Everyone is blogging…or so it seems. I’m a little late to the party but better a little late than never at all. It is my hope that this will be a place where I can inspire other teachers (mainly primary ones) to use technology in the classroom in a meaningful and creative way. Technology has many uses and many of those can be so passive. There is a ton of content that must be delivered in a classroom so there isn’t time to waste on passive activities. Make the most of your time with creative (and practical) uses. Follow along to learn more about this from a primary perspective. I’ll share the amazingly awesome, the good, the bad, and even the ugly.
Weekly Update (aka Class Newsletter)
All (well… most) teachers create some sort of classroom newsletter to communicate class happenings to families. Some teachers use super cute templates, some use a newsletter format while others use a format of their own choosing. One thing that most of these have in common is that they are teacher created…and can be long winded. While I appreciate knowing details about my own children’s classrooms I don’t (honestly) always have time to read them all. (A HUGE apology to my favorite #sd113a teachers! I always try my best to read them all but there have definitely been a few that have been skimmed quickly.) What better way to make them more engaging then to include the cute little faces that are a part of your class!?!
A couple of years ago I started doing a student created weekly update. I love that it takes something off my plate, has the students creating something and gives them ownership of their classroom. It’s also nice to see what students see as important or exciting. It’s an informal way to get feedback from the students.
Another positive part of the project was that the students were in charge of the entire process. Students were in charge of:
- writing about the things we were doing in class (a highlight for each subject area was the goal)
- recording the video
- putting the recorded clips together
- finalizing the video (adding music, subtitles, clip art, etc.)
Students would write about something that happened during the week on Friday morning when they arrived at school. This was their morning work for the day. When they were done writing, I would choose one description for each subject area. (You could pass this job to a student but this was the only area I managed so that I could ensure everyone had a chance to participate and that it wasn’t the same students always contributing.)
Before we started the project, we spent some time talking about including details in our updates. We wanted our families to have a really good understanding of what happened at school during the week. We also talked about how we needed to provide updates for each subject area. We couldn’t write only about math and reading…or recess. 🙂 If there were subject areas missing, I would encourage some of my students who arrived later to write about these subjects. (Many students were willing to write another description if they knew certain subject areas were missing.)
My “director” was the one in charge of recording and producing the actual video. (Students used their iPads and Apple Clips to create the update.) I would spend time training the first director (usually one of my more techie students) and then that person would train the next director. Anyone who was previously a director could be asked to help if the current director needed anything. (Added bonus….Very rarely did they have to ask me for help. ) The director used their independent work times throughout the day to record and produce the video. Most students were able to complete the project by the end of the day. (If they didn’t finish, then it would be finished Monday.)
The student whose subject description was chosen was the “reporter” who reported their description on video. Having this honor was a very motivating factor for them to do their best when writing their description. (I always reminded them that I was picking the most detailed description.) If a student was too shy to be in the video then I told them they could take a picture of our classroom (or draw one related to their description) and record only their voice. (This could also be an option if you have any students that can’t be photographed.) In the beginning, there were several who chose this option but by the end of the year most had warmed up to being in the video.
Here is an example of a weekly update created entirely by second grade students.
Helpful hints:
- Have reporters use a microphone so their voices can be heard more clearly. (I linked the one we use in my classroom but there are many out there that would do the same thing.)
- Use a tripod (if you have one) when recording.
- Share the “newsletter” in several different ways. I would email a version to parents as well as post to our class Seesaw page and on Twitter.
- Flip (formerly known as FlipGrid) could also be used to create something similar.
What other helpful hints would you add? Drop them in the comments.
Valentine’s Day Stop Motion
Stop Motion is a fun, easy activity for students to create with. Students love the product created and as a teacher I love how easy it is and how “impressive” the final creation is. Many teachers are intimidated by the thought of stop motion animation and, honestly, I was a little nervous at first, too.
Stop Motion Studio is one of the most popular apps for stop motion animation. It is available as an Apple app or Google app and the best news is it’s FREE! (It does have some in-app purchase opportunities but I’ve never felt the need for them.) It’s so easy to use…even my first graders picked up on it quickly.
I introduce stop motion animation by doing a directed drawing video. I do this because the videos naturally break down the drawing step by step for the students. We practice drawing each step and stop to take a picture in between each step. (Remembering to take a picture between each step is the hardest part! The good news is….even if you forget to take a picture it doesn’t mess up your video.)
Art for Kids Hub is a fantastic resource for directed drawings. It’s one of my favorites because in these videos the “teacher” draws with kids so the students see how the adult is drawing and how the kid is drawing. I’ve found that sometimes the students are hard on themselves because they can’t make it look exactly like the adult’s drawing. They can get frustrated and want to keep starting over. They enjoy seeing that their drawing is similar to the kid’s drawing in the video.
