5th Rotation - videos on my videos

We got the online subscription to Fountas & Pinnell that can be used with our Follett catalog system. It doesn't level all the books but it has been really helpful for students getting "just right" books. I find that it is more accurate than the reading levels.  

Kindergarteners came to the library dressed in wedding dresses because they had just learned that "Q" and "U" got married to make "QU." I made an iMovie of the kids and grabbed a new book I had bought called, "Flower Girl." Luckily it had "qu" words in it because the munchkins were on the prowl for them.

With the other classes I gave one student an iPad and they took pictures with it. I told them they could only take 6 (one boy had 6 of my kneecaps... guess that's all he sees when I read). Then I posted them to my library web site. I want kids to use it to post their iPad work.

Grade 1 retold and acted out the Halloween story, "Mrs. McMurphy's Pumpkin," by Rick Walton. An evil pumpkin boasts it will eat Mrs. McMurphy but she gets the best of him in the end. I used iMovie.

Grade 2 was read "The Perfect Pumpkin Pie," by Denys Cazet. It is a fun one to change voices and do a scary moan. It was too long to add an activity afterwards.  

Grade 3 was read "The Fantastic Flying Books of Mr. Morris Lessmore," by William Joyce, then watched the 15 minute video that won academy award for best short film. We talked about the author's message afterwards. That was hard for the students and I found their varying responses fascinating. I was surprised how much the students liked this wordless short film. They would ask when it was done for me to play it again.

Grade 4 - Classes were shown Fountas & Pinnell and changed their passwords on Follett because kids were hacking into each others Destiny Quest. Developmentally, grade 4 students don't seem to get it when it comes to respecting each others virtual space. One class finished their book trailers. The pappy pig dance is below:

 Grade 5 - I showed them Fountas & Pinnell. They started a nonfiction unit. I also booktalked with kids that teachers felt needed extra attention. Two teachers gave me 7 kids and it was hard getting through that many. Plus it takes me 20 to 30 minutes pulling "just right" books for kids so the prep time is horrendous. Hopefully it helps the teacher.

 Tennis season started and I made a video of tryouts.

4th Rotations: Shipwrecked Lessons

Ever have a week of lessons that seem to bomb? This was my week. The ship didn't always sink to the bottom of the ocean but it came close.

Kindergarten: I spent two hours pulling picture book titles that told a story and then had the kindergarteners act it out. They didn't really get it and didn't learn much so I dropped it. Developmentally it was not "just right." Oh well. Here's the video:

Grade 1: I read the book, Sometimes You Get What You Want by Meredith Gary, and had students use My Story app on the iPad. They were supposed to write something following the pattern but they just played with the app. There is learning in that but it wasn't the objective. Next time I will have them write down what they will use and I think it is better if done later in the year when grade 1 is better at writing.

Grade 2: We read new books. I got boxes of them and just read different ones.

Grade 3: The students used pic collage to find books and then I wanted them to write a reflection and post the pic collage on the school blog. The school blog was down so I created one on blogger but the students didn't really write good reflections. I sat in and watched a grade 3 teachers reflection and I liked how she had the kids turn and talk. I don't give them enough time to process. Plus, I'm hyper and that works against me.

Grade 4: I can't remember what I did with this grade. Oh yeah, one class made book trailers using iMovie. Only one group of 3 finished in 30 minutes. Afterwards I realized that the students should have written down their book trailer. Most didn't make sense. I did make them use picture books which helped simplify the project. Here's the only finished product on a Mo Willems book:

Grade 5: Finished the Overdrive eBook lesson by registering with Adobe and downloading a book. I made this photo with Pic Collage

 

3rd Rotation: Lessons for Grades KA - 5

I lost my library for the week because photos were being taken. At one point there were 4 classes in the library and a bunch of parents. There were probably 100 people and of course I had the grade 3 class with focusing issues. Needless to say they had a tough time doing the lesson. Look below for more on it.

I was using the iPads with grades 3-5 and we were squished in the back. It took me awhile to figure out how to teach in a different space. I used the iPads with the document camera and I also wiped out with an iPad in my arms. Nothing like making a point. I just got done explaining that students had to be careful with them and particularly around me because I am a klutz. I go to sit on my stool and the seat has been moved up two inches. I ended up missing it and falling backwards into the wall with the iPad. Because I didn't want anything to happen to the iPad, I cradled it to my chest and just let myself fall backwards. I hit my head on the stool, bruised both elbows, and cut my ankle. I untangled my limbs, stood up, and said I didn't mean to give students a demonstration. No one laughed. They were perfect little angels the rest of class. I think I scared them.

KA- We read new books. I also put the iPad Story Chimes book, 3 little Pigs, up on the LCD screen. Originally I wanted the KA kids to use the iPads but when I tested it on 2 kids they didn't really get it so I put the story up on the screen. They loved it. I did this at the end when they were looking for books.

K -I read, The Very Greed Bee, by Steve Smallman. Cute story about a bee that eats so much he can't fly back home. Other insects help him along the way. We also read, The Duckling Gets a Cookie!? by Mo Willems. The duckling shares a cookie with the pigeon. Funny twist at the end.

Grade 1 - We read, Ladybug Girl and Bingo, by David Soman.

Grade 2 - We read, Bink & Gollie Two for One, by Kate Dicamillo and Allison McGhee. Just as good as book 1. I laughed so hard at the illustrations. I'll have to review this book. A winner.

Grade 3 - We used the iPads for a book location game. This was really successful. I used the Pic Collage App. Students had a clipboard with 6 call numbers that they had to find in the library. When they found the book they took a picture using the app. Once they had 6 pictures they changed the background and added text with the call number on top of the pictures. The most difficult part is figuring out how the books are in alphabetical order and figuring that out with each letter.

Setup. Show an example of the finished product. They really don't know the term, "call number" and the example shows this. Tell students if they are taking pictures of anything other than books they will lose the use of the iPad and have to do it with paper and pencil. I also give the same warning if they are with friends. They can't be silly or they will be separated.

One class I showed how to use the app and another class I showed it on the screen and sent them off. The second way was quicker and lets the kids who know how to use the iPad the chance to dive in and then I help the others one-on-one.

Last I emailed the collage to me so I can assess if they were able to find books. Each kids name was put in the subject area and I saved them under a folder in Outlook with the teacher's name. There are 6 sections of grade 3 students.

Grade 4 - We used the Destiny Quest app. I showed them how to logon, check book titles, and search. Because they are in pairs each student took turns. This takes up about 15 minutes.

Grade 5 - We used the Destiny Quest app that takes about 10 minutes. Next I show them the Overdrive app so students can download eBooks. They go through all the steps to the part where they download a book. (They can type TAS when they add a library.) Then they stop and the partner does it. This takes about 30 minutes depending on the quirky tech things that go wrong using the Follett catalog. Next lesson they will go to my cart and register for Adobe. Then I'll show the return feature.