Making Stories Talk

Have you been testing this week? It's a pretty straight-forward format - teachers read directions, students are quiet, read the questions silently and mark their responses. When they are finished for the day, both teachers and students are looking for exciting ways to express their ideas and things they are learning and have learned throughout the year. So why not put some sound in the mix and make your stories talk!

Below are a few of the tools I like to help the teachers incorporate into their lessons and students request them as a favorite and fun way to share their ideas (and even do a homework assignment).

Blabberize is a fun way to take a photo and make it look like it's talking. Your creation can be done in just a few minutes by uploading a photo, mark the moving points for the "mouth", and record your voice/message. It can then be shared on a blog or website.

Voki allows you to add your voice to a talking avatar that you've created or use one provided. It is a great way to present an idea and can be shared on a website or blog. The Voki website has free lesson plans for all grade levels and subject areas.

Voicethread is a easy way to create an audio presentation and allow others to comment through phone, text, microphone, webcam, or upload a file. You can even draw on the page while recording your comment.

Here are some of the ideas we used for our "talking stories."

• "All About Me" story
• Events from a field trip
• Book Talk
• Movie Trailer
• Demonstrate a Concept, Rule, etc.
• Explain a topic (Cyberbullying)
• Present an "Oral Test"
• Recreate an historical event

Whenever you get ready to have the students create a story, demonstrate a mathematical process, review for a test (and the list could go on forever), maybe one of these tools will bring a little "vocalization" into your classroom. Feel free to share your ideas for a talking story. I'll help spread the word.

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Learning Through the Summer

Now that we are closing in on the end of the school year the big question is how to extend your students learning throughout the summer.  Do you give the students reading lists that you hope they will do?  Do you want them to sit in front of a computer all summer?  Do we have to follow the norm like ducklings behind their mother?  Now don't misunderstand me I am open for online learning, to an extent, but it needs to be done in moderation sometimes where activity can be inserted into the equation.  I know that growing up I did not have all the things to distract me as students do today.  My mother would send my brothers and I out in the morning with a hope and a prayer that we would not get into too much trouble.  Oh, and would come home sometime during the day to eat or at least be home for dinner.  That was my life, but today's students have so much more to occupy their time than just playing in the dirt or running around with the neighborhood kids or even just sitting around in the shade when it gets too hot out to keep running around.  I was fortunate enough that I had a parent at home and grandparents nearby to help keep an eye on us.  That may not be the case today, so what do you do to help your child(ren) continue to learn throughout the summer while making it fun and interesting.

What about some of these activities to help keep the learning going.

The Children's Museum of Winston-Salem Summer Camps
The Northwest NC YMCA Summer Camps
Mad Science Summer Camps
SciWorks Summer Camps
Summer Camp Programs at Creative Palooza
YMCA Camp Hanes Summer Programs

Don't forget about these places in or near Winston-Salem as well

Reynolda House Museum of Art
Reynolda Gardens
The Gardens at Old Salem
MESDA - The Museum of Early Southern Decorative Arts
The Children's Theatre of Winston-Salem
TangleWood Park and Gardens
The Asheboro Zoo
Historic Bethabara Park

Now these may not sound as interesting or glamorous as playing video games, Facebook, or shopping at the mall but who knows your child(ren) just might surprise you and thank you for taking them.  Learning should never end when you leave the classroom for the summer.  Maybe with a little bit of coaxing you can help your child(ren) to enjoy some non-digital means of learning that can help them to become life-long learners.

photo credit: pedrosimoes7 via photo pin cc

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Using CPS and Audacity to Create Read Aloud Tests

There are times when test questions need to be read aloud to students. Since you can add audio to questions in CPS, it occurred to me that a teacher could use Audacity to record themselves reading the question. That would allow the student to simply click a button to hear the question read to them. The test can be given as a teacher lead test with the student setting the pace. All the teacher would need to do is start the test and then let the student take it from there.


