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Monday, September 27, 2010

Tool #7

Wow!  Photostory is great!  Luckily, I've had the pleasure of working with this program the past.  To wrap up our author's study on Eve Bunting last year, my students created a photostory focusing on one of her fabulous books.  As a group the kids were instructed to examine how the characters/events change over time, as well as include various statistics about the important issue discussed in the book. The kids loved the project, and they were proud to show of their hard work! 

Photostory could be in used in all subject areas, and it really is an easy program for the kids to use.  I encourage everyone to use this in your classroom this year!

*I've had some technical difficulties getting my photostory loaded, however I'll try again later :)

Tool #6

I think the most effective way to use a Wiki in my classroom would be to have the kids write an ongoing story using new vocabulary words.  This would be a great way for the kids to apply their knowledge of the vocabulary words, and I would be able to easily access wheather or not they understand the meaning of the word. 

I'm a little concerned about using a wiki when editing papers in class. Does anyone have any experience using the wiki for editing?  Did you have each kid create their own wiki?  I would love some suggestions on how to make this work effectively.  I'm open to any ideas!

Monday, September 20, 2010

Tool #5

Diigo is awesome!  I found two great websites to add to my online bookmark.  One is a Scholastic website that has numerous books that are leveled according to DRA level.  This is great way to find a variety of books for kids to read on their appropriate reading level.  This is also a great site to share with parents who are looking for books for their children to read at home.

Next, I found an awesome Vocabulary website.  Crossword puzzles, games, and word webs are only a few of the amazing activities this website has to offer!   Not only would this be great for ESL students to use when learning new vocabulary words, but it would also be great for kids to use when looking for definitions or synonyms of words when reading or writing.  Wow!!  This is wonderful!!  I've never seen a site like this before :)

Tool #4

Google Reader is wonderful!  I'm so excited about being able to see everyone's blog on one page.  This will make it super easy to monitor my students blogs. 

Also, Google Docs also makes it very easy to share documents will my teammates and my students.  I've created two groups from the subjects that I teach, Language Arts and Social Studies.  Therefore,  I can create activity sheets, notes, and homework assignments in my Google Docs and share them with my students. Yay!  I can't wait to get my students involved! 

Monday, September 13, 2010

Tool #3

Making my Wordle was so fun!  What a great, easy way to have the kids really focus in on a particular idea/topic in any subject.   I decided to use words associated with the class novel, Number the Stars, that we read in 5th grade.  It is one of my favorite books!

There are endless ways to use this in my classroom.  Spelling words/spelling patterns, book clubs, or when we are focusing on various time periods or wars in social studies class.  I can't wait!

Wordle: Number the Stars Wordle

Spell with Flickr, the second image generator I created, not only provided a quick, easy way to spell various words, but it was also a great way to "jazz" up the words.  This would be wonderful for kids in my classroom to use when creating a powerpoint or a photostory.  It would allow them to add color and creativity to their project in just a few, simple steps! 

Tool #2

I'm very excited about building an online education community!  I work with such great people who all have amazing ideas to share, and I know we can all learn from each other.  Also, I'm excited about incorporating this into my classroom, and I know the kids would love it! 

After reading through the article, I believe asking questions and leaving open ended statements are great ways to elicit more comments/responses on your blog.  It was fun commenting on other people's blogs, and I look forward to commenting more in the future!

Finally, the five blogs I'm following are:
Dorothy Bean- http://dorothybean.blogspot.com/
Math Rules- http://seracentanni.blogspot.com/
The LA Lowdown- http://laladylowdown.blogspot.com
Journal That BHE- http://journalthatbhe.blogspot.com
The Book Nook- http://thebknook.blogspot.com/

Thursday, September 9, 2010

Tool #1

Learning about blogging has been so fun!  I love Blogger!  This is my first time to blog, and it is a lot easier than I thought.  Our school librarian, Tammy Holley, has been so helpful!  She is so knowledgable about the program, and she has done a great job of walking us through blogging.  I look forward to learning more about blogging!