Have you ever used a RAFT?

RAFT is a student choice project which allows students to show their knowledge of a subject in a variety of ways.

The above RAFT is one I created for a unit we are doing on Jane Addams.  Students have 6 project options that they can do which shows their knowledge of Jane Addams.

RAFT stands for Role, Audience, Format, and Topic. Students read across the row to determine which project will be best for them.  For example, a student may choose to be a social worker who is writing a letter to his parents explaining to them why he is so glad that he chose to be a social worker.  In the letter, he would list the jobs that a social worker at the beginning of the 20th century would have done.  This would be done in a way that keeps the voice of a child to a parent and follows the format of a letter.

The formats labeled DIGITAL are broad on purpose.  I have tried to expose my students to many different online tools as well as other publishing tools, and the digital term means they can use any of them...Photostory, Prezi, Glogster, Powerpoint, SMART Notebook...  All children will be encouraged to type their project.  Time is given in class for the work to be done because it is an assessment, and I want the child's ideas.

Have you ever used a RAFT?  In what subject did you use it?  The students appreciate the choice options, and I like the differentiated options that can reach learners at all levels show their understanding in a way that best suits them.

You can access a copy of the above RAFT plus the rubric I use to score it by clicking on the image above.

People Numbers

As part of our study of place value, I do a kinesthetic activity all year which seems to help everyone "get it" a little better. 

I have digits written on construction paper and laminated:  One number per piece of construction paper.  I also have a piece with a comma that says thousand, a comma that says million, and a decimal point that says and. 

I pass out the digits, commas, and decimal point randomly to students.  Then I make up a number and tell the class.  As I say the number, students with corresponding digits go to the front of the room to make the number. They line up and form the number for us by holding the card in front of their chest so we can see it.  I usually let them collaborate some, but I really want them to do some independent thinking.  It helps me to see who is still struggling with the concept.  Once they think they are set, I have another student who didn't have a digit, read us the number. This is good practice for them as well.

After we are done with that number, students hand out their digits to classmates who don't have one, and we start the whole process all over again.

Sometimes, when they have the number made,  I will say "Let's reduce this number by 20,000."  (or something like that)  Then students have to figure out who is affected by this change and who would come take their place.  It is a pretty good activity that we use all year long!

Using QR codes to share products

We do a fun unit on Earth Science in which we combine all of our Earth science book units.  I teach a lesson from each unit, but the main learning comes when students guide their own learning.  What I mean is, I have a large assortment of books that I provide on the different subjects (weather, erosion, earthquakes, volcanoes, Earth's layers...), and the students choose what it is they want to learn more about and post sticky notes about this learning on a wall in our room.

The wall is divided into the different topics of the unit.  Students are given specific days during science for this investigation, but they are also allowed to work on it during reading workshop if they choose.  Our wall slowly fills up with post it notes.

As we are coming to the end of the unit, students then can look at all of the post-it notes (not just their own) and they must share a new, interesting fact with us about two of the different topics.  Their sharing is pretty much their choice, but they have to provide a few sentences about  their fact (the hard part is IN THEIR OWN WORDS), and provide a visual to accompany it.  The visual can be a chart, diagram, a picture, an artwork, a craft, or a digital product. 

With the digital products, students found websites, created Vokis, or made other online products, we created QR codes for them, and posted the QR codes.  Visitors could use their smartphones to then access what the student wanted to share.  We used QRstuff.com to create the QR codes.

I know that this would have been an even cooler assignment if the kids were older and actually had their own phones to use, but it was a good learning experience for them, and a great way for them to share their information with me!  I just use my Iphone to read the codes and then can grade their product.  I think that I will continue to offer this option for students on other choice assignments.

10 Websites for my students in 2012

Happy New Year!  This list is a compilation of websites that my students use regularly and a list of sites that I plan to introduce them to using more often.  Hopefully, I will feel some more accountability by listing them here.  Let me know if you have tried any of these sites or have any others to recommend!  (I like getting comments!)

1. KIDBLOG:  My students currently use Kidblog.  It is their "reading journal" for our class.  The results I have seen have been wonderful!  Some of my students who would not write before now write without my loving persuasion.  The kids are currently given the assignment of one entry per week.  I am able to score that entry from any computer and post the child's grade in Kidblog so that only they and I can see it.  Soon, their assignment will be an entry and a comment on another classmate's blog per week.  Many of them already comment on each other's blogs.  It is so nice to see them ask questions about books and to add books to their reading lists through these blogs.  Students have access to their blogs from home, and many post extra entries as well as comments from there.  This is something that has strengthened our reading community, our writing and our reading.  I would recommend student blogging to anyone!  Love it and what it has done for our classroom.



2.  BRAINEOS:  Students create flashcards or use already-created decks to study facts or information.  Students can practice these terms as flashcards or play games on the website using the same information.  There are a number of these type of sites, and this is the one I have played with the most.  I am beginning with me creating decks that my students can access, and then going to encourage them to create their own decks.

3.  CLASSCONNECT:  We use Classconnect every day in my classroom.  It is a classroom management system where I can post documents, websites, videos...for my students to access in the classroom or at home.  Students can upload documents for submission to me, check our classroom calendar, or make comments on our homepage.  This site requires the teacher to set up a class and then to have students login with a code to set up their accounts.  (I just set up each of my students accounts for them.  It saved me a ton of time.)  This site is doing some upgrading in the next couple of weeks, and we have been told changes are coming, but I am sure that it will still be a great place for my students and I to connect!

4.  WORDLE:  This site is an old-time favorite of mine.  Students input a set of words and a word cloud is generated.  I use it for character analysis, spelling word practice, theme development, and much more.  We also like Tagxedo, but this one seems more user-friendly for us.