If you have ever used Audacity before, I think you will agree that it is relatively easy make a recording. Each question would only be a minute or two. Just remember to export the recoding as an mp3 file. Then you would add the recording to each question individually.

To add the recording to the question in CPS, choose “notes and media” from the question drop down (in the options area of the question). Click on the audio/video tab in the question note window. Click browse and navigate to your audio file and double click it. Click “ok’ in the CPS – fine details window. Then click “save & close”. Click save and close (two separate buttons this time).

To give the test., click on the engage tab. Put a check next to the name of the lesson (test). Click the engage button. Remember, the test will have to be teacher lead since the student will have to hear the audio. At each question the student can click on the notes button to listen to the audio.

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Have you checked your mail today?

Have you gone to check your mailbox today?

Not your inbox for email but your mailbox for mail from the postal service ....

Did you know that on May 15, 1918, US airmail began service?

I did not know that but I will tell you how I learned it .... I went to Thinkfinity's Today In History calendar.  On the page above the calendar, you can find information about some of the special things we celebrate. Then there are tabs for you to choose which type of calendar you would like to look at: Year, Month, Week, Day.

For each day, there is a small piece of interesting information linked to a page full of resources from Thinkfinity's Content Partners where you can investigate the topic even more.

Here are the Thinkfinity resources related to the even that happened May 15, 1918 (I think the comparison of writing emails and writing letters adds a modern twist):

The first airmail route in the United States was over the 200 mile distance between New York and Washington, D.C., with a stop in Philadelphia. One round-trip flight was flown each day except Sunday. For the first few months, the airmail service was a joint effort of the War Department, which provided the planes and pilots, and the Post Office Department, which handled the mail.

By September of 1920, airmail service routes existed from New York all the way to San Francisco. The airmail system that developed was far different from the first attempts at delivering mail by air, which occurred in France in 1870 when letters were sent skyward attached to balloons. 

ReadWriteThink
Who’s Got Mail? Using Literature to Promote Authentic Letter Writing (3–5) uses literature and shared writing to teach letter-writing format and promote authentic letter writing. 

In Mail Time! An Integrated Postcard and Geography Study (K–2), students write to friends and family asking them to send picture postcards. This activity provides motivation for writing and reading and provides a wonderful opportunity to learn about maps as students discover where their family members and friends live.

Students learn to think about and question texts in ways that develop their analytical capacities and critical reading practices by investigating junk mail in Investigating Junk Mail: Negotiating Critical Literacy at the Mailbox (3–5).

In Exploring Literature through Letter Writing Groups (9–12), students discuss literature through a series of letter exchanges.

Airmail significantly increased the speed with which long distance communication could occur. Today, e-mail has further revolutionized written long-distance communication. In What's the Difference? Beginning Writers Compare E-mail with Letter Writing (K–2), students explore the differences between e-mail and letter writing by contrasting and identifying different forms, and experimenting with their own e-mail and letter compositions.

Smithsonian's History Explorer
Write a letter and then take it to the post office using helpful advice in Send Lincoln a Letter (K-4), an activity based on the children's book Mr. Lincoln's Whiskers.

Science NetLinks
E-mail communication is also the subject of the Science Update Lying on Email (6–12), which discusses a new study examining how to detect lies in e-mail.

EDSITEment
In the unit I’m Gonna Sit Right Down and Write Someone a Letter (3–5), students use historical letters as a starting point for discussion of and practice in the conventions and purposes of letter writing.

photo credit: Today is a good day via photo pin cc

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What are you doing this month?

Did you know that one of the themes for the month of May is National Physical Fitness and Sports Month?

I found this information on Thinkfinity:

Join the President's Council on Physical Fitness and Sports and discover the benefits of exercise and a healthy lifestyle. Learn more as you explore these lessons, interactives, and resources from Thinkfinity and its Content Partners.

