Comic Touch Lesson 5

The lesson created for this week is a comic of my family using Comic Touch.  I would use this as a project again using our older classroom buddies.  For this demonstration I chose to do a comic introducing my family to the class.

Comic Touch Lesson

1.  We are going to create a character comic today.  I created a comic for you to look at about my family.

2.  Look at the comic I created about my family:

3.  With your classroom buddy, choose a character trait that you feel you do best.  (Before this lesson, there have been several lessons on character traits and what they mean.)

4.  After you have chosen a character trait, look for pictures that show the character trait you chose with your buddy.

5.  Open Comic Touch (older students would have already had a lesson from their classroom teacher on Comic Touch so they know how to use it) and make a comic on the character trait you chose.

6.  We will be sharing these with the class at the end of our project.

Review/Analysis of Comic Project

How will you use this resource to meet the needs of your instructional purposes?

With a buddy, a student will be able to assess themselves and focus on a positive part of their personality that makes them a great person.  I think it is good to think about the things that make you wonderful.  The purpose is to identify characteristic traits that are positive.  By using Comic Touch, they will be able to show the character trait that they identify in a fun and creative way.

Why is this medium appropriate for the lesson you plan to create?

I believe using Comic Touch allows students to choose the style in which they present their information.  In the Comic Touch program, they can choose backgrounds from superheroes to wild west as the base for their comic.  I just chose superheroes because it appeals to me.  They will need to have a buddy help them with this because it is complicated for Kindergarten students.  Also, it was fun to see how my actual picture changed into a comic when inserted in the template.

What directions or tech support will you provide students before the lesson to focus learning and adapt this resource for your instructional resources?

Students will need to have background information on character traits in order to choose one that closely aligns with them.  Also, the older buddy students will need to have a lesson from their classroom teacher on the use of Comic Touch and be able to experiment with it prior to doing the buddy activity.

What are the potential problems, either language based or technical, that you may need to troubleshoot or prepare for?

I think one of the potential problems can come in with the amount of choice on how the comic looks.  There are many different fonts, bubble inserts, designs, colors, etc. that could sidetrack the project.  I think that at least for the first time creating a comic, I would have the students stick with a template that already has most of the options chosen for them.  They can still add to it, but I think that creating something from a blank slate would be too overwhelming and timely.

How will you use this resource to meet the needs of your instructional purposes?

Using a pre-existing audio clip to introduce my Kindergarten scholars to different positive character traits will help develop the social base of positive behavior.  Scholars will work with older students to have conversations about the words in the song and be able to choose one, know what it means and also present it.

Why is this medium appropriate for the lesson you plan to create?

This audio is fun and engaging to students.  They love working with their older buddies and are very motivated to "show how smart they are" to their friends.  By choosing positive character traits and explain them to the class, they can see the effect of being purposeful in how you act toward others.  In Kindergarten, it is so important to learn social skills and they need to be taught if they are going to practice and incorporate them into their daily routines.

What are the potential problems, either language based or technical, that you may need to troubleshoot or prepare for?

Before this activity, I would have our buddy room watch the video and do the discussion process with a classmate so they can know what they are expected to do with our Kindergarten scholars.  Their classroom teacher will need to prepare them so they are ready to prepare their buddy.  They can watch on their iPads and continue the discussion/presentation.

What technical problems did you encounter while preparing the A/V?

I wrote my blog on a word document and cut and pasted it to my blog.  The link to the website went away so I had to re-enter the link to make sure that those that read my blog will have access to the audio.  

Character Counts Lesson 4

Character Counts

This lesson is geared toward a buddy activity with our fourth grade friends.  This activity would last approximately 45 minutes.

1.  With your buddy, click on the link below and watch the Character Counts video. (Students have seen this video many times before during character lessons).

      https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cyVzjoj96vs

2.     List two or three words that describe ways you can be toward other people.  (Before this lesson, we have talked about what it means to be helpful, thoughtful, magical, etc.)

3.     With your buddy, talk about what things you can do to show the character trait.  For instance, if you choose thoughtful, describe what being thoughtful is and what types of things you can do to show others that you are thoughtful.

4.     After you have thought of ways to show the character trait, we will make a large group circle.  I will call out a character trait that is listed in the song.  If you chose that one, raise your hand and we will go around and see the different ways you have thought of to show that word.  We will keep going until every group has shared.

I chose this activity to do with our older classroom buddies because they can help my Kindergarteners process words and talk through them.  The older buddies already have this knowledge base so they will be able to help their Kindergarten buddy choose an adjective, explain it, and help them think of examples.

Review of Lesson 3

How will you use this resource to meet the needs of your
instructional purposes?

I will use Edmondo as a tool that parents/scholars can use at home to supplement classroom learning. This will provide additional support for the students in a fun and engaging way where they can share their classroom with their parents/family.

What directions or tech support will you provide students before the lesson to
focus learning and adapt this resource for your instructional resources?

Before the lessons, I will have each student included in my group so they are able to access the lessons at home.  I will also have to give the parents the information/expectations for their support and engagement in their child's learning.  I would do the first one or two as a group activity at school so that when they go home, they will want their parents to see it as well.  After the first couple lessons as a group, so all can experience it, they will be able to do this from home.

How are the format, organization, design and language level of this site
appropriate for your instructional goals?

The format is able to be as simple as I want it to be.  For Kindergarten, sending things home for "homework" isn't the best idea.  It can get lost, forgotten and even thrown away.  Using this medium, they can log on from home, do their activity online and not have to be responsible for things going back and forth from school to home and home to school.  With each lesson, I would make sure that they were able to access it alone if necessary.  I would also have a parent section for them to make comments or add to the community.

What are the potential problems, either language based or technical, that you
may need to troubleshoot or prepare for?