This resource has a wide variety of how to draw videos…holidays, everyday objects, favorite characters, among many others. These videos are also beneficial for reluctant artists that get discouraged because “they can’t draw.”
There are additional resources available on the website. You can also follow them on Twitter @ArtForKidsHub.
Some other directed drawing resources:
- Epic!
- Draw So Cute videos
- Ed Emberley books
Once the students finish the drawing they can add to it. Here are some suggestions:
- add color and continue the stop motion video by taking a picture after each section is colored
- add a message like “Happy Valentine’s Day” or “I Love You”
- add their own drawings or decorations
- App smash (add music and create a movie with Apple Clips, add it to DoInk and have them record themselves wishing their family a happy Valentine’s Day)
When the project is complete the students share the video with their family. We typically do this via Seesaw but the videos can also be emailed. This is a fun project that students and families both enjoy. What makes it even better is that this lesson idea (and stop motion) can be tweaked to fit most subject areas.
As always, I look forward to hearing how this worked for you in your classroom and how you tweaked it to make it better.
#MyKeynoteCharacter
I stumbled upon the most amazing resource late this summer…#MyKeynoteCharacter created by Laura Wright (@MrsLauraW).
It’s a Keynote presentation that allows users to create and customize their own avatars by copying and pasting different pieces together. There are slides to select skin color, slides to select eyes, and slides to choose hair. There are slides to select a mouth, slides to select clothes, and slides to select a nose. There are even slides to choose accessories such as glasses and hats.
At first, I thought it would simply be a fun activity for the students to complete that I could use to teach copying and pasting. Something we could do together the first few days of school. But then the more I thought about it, the more I loved the possibilities of it.
The students were very thoughtful with the “pieces” they chose to represent themselves. I was impressed with how aware they were of using pieces that matched their reality. As we worked, some students realized there weren’t pieces that matched them. The one particular item we noticed was there wasn’t a curly haired option. We tweeted to Laura and she graciously added a curly haired option along with another head covering update as well. What a perfect example to students of communicating globally and how easy it can be to collaborate with others who may not live close.
The first thing we did was create our avatar so we could use it to customize our Seesaw icon. The students enjoyed doing this and they were really excited to replace the generic animal icon with one that represented themselves. (Here is a video on how to replace the icon if you’re not sure on how to do it.)
Students became obsessed with creating characters. They were asking to create more avatars during choice time and asking to create characters “that didn’t look like them.” I decided to run with this enthusiasm and use this as a resource in the classroom.
Here are some ways you could use these avatars:
- Appsmash the characters with ChatterPix Kids (FREE app for Apple and Android) to have students respond to their reading (compare two stories, retell a book, give a book review, tell a new ending to a story, etc.)
- Create characters to describe using adjectives
- Create characters to illustrate and add to a writing piece done in writing workshop. You can use Keynote shapes to add background detail to the illustration.
- Appsmash the characters with ChatterPix Kids to have students create and tell math story problems
- Create two characters and compare and contrast how they are the same and different
- Play a guessing game with the characters where one student has to describe the character and the other partner has to figure out which character they are describing
- The possibilities are truly endless!!
One of the most important things this template could be used for is to create an avatar that can be used to protect the identify of a student. We have a list of students at our school that are on our “Do Not Photo List” which means their face cannot appear in any photo or video. This can make it really difficult when creating projects. This is a great way for these students to still participate in video projects because they can appsmash and add this avatar to the project. They can also use it in place of a selfie.
This is an amazing resource that has so many possibilities. The only limit is the limit of your creativity.
Don’t fret if you don’t have Keynote. These slides can be opened using Power Point and Google Slides as well.
Laura Wright is the creative mind behind this resource. You can find this resource along with a plethora of others on her blog and website. (http://wrightstuffinteractive.com/) . Some of the resources that can be found include a monster maker (similar to the Keynote character file), a handwriting helper, reading correlation chart, Book Creator resources, and visible thinking routines among many, many others.
As always, I can’t wait to hear how you will use this in the classroom and would love to hear about it!
Check In/Check Out
You have 20+ students in your classroom. How do you get a pulse on how each one is feeling each and every day? For some this seems like an impossible task. I used to think it was unmanageable until I implemented a quick check in every morning.
The teacher librarian (@NancyGadzala) at my school helped create a quick Google Form that students fill out every morning when they arrive at school. This check in form allows them to share how they’re feeling at the start of the day and also has a space for them to tell me anything they would like to share. They can share why they’re feeling the way they are, something sad/happy/exciting that happened the night before, something they’re looking forward to, or anything else that might be weighing on their little minds. Reading the comments usually puts a smile on my face. How else would I know that a student’s Christmas Elf left them fruit snacks or that another student got a new pair of bright orange shoes and is super excited about it?