• Exercise and Nutrition Resources This collection of resources from ScienceNetLinks offers lessons, tools, and podcasts on these topics for all ages. (Science | Health | All Grades)
• Reading into Action Discover how to turn an engaging story into a physical activity with ideas from this ArtsEdge tipsheet. (Reading | Physical Education | All Grades)   
• What Is a Slam Dunk? Trace the meaning of the phrase from its beginnings in basketball to its current use in other fields. Then test your athletic powers with physical activity followed by creative work on your sports vocabulary. (Science | Vocabulary | Grades PK-6) 
• Health Photo Gallery Consider the geographic implications of health and nutrition through these photographs that reflect how health and exercise are influenced by where people live, work, and play. (Primary Sources | Culture | Grades 3-12)   
• Write "Moving" Sports Poetry What verbs describe the movements of your favorite sports hero? Watch short videos of sports athletes in action and share what you observe in the form of sports poetry. (Writing | Grades 3-5)   
• Got Broccoli? Explore the connection between what you eat and the body's ability to grow and repair itself. (Science | Nutrition | Grades 3-5)  
• MyPlate Food Guide Investigate the USDA's MyPlate Food Guide to learn what foods provide the nutrients your body needs to be active and to maintain a healthy weight. (Science | Health | Grades 6-8)  
• The Victor's Virtue: A Cultural History of Sports Learn how sports, philosophy, and culture intersect through the Greek word arete. Examine Greek primary source texts to discover how this concept applies to current high school sports culture. (History | Literature | Grades 9-12)

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When looking through those resources, did you notice the ways that literacy was connected to sports and nutrition in each of them?

Think about the opportunities for reading, writing, research, creating, thinking, and reflecting explored in those resources ....

photo credit: Patrick|Choi via photo pin cc 

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Summer Fun Resources

When I was at an elementary school this week, a 2nd grade teacher asked for some web resources to teach about summer and seasons. I found several and wanted to share them in case someone else might want these same resources.

Summer Learning Explorations: lesson plans, activities, and field trip information. Includes art, math, and science. Click on the Resources and Tools tab to find interactives pertaining to summer.

BrightIdeas for Summer: fun reading lesson plans.

SummerFun for Kids: crafts, activities, games, etc. for students.

SummerActivities: want to learn to make ice cream? Create stories with a summer theme? Find the information here.

Ideas for Summer Fun: more crafts and activities for students with a summer theme.

Summer Holidays: students can learn more about the summer holidays; what they are and when they are celebrated.

SummerFun Lessons & Activities: lessons and activities pertaining to summer.

Seasons: students can learn about all the seasons with lesson plans and videos (scroll to Four Seasons Videos and check out Winnie the Pooh)

These lesson plans and activities would also be good extension activities for families this summer.

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Some More Twitter Chats Worth Checking Out

It's been almost 1 and half years since I last wrote about my favorite Twitter chats. Since then many have come and gone, some have changed and some new ones have emerged worth checking out.

First, to participate you don't need a Twitter account. Chats are a great way to passively learn with lots of people. I am a big believer in the power of the network. And while eventually you will want to jump in you don't have to at first. Head over to search.twitter.com and do a search for the hashtag of the chat. (Not sure about hashtags. Not worry! Here is a post all about them.)

Of course if you want to interact and join the conversation, you are gonna need a Twitter account. (Not worry about that. I've got you covered there too. Check out my Twitter Livebinder to get started.) You can use your favorite Twitter client like Tweetdeck or Hootsuite and set up columns that will search for the hashtag for you. Or you can use some websites built specifically for chats on Twitter. Tweetchat and Tweetgrid are 2 of the most popular. They are great because to join the chat all you need to do is include the hashtag. These sites include it for you so you never forget.

So what about the chats? There are lots and lots. You can see on this spreadsheet just how many there are. You could spend just about every waking moment on Twitter engaged in a chat. But there are a couple for educators that you should definitely check out.

