There are times when I have to pinch myself to make sure it’s really happening. Two instances brought the power of writing using Google Docs “front and center”. Watching it unfold was thrilling to say the least. One instance was with a teacher in our workshop series – we’ve been working on using commenting as a way…
Tag: boys literacy
Writers Workshop – Each Step in the Process
“A journey of a thousand miles begins with one step.” I was reminded of this quote as we worked through our recent session on ‘Writers Workshop‘. Not only the global concepts of ‘writers workshop’ (lots of time to write and explore, choice and voice, conferring during and not after the fact…) but what this…
TED Expands to Education
My fascination with TED just increased with the launch of its newest initiative dedicated to Education. It is called TED-Ed: Lessons Worth Sharing. TED was originally created to bring together great minds and grand ideas aimed at changing attitudes and ultimately the world. The website and conferences plays host to inspired thinkers and those who would engage with such…
Giving Voice to Your Story – Use an Online Tool
Capture that story (whether at school or home) with just a mic and a simple online recorder. Vocaroo (http://vocaroo.com) is a simple online audio tool just made for that purpose! Use it for audio recordings of class news, radio shows, as student assessments for oral readings or to increase skills in reading. You may even…
Growing Readers – Literature Circles Gone Digital – Part 1
I wasn’t quite sure how to title this, swinging back and forth from “Passionate Conversations” and “Growing Readers”, both of which I believe Lit Circles to be. I’ve been working with a fabulous teacher on engaging her class with Literature Circles. Oh not the process with all the jobs/roles (which I’ve done many times before), but the approach…
Little Tools that Do Big Things
Do you ever want to do something with your class and the whole technology thing is just too much? I get that a lot so I’m always on the hunt for tools that “take the mystery out of things” and just work. Remember that we are also in a world of constant change so…
Choice Words
Things happen when you’ve return from a conference. New ideas attach with old ones and a host of “how does this all connect” is sifted through a lens of “what if…”. At FETC, keynote speaker Michael Wesch (watch TED talk) talked about the fast rise of the new technologies (Youtube 2005; Twitter 2006) resulting in a new culture…
Digging Deeper – How to Introduce Blog Commenting
How to Develop Blog Writing: Brainstorm Session Sometimes our questions may be “how do we start our classes blogging past the basics?”. Here is one way that may help to introduce the students to the idea of commenting. (We did this at our recent SCIT gathering.) This starts in the classroom with good questions. Record…
Cultivating Conversation – Spoken Ink
Moving from the last post on Reimagining Conversation, I wanted to dig deeper into the importance of oral language as foundational to literacy development. We are creatures of connection and we use language to communicate our needs, ideas, feelings and discoveries. The abilities to express ourselves grow over time and practice…lots of practice. Yes, I know…
Reimagine the Conversations
Many of you have dipped your toes into cyberspace by launching your blogs, whether they are class blogs, specialty group blogs or professional blogs. They all have something in common – a place to gather, connect and have conversation. The key factor being the conversation or communication. The flexibility of the tool is that it allows for…
Apps Big and Small…
It’s nearing the end of the year and looking forward to a little warm weather and a slower pace. Over the next couple of months, there’s a bit of time to do a little play and see what’s just around the corner. In that vein, here’s a little bit for you to discover. Interactivity –…
Using Plan Boxes in Writing Workshop
You send off your group to incorporate the ideas from your mini lesson – at least that’s your plan. And sometimes that’s exactly what happens. However, its more likely that some students may wander and forget what they’re supposed to do. So how do we get every student (at varying levels of writing proficiency) to…
Kurzweil 3000 – Session 3 Writing on the Calendar
This third session of Kurzweil 3000, which deals with writing supports has been rescheduled on the Staff Development Calendar to Wednesday February 23 (3:30-5:30) at Schou – TLC. Questions such as “How can Kurzweil support students who find written output challenging? What about the writers workshop process of braining, organizing, and drafting?” For more…
Digital Writing – Digital Teaching – Session 1
Digital Writing is… Session One (February 9, 2011): “If we engage students in real writing tasks and we use technology in such a way that it complements their innate need to find purposes and audiences for their work, we can have them engaged in a digital writing process that focuses first on the writer, then…
Words Their Way – Shedding Light on Process
Words Their Way is a program that offers a developmental curriculum for phonics/spelling instruction, reading fluency and vocabulary development. The hands-on activities engage students as they actively categorize their ‘word sorts’ and the assessment inventory provides a clear indicator of where each student is in the process of word development. We’ve been working with a…
A Peek at February’s Learning Calendar
Here’s a snapshot of what’s coming just around the corner. You will find all details and registration on the Staff Development Calendar. Don’t forget that our district pro-d day is February 25th. *Please note that these are ‘learning series’ and attendance is necessary at all sessions. Reading/Writing with Kurzweil 3000 (Alternate Ed Group): Feb 2,…
Handy Apps that Make a Difference
Some tools are just fun and some are handy to have. Then there are the tools that come along your way that you just know will make a huge difference in some of your students’ lives. This list will change over time and across the environments you work. eType is a downloadable application that provides…