Wikis Supporting Author Studies - Jenny Nash

I love author studies. Last year, we dove head first into our Allen Say author study while still in the early weeks of the school year and deeply involved in teaching rituals and routines. I was thrilled to see my students interests peeked so quickly in good, quality literature that challenged them to think deeper and stretch farther. I also noticed how an author study can quickly become an all-encompassing project -- involving not only reading and writing, but history, geography, and research skills. With an author such as Allen Say, whose works are widely historical and cultural in nature, I found it necessary to build my readers' schema and record our findings for future readings.

This year, I've found a way to make it even more effective and motivating for my students. A wiki.


With Melanie's help, we created a skeletal wiki. Pages were created for each book, as well as various other topics related to our study, such as vocabulary and historical references. The vision was that this wiki could serve as a publishing method for our responses and an opportunity for extending higher learners' thinking.

For example, during the course of our author study we studied the genres and elements of literature. Therefore, within each book's page students have recorded literary elements such as genre, characters, and setting. Another focus of our study was determining the theme of a text. So, this, too, is included on each book's page. We also, in part to prepare us for the DRA2, practiced writing short summaries of books - focusing on what is important, without telling "too much". You will find that student's short summaries for the Allen Say books are also included.

As I mentioned earlier, I find that, with this author study in particular, students need to develop a strong understanding of historical events and periods, specifically, World War II and Japanese-American Internment Camps. I conducted some searches and found a few websites with information I thought would be appropriate, meaningful, and useful for my students. I included links to these sites within the wiki, as well.

The author study includes a vocabulary component, too. On each book's page, students have identified "interesting language/new words". Additionally, a separate page was created to house a master list of vocabulary. Originally, the vision was to have students synthesize the meaning of these words by selecting an image from the internet to represent each word and insert within the page.

There are more creative opportunities, too! For instance, I created a readers' theater script for Under the Cherry Blossom Tree. My students rehearsed this in small groups and independently at home. I recorded their readings with my Flip Video and can add this to my wiki! Additionally, my students created a piece of original artwork, designed to represent their favorite book or piece of the study. These pictures were photographed and added to a VoiceThread. Students then recorded their "mini-response" to their reading to create a class response. This, too, will be included in the wiki, as well as our class blog.

This project, being the first of what I hope will be many, was not without obstacles. In retrospect, I think I bit off a bit more than I could chew! I had high hopes of creating a broad tool to serve a multitude of purposes. However, my students and I were just not ready for this degree of implementation. There was training to do and wrinkles to iron out. For one, hardware. With only the two student stations and one laptop available for my students during the school day, adding information was slow. I investigated the laptop lab, but was told there were issues with using it to upload content in mass. So, I invited students to join the wiki, get their own user name, and work from home. Unfortunately, they are at home with little, if any, technological support, so few students took advantage of this opportunity. I expect that with more experience in the classroom, and continued support for students and parents technological learning, my students' (and parents') confidence in technology will increase and so will their participation at home.

Ultimately, I remain convinced that this is the next step in my teaching. It has motivated my students, as well as opened avenues towards learning experiences that I only imagined were possible. My advice to those interested in trying it is -- JUST DO IT! Tackle it one step at a time.

Do not let your first be your last! My classes will soon embark on another author study together, for which we will create ANOTHER, entirely unique wiki. My purpose for this new wiki will be similar, but not identical, and the wiki will reflect that in its design.

In closing, begin with the end in mind. What is your purpose? What is your vision? What is the most essential piece? Begin there, remain focused, and you will be pleased.

Readers' Theater with Flip - Lori Metzger and Karen Morris

After watching our colleagues demonstrate how easy a Flip camera is to operate we thought we'd give it a try. What better way to show your students work with fluency than a Readers' Theater? We found the perfect play to read on election day in our social studies book. The message was about working together as a community to take a stand against something you don't agree with. In this case, a movie theater was going to be built on the children's soccer field.

