One of my favorite weeks of the year is when I get to collaborate with our art teacher for DOT DAY. She brings the students into the library during their art time, and we co-teach the lessons. We like to start off the class with a discussion about where we can find art in the library. Then, especially with kinder students, we talk about what an illustrator does. Since Peter Reynolds is both the author and the illustrator, we don't get into collaboration between the two a lot this week, but later in the year we like to do lessons where we discuss how the author and illustrator collaborate on the story.
I read the book, THE DOT by Peter Reynolds, to the students. We talk about the lesson from the story, then go to dot stations.
Start with a dot, then see what you can make.
Her dot, turned into a strawberry seed.
Collaborative Dot -- students each received 1/4 of a dot, decorated it,
then got in teams and put the puzzle together to create a dot.
At this station, students used Buncee.com to create a dot masterpiece.
At another station, students were given a hand lense and sent on a mission.
They were dot-tectives.
ISH
Since I saw students during their art time, for some of the students I saw them twice this week. The second time I saw the students, I read the book ISH by Peter Reynolds. We weren't for sure, but the students and I decided that this was the boy at the end of THE DOT that Vashti helps out.
After reading the story, students made their own -ISH drawings.
Favorite Picture of the Week
This sweet girl was so excited to find all the PUPPY PLACE books.
This past week, I read THE LITTLE RED FORT by Brenda Maier to the kindergarten classes.
While reading the book, we made a text-to-text connection, then compared this story to THE LITTLE RED HEN. After reading the story, students went to tables with various materials and were given the tasks to build a fort.
Who knew forts could have wheels. This little one told me his fort would be mobile.
This sweet face! She is having so much fun.
Literacy in Art
If your art teacher is amazing like the art teacher I get to collaborate with every day, then give them this idea!! Our art teacher decided this year to make a display of some of her favorite books from the library, all having to do with art. The students can pull the card of a book they would like to have and bring it to the library. We help them find it, they check it out. When they return the book, we return the book to the art room to be displayed again.
My first love is BOOKS and READING, but my second is technology, coding, and computer science. I always have a blast teaching students the aspects of coding and watching them problem solve.
This year, I decided to focus on robots for Hour of Code week, so every grade level had a challenge using the Ozobots.
5th Grade
5th grade had my favorite challenge of the week! We use ozoblockly.com to program our Ozobots. If you have Ozobot robots and have never used Ozoblockly, you should really check it out! Each group was given an Ozobot, and logged into the website. Using the program, students were given the challenge to choreograph a dance for their Ozobot to dance to Feliz Navidad.
They had a blast, and there was a lot of collaboration and problem solving going on. The students learned that the Ozobot would not blink colors and move at the same time, so they had to create loops within their program. Lots of learning going on this day!
4th Grade
With the fourth graders, I integrated Geography into our coding lesson. Each student recieved a map of the world, then students labeled the continents. It was a great review of the 7 continents. They drew their code to have OzoClause 😊 to visit all the countries. We added some flying tricks in as well.
2nd and 3rd Grade
For the second and third grade class, we had a Grinch challenge. Students had to fill in the codes for Ozobot, or OzoClause to visit the houses and avoid the Grinch. We also had to be sure to code the robot to stop for milk and cookies.
Kinder and 1st Grades
This is the first time the kinders used the Ozobot, so we did simply line codes. They had so much fun making their Ozobot move from one end to the other. Then we made the Ozobot go slow, then fast. The giggles in the room were contagious!
Most of the first graders had used the Ozobots the previous year, so we had a more complex activity. First graders had to use turn left or turn right codes to get the robot to the dog. We had fun, made some mistakes, and learned together.
The Hour of Code is always one of my favorite weeks, even though the students on my campus code most the year. This week is a fun week where I get to see everyone in the library and learn coding.
The month of November is a time to celebrate and encourage Family Engagement in schools. A successful partnership between the family and school is important for our children. While family engagement should be encouraged all year long, we celebrate our accomplishments during the month of November.
To celebrate family engagement in the library, I invited parents of kindergarteners and first graders to the library for story time, an activity, and checkout time. I asked parents to RSVP to their child's library time so that I could have a parent account created for them before that day.
I read aloud I AM NOT A CHAIR by Ross Burach, which had the kids and parents laughing out loud. After the story, parents and their child went to tables where there were different materials set out, plus little toy rabbits. The challenge was for the parent and child to build a chair for the rabbit to sit in instead of sitting on the girraffe.
These kinders built a tower, but it still held the rabbit.
I adore how this chair looks like the giraffe from the story!
