A Lifelog August 16, 2009
Posted by anne marie in ELA, Web 2.0.add a comment
I have been intrigued by the free Loggel.com Lifelog site. Many view a lifelog as a modern way to write a diary or travel log, but I think it has potential in the classroom for digital storytelling, especially since in addition to text, you can add images, audio files and videos. I can envision this tool as being a creative alternative for students to present research information, inspire writing, document important events during the school year, etc. The entries are either positioned on a timeline or on a map. You can even make entries from your mobile phone. One feature that I liked is the fact that you can keep your Lifelog private so that students would have the authority to when their work would be shared. The completed Loggel presents well on the SMART Board. ENJOY!
The Plural Girls- double the learning fun! July 29, 2009
Posted by anne marie in ELA, Games, SMART Board, Websites.Tags: ELA, SMARTBoard
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The Plurals Girls is a fun game on FunBrain.com that reinforces identifying plurals. “Twin sisters Pearl and Flora lost their friends in the bubble machine. Help them get their friends out by choosing the correct plural form of the given word.”With each correct answer a friend appears from the bubble machine. 8 correct answers ends the game. There are two difficulty levels for each game. The multiple choice options work well with the SMARTBoard since the game gives you two answers and you simply touch your answer. With the fill in the blank options you need to type/spell your answers. You could utilize the SMART On-Screen Keyboard to type the answers, as long as the cursor is in the answer box.
So if you need a game to reinforce/practice plurals head on over and introduce yourself to The Plural Girls, Pearl and Flora, they’re sure to make you smile- ENJOY!
Wallwisher July 27, 2009
Posted by anne marie in ELA, Web 2.0.Tags: message board
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I have been wanting to write about Wallwisher since learning about it during a workshop this past spring. Wallwisher is basically an online message board maker– kind of reminds me of the message boards we all had hanging on our dorm doors at college, except this is virtual and no special markers needed! One of the nice features of Wallwisher is that there is no registration needed and once you create a board all that is needed is for members to click, write and post- very simple, very intuitive, very fun! Once you create your message board you are given the URL for that board to share with people who you want to invite to comment on your board. I have used this as a way to have students make comments/respond to specific articles/topics. I also hope to use this as one of our wiki assignments this year. To initiate class discussion it is very effective to present the message board using the SMART Board. I should also mention that in addition to writing a response participants can also add videos, pictures and music to a post. Also be aware that there is an option that allows you to preview any posts before applying them ot your wall- YEAH! Below is an example of a Wallwisher. ENJOY!
The Miniature Earth July 3, 2009
Posted by anne marie in ELA, General, history/social studies.add a comment
I learned of this very powerful, thought provoking video on Twitter from Naomi Harm called The Miniature Earth. Click on the language you would like to view it in– English, French, Spanish, etc.– and watch. The premise of the movie is to demonstrate what the world would look like if the population was reduced to only 1oo people. The statistics are very eye opening. This would be a wonderful video to share with middle and highs school studentsvto elicit conversation about world hunger and poverty and the need to accept differences in our cultures and beliefs. Also a great video to share with staff. The video is very powerful. It would present well on the SMARTBoard and could easily be incorporated into a variety of lessons. ENJOY!
WordSift July 2, 2009
Posted by anne marie in ELA.Tags: ELA
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I learned of an interesting word visualization site that I wanted to share called Wordsift. In some ways it reminds me a little of Wordle in that it allows you to copy and paste text to create a word cloud of the 50 most used words in the text, ordered alphabetically. Wordsift also offers additional features, however, such as Google image results of the two most used words in the text, a word web (visual thesaurus) for the most frequently used word and it also displays the sentences in the text with the most frequently used word. You can click on any of those sentences to see where it appears within the entire text. Here is a link to a great demo video explaining all of the features along with giving some classroom applications. There is no registration required and it is free to access, however there is no way to save your work. ENJOY!
Websites to Generate student Poetry June 25, 2009
Posted by anne marie in ELA.Tags: Poetry
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I was searching for some online poetry sites and came across a great post from the Making Teachers Nerdy site that I wanted to share. Mrs. Smoke shared a very comprehensive list of sites to use when teaching poetry lessons. Many of these site would work well with the SMARTBoard. So if you’re planning any poetry units you might want to pop over and check out Mrs. Smoke’s Ode To Poetry- ENJOY!
GameGoo is GREAT!! June 23, 2009
Posted by anne marie in ELA.Tags: ELA
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If you are a K-2 teachers and have not yet checked out GameGoo.com you MUST! This site offers a plethora of free, engaging, fun educational games addressing early reading and language skills. GameGoo is developed by Earobics a language and literacy software company. Click on the Kids box to bring you to the GAME GOO section where you will find the games arranged from beginners (bottom) to advanced (top). When you scroll your mouse over the various game icons a decsription of the game will appear in the upper right corner of the game section. Many of the games work well on the SMARTBoard (really fun!!). The Fearless Freida games present well on the SMARTBoard, but they do require keyboarding. And don’t forget to check out the FUN GOO section where they provide even more options such as wallpaper goo, coloring goo, etc. ENJOY!
Create an online virtual pet June 18, 2009
Posted by anne marie in ELA, Fun.Tags: ELA
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I have been collaborating with some SpEd teachers on strategies they could implement next year to motivate students to write descriptive essays. Enter virtual pets found at layoutcodez.net. Students will ”adopt” their virtual pet, post it on the class wiki and write a descriptive essay introducing their pet to their classmates- FUN! Creating a virtual pet is a very simple and quick and process (colors can even be customized). It took me a matter of minutes to “adopt” Larry my Lizard. The pets also comes complete with food and sound affects. The SMARTBoard will be used to present their work. We also discuss the possibility of having each student create their own Voki at the start of school as a way to introduce themselves on the class blog. ENJOY!
Update on Letter Generator Post June 11, 2009
Posted by anne marie in ELA.Tags: ELA
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Obe Hostetter over at the SMARTBoard Revolution Ning graciously shared some links to SMART Notebook files that support lessons for letter writing and the ReadWriteThink.org Letter Generator. The list was originally posted here. Thanks Obe! ENJOY!
1. http://www1.center.k12.mo.us/EDTECH/SB/templates/FriendLetterTemplate.notebook
2. http://www.lynnreedy.com/smartnotebook/friendlyletter.zip
3. http://community.teqsmart.org/download.php?view.445
Writing a Letter June 10, 2009
Posted by anne marie in ELA.Tags: ELA
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I was asked by one of the SpEd teachers for a site that would reinforce the skills needed to write a letter so I shared the letter generator site from ReadWriteThink.org. This activity reviews the parts of a letter and then allows students to write their own letter, giving them support along the way. You must remember, though that work created can not be saved so students will need to start, finish and print the letter in one session. ENJOY!
