Saturday, January 11, 2014
Using the Educreations app for Reading
Yesterday, I implemented the Educreations app during our reading time. We used the app to help us identify the Main Idea and Details of a story. To start, we began using categories. I posted several "main idea" cards in the hallway labeled with things like, "Things with Circles" or "Stories with Characters." The students first took a picture of one of the Main Ideas with the app, and then had to find three details in the room that would fit with the main idea. They took pictures of the details and created a web with the drawing tools in the app. We then read the story Short Shadows, Long Shadows that went with our reading curriculum. The students had a great time, and it was easy for me to do a quick formative assessment on the their understanding.
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3 comments:
Hi there, my name is Alexandria Butler and I am a student in EDM310. How exciting to learn about yet another app being used in the lower grades! Identifying Main Idea and Details can become mundane, especially if it perhaps is a skill you have covered previously. I think the lesson you planned with this app sounds wonderful for children in the first grade and I am curious as to what management tips you could offer a new teacher who would be implementing lessons akin to the one mentioned in your blog? Were your students successful with each part of the lesson and what if any components do you think you would change? I will be summarizing my visits to this blog on 2/9/14. Thanks so much.
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I love how you used such a creative app with your students. I am a library media student at the University of South Alabama and I am always looking for simple ways incorporate technology into the classroom. I am following your blog for a few weeks for an EDM 510 class. I will be summarizing some of your posts (and my responses) on my EDM 510 class blog on March 4th. Feel free to visit the EDM 510 blog at EDM 510 Class Blog, or my class blog at Anastasia Martin EDM 510 Blog. You can also follow me on twitter @anastasia5360.
Thank you for your posts. To comment back to Alexandria's question pertaining to classroom management, I would say first and foremost, a discussion on expectations and lesson objectives needs to be implemented prior to any activity taking place. As a teacher, you also need to be willing to "let" go of the reigns a bit and let the students explore and experiment with new tools. This wasn't the first time we had used the iPads. We had spent several weeks using the various functions and tools with the device and app(i.e. camera use, video, drawing, writing, etc.) I model explicitly how to work with the technology. This has many benefits for when we move to covering concepts such as main idea and details.
Was each student successful? Well, all of the students in my room worked with a partner. They were flexibly grouped based off of work styles. As the students completed one "page" of M/D's they moved to another after showing me their work. They did a wonderful job with this. The true test of mastery came when applying this concept to literature. Most of the students understand how to find the "BIG" idea, and some are still working towards mastery, but if anything it is another meaningful authentic experience for them.
Hope this helps!
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