#Edchat-Tuesdays 7pm and 12pm EDT- Yes. I am a biased. As one of the founders its hard to leave this one off the list. The main chat is at 7pm and the other at 12pm is aimed at our friends in Europe and abroad. The topics are voted on Sunday-Tuesday mornings and encompass a wide range of topics.

#SSchat-Mondays 7pm EDT- This chat for Social Studies teachers has some of the brightest minds on Twitter that participate. Their topics, while centered around social studies, range from portfolios, to PBL to Understanding by Design. Whether you are teaching Kindergarten or AP American History, this is a chat worth your time.

#Engchat-Mondays 7pm EDT- This chat for teachers of English does some very interesting chats and often has special guests and moderators.

#PTchat-Wednesdays 9pm EDT- This is one of those chats that has seen a lot of changes. Now that my friend Joe Mazza is heading it up, it is finally doing some good. Joe is trying to bridge the gap between parents and schools and in this chat he invites parents to talk about issues with education from their perspective. It is a chat that gets bigger and bigger every week and one that I enjoy lurking in on.

#NTchat-Wednesdays 8pm EDT- Another chat I love to lurk on is this one from my friend Lisa Dabbs. They share topics and resources for New Teachers but you don't have to be new to participate. They share such great stuff I always have something I can share the next day.

#Elemchat-Saturdays 6pm EDT-For teachers in the lower grade levels, this chat is always a good time. The stories they share in addition to the resources are great for anyone that sits in here.

Not big on chats? Not a problem. Follow these hashtags anyway. People use the hashtags to extend the reach of their tweets so there are usually great things posted all week long at all times of day. So while you might not want the conversation, you can still reap the rewards by following them.

And don't forget, Jerry (Cybraryman) has curated and organized all the educational Twitter chats into a webpage that is easy to read. So you can no doubt find something for your content area or interest.

These are my favorites. What are some of yours? Leave the details below.

Image details here. 

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Preparing Your Teacher Website For the Summer

The end of the school year is coming upon us so you might want to start thinking about preparing your teacher website for the summer once the dust settles on the EOC tests. Some items you can add to your site are educational games, summer reading lists, subject level projects, Art activities, summer holiday resources, printable online resources, subject level resources and references and online quizzes. As you know, students can never get enough testing!


Teacher Vision has a page of summer links you can check out by clicking here http://www.teachervision.fen.com/summer/teacher-resources/6668.html.

You might also want to develop your website further by following a few of the tips you can find when you log into Schoolwires and click on the “Editor Best Practices” tab of any page (while in the edit mode). You can also click the “How Do I” tab and look at the “Best Practices for Teacher Sections” in the Additional Resources column. Please remember that our District font is Trebuchet MS size 3 for title text and size 2 for regular text.

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Making the Most of Virtual Field Trips

Have you ever asked your students if they could go anywhere in the world where would that be?  Are you worried about the answers that you might get, don't?  With the budget issues we are always looking for alternative ways students can get an understanding of not only their immediate surroundings but what it is like around the world.  Yes we study World Cultures, US History, Ancient Civilizations etc., but most of the time that is being taught from print materials.  How can we as teachers make a difference in student learning so that it is more engaging and fun for them.  After you ask the students the places that they would like to go around the world and at home, take those choices and start creating Virtual Field Trips(VFT) of them.  If some of the choices closely relate to your current curriculum use them first and save the others for a quick filler activity. You have heard about VFT's for years so you may be wondering what else can be done to make them more engaging for students to get the most out of the activities.  You may already be using web quests so your students can gather information about the areas they want to visit.  So what else can you do?  Here are some quick little changes to what you are already doing that you can use with the students to get them more involved in the VFT.

The first thing that some people think of when it comes to VFT's is the use of Google Earth, an interactive software, that allows you to "..fly around the Earth to see cities, places, businesses, different terrains, images and 3D models."   Some may just use Google Maps to travel from place to place where you can switch between a Map and Satellite view.  You now also have an option to use a Google Earth plugin which mimics the stand alone program through the Google Maps website.  Others will use Web Browser searching for students to participate in VFT's.  Is this enough though to keep students engaged?   What else are you having your students doing while they are traveling?  So how do you takes things one step further.

