Technology Integration in Small Groups

Because I don't have any ipads at this time to use with my Title 1 kids, I am going to fall back on Haiku Deck for my tech tool that I have been playing around with and implementing lessons in my 2nd grade Title 1 groups. Before my ipads were taken to be updated with apps, I had the students use Haidu Deck for their story, The Day Jimmy's Boa Ate the Wash.  The kids started with note cards to aid in planing slides that include the beginning, middle, and end of the story.  They needed to have at least 5 slides and a sentence on each one.  This activity isn't the highest level of the SAMR model but it does provide picture connections to new vocab words along with building creative skills.  Once again they really enjoyed getting a chance to retell the story using a creative approach with their own chosen pictures.

Blogging Communiy March Strategy

I have been so excited about a new mindset strategy I have been using with my groups as of last week.  This is for my spring AR but I have to share how it is going so far.  2 weeks ago I spent a class time sharing about the Growth Mindset with all of my 1st and 2nd graders.  We talked about putting aside all of our thoughts about I can't read, I'm stupid, I can't, I'm not good at this....and replace the sayings or add onto some of them with the work YET.  Instead we talked about working hard, putting in effort, it's not about how smart but how hard you work, everyone is at a different level of working hard, and some have to work harder than others.  We talked about how our brain makes connections when we read and that if we don't work hard, there are no connections.  So, we went online and picked out a flaming brain picture.  I made each student their own poster and everyday they come in having worked hard or making a connection, they draw a line on their brain from one side to another.  I also asked them what they learned when they read.  The first day, they had no idea what to say.  They couldn't even remember what they read.  Some didn't even read the night before.  Since that day, they have come in excited about working hard and they mostly can remember what they read.  They can even pull out themes from the stories.  I had a parent pull me aside and ask me what I was doing because her son was so excited to read the night before.  She shared how he normally threw a fit when reading and that for two nights he just got his book and sat down and did his reading.  She was so happy.  I can hardly wait to see if the kids stay motivated and begin to enjoy reading.  If we can change the mindset from I hate reading, to I enjoy reading I'll be happy.  Not that testing is the focus for this, but I hope their hard work will translate into an increase in fluency and comprehension on the spring assessments. 

                                               

Persistence is a perfect word for me as I set out to refocus on goals that I have had in the past but let slide over the years.  Since January 1st, I have been using my research on growth mindset to focus and reflect mainly on my personal self as I quest for being healthy once again.  For the past 30 years I have moved in and out of being in shape and healthy.  Within in the past three years, I left all that I knew to be healthy behind in order to eat whatever and whenever I wanted while doing minimal exercise.  During that time frame I was working on my self esteem, to love myself no matter what I looked like.  Well, I succeeded in my quest for acceptance.  This was the positive that came out of letting myself go.  The negative that followed included high blood pressure, prediabetes, and a BMI that put me in level 1 - morbidly obese.  There are only 2 levels and I was close to slipping into the second level.  Basically, I was a ticking time bomb waiting to go off.  I knew I had to do something about my health and I needed to do it soon.  I needed to learn from my mistakes and refocus on my goals of the past.  Essentially I needed to reset my mind.  Thus, I called in the experts.  I joined the YMCA and met with a personal trainer to help me set up an exercise plan.  I committed to getting up early in the morning to go to the gym before work.  I started tracking my diet and gave up all sweet food.  I came to terms with my weight and all my other unhealthy habits.  I began to transform my thinking with positive self talk, "I want to be healthy, I want to be able to move when I'm older, I have the rest of my life to work on being healthy.  I have to work hard today to have success."  I have shared my process with my students so they see I have to work hard at something too, just like they have to work hard at learning to read.  The word on the image that stuck out to me was "stubborn".  Luckily, I have that characteristic that keeps me getting up time and time again as I challenge myself.  I have gotten up before and I will get up again.  I have already lost 20 lbs and have felt my need for persistence already when my fixed mindset wants to take over.  I am excited to be moving ahead and will need much courage in the face of what can feel like insurmountable goals. 

Haiku Deck integration

Haiku Deck is a new tech tool that I have been playing around with and implementing in my 2nd grade Title 1 groups.  First I watched a tutorial on how to use the tool.  Then, I made slides related to a 2nd grade story from the basal reader.  The story entitled, When the Wind Blows, tells about how nothing ends; when something comes to an "end", something else begins.  I took some examples from the book and added my own pictures and captions to the slides.  After my learning process, I showed the kids my work and they got a chance to work in groups of two to make their own slides.  They mostly used my ideas for their first time; however, they used different pictures.  They really enjoyed getting a chance to retell the story using a creative approach with their own chosen pictures.  I was so engaged with their experimenting and learning.  What a great tech tool to bring out creativity in learning.  This puts Marzano's student learning factors into practice by enforcing vocabulary and learning through pictures.  Although I haven't used a lot of tech tools with my groups before this year, I can see how my engagement levels are increasing with the lessons along with the students.

Blogging Community February Strategy

A strategy I just began integrating into my 1st and 2nd grade Title 1 groups is called "Superspeed 1000".  I got the idea from a Power Teaching website.  Basically the students start with beginning site words and they go up in difficulty.  They duet read for one minute, meaning one student reads the first word, the other student reads the next word and so on until the minute is up.  They mark how far they get and start again by switching the starting position.  So far, the 2nd graders are getting farther when they read but it is great for them to practice simple words with increasing difficulty.  The first graders are beginning to make progress.  This strategy is also a good practice in cooperation and patience.

Technology Integration

Two Tech tools I used and how they went:

I began using Ipads and Educreations with my students a couple weeks ago.  First, I incorporated 2nd grade vocabulary from the basal into an Educreation activity that was described in detail on my previous blog.  This past week the students used the Ipad camera and Educreations to modify a story from their basal called, "Helping Out".  They took pictures that showed "helping out" around ORE. Next they organized the pictures and wrote a sentence for each page.  They had to incorporate the weekly vocab. words within the sentences as well.  Lastly, they practiced and recorded their voices reading the story.  The project took much longer than I had anticipated but the end product was really well done.  I emailed them to their classroom teachers and they loved them.  Some showed them to the whole class while others posted them on their schoology page.  These activities are engaged the students and providing higher level technology integration into my groups.  Overall, I am engaged and happy with how I am accomplishing my goal so far and so are the kids.

The next Tech activity I did was with the 3rd and 4th graders who attend Adventure Reading, our new after school program.  The lead teachers and I had the students read a book and then use the app, Animoto, to share the elements of the story.  The students would take a picture of the page in the book that the setting was found on. Then the students would add a text frame telling what the setting was.  From there they would move to the Title, characters, problem, and solution.  Once finished, they would put the slides in order and add a sound track and video design.  What a fun activity.  The kids loved it and wanted to make more than the one that was planned for the day.  The only problem was that the app was not a full version so the kids had to pick four pictures to use instead of adding all the elements.  As a result, the story review was only half done.  It seems to happen often with technology...what is planned is sometimes difficult to make happen because of glitches that get in the way.

Blogging Community January Strategy

Keeping in line with trying out new technology tools, the past couple of weeks I have been using ITalk to record my student's reading.  First we talked about what makes a good reader:  rate, accuracy, and expression.  Then I had them practicing reading a story working on the three areas.  When they were ready, they recorded themselves reading the story.  When they finished they got to play the recording back.  I asked them if they had ever heard themselves reading and all said no.  They were very interested in how they sounded.  I had them talk about their rate, accuracy, and expression along with what they did well and where they could improve.  I monitored their progress before we started and will again right before winter break.  I am looking forward to seeing if will help them grow faster toward the grade level benchmarks.