My Twitter handle is @sundayideas. I chose that as my handle because, at the time, I was regularly emailing colleagues technology ideas I had found during the week... on Sundays. Usually I had a theme. Either it was related to an upcoming event/holiday, or to concepts/activities I was researching for use in class. When I joined Twitter, I initially saw it as an extension of what I was already doing. This blog post is a bit of a throwback to my pre-Twitter days. Here's what I have going on for teaching nouns next week.
No-Tech
This may come to a surprise to many, but my class and my teaching is filled with no-technology activities. I introduce my students to nouns with a book: Chicken In The City. In addition to that, my spelling words for the week are all nouns. I review nouns later in the year again and at that time I read A Mink, a Fink, a Skating Rink: What is a Noun?
Using Read and Write For Google
Using the SmartBoard to demonstrate, I demonstrate the technology task I assigned (using Google Classroom) students for nouns. As it is still early in the year, I first I review how to use Read and Write For Google for those students who want the text read to them. Then I demonstrate how to highlight text in Document. We will do other parts of speech activities throughout the year, so nouns will always be green (it matches the colour of the nouns poster I have in class). The Google Document I used for this activity, along with others, is available at the site: Division One Collaboration Site For Educational Technology.
For those of you working with older students, you could have students use the highlight function in RW4G and then have them "collect" the highlights to create a list of the different parts of speech you want them to identify.
I also show students how to use the dictionary tool in RW4G. The dictionary identifies the part of speech of word, so students can double check if they are unsure. What I like about this process is that often a word can be a noun or a verb (or other parts of speech). So students still have to "use their brains" and not simply rely on RW4G. It is a good introduction for younger students to not relying on computers/Internet for answers, that they still have to use their own critical thinking in combination with the tool.
Initially this is a whole class activity to teach students the steps. Eventually, this will become a literacy centre that I differentiate for students' abilities (using Doctopus). Students will do the same activity with verbs, adverbs and adjectives. Eventually students will also do similar edit/proofread activities and then a revising activities. I hope to expand this centre even more this year.
Practice Through Games
One of the powerful things about using computer/Internet games is that students get immediate feedback about their answers. In my literacy centres, students will first answer a Google form about nouns and then play:
I also include a two video playlist at that centre.
I am on the look out for more grade two friendly noun games, so please post your favourites in the comments. The Google FormI used for this activity, along with others, is available at the site: Division One Collaboration Site For Educational Technology.
Last May I used and blogged about Google Forms as a reading centre for reading response. Last year I ended my post with thoughts on my next steps:I am going to be teaching an integrated science (about insects and the like) and language arts unit soon. I've been working on creating a number of forms to go with animal book sets. A year later I am revising and refining the integrated science-language arts unit.
Reading Centres
As a Balanced Literacy trained teacher, I use reading centres in my class most weeks. When creating centres, I look for activities that are engaging and independent tasks that have an element of accountability built in. The combination of Google Forms with Flubaroo provides me engagement, independence (for most students) and accountability.
The Book Tubs Centre
I set up the activity to be two centres. First they go to the "Book Tubs" centre. There students have a range of books to choose from. This year I decided to create three tubs (one, two and three). The books in tub one are easier, the books in tub two are an average grade two level and the books in tub three are more challenging. This way the task is multi-level as I often have multi-level groupings. Each tub has about four different books. I have five to six copies of each book (I use guided reading book sets).
At this centre students read multiple books during centre time. I encouraged students to be responsible for selecting their own books. Whenever I introduce a new centre, I always model it. For this centre I reviewed that students need to make the best choice for themselves. I encouraged them to select books that they can read independently as they need to be able answer questions on what they read. Some student needed some guidance on their choices initially.
The Google Forms Centre
The next centre is when they select one book that they read at the Book Tubs centre to do a comprehension activity on a Google Form. I use a class website as a portal for most online work, so I created a page on my site dedicated to reading responses (SchoolZone and Classroom are good other alternatives).
Last year, I had required students to login prior to doing the Form but this caused some problems. This year I have NOT selected the "require EPS login to view this form" but have simply made typing their name a required question. This has allowed me to post the Forms on my class website and avoid the need for logging into Google Drive (we do not have Chromebooks you see).