Another positive that comes along with this form is that all of this information is tracked in the form of a spreadsheet. This information came in super handy when I had a student who was struggling with his behavior. We looked back at his check ins and noticed a connection to the feelings he had in the morning on days when he had behavior outbursts–sad. Once I noticed this trend, I began making a bigger effort to spend some quality time with him right away on days when he checked in as “sad” in hopes of changing the outcome of his day. It didn’t work 100% of the time but it definitely helped some of the time.
The nice thing about this form is that it can easily be adapted for different ages. I decided to use emojis because they are easy symbols that students understand. Sometimes students, particularly young ones, confuse feeling words. A colleague of mine (@jeremyPomeroy3) used the characters from the movie “Inside Out” with his students. Another wise friend (@kimdarche) suggested switching up the feeling choices periodically as a lesson on synonyms and antonyms or even a vocabulary lesson. This is definitely an activity that can easily be tweaked for any grade level.
I am taking it a step further this year and adding a check out component at the end of the day. I adapted this form based off of something I do when tucking my own kids in at the end of the day. Each night while laying in bed, I ask them the same three questions.
- What was the best part of your day?
- What could have gone better?
- What did you do today that was kind?
Asking these questions is a great way to spark conversation about their day without asking “How was your day?” and getting the typical response of “fine.” I hope this may also provide some feedback on activities and lessons they enjoyed (or maybe didn’t enjoy so much.)
For little ones who may not be able to type well, the voice to text dictation option provides them support to get their ideas recorded. You could also do a whole group discussion where these questions are asked aloud and only a few students share their responses each day.
As always, I look forward to hearing how this worked for you in your classroom and how you tweaked it to make it better.
Student Self Reflection Video for Parent Teacher Conferences
I love the idea of student led conferences. Letting students talk about what they’re most proud of, what goals they want to set for themselves, and what their favorite part of school is something that everyone should try. While some districts partake in full blown student led conferences, my district still does traditional parent teacher conferences. In order to try and mesh the two a little I decided to have my second grade students create a video of themselves expressing these ideas to share with their parents.
Students created this video using Apple Clips, (a FREE Apple app), Keynote (a FREE Apple app), Stop Motion Studio (a FREE app), and Green Screen by Do Ink ($2.99). Students used an iPad to create their videos but if your students use a Chromebook or other laptop you could use Google Slides or another stop motion app to achieve the same outcome.
Students started by reflecting on their trimester using reflection checklists created by Brooke Brown. Her student led conferences unit can be found HERE. I like these reflection checklists because they are easy for the students to understand and fill out. There is one for reading and writing, one for math, and one for work habits. There are other versions created by others that are simpler if this is too much for your students. I used a different one when I taught first grade that combined math, reading, writing, and work habits into a single page checklist.
They used the Stop Motion app to draw a picture of their favorite part of second grade. Stop Motion is something that seems very complex and overwhelming but is actually super simple for the students. (I like to introduce Stop Motion by using directed drawing videos from YouTube. Look for a future blog post on this!) Students saved this video to their iPad.
They then used Keynote to create their reflection. They placed three shapes onto a slide and used text to write about what they felt they were good at, what they wanted help with, and what they wanted to get better at this trimester. Students were able to “spice” the project up by changing the colors, patterns, adding additional shapes, etc.
After they finished the Keynote slide, they recorded themselves reading what they wrote on the slide using the green screen app. They put the Keynote slide into the green screen app to create the part where the parent could see the student standing “in front of” their slide.
Our Teacher Librarian helped the students record themselves talking about their goals from the reflection sheet. We talked about adding some narration like “Welcome to Parent Teacher Conferences, Mom and Dad,” “Now it’s time to talk with Mrs. Martino about my goals,” and “I love you!”
Although we talked about adding some lines like this, the students ultimately had control over how they introduced and concluded their video. I’m lucky that I was able to have an extra set of hands to help with this part, but if you’re not then a tripod would easily work too. (I’ve used a tripod many times when I haven’t had any extra help!)
Finally, students took all of these pieces and added them to Clips to make their final movie. They added each component, added some “spice” to dress up the movie, and added a soundtrack. The students did all of this by themselves. Voila! You have the final product!
This is the second year I did this project with my students. The first year I did it, I only had them complete the reflection sheets and record themselves talking about it. They added this to Clips and made a short movie. This year I expanded the project by adding the stop motion and Keynote slide. Don’t feel pressure to start this big. Do what you know you can handle and grow the project a little each time you do it. Most of all have fun!!
Helpful Hints:
- Allow 2-3 weeks to complete this project
- Work on one component at a time–finish before moving on
- Model each part before letting the students try themselves
- Start small
- Share with parents by adding it to Seesaw or emailing them the final product. Parents love this project and it makes a wonderful keepsake!
I would love to hear how you tweak this project to make it work for you! Feel free to share your ideas and comment below.
Primarily Techie 