Hundreds,Tens and Ones...a Place Value Song!

Our new math unit is all about place value. During our district collaborative meeting today a colleague shared this video from YouTube. I can't wait to share it with my class!

 

Friendship Through the Eyes of a Child: A Digital Storytelling Project

Kelly and I decided to create a digital story about friendship. Kelly asked her preschool students to draw pictures about ways they could be a good friend. I also asked my first graders to draw pictures showing what it means to be a good friend. After they completed their drawings I had my students write about their pictures. I told my students we were going to be working with another class on this project and they were excited to see the drawings from Kelly's class.
I showed the video to my class and they absolutely loved it!  They enjoyed seeing their pictures and hearing the words they had written. My class enjoyed seeing the pictures Kelly's class made and they liked their suggestions for ways to be a good friend. I asked my students how we could use this video to help other children. One student suggested showing the video at the beginning of the school year to help students make new friends. Another student wanted to know if we could translate the video in different languages so students from around the world could learn from it. My all time favorite response..."I should show this video to my little brother so he won't be in the time out chair so much!"
I really enjoyed collaborating with Kelly's class and I know my students will remember this project for a long time!  Take a look and let me know what you think!
                       

My Diigo Library

Well I certainly have been giving my mouse a workout!  There are so many amazing resources available for teachers...I could spend hours every day searching!  Here is my Diigo library which includes a variety of different resources including lesson plans, activities, articles, games and much more. I can't wait to add more links to my library and I am looking forward to sharing it with my first grade colleagues.

A Cat Named Olive

My students are continuing to use Animoto at home.  Another student made a video about his new cat, Olive.  For now the students are just working on adding pictures to their videos and I have been encouraging them to add text.  Hopefully I will be able to have the students start to create videos in the classroom.  Our social studies unit on Africa is about to begin after the break and I have a lot of ideas for videos the students could create.  For now take a look at Olive the Cat.  

Read All About It!

I use a variety of early childhood literacies and digital storytelling resources in my classroom.  Our district has subscriptions to One More Story and Tumblebooks. Both of these sites have an extensive collection of pictures books and I can always find a great story to play for the students during snack time.  My personal favorite is Storyline Online, the students love listening to the different actors/actresses reading the stories.  Sean Astin reading A Bad Case of Stripes is one of my all time favorites!  If you haven't used this site before please take a look and share Somebody Loves You, Mr. Hatch, a great story for Valentine's Day!

    

Digital Storytelling Project

I am doing my digital storytelling project with Kelly.  We decided to focus on friendship and have our students draw pictures of what it means to be a good friend.  Since Kelly teaches preschool and I teach first grade, we thought it would be interesting to compare the students' responses.  I had my students complete the activity today and they did a great job.  They were very excited when I showed them some examples of digital stories created by young children.  My students were also very excited to be working on this project with another class from a different school.  I can't wait to show them the finished product.     

Digital Storytelling: Extending the Potential for Struggling Writers

As I was searching for examples of digital stories I came across this article from Reading Rockets. The article was published in 2009 but it is still very relevant.  The authors of the article discuss how many young students struggle with the traditional literacies and how using new technologies like digital storytelling can boost motivation and increase learning opportunities.  Within the article there are many links not only to examples of digital stories but also some resources for creating videos.  Take a look and let me know what you think

Letters to Newtown

I came across this video on YouTube and I thought it was very interesting.  Since the tragedy at Sandy Hook Elementary School, more than half a million cards, letters, poems and drawings have been sent to the people of Newtown from around the world.  I was wondering what would happen to all of these things and here is one idea...

Tessa's Baby Pictures

After I posted the link to Animoto on my classroom blog one of my students created an Animoto video about his dog, Tessa. He was so excited to share his video with the class and he can't wait to use the program again. Take a look...
Tessa baby pictures

Xtra Xtra...Learn All About It!

One of my favorite math resources this year has been XtraMath. It is a free math program that teaches addition, subtraction, multiplication and division facts.  All you have to do is enter your class list and the students receive their own pin.  The best part is the students can log in at home and you receive weekly updates on their progress.  The parents love having the extra math practice at home and the students enjoy tracking their progress. Check it out!

Diigo

I am absolutely loving this site.  Every time I find a website I want to go back to all I have to do is hit my little Diigo icon and there it is.  For now most of my links are for first grade resources although many sites contain resources for multiple grade levels.  Check out some great resources I found.
Educational Resources

Animoto Project

In first grade we teach a science unit on Emperor penguins.  The students learn all about these amazing animals through books, videos and independent research.  We have a list of vocabulary words the students need to know by the end of the unit.  In the past I have used the book Penguins by Gail Gibbons to introduce the vocabulary words.  However some of the words are not in the text and I have to introduce the words after the reading.  I decided to make an Animoto using the key vocabulary words the students needed to know.  My students absolutely loved the video...the room was so silent!  I asked the students what they liked best about the video and they said the images.  They liked how the images matched the words and it helped them to remember the words better.  I was also surprised many students said their favorite slide was the one with the krill.  When I asked them why they said it was because krill are such tiny creatures and it was helpful to see an enlarged image.  One student commented that he liked the theme of the video with the falling snow and he felt it was an appropriate choice given the habitat of the Emperor penguins.  What a powerful teaching tool...can't wait to use it more in the classroom!

                      (all images courtesy of Google Images)