I was amazed at was how supportive all of these teachers were in my efforts.  I was having side conversations with teachers from around the country who were trying to help me find my way.  I ended up mostly watching the conversation unfold.  I can see a great benefit in making connections with these amazing teachers from around the globe! One of my favorite names was Erin the Librarian!  How cool is that!

Digital Citizenship

One resource related to digital citizenship that I should be able to use next week is the topic of online searching. The students are working on their persuasive essays and it is helpful for them to be able to research and find facts to support their main reasons.  The video "Solomon's Story" would be a great way to introduce the topic of how to search.

Another lesson on keyword searches that might work with persuasive essays, but also when students do research for their biographies is the lesson entitled "The Key to Keywords".  This lesson would help give students strategies to increase the accuracy of their keyword searches.

A third topic that would work well when students research their biographies is entitled "Whose Is It, Anyway?".  This looks like a great way to teach about plagiarism and how to cite their sources when doing research.

Preparing Students for the 21st Century - Using New Literacy Skills in the classroom

     This week we are studying 3 Dimensional figures in math. I decided to try the Internet Workshop method with my differentiated math class. I thought this would be a great opportunity to try this method since this topic is very vocabulary heavy and it is a two day lesson. 

     I found and bookmarked on our 4^th grade website (https://sites.google.com/site/mrsleafs4thgrade/useful-links), a few links with information about 3D figures.  Some of the sites are interactive. I created a worksheet where students will record the information they learned about the figures, including finding a few definitions of vocabulary terms, drawing the figure and its net, as well as determining the number of faces, edges and vertices. The students will complete the on-line research and record their findings on the worksheet during the first class period.  For my early finishers, I have a few extra blanks for them to add in additional 3D figures that they may discover. Then, they will all be able to share what they learned and fill in any incomplete facts as well as any extra information they learned through their web research either at the end of the first class period or at the beginning of the second.  I should be able to determine what still needs to be taught as well as any misconceptions at this time.  

     I will comment on how it goes after I try it with my kids! Something to consider when I do this type of activity again would be to move from a paper worksheet to an on-line worksheet such as a Google doc to record their findings.  I feel like a paper worksheet might be a good place to start.

Google Forms Quick Quiz

During class last night I created a Quick Quiz related to our Wonders vocabulary and skills for the week.  I chose to quiz them on a few of the more difficult vocabulary words as well as the grammar skills.  I also had them edit a few sentences.  During our reading class today, I gave them the Jump Code I made to the Live Form of the Google form.  It worked great!  It didn't take too long, and it gave the kids a much needed review.  I even showed them the results (no names) afterwards. It was quick and easy to see what the class as a whole understood well, and what needed some reteaching.  Typing the sentences correctly was difficult for some kids, but it was great practice.   I asked them afterwards if they liked it, and they said they did!  What a bonus!

Free Tech for Teachers - Clyp.it

After subscribing to the Free Tech for Teachers blog, I explored a number of resources that were listed in the blog.  One of them that I thought I could try is Clyp.it. Clyp.it is a quick and easy way to record audio from your computer, iPad, iPhone, or other device.  The iPad/iPhone app is called Clyp. While many apps record, I like the way you can make a quick link and share it with others.  There are many ways this could be useful in the classroom.  In Larry Ferlazzo's blog post, he is using it with his ELL students to practice listening and speaking English.  Students can then save their recordings and post it on his classroom's blog.  You can create an account, but you don't have to have an account to use the app.

I tried Clyp.it.  It took me a little while to get my microphone to cooperate (you have to be sure to allow the site to use your internal microphone).  One audio recording that I thought of right away relates to my 4th grade math class.  In our last chapter we learned about mean, median, mode, and range.  The students always have a difficult time remembering the differences.  Our team found a song on to the tune of "Hey Diddle, Diddle" that focuses on this concept.  I taught them the song and recorded them singing it with my phone.  I was able to play this recording and make a Clyp.it of the song.  I can now save it to our class's website so that students can listen to it any time.  I could also easily email it to parents.  Here is the link to my first Clyp.it on Mean, Median, and Mode.  https://clyp.it/ov4nkej2

Because some of my students loved the song so much (ok insert a little bit of saracasm here), a few asked if there were any songs that related to the concepts in this chapter on geometry.  I couldn't resist and made up a song called, "That's a Quadrilateral" to the tune of One Direction's song "What Makes You Beautiful".  (My teenager daughters are not pleased about this choice). I taught it to the kids last week and recorded them on my iPad (which is at school right now).  I will try recording them again directly from Clyp.it.  I'm sure the song is going to be a hit!  (Roll your eyes here). I'll post the link here soon. 

Students could certainly become creators versus consumers by using this type of audio recording.  I can challenge them to create with their own songs about triangles, transformations, or even the coordinate grid.  This math chapter is very vocabulary heavy, and catchy tunes can help students remember the vocabulary (especially when the song is stuck in your head all day!). It's nice that this app can be used on various devices and the links are very short (easy to share).  This is a great way to combine the content with technology as well as knowing a great way to help kids learn and remember what they've learned.

I'm sure there are many other ways that this app can be used with reading, writing, social studies, and science. I can't wait to hear your thoughts!