Kindergarten Collaboration

Kindergarteners using technology- who would have thought!? Well, I designed a literacy lesson that allowed my students to work in small groups and use technology to create a big book of their own. During shared reading we have been exploring the series of BIG BOOKS by Colin Hawkins. Students showed interest in creating their own books, so I figured- let's turn this into an extended lesson that integrates many early literacy elements. Here is a very brief description of the activities that culminated into a wonderful product of student learning:
1. Students create vocabulary list for their chosen word family and brainstrom story element ideas.
2. Students work together through the writing process as they write, revise and edit sentences.
3. Students add detailed illustrations and practice fluency as the record their narrations for their story.
 Here is the "-at" Team's BIG BOOK:

Here is the "-ug" Team's BIG BOOK

Little Literacy Learners

So I decided to try and create a mini website for my kindergarteners to use. As mentioned before, there are no computers in my classroom- so I try to bring in my iPad as much as possible. Check out what I am attempting to create....

                                                         Little Literacy Learners

So, after I begn creating this site I ran into another site that does just what I want- and even better. Here;s the link to that site. This site has games, stories, songs for all ages and grade levels. Tons of digital stories for commonly used books as well. KinderSite

Weebly Stage 1

So I had alot of trouble thinking of how to implement a weebly at my school. I thought about how I could do it with my kindergarteners, but there is a huge road block....

THERE ARE NO COMPUTERS IN MY CLASSROOM. We do not even have a computer lab. Also, not all my students have computers at home, so I would not want to make it an at-home project because everyone could not participate.

I know... it's awful. I have had to bring in my own iPAD and laptop to show my students the Animoto and digital story I created.

So, I thought of another idea... I will create a weebly for our PTIC committe (parent teacher involvement). I am in charge of emailing PTIC members to organize meetings and events. Wouldn't it be much easier to hae a website they can go to, get information, and share their own ideas for events and school activities.

My weebly has JUST been created... But I'd love advice on how to format it, especially since this is my first weebly. Let me know your thoughts/suggestions..... Thanks!      Mount Olive PTIC Website

Diigo for Kindergarten

I have shaped my Diigo library into a useful tool that I will be able to keep and expand upon throughout my teaching career. My Diigo would be useful for other kindergarten teachers and those looking for early literacy ideas. Here are the tags you will find in my Diigo:
       * sight words                         * guided reading    
       * smartboard                         * reading workshop
       * kindergarten                       * early literacy
       * printables                           * technology
       * writing workshop               * resources
                                     * blogs

Digital Story Done!

Check out what it's like to be young again! Watch my digital story about our kindergarten class.

I can't wait to show my students the final product- they'll love it! Also, the parents will enjoy seeing this during orientation.

"A Day in the Life of a Mount Olive Kindergartener!"

Thank you to my fellow grad students for their input on my rough draft. I listened to all your suggestions and it definately improved my video.

Creating Classroom Communication

Here is my first attempt at creating a GOOGLE FORM.... it was very easy! I thought this would be a great form that any teacher can put into their classroom webpage.

This form is geared towards a kindergarten classroom where the family members come in and drop off/ pick up the students.

Do you think you could use this in your classroom? What changes or add-ons can you suggest?

Diigo... Where'd You Go?

I have been having problems with Diigo. In the beginning it was easy (isn't it always?). With a few simple steps, I was able to add Diigo to my toolbar. I clicked away, adding sites here and there. I especially liked blogs created by fellow kindergarten teachers. I continued for about two weeks. Then, while reviewing Diigo in my EDUC519 course, I realized I had been doing it wrong. I had been clicking the Diigo button when I was on a site I liked. But I was unaware of the following steps regarding labeling and saving.....All of my sites were gone... or never there to begin with.


So, here is my new Diigo account. It is slowly growing again. Hopefully it will help out teachers who are looking to find more creative ideas for their classrooms, or in search of educational information. Enjoy!