Students were put into heterogeneous groups and asked to read the play three times out loud. Each time they were told to practice using inflection in their voices and pay close attention to the punctuation marks. We chose this particular group of kids and taped their first and third reading. Wow! What an improvement! Not only did their expression and pace improve but they read over a minute faster!

When we reviewed the video with the class their success was obvious to us all. It really demonstrated the power of re-reading!

Four Corners Weekly News Show-Meli Launey

I have learned more about technology since I started my journey at Chets Creek than I have in my entire life. I am by no means a seasoned “geek” (only a wannabe:) but I will attempt to show you how easy implementing a classroom news show in your classroom really is. This post will not focus on movie making, because I feel that is something we have already learned about through our past geeks. It will, however, show you how our News Show is managed each week.

Mrs.Lopez and I start each week out by selecting 3 students from each of our ELA classes that will act as reporters for the week. The students are selected by interest and behavior. Each student is invited to be on the crew with an official Four Corners Reporter Assignment Sheet. This sheet includes the subject the student will be reporting on and and a spot for daily notes to take throughout the week on their subject assignment. The assignment sheet also includes a spot to get parent signatures for permission to be in the show and to stay after Friday afternoon to tape. Our 6 subjects are Reading, Writing, Word Study, Social Studies, Science, and Math. You will find our weekly reporters actively taking notes throughout the week on classroom lessons.

On Thursday night the students sit down to write their report. They may look through their notes and choose one lesson from the week they particularly liked to focus on in their subject report. Or they have the option of writing a subject report about the week as a whole. The job of reporter is highly coveted, and the kids really get into working on their reports. Some of them even watch the local news station to get ideas.

Fridays are the big day. After school we all meet and prepare to film. Mrs.Lopez begins listening to each child practice their report while I work with the anchors to tape (using a flip video) the opening and closing pieces. We choose 2 kids that did an exceptional job from the week before to be our anchors. The closing is the only "teacher written" part of the show. It includes upcoming school news and reminders. As soon as Mrs.Lopez finishes coaching a reporter, they go and find a spot to report from. For example, the math reporter may want to report in front of the bulletin board with multiplication clusters on it. After choosing a location, they come to me and we begin filming. The taping goes by quickly and we usually finish within 45 minutes. We have also collected some great "out-takes". After one boy accidently dropped a microphone, he suggested we create a "bloopers show" for the end of the year. Keep your eyes open for that show coming up in May!

After taping is done, the rest is a breeze. First, I load the videos into my computer. I use imovie (on Mac computers) to create the show, but Windows Movie Maker will work just as well. I have found pictures on google images to use as the backgrounds you will see transitioning to the different reports. Since I already have the format down, I simply have to open up the show from the week before and "cut and paste" the new scenes into the old show. Then I save it under a new name. It only takes about 30 minutes to create. All the music I have comes from itunes. You can search "sound effects" and get some really cool intros and background music. After you save the show you will need to upload it to Teacher Tube so that you can get the embed code for your blog. Your students and parents can view the Weekly Wrap-Up each weekend.

This project will help your students with their fluency, speaking abilities, and writing skills as well as give them a sense of pride in themselves. It has been a great way to incorporate technology into instruction and give others from all around the world a glimpse into our classroom. I hope you enjoy a sample of our News Show below.

Collaboration Podcasting- Jessie Lipsky

In my opinion, the whole point in having a classroom blog is to share your work and ideas with the world and have the world give you feedback and new ideas in return.  One way I am using my blog this school year is through a collaborative project Melanie Holtsman was already participating in called: Students Teaching Students.  Kim Cofino, a teacher at an international school in Bangkok, Thailand, started this project to help teachers and students share and reflect on work we are doing in Lucy Caulkin's model of readers' and writers' workshop.  Students Teaching Students provided me with access to Chrissy Heller's blog in New Zealand and Aly McAloon's blog in Thailand (of course, the internet provides me access to every blog... but I like these.)  While reading Aly McAloon's blog, I saw that she had recorded podcasts of her fifth grade students reading their narrative writing.  I was struggling to find ways to motivate my fifth grade students to make their writing more descriptive so I decided to play some of the podcasts from Room 229 as inspiration.

