Thursday, June 24, 2010

xtra normal for reading conversations

I've been inspired by seeing colleagues using xtra normal for different purposes to think again about ways of using it in the classroom. It would take more time than your average turn and talk, but what about students creating xtranormal movies to reproduce or create conversations about their independent reading? Here's my example on what I'm currently reading... (The characters had a little trouble pronouncing "dystopic" and "Kafka." :)

Thursday, June 17, 2010

Teacher modeling with podcasts: reflections

Teacher modeling was a key part of podcasting with fifth and sixth grade students this year. This booktalk, by sixth grade teacher Kim Draganchuk on The Loved Dog by Tamar Gellerow, serves not only as a model of an exemplary booktalk (we created a checklist of what students would need to do to "sell" their book to other students), but is also a great example for students of how adults read nonfiction for specific information. My booktalk on Stargirl by Jerry Spinelli, served as a model for fiction. Students were motivated by the idea of their booktalks being done as podcasts, especially when we told them their podcasts would be published on the school web site.

Wednesday, June 16, 2010

Artisan Cam Rules!

Solana and I tried out Artisan Cam which was recommended in a teacher blog for student book making. She created The Four Penguins with minimal assistance. Lots of fun for elementary age! The characters are a bit limited, but I guess that could be a good thing. She was very interested in writing the blurb for the back page. (This is something her teacher models regularly.)

Wednesday, June 9, 2010

More fun with photobooth

Solana loves it-- can see the possibilities for creative writing with students...

Wednesday, June 2, 2010

Buddy Reading

My sister recommended this book to me since her son enjoyed reading it with her when he was Solana's age. (Thanks to Joan and Benjamin!) It's nice for partner reading, since each person's lines as well as the lines to read together are highlighted in different colors. This one is the "scary" version, with what they call "short tales" which seem more like poems to me about monsters, zombies, ghouls, etc., always a favorite topic at our house as long as they aren't too scary, which these definitely aren't. Below is a short flip video of us reading the introduction.