Shamrock Stories

A MAGICAL TALE LIKE NO OTHER! My 3rd grade students are writing Shamrock Stories. They use Microsoft Word and the website to copy and paste shamrock words in place of typed words when they are available. Students practice copy/paste and engage in creative writing. The stories that my students have written usually are about shamrocks, magic, leprechauns, and gold, but students can write stories about anything they wish using the words on the shamrocks. These look great hanging in the hall in March!

Silly Snowman Stories

I'VE NEVER SEEN A SNOWMAN LIKE THAT! My 2nd grade students created a wacky snowman using Build A Snowman. This interactive site lets the user change hats, heads, clothing, feet, and even backgrounds, and objects. After lots of giggling, students made a snowman that I copied (print screen) and pasted into a word processing program. Students wrote about their snowman using as many descriptive words as they could in each sentence.

Heart Shaped Writing for Valentines

Update: Visit my NEW site for updated Valentine's themed educational games for your classroom by clicking here!  Plus, find NEW and updated links to heart shaped writing tools here!

I LOVE WRITING! That is what my students say when we publish in a fun way. For Valentine's Day my 4th grade students used Microsoft Word to write about the things in their life that they love. Then they copied and pasted their text to the Party Printer online to create the heart shape. The web site does all the formatting for you!

Our Favorite Things Book

My 1st grade students have been learning to make pages in StoryBook Weaver. The students each created a page showing their favorite thing. I copied the pages into PowerPoint and recorded each student reading their page. Then I recorded the Flash video presentation using Jing. Now we have some great books that the students can show their families at home! Click here to see a video!

Podcasting

This month I have started podcasting with my students. I am working in cooperation with the classroom teachers. Teachers that are interested write a script with their students based on something that they are learning in class. The students practice their lines and then they come to the lab to record. I use Audacity to record the students and then I add music and sound effects. Some of my favorite sound sites are: SoundSnap and FreeSound. Listen to our first podcasts by clicking here. We have recorded a podcast about podcasting and one about poetry. Soon we will add another podcast about penguins and polar bears by 1st grade. Please use the RSS button to have our new podcasts sent to your reader!

Build Your Wild Self!

WE ARE WILD THINGS! 2nd grade students got creative in making their "wild" images using the Build Your Wild Self web site from the NY Zoos and Aquariums. Then each student wrote about three things that they could do with their new animal parts. Danny wrote that he can hear well with bat ears and he is correct. The writing part of this project makes student think creatively and makes them think of the characteristics of animals that they already know. The web site can also be used as a reference to learn more about animals and find out what new skills they would have with their animal parts.

For this project, we saved the desktop image from the web site to a writing program. Then the students added and formatted their text.

Who Am I? Silhouette and Acrostic Poem

DIGITAL CAMERA FUN! At the beginning of the school year my 3rd grade students create silhouettes of themselves using the digital camera. They then add a "Who Am I?" acrostic poem to their picture. The finished projects are displayed so that all of our students and staff can guess who each student is based on their picture and description. Those who figure out that the poem is an acrostic, figure out the identities quickly.

The details: 1. Take a digital photo of the student's profile with a plain white background. 2. Teacher edits out any background as necessary. 3. Students pull picture into PrintShop or similar program. 4. Students edit picture, removing brightness and increasing contrast until just a silhouette remains. 5. Students add an acrostic poem that gives clues about themselves!

The Colors of Winter 2nd Grade Books

WINTER IS HERE! My 2nd grade classes are celebrating the Winter season by writing books. The winter season does not have to be all white and grey, the students see red sleds, purple boots, and green scarves. Each student drew a winter item and a color word using Kidpix. I brought each page into a PowerPoint presentation. As a class, the students recorded our book title. Then individually the students recorded on their own page about the colors they see in the winter. I used SlideBoom to record the PowerPoint presentation and uploaded the books to our school web site for the students to share with their family and friends. See and listen to our books here!

Make A Flake Snowflakes

LET IT SNOW! It's time to celebrate some wintery weather and my 2nd grade students are having fun designing their own snowflakes by using Make A Flake. It is fun just to play with or you can use the snowflakes in projects.

The students made a snowflake online and then saved it as an image file. We pulled the images into a word processing software, and then typed and formatted a snowflake poem. We added a border and printed them out. Students are encouraged to also use the web site at home to make decorations for the winter holidays.