Using Voicethreads with Mrs. Groom's Room

Hello sweet friends!  

It's Shana Grooms from Mrs. Grooms' Room!  I hope everyone is having a great summer.  School has already started for some, (Can you believe that?  Wow!), and some of us are getting ready for the big day. Yikes!!  

I wanted to share one of my favorite websites and app called Voicethreads that I like to use throughout the year:

VOICETHREAD!!!

What is a VoiceThread anyway?

I don't know how often many of my friends out there use VoiceThread but it is such an easy website to use and it's an AWESOME way to showcase your student's work, ideas, and projects.  It is a website that you can use to showcase and tell about your work, whether it is a painting or story or project. Friends, family, or teachers can comment on the project as well.  So if Johnny tells about his writing, then Grandma can say, "Johnny, you did a great job!"

Here is one that I did a couple of years ago with my students.  They wrote the script themselves AND read it on the mic!   Their voices are so cute especially when the roots hold the plant in the ground!!  :)

http://voicethread.com/share/3595068/

Here is one that I did for my substitute teachers...ya know...when I am out because of mental exhaustion and anxieties?    It goes along with my sub plans for The Little Red Hen!  If you have them, use my Voicethread!  And you can hear me!!  Aaghh!  :)  (And the funny part is I tried to use character voices! What was I thinking?)

THE LITTLE RED HEN

Here is what you can do to get started on VoiceThread:
1)  Set up an account.  It is free for the first five VoiceThreads!
2)  Take pictures of what you want to comment on or read about.
3)  Upload your pictures to VoiceThread.
4)  Comment on your pictures.  (This means reading the page or saying something about your picture.  It could be you commenting, one of your students commenting, or it could be many of your students commenting!)
5)  You can share your work with family and friends.  They can comment on your work too!  Cool, huh?

6)  You can use it on your iPad, too!!!  

It is very, very easy.  In fact, I would dare say it is easier than most programs. I promise, if you try it...you will love it.  I do one or two every year.  It is great technology practice for the younger students and they just die a little when the hear their voices.  Haha!  


By the way, here is one I did of Pumpkin Jack....not my best by far but my poor copy of Pumpkin Jack was truly decomposing so I had to find a way to save him!

PUMPKIN JACK

Let me know how you use VoiceThread!  Hope you have a great start to your year!! 

Class Dojo

Hello! Michele here from Triple the Love In Grade 1! I am excited to be posting on ITeach First for Techy Tuesday! 

 I’m here to tell you about my experience with Class Dojo. This will be my 3rd year using it in my classroom. A friend of mine who teaches kindergarten asked me about it and said “oh, I’m not that good with the computer! Am I going to be able to do it?” The answer is YES you are! Maybe the hardest part is typing in all your students names! Super easy to learn and use!

If you are not familiar at all with Class Dojo, here is a link to a video with the basics. 

Basically, Class Dojo is a new way to monitor class behavior. No more clip charts. No more tally marks. No more flipping cards. Everything is done electronically through their website. All of the material they offer is FREE for educators!

Ok, so after using Class Dojo for 3 years now, here are some tips:

1 - Those parents that are logged in will see everything and want to know EVERYTHING about why their child lost a point. Think about it. The old way of keeping track was only seen by you. Students moved cards or clips back and forth throughout the day with just the two of you knowing. Parents were only notified of a large in fracture of the rules. 

With Class Dojo, not raising their hand, talking while the teacher is talking, getting out of their seat, (just to name a few - remember you can customize) will be seen by parents where in the past, it wasn’t. Don’t forget, parents will also see the good choices their child makes throughout the day. Class Dojo truly makes children accountable for their choices and decisions AND their parents will know it AND their parents will want to know WHY and HOW and REALLY?

I know a few teachers who have decided to not share the parent feature to avoid the problem of constant messaging with parents about why points were taken away. You have to think about whether or not you are ready to let parents know that “After several requests, Johnny still did not clean up his area”. 

This year, I plan on spending quit a bit of time at Back to School Night explaining how Class Dojo works. 

Be ready to explain your decisions and choices about giving and taking away points in case a parent asks.

2 - Use the attendance feature and take attendance with Class Dojo. This way if you award the entire class for making a smart choice, Johnny who is home sick, won’t be getting a free point. And vice versa, he won’t be losing points and parents won’t be asking why Johnny lost a point if he wasn’t in school that day.

3 - REWARD students at the end of the week with a small prize if they accumulate a desired amount of points. This will encourage those students whose parents might not be logged in to Dojo. Sometimes I hear “my mom doesn’t check it anyway”. And true, she may not but I have your behavior documented to show her at our next meeting. 