I tested each quiz once I posted them on the class website. This gave me a chance to check for errors as well as to make a key for marking later.
Quick Accountability: Flubaroo
After each centre, I use Flubaroo to quickly grade the quizzes. Students who did not do well on a quiz are given that book to do again (sometimes later that week, sometimes the next time they go to that centre).
What I Learned From Flubaroo
Last year, I used many text and paragraph answer type questions in the quizzes. When it came time to use Flubaroo to mark the activity, it became too time consuming. Flubaroo can mark some text answers but does not mark paragraphs. So last year I ended up with many long answers to read in the spreadsheet, which was difficult to assess in that format. I think long answers are important for reading comprehension, but it did not work for this particular activity.
Remembering what I learned last year, I decided that this time I would only use questions that Flubaroo could mark to make it easier and quicker to track student work and therefore to hold students accountable.
Year Two, Less Work
As I did this last year, I had most of the Forms already created. However, as I decided to not use long answer questions, I did have to re-vamp many of the questions but this was not too time consuming. As with last year, I've posted all the forms I've made for books on the Division One Collaboration Site For Educational Technology.
I recently had an educational assistant (E.A.) join my grade two class about 60% of the week. After about a month of having her in class she was away for two weeks. Despite her only being with my class for a short time, I already relied on her for the smooth running of my literacy centres. Each day students go to two centres. I have a large number of students who are working significantly below grade level and with behavioural issues. I truly needed her help and now she was going to be away for two weeks!
Technology To The Rescue
During reading centres I like to work with one group exclusively on guided reading or guided writing. I only leave my group briefly in the middle of each centre to monitor students' progress on the other centres (I sit where I can visually scan all groups regularly but I also like to do a walk-around once). Therefore, all the other groups need to be independent so that they are not interrupting my group. I do not want the independent work to be "filler", however. I want students to be engaged in meaningful work. So, I decided to try increase the technology I use for centres to help me during my E.A.'s absence. My reasoning? Not only is it engaging but it could possible help provide immediate feedback on their work. Plus, if done correctly, I felt it would require little instruction from me. I already was using technology twice in my centres. Since September, students used tablets to access their RAZ Kids accounts. As well, students regularly accessed the computers to do word work activities (either from Spelling City or from interactive games/activities that related to the word work topics of the week).
OR Should I Say Google To The Rescue?
After searching ideas online and scanning many Pinterest boards, I did not find any pre-existing and free technology options that I felt met my needs. So I decided to make my own using Google Apps for Education products.
Forms
The first tool I turned to was Google Forms. I used multiple pages along with the "Go to page based on answer" for multiple choice function to create a form that told students if their answers were correct or not as they worked on the form. They were directed to a video that reviewed "verbs" are if they selected the wrong answer. I taught students how they could select the "back" option once at the video to try again.
I could see using this as a centre again, depending on the topic. It did not take much time to set up and my students were already familiar with forms, so it do not require a lot of instruction from me.
YouTube
I used YouTube for a making words station in a similar fashion as I used forms: I used it to provide students feedback on their work. I found a Notebook file I had created previously for a whole class lesson (I've been doing making words on the Smartboard for a long time, so I have many of these). Using Screencastify and a headset with a mic, I recorded a instructional video that I then uploaded to my YouTube channel. I put the letters needed for the making words lesson into ziplock bags and created a worksheet to record their work. At centre time students took a bag of letters and a record sheet to a computer. As the video instructed, they'd make a word based on what they heard orally. Then the video would show them the correct way to make the word. I monitored whether or not students were just listening to the video and writing down the answers or if they were actually making the words along with the video. Only one or two students needed re-directing at the beginning of the centre.
I asked the students after how they liked the video/making words centre. Most gave it a thumbs up. A few mentioned that they found it too easy. So the following week I created two videos. I labeled each bag with a sticker to denote which level the letters belonged to.
