Literature Circle-Day 1

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Our first Literature Circle was a blast! It went better than I possibly could have imagined. Each student had a job that they were responsible for, Dictionary Detective, Literary Luminary, Super Summarizer, Artful Artist, Passage Predicter, Group Leader. I met with each group over the course of the week and helped them prepare for the literature circle. We practiced asking questions, sharing our thoughts, and explaining our job to the group. Students were nervous, they were afraid that they were going to mess up and let their teams down even though I assured them that as long as they contributed and did their best, they would do great! When the time came, they rose to the challenge and were brilliant! The group leaders did an amazing job facilitating discussions, they were collaborative, and they were able to dig deeper as they listened to others share. I couldn’t be more pleased!

Starbooks Sip & See: Literature Circles

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STARBOOKS SIP & SEE!!

Starbooks Sip & See! This was our first Sip & See for our Literature Circle unit. The class was decorated with green table cloths, we put green curtains in the windows, and had their menus, seating cards, books and pencils ready for them when they walked in. Students read the first couple of pages of four different books, Sideways Stories of Wayside School, Percy Jackson: Lightning Theif, Tales of a Fourth Grade Nothing, and Out of My Mind. Students wrote down a brief summary and rated the books by their preference. I went through their preferences and grouped students according to their choices. Almost everyone is going to read either their first or second choice.

Red Ribbon Week

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Happy Red Ribbon Week Everyone! 

Today we learned how to make a billboard on Big Huge Labs. After we make our billboard, we uploaded it onto our blog. Since it’s Red Ribbon Week at school, we added text to our billboard. I hope you like it!

 

Billboard Picture of Red Ribbon Week.

Using BookCreator.Com

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Since we are all home and working online, I thought it would be fun to see how the virus has affected our lives in a fun creative way. So goal for this project is to share your experiences about homeschooling and what you have noticed in the world around you, and what your family is doing to create some kind of normalcy.

Step 1. Go to www.bookcreator.com             Step 2. Click on Google             Step 3. Enter the Class Code: 65VDQDM

 

Student Blogging Challenge Spring Week 1

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Today we begin week 1 of the Student Blogging Challenge! Link to Video

1. First thing you need to do is register for the Student Blogging Challenge! 

2. Create an avatar or update your old one. You can use Cartoonify, Anime Girl, or Bitmoji if you have a gmail account (you can add the extension to your chromebook or laptop)   See, it works!

3. Write or update your About Page.

4. Comment of other students’ blogs! I looked at a few already, check our Lucky Duck and Tomato Salad in Mrs. Yollis’s class. These two students did a great job on their About Page! You should include many details that describe your likes and interests, but NO PERSONAL INFORMATION.

5. Add the Student Blog Badge to your sidebar Widget.

 

Onomatopoeias in 4th Grade

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We have been really diving into figurative language over the past couple of weeks, last week the students posted their similie poems and this week they posted their onomatopoeias. They created comic books using this type of figurative language and then posted ones that they created on makebeliefcomix and storyboardthat. Please take a look and comment on them if you get a chance! They really did a great job!

Similes and Metaphors on SeeSaw

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Using SeeSaw to Show Similes and Metaphors

For this SeeSaw assignmemt, I created this template for students to complete giving one example of a simile and one example of a metaphor. They were to include a picture, explain why they compared the two objects, and recorded themsevles explaining the definition of a metaphor and a simile.

Students are always exited when they get to work on SeeSaw. They get to be creative while demonstrating what they know. They also know that their friends will be seeing their work, so they put in the extra effort and make sure that it is their best work.

The example below if from one of my 4th grade students.  She used a lot of color, her examples were great, and her sentences were perfect. She also recorded herself explaining her thinking. If you scan the QR code you can see her assignment.  If you scan the QR code, you can listen to her explain her learning.

 

 

How We Use SeeSaw to Offer Choice and Voice

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What is SeeSaw?

For those of you that haven’t tried SeeSaw in the classroom, this is a great tool for students. With SeeSaw, students are able to demonstrate their learning in a way that they really enjoy-digitally! This online platform allows teachers to create their own lessons and templates or choose lessons that other teachers have shared. According to their site, “Seesaw is a platform for student engagement. Teachers can empower students to create, reflect, share, and collaborate. Students “show what they know” using photos, videos, drawings, text, PDFs, and links. It’s simple to get student work in one place and share with families, and nothing is shared without teacher approval.” Students are also allowed to comment on eachother’s work. This creates a sense of pride for author of the work and teaches all students digital citizenship.”  Stay tuned for some highlights and insight to how we use SeeSaw!