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 My students loved hearing the work of children who lived on the other side of the world! Soon, we recorded (and are still recording) our own podcasts so the students in Thailand could hear our stories as well.  

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This collaboration has given my students a new and specific audience for their writing.  I have noticed dramatic improvements in their writing now that they know their peers in Thailand and New Zealand will be reading and listening to their work in class.  

Podcasting

Podcasting stands for Portable On  Demand Broadcasting.  You can listen to podcasts on your computer or an Mp3 player like an Ipod.  Podcasts are free and download to your computer via a subscription.  My hope with this "geek" post is to help other teachers record and upload podcasts to their blogs. On a PC, I use the program Audacity to record my students' voices and gcast.com to upload their podcasts to the internet and eventually my blog.  On a Mac, I use the garageband program to record my students reading their work. 

The best information I can give you on podcasting is from a blog called Box of Tricks.  Click here to watch "Podcasting in 5 Easy Steps."  In this brief tutorial teachers can learn how to record audio files, transfer files into Mp3 files, upload them to a podcasting website, and finally publish them on their blogs.

Once you get the hang of podcasting it is a fun way to share student work with listeners all over the world!

Flip Video-Maria Mallon & Cheryl Dillard

Dear Fellow Geeks,

The Flip Video is easy, convienent, and fast. It allows you to video from 30-60 minutes depending on the memory size. It runs on 2 AA batteries and fits in the palm of your hand. The best part of the the Flip Video Camera is the ease of use. To record, you press the red button, to review what was recorded you press play and if you want to delete the video you simply press the delete button. Like we said, "It is so easy even a caveman can do it." We have used it to video songs, skills block activities, writing conferences, and Readers' Theater. After recording the video, you can download it to the computer using the attached USB port or use the AV cords to view your video on the TV. If you choose to add a video to your blog or the Ning, you will need to upload the video to TeacherTube or Google Video. Other features include the ability to make a custom video with music or capture photos from your videos. We suggest you try the Flip Video Camera for yourself by checking one out from the Media Center.

So Many Websites, So Little Time - KK Cherney

Hello fellow Geeks!
That sounds so funny to say out loud. I never really thought about the fact that I am a tech geek until we started this cool tradition at Chets, but I guess I am one in every since of the word. Looking back at how it happened was a totally natural thing. Picture this...me, 3 to 4 years old squatting down beside my dad as he was using the screwdriver or taking something a part. I think I sat for hours. That training evolved into a hunger to learn about how things work or don't work and finding solutions to make it work. Little did I know that my daddy was training me as a Santa's assistant. You wouldn't believe the stuff I have put together as he(Daddy Santa) slept in his bed dreaming of sugarplums dancing.






Now I think of how that laid the foundation of seeking out the latest and greatest tech tools and inspired me to seek out sites to make life easy. Speaking of websites, I probably find an average of 10-15 new cool sites a week. Sometimes I share so many in one sitting, everyone walks away on overload. I just can't help it. Today, however I will only share a few, just to get the creative juices flowing.
Finding the perfect website for students becomes a real challenge when there is so much out there to choose from. I have been a web site sleuth for a while now and I think I can share sites that are educational, challenging and at the same time exciting. A good starting point is to read the ALA suggestions of how to determine great sites for kids. The ALA has criteria that really will help you find the perfect site for your students. There are more in depth points listed that you may want to quickly review , I just wanted to hit the highlights. ALA Great Website for Kids Criteria

A. Authorship/Sponsorship: Who Put up the Site?
The name of the individual or group creating the site should be clearly stated.

B. Purpose: Every Site Has a Reason for Being There.
A site’s purpose should be clear and its content should reflect its purpose, be it to entertain, persuade, educate, or sell.

