First/Fourth Grade: Digital Learning Share

My first grade students and Ms. Collins' fourth grade students shared how they use digital learning tools in their classrooms. To begin, the 1st grade students taught the 4th graders how they use linoit by posting information about themselves (name, age, favorite thing to do). 

Next, we practiced using linoit as a way to share our thoughts during our read aloud. The 1st graders have been reading Fancy Nancy: Nancy Clancy: Super Sleuth. 
Ms. Collins' 4th graders showed the 1st graders how to share their thoughts (connections, questions, inferences, etc.) during our read-aloud. They did a wonderful job!

Finally the 4th grade students shared their favorite digital learning tool to their 1st grade buddy. The fourth graders shared; story kit, Discovery Education: Board Builder, Aww white board, Big Universe, etc. We even had one 4th grade student present on the SMARTboard how she uses board builder. We are hoping to have more shared learning experiences for our First/Fourth grade buddies using technology! 

Balanced Math Equations with Story Kit and QR Codes

In Math we have been working on "Balanced Math Equations" and understanding the true meaning of the "=" sign.  We brought in digital learning by doing 2 different activities relating to this concept.  The first activity involved having the students use the "StoryKit" app to create a "book" on Balanced Equations.( A big shout out to Mrs. Delia for teaching us this!)  The students learned how to create a title page and then had to create at least 2 other pages in which they had to write equations that were balanced and prove how they knew they were balanced.
 After doing this activity, the students were asked to take a true/false quiz that I created using QR codes.  The students scanned the QR codes using the QuickScan app.  They had an answer sheet to record on. An example of a question:  3 + 5 = 6 + 1 is a balanced equation.  The students then had to circle true or false on their answer sheet.
We had a great time using our devices to enhance our learning, and I am excited to create more lessons!

Pettey's Map Scavenger Hunters with QR Codes

Ms. Pettey and Mrs. D'Elia collaborated to create an activity where Ms. Pettey's 1st graders put their map skills to test using the iPads and QR codes.  They scanned QR codes using an app called Quick Scan which gave them questions to answer.  (Thank you, Mrs. Bouchard for showing us the cool web tool http://www.classtools.net/QR/ which allowed Mrs. D'Elia and Ms. Pettey to create the questions!) The students referenced different maps using links on our Student Links page to find the answers.  The students had a great time reading maps and map symbols, collaborating and being 21st Century learners!

Don't forget...Simple Technology can be fun too!

At the NCTIES conference I learned a lot of new things, but it was also nice to hear "Don't forget the simple things"...such as using the recording feature on our devices! It was an exciting day in first grade...during Writers Workshop, we were learning how to add dialogue to our Narrative Pieces. So we took out our devices and got to work. My students worked in pairs and pulled open the camera. One student recorded their partner stating one complete sentence. Then the person who was recording had to watch the video and write what their partner said in their journals using the correct quotations and punctuation! For example my boys above recorded the sentence: I love I-Pads and Ms. Willner, so they had to write in their journals, "I love I-Pads and Ms. Willner" said Joe. Once we got the hang of stating complete sentences, we changed the way we delivered the sentences...yelled Joe, whispered Joe, ect. We had an awesome time and every student has transferred this skill into their daily writing! Yay!

More Linoit in First Grade

After reading Caroline Page's blog post about using Linoit to compare texts, I started wondering if we could adjust the background to make it look like a Venn Diagram. So Caroline and I put our heads together, and guess what we figured out how to do?

Once that was in place, I had students use it to compare the information in two different nonfiction texts about spiders. Students had already worked with partners to create Venn Diagrams on paper, so each pair used the lino to share out a couple of ideas with the class.

When they were finished creating a sticky note or two, I called all the partners to the rug, so we could read through all the sticky notes and make any adjustments we discovered were necessary. We fleshed out incomplete thoughts, changed the color of some sticky notes to get them in the right places, and corrected any factual errors about what the books actually said. (As you can see if you look closely, we left the spelling mistakes alone for now!)

It was great to have sticky notes that could appear on the Smartboard, large enough for the whole class to see A big improvement over squinting to see the tiny paper variety! Having students contribute to diagram we could all read created many more opportunities for discussion and reflection among the students. (And it was a lot of fun, too.)

Linoit in First Grade!

Today we used Linoit in Readers Workshop. We were comparing two scholastic news articles on weather. My first graders started by adding a sticky for any fact they learned from the text. As a class, we categorized the stickies by color to decide if it was unique to the text or a similarity about both text. I plan to have kids decide the main topic of each text based off of their sticky notes on Monday.

The best part: Some of my students had a hard time with typing into their sticky so a PROBLEM SOLVER figured how to continue. One of my students discovered that instead of typing their response they could use the voice recorder on their device to add a note quickly.

Another neat part was when a few students began editing their stickies by changing the color to match. They are in First grade and they self-corrected their own work without me asking them to do this!!!

Check it out: http://en.linoit.com/

Popplet ~ All About Writing

My first graders love the Popplet app! Can you tell by their faces?!?  After using the child friendly search engine, One Key, to research an animal they gather and organize their facts on Popplet.  They worked together based on which animal they chose to write their All About piece about.  My students that have brought their own devices have even created Popplets at home for fun.  :)  Popplet allows the student to add bubbles around a main bubble similar to a bubble map.  They can add text, photos, or drawings in each bubble.  

Fun and Safe Research!

My first graders had a great time using the website Onekey to research new information for their All About Books in Writing. Onekey is a safe, kid friendly search engine. The students had a great time working together to find new facts to add to their writing!

Look how awesome they are!  If my six year olds can do it...so can you!

Kahoot in First Grade!

Thanks to Mr. Smith's awesome presentation at my BT meeting, I tried out Kahoot as an engaging review for 3D shapes. I created my own quiz but there is also an option to search differing topics.

After students found the browser on their device, all students were able to find "Kahoot (Quiz Launch Page)" on our student links page.  Students then typed in the "game pin" (on SMARTboard) and "nickname" to begin the quiz. It was a great way to check-in with my 1st graders while they were discussing which answer to choose with their group.

Try one out!