The Commutative Property of Addition

Before my math lesson this afternoon, I was searching for some additional resources to use for introducing the commutative property of addition to my first grade class.  I love to use videos with my class so I did a quick search on YouTube and I was very surprised to find quite an extensive list of videos.  This was the one I finally chose to use...take a look.

Digital Storytelling

As I was searching for Digital Storytelling, I came across a site from the University of Houston entitled The Educational Uses of Digital Storytelling, which is also listed on Mr. Ferlazzo's blog. This site has some great examples and an extensive list of resources. I also found an article 7 Things You Should Know About Digital Storytelling which was very concise and gave a great overview.  Lastly check out this video I found on YouTube all about Digital Storytelling in the elementary classroom.


 

Great Resources

After reading Chapter 5: RSS, I was excited to try it out for myself.  While I was searching for some great first grade resources I came across some amazing teacher blogs.  The First Grade Lyon's Den had a lot of great resources and an interesting activity involving adjectives.  I also found another blog, First Grade Schoolbox, which had many free printables and activities for CCSS. Be sure to check out the teacher's extensive list of websites! I am looking forward to spending more time using this feature.

Online Collaborative Inquiry-Classroom Blogging Ventures and Multiple Literacies

I can clearly remember the first time I went to the library with my father and how excited I was to get my own library card.  Being able to take out books from the library was such a treat and I would look forward to choosing new books each week.  When I shared this experience with my first grade class some of students looked at me as if I was speaking another language and many of them have their own Nook at home. I do not have a Nook or Kindle and I am hesitant to purchase one.  I still enjoy going to the bookstore and buying an actual book I can turn pages in. Eventually I will probably end up buying one of the reading devices but for now I am happy to be a bit of a "dinosaur".

All of the advances in technology are amazing and new thing are being developed everyday.  The students in my first grade class are very tech savvy and definitely know more than I probably ever will. I certainly agree that the growth in digital tools has a positive effect on the students, not only does it motivate them but it can increase and/or enhance their learning.  I also agree that the technology itself is not solely responsible for student success, it is how effectively the technology is used in the classroom.  Having my classroom blog has been a great tool for my students and their parents and I am looking forward to learning about new ways to improve my blog and how to integrate these new technologies effectively into my classroom.

Animoto

I am very excited about using Animoto in my classroom. I used the idea from a previous student and created a video to introduce our new robust vocabulary words for the week.  The students loved the pictures and it really helped them to remember the words. I have so many ideas for how I can incorporate Animoto into my teaching and I would love to have the students work on creating their own. I was inspired by Taini's video she made for the vocabulary words from Frog and Toad. 

My Classroom Blog

I know I have mentioned my classroom blog before and I thought it might be helpful for you to take a look at it.  This is only my second year using the blog so I still have a lot of work to do and I am constantly trying to add posts and add new links for the students. The response to my blog has been very positive and I certainly feel it is a valuable tool to use in the classroom and the students enjoy using the links at home. So take a look and let me know what you think...Mrs. Marques' First Grade Blog.

 

               http://baloo-baloosnon-politicalcartoonblog.blogspot.com/2012/09/teacher-cartoon.html

Chapter 4: Wikis

My only experience with wikis has been with using Wikipedia. I have used this site to search for information when I was writing a research paper and I have used it to search for information on various topics to use in my classroom.  Recently I used Wikipedia to search for information on polar bears to share with my first graders.  Some of my students were actually familiar with the site and they enjoyed watching the videos about polar bears.  However I have found Simple English Wikipedia to be more age appropriate for my class.  This chapter made me think about ways I could use wikis in my classroom.  I liked the idea of creating an online text for the curriculum that the students could contribute to. My students are always talking about great websites they find at home about topics we are studying and it would be great if they had a place where they could share these sites with their classmates.  I am looking forward to exploring some of the examples from the chapter.