Sunday, November 15, 2009
Saturday, November 14, 2009
bp13_2009112_peer response to Joanne Yates
Sketchfu
Ever asked a Kindergarten student to tell you about a favorite activity, a pet, or anything specific? Answers will range from telling your every specific detail, to telling you every detail about anything and everything in their life, to the deer in the headlight stare. How then do you begin to introduce writing skills related to a specific prompt, yes we do that in Kindergarten now too. One of the best ways I found was to draw with my students first. The visual helps them to focus on a specific topic and it doesn’t hurt their fine motor skills either. The problem with this is finding the time to squeeze it all in the school day, well maybe not anymore.
The Web 2.0 tool I discovered offers the teacher an opportunity to create custom drawing lessons that kids can follow from the computer. Students would need to practice with the teacher at first to build their confidence, but once they understand the concept of following the simple step-by-step directions it could easily become an independent pre-writing activity for centers. The tool is called sketchfu and you can use it to draw simple step-by-step kid friendly drawings like the dog pictured below. The speed of drawing is adjustable which makes it great for little ones to follow or the project can be stopped completely and restarted if necessary. Couple this simple drawing with a thinking map containing some key words and you have two centers that work together to create a skill based lesson in writing that students can complete without you having to worry about where to squeeze it in and even better it's fun.
The website for the fun tool is http://sketchfu.com and while you’re there check out my fun puppy http://sketchfu.com/drawing/421704-dog
Posted by Joanne Yates at 6:26 AM
2 comments:
Tia Foster said...
As a matter of fact, I have asked a Kindergartener to tell me something before and have gotten those same responses. Plus, when I have asked them to draw something, I have gotten "I can't draw that." Of course, when I model it, their picture often looks better than mine. I can see using this as a whole group project first, possibly on a SMART board. The kids should be able to use it independently once they get the hang of it. I wonder if it would be best to use individual accounts or just use a class account. More than likely an entire class account would be easier to work, but I am not sure if it can only log on to one computer at a time.
I can also see using this for art instruction. By choosing a fairly detailed picture and slowing down the playback, the students can see exactly how someone uses techniques such as shading to make something that is two dimensional appear three dimensional.
November 8, 2009 6:24 PM
kimheumann said...
Joanne,
I'm sure most kindergarten teachers have gotten the same responses are you have when you ask that same question. I've often used that question as a prompt for a writing activity and while they will tell you 9 million things about their pet, the writing never seems to be quite the same. I love the site you chose. I went on it and created my very own animal, a pig. I think Tia is right on, when she suggests using it on the SMART board to begin with. I think the Art teacher in my building would love this site and I know I will be sharing it with her as well as our IT. I would love to use it to tie into a writing lesson some way. Great tool!
Kim
November 14, 2009 12:51 PM
post a comment
Ever asked a Kindergarten student to tell you about a favorite activity, a pet, or anything specific? Answers will range from telling your every specific detail, to telling you every detail about anything and everything in their life, to the deer in the headlight stare. How then do you begin to introduce writing skills related to a specific prompt, yes we do that in Kindergarten now too. One of the best ways I found was to draw with my students first. The visual helps them to focus on a specific topic and it doesn’t hurt their fine motor skills either. The problem with this is finding the time to squeeze it all in the school day, well maybe not anymore.
The Web 2.0 tool I discovered offers the teacher an opportunity to create custom drawing lessons that kids can follow from the computer. Students would need to practice with the teacher at first to build their confidence, but once they understand the concept of following the simple step-by-step directions it could easily become an independent pre-writing activity for centers. The tool is called sketchfu and you can use it to draw simple step-by-step kid friendly drawings like the dog pictured below. The speed of drawing is adjustable which makes it great for little ones to follow or the project can be stopped completely and restarted if necessary. Couple this simple drawing with a thinking map containing some key words and you have two centers that work together to create a skill based lesson in writing that students can complete without you having to worry about where to squeeze it in and even better it's fun.
The website for the fun tool is http://sketchfu.com and while you’re there check out my fun puppy http://sketchfu.com/drawing/421704-dog
Posted by Joanne Yates at 6:26 AM
2 comments:
Tia Foster said...
As a matter of fact, I have asked a Kindergartener to tell me something before and have gotten those same responses. Plus, when I have asked them to draw something, I have gotten "I can't draw that." Of course, when I model it, their picture often looks better than mine. I can see using this as a whole group project first, possibly on a SMART board. The kids should be able to use it independently once they get the hang of it. I wonder if it would be best to use individual accounts or just use a class account. More than likely an entire class account would be easier to work, but I am not sure if it can only log on to one computer at a time.
I can also see using this for art instruction. By choosing a fairly detailed picture and slowing down the playback, the students can see exactly how someone uses techniques such as shading to make something that is two dimensional appear three dimensional.
November 8, 2009 6:24 PM
kimheumann said...
Joanne,
I'm sure most kindergarten teachers have gotten the same responses are you have when you ask that same question. I've often used that question as a prompt for a writing activity and while they will tell you 9 million things about their pet, the writing never seems to be quite the same. I love the site you chose. I went on it and created my very own animal, a pig. I think Tia is right on, when she suggests using it on the SMART board to begin with. I think the Art teacher in my building would love this site and I know I will be sharing it with her as well as our IT. I would love to use it to tie into a writing lesson some way. Great tool!