5.  GLOGSTER:  My students have had some practice with this site, but not for creating something as a product.  I am hoping that some of my students will use this online poster generator as an option for some of their projects this semester.  It is a fun site, but can be a little finnicky sometimes.  Also, it requires a login/password account.

6.  WALLWISHER:  Wallwisher is so easy to use!  You go in and create a virtual bulletin board for your class, and then it gives you a URL to share.  Once you have shared your URL, students can post sticky notes onto the wall about a subject you have chosen.  I use this to practice skills during reading workshop (Everyone make a prediction about this book, tell me the genre of this text...) and to have students have a place for questions or comments during a content lesson.  My kids like it a lot, and students comment or ask questions who would not typically be contributing to class discussion.  :)

7.  SUMDOG:  My kids love Sumdog.  It is a math practice site where they are able to practice skills playing a variety of games against other users in the world.   As a teacher, I can set the parameters of each child's skill set thus allowing for differentiation.  I can also set class challenges.  The site gives the students feedback on what skills they have mastered.  Teachers can pay for a reporting service, too, but I am able to get enough data from my and my students' accounts that I have not paid for reports.

8.  STORYBIRD:  This is an easy-to-use online publishing site.  Students create books using beautiful artwork provided by the site.  Students choose and align pics as they wish and then add text to make a story.  They can build a library of stories in their account, and these stories are accessible from home.  A class account and individual names had to be setup, but it was worth the small amount of time it took!

9.  VOKI:  Kids love to create Vokis, animations that repeat what you record or type in.  I have had students create Vokis to share information, quotes, or just to liven up a presentation.  Once the Voki is created, it can be embedded into a blog or website or you can link up to its URL.

10.  VISUWORDS:  This is an online graphical dictionary which provides great visuals of a word, its meaning, related words...Very simple to use, and really helps kids to understand the word rather than just memorizing its meaning.

New Year's Resolutions!

I am joining in on the fun of the New Year's Resolutions linky party!  Go over to A Teacher's Treasure to learn more about this linky.

My resolutions for 2012:

PERSONAL:

1.  To cook more for my family.  I am a pretty good cook, and I used to be the main mealmaker for my family, but when I began my Master's program, I got out of the habit, and my husband took over most nights.  I have been done with my Masters now for a year and a half, but he still probably fixes more meals a week than I do.  (Not that there is anything wrong with that :))  I just want to get back into the kitchen more.

2.  To exercise more.  Of course, I could afford to lose weight, too, but that would just be a happy aside.  I really need to do a better job of keeping in shape.  It is another thing that I used to do a pretty consistent job of, but in recent years, I don't take the time to exercise for me, and I know that it is something that I need to do.

PROFESSIONAL:

1.  To begin work on a Masters degree in technology.  I love it, I teach it, and I spend so much time using it, I really need to "bite the bullet" and get some hours towards a degree!

2.  To reevaluate my math structure and to be open-minded towards a math workshop approach.  I really love my math program, and I work hard to differentiate for all of my students, so I have been a little hesitant to pursue the workshop approach in math (even though I love it in reading).  However, I know that it is going to be expected in my district soon, so I guess I had better begin to see how I am going to make it work for me and my students.

3.  To share my passion of technology with others by sharing resources and ideas with colleagues, blogging friends, and my Twitter PLN.



I just read today that your resolutions should be realistic and small steps in order for them to stick.  I  hope that these fit that bill and that I am  able to make some changes in my life for the better of me and those around me.  Happy 2012!!

Wow! What a find! eduTecher.net

Edutecher is a great resource that I was led to through Twitter.  I have been slowly going through the many websites there and building "my backpack."

This site is a gold mine for teachers looking for ways to use technology in the classroom.  There is a large library of websites for teachers at all levels and in all content areas as well as videos to help guide a teacher in all things tech.

There isn't much more I can say because there is just SO MUCH to say about this resource.

As many of you know, I am part of a district initiative for 1 to 1 computers in the classroom.  The amount of things I have learned and tried so far this year is AMAZING!  I have a great group of kids this year, and they make it so much fun.  Needless to say, this means more work for me, but it is a challenge I enjoy.  I set my goal in this project to enable my students to be aware of the many tools available for them to provide digital output to demonstrate their learning.  Edutecher has resources that I can share with them, plus resources I can use myself which makes their learning more engaging.

I hope you find it as useful a resource as I have!



Fun SMART doc

    
   This is a past picture of my chlidren at the holidays. If you click on it, it will take you to a fun SMART doc to use in your classroom.  It is really a doc I created just to use on a Friday afternoon or something, and my students have really enjoyed it.  You can customize it for yourself by changing my roomcode, 3G, to your own.  Also, if you don't get a chance to use it by the holidays, you can cut the Christmas tree from the home page and insert another holiday image (or omit it altogether).  Remember--you must have SMART Notebook on your computer to open the document.

   I am having fun this year with my class, but I am working hard and am not yet into the holidays.  I can't believe that it is so close.  We put up our tree this weekend, so I am hoping that that will help me get into the spirit.  I purposefully made sure to have my plans done until Christmas so that I would be able to have more free time at night to enjoy the holiday time with my children.

   One of our favorite traditions, that we have done since my oldest son was little, is a holiday book countdown.  We pull 24 holiday books and put their names on slips.  Each night, we pull a slip and read that book.  These days, the boys have a rotation and read the books to the rest of us.  Even though 2 of them are in high school, it is something they still ask to do.  Each year they hope that the final book will be "The Night Before Christmas."  (I don't think that has ever happened!)  I enjoy this simple tradition, and I am especially glad that they still do, too.  We'll do it as long as they ask. 

    I hope that this month is full of excitement for your classroom and your family, and I hope that you are able to use the SMART doc in some way in your classroom!