I found this centre so successful that I have decide to keep it even with the return of my aide! I had always avoided having a making words (without technology) centre because students would not get feedback if they were making the words correctly until I looked at the record sheet a day or two later. Now that is no longer a concern as the video provides instant feedback. As it does take some time to make the videos, I will likely not use this centre every week.
Read And Write For Google
We had been working on adjectives and adverbs in language arts and learning how to revise sentences with them. So I decided to have students work at a "Super Sentences Centre". Each student was given their own copy of Super Spring Sentences (I used Doctopus to share). Students had to revise the writing by adding adjectives. Students who needed support got it with Read and Write For Google (RW4G). For those of you who are not aware of RW4G it is an extension that will (among other things) read a Google Document to the user. This meant all my students could work at this centre independently. In addition to having RW4G support them in reading the Document, they also had spell check to help them with the words they were adding. My students were familiar with how to use Google Docs and RW4G prior to this centre.
At the end of each round of centres each day, I read that day's Super Sentences creations on the Smartboard. This helps hold students accountable as well as show students how adjectives and adverbs can totally change a piece of writing.
Like the making words videos, I liked this centre so much that I've decided to keep it in the regular centre rotation. The following week I modified it slightly for adverbs. As I create more "Super Sentences" centres I will share them on the Division One Collaboration Site For Educational Technology.
Not A Replacement
While having these technology centres helped bridge the gap while my aide was away, they are not a true replacement for an effective teacher or educational assistant. Unfortunately, there are many years when teachers have large class sizes with diverse needs and no funds to provide a human educational assistant when one is needed. Hopefully some of these ideas may help support teachers in that situation.
A Note About Access To Technology
To provide some context, I will share what technology I have access to. I have four desktop computers in class. As I have 25 grade two students in my class, most of my groups for centres are four to six students. So I use the computers as a centre but often need to use a netbook or two as well for large groups. Our school has 18 tablets. I currently keep six of them in class permanently as they are not used by others, at the moment. I also have easy access to a cart of 24 netbooks (yes, netbooks). While these are not for my class exclusively, no one else uses them so I keep them in the room across from my classroom for easy access. Therefore I can have more than one group working at a computer-based centre.
I use reading centres in my class. One group reads with me and three to four other groups are working independently. I'm always looking for engaging reading activities that hold my students accountable and that are easy to manage.
Comprehension Books
I started out as a grade three teacher, so I used comprehension books as one of my centres to help prepare students for the standardized reading test at the end of the year. I continued to use them in grade two because they involved reading, were easy to monitor and easy to assess. However, they are not engaging.
Reading Response in Google Forms
As a replacement for my comprehension books, I decided to try Google Forms. That way it was still easy to monitor student progress but I could base the questions on real books, which are more engaging. Giving students choice on what to work on also adds to engagement. So I selected five books that I had mulitple copies of and put them in a "reading tub". On one day students read books from that bin for their centre work. On the next day, they log into Google Apps and select one of the books answer questions about. By using Flubaroo on the questions that are not long answer, I get a quick way to check student's comprehension. Flubaroo is a script you add to the Responses Sheet that is produced when you create a form. You can control which answers are graded and which are not.
SchoolZone Hiccup
To make it easy for my students to access, I put the links to the forms on SchoolZone (under homework). I had the setting done so their username is automatically collected. However, students need to go into their Google Drive to "log into" Google Apps. Then they can access the forms. My students handled this step very well, but it can delay them if they forget.
Remember!
Remember to select "automaticall collect respondent's EPS username" or make it a required question for students to type in their names!
Worked Great... But It Is A Great Deal of Work
I recently read a blog post that compared Educational Technology to a marathon. Using actual books in combination with Google Forms is going to be a marathon task. It'll be worth it but it'll be slow going. Creating a form for each book takes time. Again, here is where I think collaboration will help. So I've posted all the forms I've made for books on the Division One Collaboration Site For Educational Technology.
Next Steps
I am going to be teaching an integrated science (about insects and the like) and language arts unit soon. I've been working on creating a number of forms to go with animal book sets.
As part of our data analysis unit in math this year, my students did surveys using Google Forms. The specific outcome from the Alberta math curriculum is: gather and record data about self and others to answer questions.