I think one major obstacle is having the technology a student may need at home.  If a home does not have any type of technology present or working, they will not have access to the lessons.  I think that in this case scenario, since I am able to see who has and has not completed the assignment, I could monitor it.  If a student is consistently not accessing the lessons, I could provide in class time for them to do the lessons.

Assignment 3: Social Media Lesson

Log on to the Edmondo website at http://www.edmondo.com and enter code jmebu2

I set up this Kindergarten page and students would already be added to it.  Since none of my classmates are added, I made a screen shot of the page.  The activity is for them to listen to a song about the letter L and think of five words that begin with the letter L to share at school.

Review/Analysis of web based lesson

How will you use this resource to meet the needs of your instructional purposes?

I would use this resource to teach upper and lower case matching of letters.  Our Kindergarteners work on letter recognition and this tool will aid them in learning how to identify matches visually and audibly.  This resource is easy to use and after being taught, can be used independently for review and reinforcement.

Why is this medium appropriate for the lesson?

I believe this is most appropriate because it can be both guided learning and independent learning.  The interest level in using iPads in Kindergarten is high.  So using this app would create interest simply because it is on the iPad.  In addition to that, the ease of use and ability to succeed is high for every learner.

What directions or tech support will you provide students before the lesson to focus learning and adapt this resource for your instructional resources?

As stated in my review, I would provide a guided whole group instruction lesson to support the tech lesson.  This would teach the scholars to know what to expect in the lesson and also set the level of expectation for the activity.

What are the potential problems, either language based or technical, that you may need to troubleshoot to prepare for?

I would need to make sure that the app is running on each iPad (potential technical issue) before the lesson is taught.  Also, there is the opportunity for lower level learners to get frustrated with the content of the lesson (language based issue).  In this case, I would use my TA to run a small group outside of the large group, which would be a little more controlled.

Matching Lesson

Lesson

The activity I would like to teach is matching upper case and lower case letters to each other.  In order to do this I will use the website: www.22learn.com.  I will be using this website in a guided activity with my Kindergarten class.  I would use my Promethean board to guide the lesson so they can visually see the directions as well as hear the directions.

Directions:

·      Log into your iPads with your number.

·      Click on the 22learn app

·      Click on Matching A-a button

·      The mother fish have lost their babies. Match the fish with the lowercase letters to their mother with the upper case letters.

·      If you are not sure, click on a fish and it will say the letter.

·      Match until all the fish have found their mother.

I would have all students come to the carpet area with their iPads and put on their lap.  We would talk about upper and lower case letters and point out examples in the room.  What words have upper case letters in them? (their name).  I would have the app up on my Promethean board.  As a class, I would show the app and game we intend to complete.  After modeling, I would ask for questions.  When done with explanation, I would have them log into their iPad and click on the app.  We would have a guided lesson on matching and after guiding, I would have them find their spot in the room to continue playing. 

Assignment 1: Website Evaluation Review

Website Review

• Starfall http://www.starfall.com
• Letter Quiz:  http://22learn.com

I selected these websites to evaluate based on their content.  I am really focusing on literacy throughout all the content areas and am looking for tools to use in the classroom that will reinforce reading and word recognition.

Starfall is an easy to use program for young scholars.  I chose this based on the ease of use for younger students and the content.  Starfall is a visually appealing website with many of the areas Kindergarten teaches - numbers, letters, colors, songs and so much more.  The ability level can vary depending on the activities you choose so every learner is able to succeed.  I envision using this as a choice area in my classroom.  Scholars can work on their iPads with the Starfall App and learn at their own pace and choose their area of learning.

Letter Quiz is another program that focuses on letter matching.  This could include upper and lowercase matching as well as matching a letter with a picture that has its beginning sound.  Also, on Letter Quiz, it shows a scholar how to write/trace their letters.  A friendly icon shows them the path of the letter and then gives them the opportunity to write it themselves in the app.  I chose this website based on the ease of use and the way the game choices are structured.  It has a specific focus on letter recognition.  I envision using this app as a way to have students identifying letters and sounds, upper and lower case.  This could be used as a whole group instruction or as an individual activity for learning.

Sample Lesson Blog

I chose the sample VoiceThread lesson:  Bill's VoiceThread lesson: Introducing yourself

I love the idea of introducing yourself via pictures and voice.  Our staff present our racial autobiographies through pictures and it is a very effective tool bringing faces to stories told.  

How clear are the directions?

I think for older students, it is simple to understand.  They use quite a bit of social media and would be able to grasp the concept of putting together a story to introduce themselves.

What level learner is this appropriate for?

I think for an independent activity, older middle school students and high school students would be able to complete this assignment.  However, if they are not connected to social media, I can see obtaining the pictures needed being an issue.

With younger students, I can see this working in conjunction with the Star of the Week concept when they are introducing themselves to other students and pointing out their uniqueness.  This would have to be completed with assistance from the teacher or classroom aide but I could definitely see students enjoying watching others and themselves presenting in a different way.

How effective is the sample lesson as a whole?

I think the sample lesson demonstrates the objective, but I wonder if there was a clear enough outline of what information to include in the introduction to the class.  This might be a great brainstorming opportunity to see what they want included in the introduction so we don't miss something that may be important to them.

How might I use this with my learners in a different way?

As stated above, I would use this as a way to enhance introductions to one another in an Kindergarten setting.  I know how much scholars like to see pictures of my own family so I keep them posted for them to look at and question.  I feel that looking at other presentations of scholars would open up some authentic questioning opportunities at morning meeting.

I teach Kindergarten for St. Paul Public Schools.  I teach at a predominately black school where all students have been issued iPads to integrate technology into the classroom.  I am seeking effective ways to bring literacy to my students in a way that is authentic and purposeful.