Kim
November 14, 2009 12:51 PM
post a comment
bp12_2009113_peer response Carrie Kleber
Pikikids
Sometimes it feels as though my curriculum gets monotonous, and at those moments I need an activity or a lesson that can spice up the day. Being able to turn to a Web 2.0 tool at this moment is invaluable. Knowing that I have these days, I took time to ensure I found at least one Web 2.0 tool which would give my students and I break, but at the same time, still have educational benefits. What I found was Pikikids.
Pikikids allows the user to create comics online. It is similar to ComicLife, except its target audience is kids and it is free. After you have registered for the site (all you need is a user name, password, and email address) you can begin creating a comic. There are several layouts you can choose from for the comic. Once you choose the layout, you begin to add pictures and thought bubbles to the comic. Pikikids allows you to search for pictures from Flickr directly from its site. When you are pleased with your comic, you can save and publish.
Obviously comics can be a fun, laid-back activity for the students, but what are the educational benefits of a comic? A comic can be used to get the students to synthesize information. After students have read a passage from any book, either a novel or a textbook, they can show they understood the material by turning it into a comic. Students could also use the comic format to create a storyboard for a paper they are writing.
Sometime you just have to step back and allow the students to breath.
Posted by Carrie Kleber at 9:53 PM
1 comments:
kimheumann said...
Carrie,
This looks like a great site to use with students. I know that your students are older than mine, but I think I might be able to adapt it in some way or use it with peer helpers. I think that anything you can use to motivate kids to write in any way is a fantastic tool. I am focusing on writing so much this year with my students that I love any new ideas to use with them. I like your idea about using the comic to summarize their learning. Again, using a creative method to do something like this will not only motivate your students, but challenge them in new ways. Great site!
Kim
Novembe
Sometimes it feels as though my curriculum gets monotonous, and at those moments I need an activity or a lesson that can spice up the day. Being able to turn to a Web 2.0 tool at this moment is invaluable. Knowing that I have these days, I took time to ensure I found at least one Web 2.0 tool which would give my students and I break, but at the same time, still have educational benefits. What I found was Pikikids.
Pikikids allows the user to create comics online. It is similar to ComicLife, except its target audience is kids and it is free. After you have registered for the site (all you need is a user name, password, and email address) you can begin creating a comic. There are several layouts you can choose from for the comic. Once you choose the layout, you begin to add pictures and thought bubbles to the comic. Pikikids allows you to search for pictures from Flickr directly from its site. When you are pleased with your comic, you can save and publish.
Obviously comics can be a fun, laid-back activity for the students, but what are the educational benefits of a comic? A comic can be used to get the students to synthesize information. After students have read a passage from any book, either a novel or a textbook, they can show they understood the material by turning it into a comic. Students could also use the comic format to create a storyboard for a paper they are writing.
Sometime you just have to step back and allow the students to breath.
Posted by Carrie Kleber at 9:53 PM
1 comments:
kimheumann said...
Carrie,
This looks like a great site to use with students. I know that your students are older than mine, but I think I might be able to adapt it in some way or use it with peer helpers. I think that anything you can use to motivate kids to write in any way is a fantastic tool. I am focusing on writing so much this year with my students that I love any new ideas to use with them. I like your idea about using the comic to summarize their learning. Again, using a creative method to do something like this will not only motivate your students, but challenge them in new ways. Great site!
Kim
Novembe
bp11_2009113_peer response to Tia Foster
I was very excited to find this Web 2.0 site. The internet has lots of educational games, but sometimes kids get bored playing the same ones over and over so I like to find different ones as much as possible.
The people at the e-Learning for Kids site have met two of my requirements. It is pleasing to look at and play, and it is free. Since my school budget never goes far enough, free is very important.
I also like how the games are separated by subject and age level. There are games for children ages 4-12 as well as information for parents and teachers. The subjects include science, language arts, English language, math, health & life skills, and computer skills. The topics are relevant to the things that students should be able to do at each age level. The games are clear and easy to play. They are not too simple nor too difficult. They are easy to navigate and check to make sure that you didn't accidentally choose to quit the game. Additionally, it is available in 5 languages if you have a need for a different one.
In my classroom, I would differentiate the activities based upon need. For example, in the language arts courses, I could place my Tier III children on Learning Letters because they need to work on recognizing the alphabet. My Tier II children could work with the Word Recognition game to practice short and long vowel sounds. My Tier I students are pretty advanced this year so I could let them go to Putting Words Together first. When they get proficient at that game, I could move them up to Pronouns or Similar & Opposite Words.
In math, we have the option of reviewing counting, sorting and classifying or money. I would probably introduce these games as a form of review after I knew the students were fairly proficient.
Posted by Tia Foster at 12:49 PM
Labels: e-learning, free, game, language_arts, math, resources, technology, web2.0
1 comments:
kimheumann said...
