More "Storybird-ing"

I recently created another tale for second graders using Storybird.  It is a story about a young girl named Caity Jo.  Caity Jo doesn't think she belongs in her family because she looks so different from the rest. Her search for others just like her leads her to an elephant named Miranda, who helps her realize what family really means. When creating this story using Storybird, I started my work by searching for images that matched the story outline that was quickly forming in my head.  I typed in “penguins” and was directed to artwork by “Nidhiart”.  After scanning through the images and finding them adorable, I decided to change the outline for my story.  I also decided that I could incorporate some of the scientific “animal group names” learning that was part of our old math curriculum into a lesson using this story.  Therefore, I could use this digital tale to teach animal group names which would lead to students solving addition and subtraction word problems involving animal groups from the story.  I could also use this tale as the read-aloud during our first “Getting to know our Characters” unit, where students are taught that characters learn lessons in most stories.  Overall, I think the story came out the way I intended and that I used all the possible artwork from the suggested slides that I possibly could to fit my story outline.  As a read-aloud used during a lesson initiation, I think the length of the story is also appropriate. If I were to take on another Storybird project like this, I might find more images that could be used in conjunction with math lessons so that students are more fully engaged at the beginning of the lesson.  I’ve found that second graders love my math lessons that start with some sort of story. If the students feel like they are trying to solve a problem that the character from the story had, they attend to the problem with much more enthusiasm and don’t give up so easily.  The only impediments I foresee with the use of this technology are the moments when my Smartboard decides to freeze or when my desktop computer (which is ancient) “has a moment.” Otherwise, I don’t see any issues with my use of Storybird during a lesson, whatsoever.  I think that it would take a lot of planning and patience on my part to teach my whole class how to use Storybird to create their own digital story but that if I taught them in small groups, or even made the mini-lesson part of a Friday Station, we’d have more success. I definitely see myself using this tale and this technology with my second grade this upcoming school year. 
  

"Your Reading Life" Survey

This is just another Google Survey I started the other day and recently finished.  I plan on having my students take this survey the second week of school during our second visit to the computer lab.  Every little question I ask them about their reading lives, no matter how insignificant it seems, helps me get to know them that much better as a reader.  The questions I included in this survey have answer options that can really give me a good idea about a student's attitude toward reading.  As I've come to know, attitude makes a world of difference! I may add more questions/edit the answer options before September, but this is the survey for now.  Feel free to take it for fun so I can practice tracking responses!

My Course Reflection

June 23, 2014

Wow! What a quick 7 weeks it's been! It feels like just yesterday I was walking into class, nervous as could be because I didn't know what to expect! You see, my anxiety was not unwarranted.  My sophomore year of college, I signed up for one of the mandatory computer classes the university offered and was completely lost within the first five minutes of class.  No one checked in with me to see if I needed help or redirection and being someone who grew up in a home with no internet and a computer that was more ancient than the dinosaurs, I panicked just a bit.  When I finally got the instructor's attention and asked him to re-explain the first 10 steps, he smiled politely and said, "Ask a neighbor for help."  Looking back, I must have seemed almost unreal to him because of my lack of computer skills and know-how. I don't even think I knew how to copy and paste using the keyboard (among many other things).  But, I've come a long way since then and can now confidently say that I've created several Animoto online video slideshows, my own Storybird online story based on borrowed illustrations, contributions to threads on VoiceThread, a Padlet entry, a Blogger account with embedded material, and I am definitely comfortable with KidBlog (among other things)! The Voki below is just another snippet of what I've learned from this course about how to integrate technology into my classroom.  I had so much fun choosing my "person" and my voice (which accent, which accent?!) until I realized I could just record my own voice.  I see myself using many Vokis a week next school year and recording myself using silly voices to keep the kids engaged. 

There are so many possibilities for using this technology and enhancing my students' learning each and every day.  I wish I had had even more time to explore these different online tools during these past weeks, but because of some personal/family situations and having to work offline a lot I was unable to reach my hand into the cookie jar as far as I'd have liked.  I should have more time this summer, though, and plan to master the use of some of these tools, in particular. After my wedding I'll be living in my own house full-time with uninterrupted internet access!  My goal for next year is to get my second graders involved in KidBlog.  I will take the advice of our Google Hangout guest last week and start small so I'm comfortable, but I think the possibilities are endless.  Thank you, Judy for being so patient with me and not telling me to "ask a neighbor"! Also, thank you classmates for sharing such amazing resources through your blog posts.  You are all technology superstars now! 