Have your students create a video tour of their VFT and save it as a project they can add to their student portfolio.  If you are not familiar with these features in Google Earth along the top toolbar are a few things that will allow you to accomplish this.  You have the Placemark button which allow you to put a Pin at a location which then offers you the ability to add a description, images and web links.  Then after the students have placed a number of Pins in their location they can use the Add a Path button to create a path through their location.  Then they can use the Record a Tour button to create a video of the locations that they have visited.  If the Historical Images button is available they can even go back in time during their video tour to show an area through history as it has developed over time.

In Google Maps I recently discussed, in "A New Twist on Google Maps," how you can create your own custom maps and then share them with your students so they can collaborate, add information and update them at any time.  You as the teacher can also share links to the map and even embed it into a website, blog or wiki for your students to share and access.  So this would allow your students to keep a running log of all the VFT that they have gone on during a school year with all of their research stored in the map.

Another fun thing you can do in the planning process for your VFT is as you are gathering the location data you can put it into a spread sheet and then import that into a website called Batch-Geo.  This website as discussed in, Quick & Easy Mapping Made Easy, will take the spread sheet data and create an interactive map from it.  This can provide your students with a visual representation of all the locations they can choose from for their Virtual Field Trip.

Lastly, if you really want to get fancy with your VFT you can have your students create short videos about the location they are working on.  You can create green screen videos of your students flying over to the location and then stand and give a quick introduction about the place all the while in the background people see them flying and then pictures.  The students could even do mock interviews with people on the street, athletes and leaders from the area you are visiting.

Here is another blog article about Virtual Field Trips from @dbates479

This blog, Internet Explorers: Virtual Field Trips Are More Than Just Money Savers from Kara Platoni on edutopia shares even more.

Just a few things there that can help keep your students engaged.  Now as always I invite you to comment about other ways you are using Virtual Field Trips in your classroom below.

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What is the title of the last thing you read?

I posted the same blog post on two different blogs ...the same blog post, but I put a different title with each of them.

When I write blog posts, I generally don't give them a title until I am done writing ....

But when I read blog posts, the title is the first thing I read (or see posted with a link) ...

Reading titles provides me with an idea of the focus of the information that is to follow. (I can also be persuaded to read an article or even to shy away from reading an article based on my impression of the title). I want titles to be interesting and not tell me exactly what I am going to read but just hint at it and encourage me to think about what the topic could be ....

Once I read and think about the title, I read the blog post or article using a lens or filter with the focus of the title in my mind .... I guess I am trying to say that it influences my understanding of and inferences made while I am reading.

Think about the last blog posts or articles you read ...

How much attention did you pay to the titles of them?

Did the title have anything to do with whether or not you chose to read the information?

Many times book title and cover illustrations are the ways our children choose book to read or to have read to them.

I know you are not supposed to judge a book by its cover .... but that happens a lot.

So what do you think the title of this blog post should be?

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After I wrote this blog, I came across a lesson on ReadWriteThink that goes along with this idea perfectly:

The Importance of Titles: From Big Blank Space to Small Good Thing

This lesson asks students to examine two sets of stories that author Raymond Carver renamed in revision: “Popular Mechanics,” which he renamed “Little Things,” and “Everything Stuck to Him,” which he renamed “Distance.” 

After predicting what the stories “Popular Mechanics” and “Little Things” will be about based only on their titles, the class is divided in half, with each half reading one of the stories. Students discuss the significance of the titles in the two stories, unaware at first that the stories are the same. Next, students read “Everything Stuck to Him” and “Distance,” focusing on the significance of the two titles to determine how each title affects the reader’s perception and understanding of the story. After reading and discussing the four stories, students write a reflective essay in which they defend their choice of a title for one of the two sets of Carver stories.

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