C. Design and Stability: A Great Site Has Personality and Strength of Character.
The information on the site should be easy to find and easy to use.

D. Content: A Great Site Shares Meaningful and Useful Content that Educates, Informs, or Entertains.

The title of a site should be appropriate to its purpose.
A way I determine if the students are hooked on a site is by allowing them to have 10 minutes of free time after the media mini-lesson and the checking out of books . If the site is re-visited I know that I have accomplished the mission of finding a site that they love to explore and they don't even realize they are building a great foundation of knowledge. Many times the site isn't just a game site, it just has the look. You know the look. Lots of graphics, not a lot of text, colorful, easy accessibility, great labeling for interactive play and just throw in terrific sound effects and you have a winner.

For instance, my students love this one. It is produced by the Library of Congress and it has 5 divisions that the student can visit and learn about amazing Americans, jump back in time and have a overview of history, explore the states, join America at Play and finally see, hear and sing from our American past. I can't keep them off of the Animation site. Totally interactive for that curious hungry mind.

The one thing that I can't afford when site surfing with my kids is to have a lot of advertisements on the perimeter of the homepage of the site. I try to stay away from those sites. They are such a nuisance and in some cases they lure my kids to locations that I would rather have them avoid. If I do share one of those type of sites I use the ads as a catalyst for the teachable moment and instruct them about cookies and other problems those icons may cause. It's just better to avoid those.

A great site that really shares stuff kids want to know about is the KIDSKNOWIT site. It meets all the criteria of a wonderful site for students, making education fun and its totally free. I could spend all day sharing the sites that I have surfed into and shared with CCE students.

Another example of coolness is the KBears site. It is extraordinary as it takes on the personality of a space ship called K Ship One and sails into the world of knowledge. Once you open the home page check out the Geo World link. It is great as it ramps even the older students. You will love it.
Finally, a site for you to check out for yourself .

INfiniteThinking
What is the Infinite Thinking Machine?
The Infinite Thinking Machine (ITM) is designed to help teachers and students thrive in the 21st century. Through an active blog, an Internet TV show, and other media resources, the ITM shares a "bazillion practical ideas" for turning the infinite universe of information into knowledge. They showcase examples of innovative instructional methods, talk with leading experts, and share real stories from the classroom to improve how we think, learn, teach, and live.
The shows and website are an important way to spark dialogue and help educators explore a wide range of innovative ideas. They rely on the collective wisdom of many experienced educators to select interesting ideas to share, but they cannot validate these practices beyond that. Also, please keep in mind that any mention of products, ideas, websites, and organizations does not represent an endorsement by the producers or sponsors.

Don't hesitate to check back periodically on our site for all of the cool websites that I find to make your job the coolest ever.
Now, where is that screwdriver?

Written by: KK Cherney

Windows Movie Maker - Rachel Bridges

Dear Fellow Geeks,

I would like to introduce you to a program that you may or may not already be familiar with. You may have thought, what is that for? Or you may have already used Windows Movie Maker to showcase the work that you do in your classroom.

Windows Movie Maker, a new look at a program that we can all use to jazz up the pictures of our Learning Adventures. Windows Movie Maker is available to Windows users (the program I used was included with Windows Vista). This program will allow you to piece together pictures, audio, and video to share with your audience. Piecing together is truly the best way to put it. You simply import pictures, video, and/or audio from your computer, flash drive, etc., and edit it on a storyboard. Save it as a movie file there you have it, your very own movie! I used Window Movie Maker to allow my parents to take a look into our daily learning as they attended our Kindergarten Open House. You will see pictures from each of our four main workshops, Skills Block, Reader's Workshop, Writer's Workshop, and Math Workshop. Below is a link to this movie. It was uploaded to Teacher Tube in order to share it.



Below is a flowgram that highlights a Windows XP website that will walk you through creating a movie with Windows Movie Maker. Be sure to watch the movies of how others have used this program!