Developing Communication Skills

Across the grade levels, developing communication skills was a common theme in the lessons that I supported teachers with over the last two weeks. Students have been working to improve their written and verbal communication not only in reading and writing, but also social studies, math, and science. 

Most classroom teachers are using the app Seesaw as a way for students to create as well as a communication tool between school and home. It's amazing to see how much even our youngest students can do when we give them the opportunity! 

American Symbols

First graders are learning about American symbols including the Statue of Liberty and bald eagle. To share what they've learned and become familiar with the app Seesaw, students drew a picture of their favorite symbol and then recorded themselves sharing their new knowledge.

Did you know using a plastic container can help block out background noise and amply a student's voice when recording?

The Statue of Liberty

Where in the World?
Third graders should now be able to locate the seven continents. As an informal assessment, students took a picture of a world map and then created short videos showing where each continent is located. This was a great review of content while teaching students how to use Seesaw. Afterwards, the classroom teacher could use the recordings to guide future instruction.

Labeling the Continents

Going on a Sound Hunt

Kindergartners are learning about letters and the sounds that they make. To help reinforce this skill, students went on a beginning sound hunt around the classroom. They took pictures of different objects that started with a specific sound and either recorded themselves sharing what they had learned about the letter and its sound, or created a Pic Collage of several pictures of objects beginning with the same sound. 

Books starts with "B"!

Recording a Finding for the "T" Sound

Students Creating Pic Collages of Objects that Start with the Same Sound

Fact Families
Second grade students reviewed their knowledge of fact families by rolling a die twice and then using unifix cubes to create a number "train" with those numbers. Afterwards they used Seesaw to take a photo of their train and then write down the four facts associated with their family. For example, if they rolled a four and seven their facts were 4+7=11, 7+4=11, 11-7=4, and 11-4=7.

A Student Writes Facts on His Photo

I Wonder... 
Have you ever wondering how big the largest piece of hail was? Or maybe where the biggest hurricane was located? As an introduction to a unit on weather, fifth graders brainstormed questions they have about the topic. They then used the app Shadow Puppet to create a short video of their "wonders". Work was then shared with families and classmates via Seesaw. As they dive deeper into their study of weather they'll hopefully be able to answer their questions.

The Weather was Great, so We Worked Outside

Students Used Library Books in the Creation of Their Projects

Writing with Google
Our district "went Google" last year giving students access to the Google Apps for Education suite. This week fourth graders logged into their accounts for the first time and learned the basics of word processing. They learned about features unique to Google apps, like not having to save your work and the revision history, as well as traditional features like how to indent a paragraph and center your title. As the year progresses, students will share their work with others and receive constructive feedback on their Docs.

Behind the Scenes

Writers at Work

A Gingerbread Man on a Pirate Ship...

Second grade students worked on identifying a character and setting through creative story telling this week. They selected a character and setting from a stack of cards and then developed a short story which include a problem. While writing can be cumbersome for some students, this activity allowed them to voice record their stories so that they could focus on the elements of the story. Students developed some unique stories that they'll be able to share with their families and classmates through Seesaw. 

Recording a Creative Story

Good Citizens 

What makes a good citizen? First graders considered this question as they were introduced to Seesaw. After completing a sentence about what they can do to be a good citizen, they photographed their work and then recorded themselves sharing their thought. Students worked on their writing and verbal communication skills while considering how they could contribute to their classroom and school. 

Photographing Work

March

While I have lots of catching up to do on my blog. I couldn't wait to share these three lessons!

Making Vocabulary Meaningful
Last week I attended and presented at the edTech RVA conference. One of the ideas I took away from the conference was having students use features of Google Docs to develop their own definitions and illustrations of key vocabulary words.

Fortunately one of the teachers, who also went to edTech, was on board and today students in her class worked on deepening their understanding of key vocabulary words related to sound.

This student learned how to use the snapshot feature to include images from the science textbook

An example of a student's drawings to illustrate rarefaction and compression

There was rich discussion among students about the differences in terms and how some abstract words could be illustrated. The class regularly uses Google for work. They loved the research and drawing features that I taught them how to use today! 

Hard at work! 

Animal Collages
One class of third grade students used the app PicCollage to create collages that illustrated what they've learned about the terms omnivore, carnivore, physical adaptation, behavioral adaptation, mimicry, camouflage, and more. Students found examples of at least three key terms studied in science related to animals and took photos of them using the iPad. From the app PicCollage, students included caption of each picture. After completing their pictures, students uploaded them to Seesaw where they recorded more in depth information about how the features help their selected animal survive.

Students work best in different ways

Students share formatting features they discovered on PicCollage

A collage in progress

Students snapping photos

Community Helpers
Kindergartners have been learning about community helpers in class. During this activity, they had the opportunity to become a community helper. Using the app Seesaw, I took a picture of each student. They then went to work drawing uniforms and tools related to the community helper they would most like to be. Afterwards they included voice recording about how they would help the community in that occupation.

A student draws a fireman's hat on her head

Scientists help our communities! 

Choosing just the right pen to draw with

Writing

Google Docs has become an unparalleled writing tool for first and fifth grade students. In Docs students are able to type like a traditional word processor. However, it allows for powerful collaboration that transform the learning experience. 

Multiple students can be in a file working on it at the same time. For example, in one fifth grade class, students were group and assigned different cell parts. They then researched the cell parts and collaborated in a Doc to share what they learned about their assigned part and learn about the other parts of a cell. 

Fifth grade students have also been using Google Docs to improve their reading comprehension skills by writing book responses. Once they've completed the responses, students share with one another and give feedback. Students are working to construct meaningful comments that help others grow as readers and writers. Examples of good comment beginnings include "I agree with you because...", "I disagree because...", "Can you explain ___ more? I am wondering..." In addition to students providing comments, I and the classroom teacher can provide instant feedback as students are working. 

Last week first graders began using Google Docs to type their writing and will spend time this week reviewing and commenting on their classmates' work. They will be working to provide constructive comments to improve their classmates' writing.

I have enjoyed collaborating with classroom teachers and students in getting their "Schoogle" accounts set up and their writing started. I am excited to see our students transform as writers with these great educational tools! 

Students are constructing their reading responses

A student reviews comments posted on her reading response

An example of a student's response and comments