Holiday Happenings

In December, many teachers embraced their students' excitement by incorporating holiday activities into their instruction. Mrs. Williamson's fourth graders worked on self assessing and improving their reading fluency by practicing and recording short stories and nonfiction text related to holidays around the world. The students recorded their work on Seesaw which allowed them to listen back to their recordings and share their work with classmates and families. 

This lesson was part of JGES's Tech Take-Out in which several ITRTs spent time with teachers and students helping with their technology integration. Teachers learned how to make Kahoots! and use Seesaw as well as other iPad apps. With the support of ITRTs, students learned how to use Google Apps for Education, write and comment in Seesaw, and more. A special thanks to Mrs. Verlander, Mrs. Letter, and Mrs. Causey for their support with Tech Take-Out! 

A Group of 4 Practices

A Cozy Spot for Recording

Run, run, as fast as you can... Mrs. Sinsabaugh's kindergartners went on a QR code scavenger hunt through the school to track down the Gingerbread Man. Students worked in small groups scanning QR codes that opened up audio recording clues. After listening to a recording, students had to determine what part of the school was being described and head to the next QR code location. Their final stop? The cafeteria! Each student was given a gingerbread man eraser and winter stickers for solving the clues.

Scanning Outside Mrs. Keck's Office

A Bit of a Backup at the Clinic

Not all work was holiday related, to share what they learned about Ancient Greece and Rome, Mrs. Coston's third graders created ShadowPuppets showcasing their knowledge. Using a four square for planning, students brainstormed important information including facts about their civilization's government, culture, economy, and the geography of their region. After finding photos that illustrated their facts, students created audio recordings, and then saved their work to Seesaw. This allowed them to view one another's project as well as share with their families. Here is an example of a student's work! 

Looking for Photos to Illustrate their Information

Recording New Knowledge

Making a Comment on a Classmate's Work

 First graders in Mrs. Ahladas' class have been working on retelling stories by sharing important events from the beginning, middle, and end of a book. Students used the app ShadowPuppet to take pictures and record key events from familiar stories. Here is an example of a student's work! 

Taking a Photo

Selecting and Sequencing Photos