4 - Use the data that is collected for you! Use it for report cards. Use it for conferences! It is there! You clicked on a behavior (positive or negative) for a student and the program has it recorded by student by date by time. They do most of the work! Ok, you have to enter it in but it is just a click!

Thanks for stopping by! I hope this post has helped you decide if Class Dojo is right for you! It is Techy Tuesday, but you don’t have to be that “techy” to get this behavior system up and running in your classroom. If you have any questions or need help let me know! 

Cheers friends - until next time!

Michele @

Using Tablets to teach Fluency

Hi there! I'm Bridget from Hardcore Teacher Resources! This is my 9th year teaching and I have experience across the elementary board, I have taught gifted first grade, second grade, K-5 gifted, and kindergarten. I like to switch it up every once in awhile, but my passion for learning, infusing real world experiences into the classroom, and pushing students to think creatively has not changed! 

I'm amped about collaborating with the fabulous bloggers of I Teach First! Though I will be shifting over to I Teach K in the fall because, well, I will be teaching K! :) 

Welcome to Techy Tuesday! Today I want to show you an easy way to teach fluency using tablets/ipads or ipods. 


So when my school first got an Ipod Lab for the school that we could check out I was really excited. My principal wanted to see how we could integrate them in the classroom. 

HOWEVER.... it took our tech person a long time to add any apps. 

My formal observation was coming up and my principal challenged us to incorporate technology for our formals. And I'm always up for a challenge... but without any apps I was wondering how I was going to achieve it. I needed to work with what I had!

So even with no apps on there I figured out a great way to incorporate it and my kids were amped! 

1. Model how to use the recording function on the ipad/ipod/tablet. The ipods/ipads have a little microphone looking thing. Every tablet comes with a recording function. I did this is in a circle while each student had the tablet in their hands.

2. I reviewed (for the millionth time) good fluency, bad fluency, modeled stopping at the periods,etc. 

3. I had students choose a "Just Right" book from their book boxes. (You could assign them a book or they could all be reading the same thing) 

4. If you have enough tablets for 1:1, students can go to their own book nooks to record themselves for 4 minutes reading. 

5. After 4 minutes reading, pass out the checklist. Students should listen to themselves reading and assess how they did.
Free Fluency Checklist!

6. On the next page, they listen to a partner's reading and assess their reading as well!

My principal loved the lesson and the kids loved using the technology with a purpose! I really noticed an improvement in my kids' fluency and it was a good tool to bring back in small group when some of them slipped off the fluency wagon! 

I think by hearing themselves it really brings to light some things they need to improve on. 

You could even do the same thing the next week (with the same book) to see if they notice an improvement!

Hope you love this easy way to teach fluency using a tablet! Thanks for being a rockstar teacher!

Bridget

Computer Use Management Tip

Hi everyone! I’m Mona from First Grade Schoolhouse. I'm excited to be posting here for the first time. I have a classroom management tip for you today that I hope you'll be able to use in your classroom.

I continually reflect on and revise how I manage the classroom activities that go on throughout the school day. I’m forever asking myself, “Is there a better or easier way to do this?” 

I thought I’d share a simple and easy tip for managing student computer use that I use.

We have two online programs that we use at my school. One is RAZ-Kids on Learning A-Z, and the other is ST Math. I have 4 computers in my classroom. The students rotate thru RAZ-Kids during our language block time. They rotate thru ST Math during our small group math activity time.

I manage student computer use by using numbered cards on a ring that are hung on the side of each computer. I have two different sets of cards – one for reading and one for math.

I use hooks that easily adhere to the monitor and can be taken off without damaging it.

I use the math cards for ST Math and the reading cards for RAZ-Kids.

I hold the numbered cards together with a metal ring.

Here’s how it works:

The students in the class have an assigned number. Each student flips his/her card to the next student number card when that child's time is up on the computer. That student then tells the next student that it's his/her turn on the computer.

Students flip the cards to see who's next. 

It's an easy way for students to monitor taking turns on the computer. I can divide up the numbered cards and use them on different computers. I can also choose just the specific numbers assigned to the students who will be using the computer during a time period. And because they don't have names on them, they're ready to go for the following year.

Here's a set of the reading cards. It includes numbered cards for 1 thru 28. 

Click on the picture to download.

Here's a set of the math cards. It includes numbered cards for 1 thru 28.

Click on the picture to download.

I hope you've found this tip helpful. I'd love to hear how these work for you. Enjoy!