Word Study

Our routine in Word Study on Mondays is to create a word list and then to sort words.  Students have been doing this independently in Drive and then sharing the lists.  This has been a great way for students to learn about the following things:

• Numbered lists
• Underlining, italics, bold
• creating tables
• highlighting
• changing text colors

Beyond learning how to do these things, they are learning when using one or another of these 'tricks' helps or hinders the purpose of the work.  For example, if you highlight a word in a color that makes the word illegible, did that help you learn the spelling and recognize the correct spelling when you see it?  

Experiential learning, even with Chromebooks!

1:World Management Updates...

One noticeable and remarkable change in teaching and learning through this pilot is the opportunities for managing student work, assignments and learning opportunities using Google Classroom.  The following "screenshots" and captions highlight a few examples.

This is a screenshot of one student's word study scores, from weekly dictations.  As the students input their scores into this Google spreadsheet, their graph is updated in real time.  This puts the ownership of student assessment data right in the hands of students.  The template for this spreadsheet was shared via Google Classroom, with the students in my word study group. 

Google Classroom makes it easy (and possible) to offer extensions for lessons and opportunities for students to dive deeper into content or revisit the content independently to gain mastery.  This is an example of an "announcement" to my core class, where students may engage in some follow-up Brain-Pop videos and quizzes, at their own pace, once their "have to" class assignments are complete.  

This year, Equinox students all completed their Fall On-Demand Writing Prompt assessment using their Chromebooks.  Students will be assessed again in the spring, again using Chromebooks, and in addition to improvements in student writing and content, there should be evidence of increased quantity and typing skills.

ChromeBook Success !!!

Grade Three Girl submits a post to Teacher for KidBlog . . . .

I’m here   . . .   October 14, 2014 @ 2:19 PM

I just read i’m here .   What it made me think about is that it’s OK to be alone but nice to have a friend.

I think that all the Peter Reynolds books are alike because they have a lot feelings.  Like in the dot Vashti was mad that she could not draw but now she can.   In The north star the boy liked where he was then did not.   In Im here the boy was alone but still happy but then got a friend and was even more happy.

And the Peter Reynold books are different because all the kids have different journeys.

Teacher edits the post a touch, then Tweets the Post  . . .

Ms. Ward's Class @ForWardTeaching  ·

#GRAPeter #GRA14 @peterhreynolds *We are Here!* http://kidblog.org/WardDiscussions2014-15/ … #comments4kids #3rdchat #4thchat

The author, Peter Reynolds, comments on Student Blog . . .

Peter H. Reynolds (Guest)                

October 14, 2014 at 4:16 PM       

        I really enjoyed reading your comments about my books. I am traveling at the moment – about to hop on a plane – ironically! Like the boy in “I’m Here!” : ) Please tell your classmates that I will try to comment on their posts too when I get home to Boston!  Peter

Teacher shares Excitement with Family via Email . . .

Emily!!!

The *AUTHOR*, Peter H. Reynolds, commented on YOUR BLOG POST!!!   The author read YOUR writing!!!

http://kidblog.org/WardDiscussions2014-15/ccf440d0-341f-4518-af9c-29e5b8e0d74b/im-here-6/  

*WOW*

- Ms. Ward

Parent responds Quickly via email . . .

We have a proud smile ear to ear here!!

All student work and teacher work completed on WCS ChromeBook!!!

Patience and Flexibility

After a team planning morning on Tuesday, I was feeling slightly behind my colleagues in the launching of KidBlog.  As a team, we decided to focus our efforts on blogging this month.  All Equinox students have individual Kidblogs, organized into classes (student blogs are administered by their core teacher).

As I was setting up my blogs last night, I discovered the "sign in with Google" setting.  Being very connected to and with Google, I thought, "Brilliant!  This will make it so much easier for students to access!"

I was so wrong.

Unfortunately, the "sign in with Google" setting was not what I thought it was.  And, though it worked perfectly for my own login, I didn't know until I was there, in front of students, guiding them through this process, that it did not work.  Unfortunately still, there is no "bulk" action that can be done.  So while I had nineteen third and fourth graders all trying to communicate to me (and each other) that they couldn't log in, the "fix" was not a quick one.  As far as I could tell, I had to go in to each student's individual profile and remove the "sign in with Google" checkmark.  One. By. One.

Here is the amazing part.  Although this was a frustrating experience and resulted in a lot of on-the-fly troubleshooting, the students and I toiled and problem solved together.  Third and fourth graders were exploring and experimenting, checking in with peers at their table and taking initiative to problem solve.  Students remained positive, persistent and polite.  They were patient and flexible, and motivated to work together to move forward.

There was no magic, no secret button or link to find, no easy fix.  But there was a collective motivation and team challenge that kept students engaged, patient and flexible.  We toiled together, and after lunch and recess, when I had "fixed" the login problem, we tried again.  By the end of today, ALL students had initially logged in to their blog, and had at least started to draft a first post.

Not quite what I had hoped for, but definitely one step in the right direction.

Gushing Librarian

After only one week with the Chromebooks, our students are showing how "SMART" and tech-savvy they can be!  Here is an email our school Librarian Karen Hennig sent us yesterday:

Dear Equinox teachers,

     I had to email you to tell you how AMAZING your students just were in my Library Exploratory class.  Every single one of them walked calmly in the door carrying their Chrome books carefully with two hands.  They followed directions and asked when they had a question and helped each other.  The fourth graders are being great role models.  They were all model students, and I am so proud of them and just had to tell you.

    Sorry if I'm gushing.

                YFL


We are so proud!  

Ms. Birdsall Introduces the Chromebooks!

Even more exciting . . . ChromeBooks were 'Launched' today!   Ms. Birdsall spoke to the entire kiva about how a single ChromeBook feels light, yet a dish rack filled with ChromeBooks feels heavy!   She also talked about a program called Digital Passport that will involve six lessons to prepare everyone for online learning.   Each student will be assigned one ChromeBook for the year.   Even though there is a super blue protective cover, it is still fragile . . . even the little legs on the protective cover are fragile!
-Ms. Ward

First Group Reflection

Friday 29 August 14

Ms. Ward's class wrote and published together a class reflection from the week using KidBlog.   The link was shared with parents.   Two parents commented on the KidBlog Post.

Future goals include added photography   . . .   we took photos, but the cable to my camera is at home and I keep forgetting to bring it in, so the group photos are trapped in the camera until further notice.      

As well, hopefully the next KidBlog with the class reflection will elicit more parent comments.   The plan is to share the present parent comments with students so children encourage parents to read and respond.