In Class Paper Surveys First
Students started with doing a paper survey in class first as a part of centres. We discussed how disruptive it was for the people being surveyed as they were constantly being interrupted. We discussed that doing a digital survey would allow people to do the survey when they had time.
Planning Step
The first step I had my students do was plan their questions and answers on paper. I helped students edit and revise as necessary.
Forms
This was the first time my students had made a form, so I led them through a step by step lesson of how to create a new form. To keep things simple, I had them select all the boxes for checkmarks at the top and have none selected at the bottom. Next time I would likely change these options. By selecting all the checkmarks at the top, it limited our surveys to EPSB staff and students only.
Email, Twitter, Google+
Once the students had completed their forms, they had to send it to me, so that I had the link. I created a page on my class website with link to all the surveys. I emailed, tweeted and posted the link the website to my contacts so that students would have more than just their peers answer. I also gave students time to answer their classmates surveys, which they enjoyed.
The Results Show
After a week or so, I had my students look at the results of their surveys. To do this, they opened their form again. At the top, they select Responses which had the number of people who had completed their survey in brackets. They then selected Summary of responses. This opens a new tab with a pie chart, percentages and whole numbers about the data. Students used the information from the Summary of responses page to answer questions about their survey: Reading Your Results. This was completed as a pencil and paper activity.
Weird
One weird thing that happened was the status bar. I told students that the status bar showed 100% when you had completed a survey, so it was a good way to keep track of which surveys you had answered and which you had not if you lost track. However, what we noticed is that it showed 100% as soon as they opened up a new survey to take.
Next Year
I will definitely do this again next year. It needs some refinement. I would love to hear tips and suggestions!
Here is another idea to follow up on the use of the Flipped Classroom model. I used the same setup as the videos I used to introduce the concept of showing numbers with base ten blocks. I used a digital camera to take photos, then used the photos in a Google Form. Each picture corresponds to an assessment question where the students respond either by multiple choice or numerical reponse to show what number is being represented.
The students liked using the Google Form and completing assessment online. I liked having all of the answers compiled in a Google Spreadsheet. And the parents liked doing the assessment afterwards at home with this child.
Imagine a grade two student staying up till 9:00 PM to attend school. The sun has set several hours ago and the warm night air is a balmy 25 degrees. On the other side of the globe, a grade three student scrambles out of bed before the sun rises to attend the same class at 7:00 AM his time. These boys attend class via Elluminate Live, the online classroom for students in grade two and three at Argyll Centre. One student lives in the United Arab Emirates,the other is in Hawaii. Other classmates are scattered across wintry Alberta: Cold Lake, Lloydminster, a ranch in southern Alberta, and of course Edmonton and area. These young students and their parents use Argyll Centre's 123 LearnNet for their daily lessons. Our weekly Eluminate Live online class is an opportunity for learning and creating community. How do I use Google Apps in this context? What Have I learned that I can share with teachers in classrooms? My goals, like yours, are to use technology with sound pedagogical practices and connect my students with other learners.
Google Forms for Self Assessment in Language Arts Google Forms makes it possible for these grade two and three students to complete a self assessment of writing skills while at the same time responses are conveniently recorded in a spread sheet for my information. In December students learned about the writing traits of word choice and voice and applied their developing skills by writing persuasive letters. They were introduced to two simple rubrics and participated in assessment of various pieces of writing.
Rubric for Word Choice*
Rubric for Voice*
Using these rubrics students were asked to complete self assessment of their persuasive writing with a focus on word choice and voice. Students were familiar with the rubrics and self assessment. With the support of an adult they responded to the questions on the Google Form. You can find a copy of the Google form here, Thinking about My Writing. The link willtake you to the spread sheet where student responses are recorded. To view the 'live form', click on: Form - Go to live form. If you would like to have your own copy, click on, File and Make a copy... Rename your copy and modify or use as you wish. My two students may be half a world apart but they share some common learning goals.
*These rubrics are modified and can be found here: http://web.sd71.bc.ca/literacy/wp-content/uploads/2011/01/Wee-Can-Write-rubric.jpg
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