Literacy Project

June 22, 2014

My Literacy Project was a small group strategy lesson that involved the use of technology.  Because of the use of technology I knew that this lesson would take up more time than a typical strategy lesson.  I used Animoto to create a slideshow of vocabulary and proper nouns from the Walt Disney version of Beauty and the Beast.  Animoto was the technology that I felt most comfortable using at that point in our course. Additionally, I knew from my experience showing other educational videos to my students that they would be positively engaged as they watched an Animoto video, especially one with animation and set to a song they were all familiar with.

My class had been studying folk tales, fairy tales, and fables for a few weeks and we had already read other versions of Beauty and the Beast, practicing identifying and retelling the important parts and using vocabulary from the story and proper nouns as we did so.  However, those were whole-group lessons and based on my most recent DRA2 assessment data and what I already knew about some students’ recounting abilities, I decided to reteach similar objectives in a smaller group.  After my modeling and during the read-aloud of the tale, I had the students actively identify the vocabulary that was unfamiliar to them and turn and talk about what it could mean.  The Animoto’s purpose was to reinforce the new vocabulary and proper nouns found in the story.  At the close of the lesson, I assessed students’ abilities to retell an important part of the story in partnerships using relevant vocabulary and proper nouns. 

Overall, my small group lesson went as close to planned as it possibly could have.  The students thoroughly enjoyed the Animoto and each student used at least two words from the slideshow and/or our master whiteboard list when they retold an important part of the story.  Eventually, I would like to use more Animoto slideshows to have students practice sight word vocabulary and other content-specific vocabulary, showing any related images to help them remember the meanings.  I also plan to use Animoto in the beginning of the next school year to make a slideshow of my students’ “Hopes and Dreams” to share with parents at Open House. 

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Just Some Plans for Padlet

June 19, 2014

After seeing the functionality of Padlet for the first time last week, I am determined to get my second graders using the site by the mid-year point next school year. When I check out the link on our class site that had suggestions for what Padlet could be used for, I was inspired by the KWL chart idea. However, I would use Padlet for creating a whole-class Reading and Analyzing Nonfiction chart.  With technology so accessible through our class Smart Board, I can easily demonstrate how to make a Padlet page entry for my students and then get them to work, possibly jotting and editing their thoughts on actual sticky notes first.  I’ve been using half of a bulletin board these past three years every time we create a new class RAN chart about another nonfiction topic.  Padlet will help me save space in my classroom and using it will boost up my students’ technology skills!  

This site could also be used individually for students as an online board for sharing new learning about a nonfiction topic or for students needed extension opportunities.  I could have those students research and organize their notes for an information book through a Padlet board!

The Ed and Alma's Grandchildren Video

                June 16, 2014

I wanted to share the Animoto video I made a couple weeks ago that I blogged about previously.  This weekend I was investigating the ways to embed the videos that were shared in class and in the class notes and I finally feel like I got the hang of it! This video is completely unrelated to my second graders but as I said before, it was one of the first videos I made on Animoto so it helped me become a more efficient video-creator, which is a skill that will continue to benefit my students!

Storybird

June 18, 2014

I really enjoyed creating a short children's storying using Storybird.  Even though the themed illustrations were limited with the free account, I was able to creatively use the available pictures to tell my story.  I wanted to tell a story about being happy with who you are.  I also wanted to tell a story about a turtle, because I just love turtles and my students know it! Unfortunately, school was out by the time I finished this Storybird tale, so I wasn't able to share it with this year's class during our folk tale unit.  I plan to share it next year during the same reading unit because it'could be used for a demonstration on determining the lesson or moral of a story.  The moral of this story is that no matter what others have, if you are content with what you have in life, then that is good enough.  I also tried to create a little rhythm in the text, so I could even use this during our poetry unit next year! 

End of School Fun

June 14, 2014

Yesterday was the last day of school! This school year went by so fast I could hardly believe it! I heard another teacher in the hall yesterday afternoon, going on to another colleague about how it was the longest year of their life, and I had to pop my head into the hallway and shout, “I disagree!” It always seems like the end of the year creeps up so fast after April vacation and I’m always trying to fit content from lessons I know I won’t get to into shorter versions of those lessons.  At the same time, I’m trying to make the final days of school as fun and memorable for the kids as I possibly can.  It helps that our final unit has to do with role-playing and discussing adaptations.  The students really enjoy the movie version of Charlotte’s Web.  I show them the cartoon (see below), because I’ve always been drawn to “originals”.  It’s always fun when a student comments, “Miss Luginbuhl—you made your voice sound just like the voice of the character in the movie!” That leads us back to inferring feelings, overall moods, and character traits, which also helps students write in their Reader’s Notebooks about overall similarities they noticed between the characters in the book and in the movie.   

