Report Writing and ChatterPix

Look at these great illustrations from our penguin research project! Students selected one of the 17 different kinds of penguins to research and used non-fiction books, a student subscription to WorldBook Online, the Web site KidZone Penguins, and the kid-friendly search engine KidRex to research their penguin.

Students learned about their penguins location in the world, their size, diet, habitat, predators, and an interesting fact. Students checked in with me to make sure their research information was accurate before proceeding to the next step.

Students then used their knowledge about their penguin to draw a full color picture of their penguin and their habitat using crayons as this medium shows up really well in ChatterPix.

Using their iPads and the App ChatterPix, students took a picture of their penguin drawing. Then students drew a line for a mouth on their penguin picture and recorded their voice "speaking" as the penguin.

Finally, we did some "App Smashing." We uploaded our Penguin ChatterPix videos to SeeSaw and shared them to our class blog. We also printed out a paper copy of our research reports from SeeSaw and hung them on the bulletin board in the hallway so other students could scan the QR code reader and learn from our research. Finally, we uploaded our penguin research projects to Padlet so we can share them with parents, our school community, and you.

Click on this link to listen to our penguin research projects https://padlet.com/rafterys/penguin Enjoy!

Formative Assessment and Classkick

Happy New Year friends! I'm so glad to get back to blogging. While I've been away, I have been learning about some of the best Apps for teachers. Right before Winter Break, I started using a formative assessment App called Classkick with my primary students and it's one of my new FAVORITE things. Are you using it in your classroom? If not, you should give it a try.

Classkick can be downloaded for free from the Apple App Store. Chromebook, laptop, or desktop users can access Classkick from classkick.com. Before I downloaded the App (my district requires iPad Apps to be approved and it takes a few days), I made QR codes that directed students to their Classkick assignment.

Classkick is very teacher friendly and their Web site has tons of tutorials and get started guides for every grade level. I watched a few tutorials and uploaded my first assignment in under an hour.

Students can work at their own pace and receive immediate teacher feedback by virtually raising their hand. Students can click on the hand icon when they need help or are ready to turn in their assignment. In my class, students know to be on the lookout for teacher feedback on their Classkick assignment before moving on to the next activity. I've also set the expectation that students need to go back and fix incorrect answers. After students fix their mistakes, I can drag "old" feedback that is no longer needed to the trash can to delete it. I enjoy the ability to "pass" the paperless assignment back-and-forth without exchanging any paper.

Teachers have the ability to upload any PDF assignments to Classkick. As a primary teacher, I have hundreds of paper assignments in my filing cabinets. I also have tons of Word and PowerPoint files (yes, I create/design my Add Some Sparkle materials in PPT) that can be saved easily as PDF files. I like the fact that I don't have to create a separate multiple choice, short answer, or true/false assignment in order to use Classkick as a formative assessment tool. I'm all for working smarter, not harder.

Teachers have the ability to record their voice on assignments. Instead of typing out a bunch of written directions, I simplified my teacher directions and recorded a short audio segment with the steps students should follow to complete the assignment. Students could go back and listen to the audio directions as many times as they needed.

Classkick's Whole Class View is a dashboard that allows the teacher to see every student working on the assignment in real time. It's a bit mesmerizing to watch students all working at the same time at their own pace. As students are working on their assignment, I pull up and monitor the Whole Class View. With this view pulled up, I can monitor which students are needing my help, assess and provide feedback on assignments that are completed, award points for assignment completion, and export the assignment data.

I would love to hear how you're using Classkick in your classroom. What are your favorite things about it? Let's share ideas.

Hour of Code was a huge hit!

I never thought that computer coding education could begin as early as elementary school but my students proved to me that they had coding talent when we participated in Hour of Code during Computer Science Education Week in December. What is it? It's a one hour introduction to computer science where students learn the basics of coding by using problem-solving, logic, and creativity.

I created a QR code choice board of coding activities with different themes such as Star Wars, Anna and Elsa, Flappy Bird, and Minecraft from the Hour of Code website. Students used their iPads and a QR code reader app to scan the QR code of the activity they were interested in. Having the QR code choice board definitely helped my primary students work more independently and allowed them the freedom to try many different types of coding activities.

Students were encouraged to work together in small groups to share their discoveries and help each other problem solve. Students were extremely engaged the entire time they spent coding. I loved hearing how they overcame an obstacle or problem and figured out a complex coding step. I found that these coding lessons provided a great opportunity to talk to my class about the importance of having a growth mindset when you're trying something new.

If you haven't tried an Hour of Code activity with your class, it's not too late! The activities I mentioned above stay up year round. Go to the Web site https://hourofcode.com/us to learn how to get started. Happy coding!