The parents also had the opportunity to be a part of their child's library choice for the week, plus with their parent account check out up to 5 extra books to read at home.
The turn out was amazing, and the parents loved being a part of library time.
The month of September has come and gone, and what a whirlwind it was! We started the school year with construction throughout our entire building. Construction is still going on, and I can't wait to see what our school will look like once all the construction is finished. I know it will be amazing!
CyberSafety
I spent quite a bit of time in September collaborating with the 5th grade teachers on the best ways to teach cybersafety and digital citizenship. With the increase in technology use, especially the ability to add comments to Google Classroom, we thought it would be a good idea to start off the school year with discussion.
The first week we talked about bullying and cyberbullying with the students. I use a PearDeck presentation and placed several discussion points for the 5th graders. They were able to add their thoughts on several different situations, and see others statements as well.
The following week, we decided to look at the positive aspect of the internet and how we can control our digital footprint. Students traced their foot, then wrote/drew what they want to have in their digital footprint.
Book cover reveal
One of my favorite parts of my job is getting our students connected to people around the world. We had an amazing opportunity to connect with the author of one of my students' favorite series, FENWAY & HATTIE. The author, Victoria J. Coe, hosted a Google Hangout, and we were one of the schools chosen to participate. Victoria J. Coe talked about her series, then revealed the cover of her new book coming out in 2019. We cannot wait to read the 4th book in the series!! After she talked about the upcoming book, our students were able to ask her questions. It was an amazing morning for our second graders.
Dot Day
One of my favorite days of the year is Dot Day, which falls around September 15th each year. It all started with the book THE DOT by Peter H. Reynolds. If you have not read this book to your students, do it today! It has an amazing message of how we can make our mark on the world, no matter how insignificant we think our talent is.
The art teacher and I collaborate on this day every year, and we come up with grade level activities. She brings her art classes to the library where I read the book, discuss the theme, and then students participate in activities having the do with dots.
Start with a dot and see where it takes you.
Our first graders received a framed page where they started with a dot anywhere on their page. Then, they changed their simple dot into their own creation. We had dinosaurs, snowmen, cars, flowers, and ducks just to name a few!
Every student in the school was given a dot to decorate any way they wanted. Thanks to some amazing parent volunteers, the dots were all put together into a school wide collaborative art creation that is now hanging in the library for all to see! Isn't it BEAUTIFUL!
I can't say no to a fun Breakout EDU activity! I found a Breakout that was based on THE DOT, so I set it up in the library for our 4th grade classes. We did 4 Breakout sessions in just 4 hours! MAN was I TIRED!!
In the hallway, we hung up another school wide collaborative art project. Each student in the school received a dot sticker to place anywhere on the poster. This project was based on Yayoi Kusama's Obliteration Room. The kids had so much fun with this!
Whew! September was busy busy busy!! Now we are into October, and I just recieved 7 boxes of brand new books. I cannot wait to get these books ready, and I know I have some students that are patiently waiting to get their hands on these new books.
Many more activities are coming in October, so stay tuned!!
One of my favorite projects of the year is when first graders get to choose an animal they are interested in and research that animal. I love how the kids get so involved in their research, and they cannot read enough about their chosen animal.
The first grade teachers and I discussed the timeline for the project, and we came up with a notetaking page to teach the students how to organize their notes. I am so blessed to have teachers on my campus that collaborate with me and allow me to be a part of the students learning.
The students used PebbleGo to begin with since we had used it numerous times throughout the school year to read and research about other topics. To go further in their research, we used the online encyclopedia in the library last week. I put the link in their Google Classroom so they could easily get to the website.
These first graders use the link in Google Classroom to access the online encyclopedia.
Next, we reviewed the headings in our Britannica encyclopedia, which really helps the younger students not be overwhelmed with text. After they had taken notes, they then searched through the images and videos to get even more information about their animal. While reading and viewing, they took notes on their notetaking organizer.
On the back of the organizer was the bibliography. While they found information, students kept up with the sources they used. Yes, even the youngest readers need to know how to cite their sources.
In the past, when younger students have done research, I have the books pulled out on the tables. However, this time, I decided to let the students use the Dewey markers in the library to find the books about their chosen animal. The best thing in the world is to see their eyes light up with excitement when they have found the book they need.
They were so excited and are having so much fun, I've had several first graders come into the library this week before school to research more. They have asked me for index cards to take more notes! AND YES, they are accessing Google Classroom all on their own and utilizing the links I've added for them.
I am so excited that our first graders and kindergarten students will be learning to use the Chromebooks this week. When our school first purchased the Chromebook carts, I had quite a few people tell me that they did not think little ones could use them successfully.