The Culture of Teachers

June 10, 2014

I’ve been racking my brain trying to think of how I could put a name to the concept in my mind.  The only phrase I can come up with is “the culture of teachers”.  Most teachers I know follow this unwritten code of being the most caring, giving, selfless individuals around.  The more I talk to friends and family members in other professions, the more I appreciate my co-workers and the relationships I have with them.  We make each other amazingly scrumptious breakfasts each month for birthday celebrations, throw over-the-top baby and bridal showers for one another, willingly and without a second thought share materials we spent hours creating without ever begging for credit, and leave cards and flowers on each other’s desks just because it’s been a bit of a stressful week.  We are also loyal to each other, yet keep a very straight and professional face when an outsider whom we may never be rude to says something negative about the teacher down the hall who happens to be one of our best friends (but how should they know that…they’re not part of what we have).   Out of loyalty, grows friendship. Or is it the other way around? I tend to think that loyalty comes first in “the culture of teachers”.  Someone I know had a child in an elementaryclass in my district and one night at a gathering, this person made a comment that hinted that they were slightly dissatisfied with their child’s teacher over something she’d done.  I don’t remember exactly what the comment was but I remember defending that teacher and her probable reason for making the decision she made.  I had never even met that teacher, but I couldn’t stand the thought of her name being disgraced even in the most minor way when I know, deep down, how much heart and soul she must put into her job each and every day. In our culture, we not only give all we can to the children in our classrooms, but to each other as well.   

Ed and Alma's Grandchildren

June 6, 2014

My grampa Lug passed away this morning.  Just typing it right now makes it feel more real than it has all day.  I’ve kind of been in a daze all day but I’m blogging now (in a word document because I have no internet access at my gram and gramp’s) to release some tension.  Just ten days ago, I was sitting with my gramp on his couch, showing him one of the Animoto videos I made.  It was a slideshow of all his grandchildren and great-grandchildren set to the song “All Because Two People Fell in Love”, sung by Brad Paisley.  He absolutely loved it and I showed it to him three times in a row so he could fully appreciate each picture.  Little did he know, my mom was taking a video of us on her iPhone while we were watching the Animoto.  My gramp kept making little comments about various grandchildren and their spouses as photos flashed across the screen.  99% of Gramp’s comments would have made the people he was talking about laugh or smile if they heard them.  Of course, there was that comment that made my mom’s video un-showable, if you know what I mean! Oh, but we laughed! A smile just spread across my face to think of it.  And that was only ten days ago….significant changes don’t take long, I guess.  However, I am super grateful I learned how to produce a quality Animoto video and had the opportunity to show it to Gramp and Gram together, witnessing first-hand the joy it brought them.  I started the video with a picture of my gram and gramp when they were in their late thirties.  I’ll never forget my gram’s comment and the huge smile it put on Gramp’s face: “Oh, Eddy, look how handsome you are!”

Animoto project for class

June 3, 2014

My Animoto project for class had to do with our school motto: C.A.R.E.S.  It’s a motto adapted from the Responsive Classroom model, as we are a Responsive school.  The “C” stands for Cooperation.  The “A” is for Advocacy.  The “R” stands for Respect.  The “E” is for Empathy.  The “S” stands for Self-Control.  CARES is a big deal in our school.  Each day, I move a stick or two from the whole class jar into the CARES Award jar and those students know they will be recognized over the announcements on Friday for showing cooperation, advocacy, respect, empathy, or self-control.  Even when they’ve known since Monday afternoon that they’re getting a CARES award, they are still sitting on the edges of their seats with baited breath when announcements come over the loud speaker on Friday morning.  After the announcements, the principal and school librarian come to each classroom with awards in hand and a camera.  Those students get their names announced in front of the class again and the principal states what aspect of CARES they’re being recognized for.  Afterword, those students go into the hall to get a group picture taken.  That picture gets posted on our CARES board in the hall and is up for several weeks with other pictures of past recipients.  It’s quite a victory for those students! So, I created my Animoto for my new second grade class to view the first or second day of school in the fall.  It shows a definition of each aspect and what each aspect “looks like”, student-wise. 

Loving Animoto

June 1, 2014

Animoto is my newest favorite toy.  Yes, toy. Among the many reasons for the bags under my eyes lately because of lack of sleep is Animoto.  I have spent many nights in my bed, awake on my computer with my headphones in, creating until 2:00 am.  The first video I made was one of my fiancé and me, from the time we started dating eight years ago through our most recent photograph together.  I plan to show it to him the night before our wedding as a surprise (shhhh). I started making the video using the educator account we created for free but then upgraded and paid just $5.00 to get the videos to play through more than one song.  It was so worth it! I got to add all the pictures I wanted to my first slideshow creation (and I made myself cry each time I previewed the video after matching certain pictures to certain lyrics…because I’m corny like that…).