Tia,
I agree that this is a fantastic site for kids and teachers alike. Strangely enough, during some off time during parent/teacher conferences I found this site as well and spoke to our IT about it. I like the very same things that you do. The range of levels for kids as well as the variety of different activities. The students in my class have such varied ability levels at this point, it is great to be able to differentiate for them on the web.
The people at the e-Learning for Kids site have met two of my requirements. It is pleasing to look at and play, and it is free. Since my school budget never goes far enough, free is very important.
I also like how the games are separated by subject and age level. There are games for children ages 4-12 as well as information for parents and teachers. The subjects include science, language arts, English language, math, health & life skills, and computer skills. The topics are relevant to the things that students should be able to do at each age level. The games are clear and easy to play. They are not too simple nor too difficult. They are easy to navigate and check to make sure that you didn't accidentally choose to quit the game. Additionally, it is available in 5 languages if you have a need for a different one.
In my classroom, I would differentiate the activities based upon need. For example, in the language arts courses, I could place my Tier III children on Learning Letters because they need to work on recognizing the alphabet. My Tier II children could work with the Word Recognition game to practice short and long vowel sounds. My Tier I students are pretty advanced this year so I could let them go to Putting Words Together first. When they get proficient at that game, I could move them up to Pronouns or Similar & Opposite Words.
In math, we have the option of reviewing counting, sorting and classifying or money. I would probably introduce these games as a form of review after I knew the students were fairly proficient.
Posted by Tia Foster at 12:49 PM
Labels: e-learning, free, game, language_arts, math, resources, technology, web2.0
1 comments:
kimheumann said...
Tia,
I agree that this is a fantastic site for kids and teachers alike. Strangely enough, during some off time during parent/teacher conferences I found this site as well and spoke to our IT about it. I like the very same things that you do. The range of levels for kids as well as the variety of different activities. The students in my class have such varied ability levels at this point, it is great to be able to differentiate for them on the web.
bp10_2009113_Web 2.0
As I search for new tools to use in my classroom, I found this site through one of my RSS feeds. How exciting! Technology is great! I seem to find myself focusing each week on something I can use to help teach writing in my classroom. Contrary to how it may seem, we do learn to do other things in my class besides writing. We typically write about small moments in kindergarten, but as I told my parents during conferences this week, as five year olds there are only so many small moments to pull from. I’ve started using photos to help jump-start our writing.
This week’s tool fits right in there. The website www.piklits.com provides the user with a plethora of photos to choose from. It lists several categories of words. A variety of nouns, adverbs, adjectives and other words are listed below to pull from.
The user can write sentences, rhymes, or simply just use labels to write about the photos. The photos are fantastic. There are pictures of nature, people, things, just about anything one can imagine. As I spend each day trying to find new ideas to motivate my students to write, I find that giving them a realistic photo to write about is making an enormous difference in the writing I’m getting from my students.
Each day I’m amazed at the writing each and every one of my students produce using the new ideas I’ve found during my research!
Tuesday, November 10, 2009
bp8_2009112_Web2.0
Finding a third Web 2.0 tool was quite a searching experience. I try to find sites I can actually use in my classroom, I want my activities to be useful in my everyday life. Teaching kindergarten is my everyday life. Each day is a challenge to meet the needs of each of my 18 students. Their abilities and personalities are all different in so many ways. One thing we do weekly that my students love is have our older “Book Buddies” come to our class to read with or to my students.
As I was looking through lesson plans on the website Read Write and Think, I found one on “Book Buddy Biographies”. What a fantastic idea! During a brainstorming
session, students will create a list of personalized questions. They will then interview their buddy to answer the questions they generated. Afterwards, the books will be written and illustrated by the students.
Throughout the year we often take time to write notes or letters to our buddies. We send letters of encouragement during testing, we write thank you notes for them giving us their time.
The website www.readwritethink.org provides an immense amount of activities and lesson plans for teachers. It can be tailored by grade level, subject matter. As teachers we are always looking for new and creative ways to motivate and challenge our students. The use of Web2.0 tools gives us a new forum to search and share ideas, lesson plans, and activities to create better learning for our students.
bp7_2009112_Web2.0
Ekoloko is a Web 2.0 tools that I found during my research. It is a virtual community where kids are able to explore and discover the world both virtual and real. We as students at Full Sail have already had the opportunity to explore Second Life through one of our classes, but I think we agree that not all areas of Second Life are acceptable for kids. Ekoloko gives students a way to explore a virtual world.
Ekoloko give kids an opportunity to acquire values, knowledge and skills to be responsible and involved individuals.
After registering for the website, you are give an opportunity to create and personalize your own character. I chose the sex of my character, hair style and clothing and shoes before I began my adventures.
As a member of this community kids are able to chat and hang out with their friends.
Games can be played one on one or community style. There are several different areas where members can go on adventures and explore their surroundings. Characters can be advanced levels by game play which will appeal to many kids.
Kids become part of the ekolokian community, where they can hang out, play games, explore or just have fun. Being part of the community brings with it an awareness and responsibility to the environment they reside in.
Given the environmental awareness these days, this a great site to help students become more aware of environment issues that face the world today. It can help them become more knowledgeable about how our choices affect the world around us.
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