Being Transparent

 Thank you to everyone that completed the survey during the last two weeks.  The information will help me make the changes in the Friday Five Newsletter that will make it more beneficial for you.  Some changes you will see are the links posted in the body of the email and the body of the newsletter posted in a blog dedicated to this Elementary Friday Five.  I will also use the topics you submitted to guide the topics over the next few weeks.  One of the survey responses asked for real examples.  Although I don’t use everything that is included in each Friday Five, I have used many.  So, this week, I am pulling back the curtain and showing some of the tech lessons and centers that have appeared in a 2^nd grade classroom over the last two weeks.

1.     Writing Center:  Recently I discovered an app called Alien Assignment.  In this app students go on a picture scavenger hunt to find items to help the Gloop family fix their spaceship. They have to use problem-solving strategies to find the things needed to repair the spaceship.  After my students complete the scavenger hunt, I have them write a “how-to” paragraph about the steps they took to repair the Gloop Family’s spaceship. Even though this is a very simple app, it can be adapted to any grade by the writing assignment. https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/alien-assignment/id531359578?mt=8

2.     Space and Writing:  I included this recently but I did not use it until last week.  My students completed a writing activity entitled “Leaders are Out of this World.”  They wrote about qualities of a good leader.  After they completed their writing, they used the Photo Booth or Cam Wow app on the ipad.  They took a picture of themselves in a distorted, alien way.  They emailed me the pictures and I had them printed.  These pictures became the faces in an old-fashioned construction paper alien. https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/camwow-free-photo-booth-effects/id418368641?mt=8

3.     Skitch:  Each month our school reviews one of the 7 Habits of Happy Kids.  This month my students brainstormed words that describe someone who follows the assigned habit.  They took a picture in Skitch and added those words to the picture. https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/skitch/id490505997?mt=8

4.     Big Huge Labs:  Each group also designed a motivational poster that illustrated the habit that was being reviewed.  Big Huge Labs offers many different options for being creative with pictures. http://bighugelabs.com/

5.     Videolicious:  As a class we combined our favorite Motivational Poster and all of our pictures from Skitch in a video.  Students recorded the meaning of the Habit of the month.  This became the voice over for the scrolling pictures.  https://videolicious.com/

Some weeks you will find more technology than others.  Just like any classroom, it is not about the technology.  It is about finding ways to enhance and energize those already established goo lessons that we teach.

Have a great weekend!

Friday Five January 11, 2013

Goals

  When the New Year comes we create a goal or resolution that we cannot wait to accomplish.  Often though, just a few days or weeks into the process, we abandon our efforts because we feel burdened or overwhelmed by our goal.  This week the focus is on tools that help us and our students achieve our goals. 

1.    Pic Cal Lite is a free app that allows you to take a picture a day and record it on a calendar.  Record a goal or mini-goal pictorially as you achieve them. Take a picture of desk at the end of the week, a picture of an A on a Math assignment, or a snapshot of each book or chapter that you read each day/week/month.  This is a fun way to use the camera on an iPad or iPod. https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/piccal-lite-picture-diary/id460720322?mt=8

2.    Goal for It:  With this free website you can create behavior charts, goal setting charts, and chore charts.  Students can create a Goal for It behavior chart citing specific behaviors they want to chart.  You can also create a list that allows others to “cheer” for you as you work toward your goals. Goal charts can be used online or created and printed. http://www.goalforit.com/

3.   Keep your self motivated.   To Me by Me is an app that allows you to send messages to yourself.  Write reminders to yourself of things you would like to achieve or send yourself  little motivations (great for older children – or teachers could compose notes to send to younger students.).  https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/to-me-by-me-*-letter-sent/id468351603?mt=8

4.   Reading Rewards:  If your students have any reading related goals this is a fun site for you. Kids track information about their reading: what, when, how long for. They can print off detailed reading log reports, and build up their virtual bookshelf. http://www.reading-rewards.com/

5.   We all know that any progress toward a goal is good and that the hardest journeys are fulfilled by taking one small step at a time.  Enjoy this video.  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PbMOnyeVE-4 Finally, I’ll leave you with one of my favorite quotes from the late Zig Ziglar.  “What you get by achieving your goals is not as important as what you become by achieving your goals.”

Have a great weekend and a great New Year!