The Littles Go Exploring

This lesson was really enjoyed by not only the students but by myself as well. I used this small group of students because they were the highest level readers and were not being challenged. I wanted to challenge them in the comprehension area of reading as well as fluency.Before they began to read the book on their own I read the first two pages of every chapter and asked them to draw conclusions of what will happen next. Next I allowed them to finish the chapter on their own. As the students began to read their first chapter book I asked them to try and remember what they were reading. Once they finished their first chapter I asked them questions about what happened. Next I had them draw a picture summarizing what happened in each chapter. They really enjoyed this more than writing about what happened. I then took pictures of their pictures and posted them on voice thread. Finally the students recorded a summary of what each chapter was about using the pictures as a reference. The downfall of this project was that as a pre-service teacher EC-6 generalist I was not able to work as much with the students that I liked. Because of this the students were only able to record their voices once but while I was gone they continued to read and draw their pictures. My clinical teacher was not able to use voice thread because she did not have enough time or a microphone to use. All in all, in the future I will utilize voice thread with my students. The lesson was enjoyed greatly by the students. It was a great way to subsitute for writing. Here is what the students were able to complete. I will continue to work with them till the end of the school year to finish the voice thread. I hope you enjoy hearing about The Littles Exploring!

Voice Thread

I have decided to incorporate Voice Thread into my TIE plan. I feel that voice thread would be the most effective for this grade level. With proper guidance i feel that my students will be able to understand the concept of voice thread as well as how to access and use this important type of technology. Also I feel that it would be the easiest form of technology for others to access such as parents and other students. Along with being able to access it students will be able to use voice thread from home once done with an assignment. All in all I feel that voice thread will become a success in the classroom.

Google Presentations

The collective tool of my choice is Google presentation. I envision using this in my classroom in several ways. One particular way would be to allow students to work together on presentations at different times. This tool is great for students to work together and input each of their work without having to meet. Also another way is how Dr. Elwood showed us. At the beginning of the semester she had us insert a slide with a picture of ourselves along with other information of ourselves. This was a great way for students to get to know each other. I would incorporate this in my classroom as possibly a take home project for students to do with parents.

First Grade Bloggers

I would use blogging in my classroom to enhance my students reading and writing. I would give my students an opportunity to blog each day. Some days I would have my student’s blog about themselves; other days I would ask them to reflect about the lesson given that day. Doing this will give students a chance to synthesize and analyze the lesson. Also it will check for understanding. I feel that blogging will help develop and increase cognitive development.

I couldn’t imagine first graders blogging until I found a blog that contained a whole classroom of first graders blogging! Check out this blog of first graders and how the teacher is incorporating reading and writing through technology.