Challenge accepted!!
So, I started researching some things and found Clever badges. I immediately sent the information to my library direction, who in turn talked with our technology department. I was so excited to be chosen as one of the pilot schools for the Clever badges.
Sometimes all you have to do is ask!
After we got word about the clever badges, and I got them all printed out, laminated, and ready to go, Chromebook Academy was in the works. We started off with simple steps -- how to carry our Chromebook, how to open and close the Chromebook, logging in, using the touchpad, etc... The excitement was contagious!
Look at these smiles!
I lay my Chromebook flat on a table to use it.
Kindergarten students can use Chromebooks, too.
I hold my Chromebook with two hands.
Chromebook Academy
I got the idea of calling it Chromebook Academy from my kids' kindergarten teacher. We were blessed to be able to have the same teacher for both my son and my daughter, and she was AMAZING!! She had different academies throughout the school year, such as shoe tying academy. The students received certificates once they passed the academy.
I created the presentation below to guide us through each day and each step. This is still a work in progress, but feel free to use the presentation for your school.
Don't underestimate young students, they are very capable of learning how to use technology. However, don't assume they know how to use technology just because they can play on a tablet. They must be shown how to effectively use devices.
I will also add that our second grade students were taught how to use the Chromebooks at the beginning of the school year, and all second grade students can login using their Google Account logins. They can learn, and they can use the devices!
Our school district has a week every year where we discuss Cyber Safety with the students. I highly believe that this discussion should happen year round, not just during this designated week. This year, as every year in the past, I partnered up with the teachers to teach Cyber Safety to our amazing scholars. Yes, even with our kindergarten students! I am a firm believer that instead of blocking everything, schools should be teaching students to be responsible users of the internet. Some things do need to be blocked, but instead of banning all devices and all website outside of the programs purchased by the district, we should instruct our students to properly use social media.
Kinder and 1st grades
YES! Even kinder needs to learn how to be safe on the web. We talk about "stranger danger" all the time, but shouldn't we be talking about strangers on our computers, tablets, and iPhones. OK, so most 5 and 6 year olds don't have a phone, but how many play games on the computer? Many games now days have a way to connect with another player in order to complete missions. Even our youngest students need to know that the person on the other side may not be how they say they are.
With my younger students, we talked about Going Places Safely online, and I used a lesson from CommonSenseMedia. In this lesson students were able to:
discover that the Internet can be used to visit far-away places and learn new things.
compare how staying safe online is similar to staying safe in the real world.
explain rules for traveling safely on the Internet.
If you have not looked through the lessons on Common Sense Education, you need to browse and find a lesson that fits your students.
2nd Grade
Second graders learned what is safe and not safe to share on the internet when chatting with others online. Many of our second graders mentioned that they play games online, such as Minecraft, Rodeblox, and Wizard 101, where they can chat with other players and complete missions with other players.
Many children at this age don't really think about the dangers of the other player possibly not being another kid their age. So, we watched a fun video with Timon and Pumba about what information we can and cannot share with other players online.
After the video, each group completed a sort of what is safe and what is unsafe to share online.
3rd Grade
Third grade is the year that students really start using Google for Education and Google Classroom often. Students are able to communicate and collaborate, even from home, on assignments using Google. So, I felt it important to go over the power of words online and how it can affect us emotionally. Even as adults, I feel like we forget that an actual person with feelings is on the other side of the computer.
I adapted my lesson from Common Sense Education called "Power of Words", but I did tweak it a little to fit the time I had with the class and to fit what the teacher and I felt was best for the students.
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4th Grade
Fourth grade had a higher level version of the lesson that I did with second grade. We discussed what is safe and unsafe to share online. A few 4th grade students are learning about social media and are starting to post things online. So, I let Professor Garfield talk with them about our digital footprints.
5th Grade
I was blown away when talking with the 5th graders at how much they do not understand about being safe online, but how much they are sharing online! When the teacher and I talked with them about conversations being deleted, they truly believed that if they deleted it, it was gone. They have a lot to learn!
With 5th grade, we talked about the difference between Bullying and Cyberbullying. There were some great conversations going on in the groups. A few of them didn't take it seriously at first, but did at the end. This just confirms that these lessons need to go on all year long, not just during this designated week.
After we went over the lesson and watched the video, students got into groups and created a Venn Diagram comparing/contrasting Cyberbullying and Bullying.
Poster Contest
Next week the posters will be judged and a school winner will be named!! I'm hoping for the district winner this year!!
