This site helps students in grade one build and improve their reading skills as well as their speaking skills, which are a huge part of grade one literacy.

I would, and have used, earobics in my grade one internship classroom as a tool to enhance literacy. Students who are struggling with sound-letter recognition, or even struggling with learning their letters benefit from playing these games. It is extremely useful on a smart board, as you then add in the visual and tactile aspects for those who learn in this way.

Because students are able to see, hear, and touch (if using a smart board) they are able to learn in multiple ways. I love this site because it is geared to all types of learners. I was pleased with the results of even few exposures to these games. Even those who did not necessarily require additional help with their literacy skills still benefited. It is appropriate for many age groups and I have seen it work with students with all types of needs.

I used something similar to this during my internship. I did a RBL unit with my Teacher Librarian. We read two fiction picture books, and two non-fiction picture books. I had written up 6 chart papers with titles: shelter, transportation, food, traditions, buffalo, and clothing. As she read to the class, she stopped after each page, and asked, “did we learn anything from that page?” and the students would share their new knowledge and I wrote it up on the chart paper under the category they found appropriate (this occasionally required some guidance).

After we had read all four books, we had a whole lot of information on First Nations people. Under some categories we had two or more sheets filled. This process took about 3 periods to complete. Then, in the last period, we created First Nations dresses/shirts. They each recieved a paper bag with holes cut out for their head and arms. Their task was to decorate the bag as a shirt as the First Nations people would have – using symbols to represent themselves, their life, and what was important to them. They did fabulous jobs of this and they had the chart paper, (ex: clothing), to help them out if they needed it.

By the end of the short RBL unit, they were a lot more knowledgeable about the First Nations people. This is something that the students actually requested learning more on. They wanted to know how they lived off the land and how they hunted and what their beliefs were. I simply built the unit…engaging them was not a problem, since they all expressed an interest in learning more about it. They all learned a lot and I heard from many parents about the things the students were taking home to share with their parents. It was a fabulous mini-unit and I will definitely do it again.

In Grade 5 Social Studies, Unit 1 students explore the identity of Canada. They will learn about its geography, that is, its landforms, river systems, climate, and vegetation. They will also learn about places within the country, its national and regional symbols, and its people, especially, heroes.

I don’t necessarily know if this would improve students learning, but it would improve patriotism, and I think that is vitally important. However, students would be learning about history and abouto Canadian athletes as well. The Olympics in Salt Lake lit a fire within all Canadians and the Vancouver Olympics will be a spectacular event. Students should be proud to be Canadian and there is no better reason to be proud to live in Canada than when a Canadian athlete stands on the top podium and the Canadian anthem plays for all to hear.

If I were teaching right now, I would be using this site in conjunction with this video, Our Time To Shine to follow the athletes to the Olympics and then when the Olympics were taking place next year, we would follow those athletes during the events and we could use graphs to keep track of medals and students could do reports on their favourite Canadian athletes, etc.

Relevance is so important and when the Olympics are on, it is all everyone talks about. By implementing this into my classroom, my students would be able to particpate in those conversations at school, home, and in the community. They would be able to tell their parents how many medals Canada has and how proud they are of the Canadian athletes and tell them all about their favourite athlete. I think that is fabulous, relevant learning taking place. I don’t need a better reason than that.

Grade One Language Arts: Writing, Reading, Listening, Speaking, Viewing and Representing

In my internship, I had my students working on this website during the first few minutes of their time on the computers in the lab while everybody got logged on. While I assisted others in logging on, those who had that mastered worked on phonetics, letter recognition, letter sounds, blends, etc. This was also available to students during any time they had on the computer. These few minutes made a big difference. I watched one girl go from knowing only ten letters of her alphabet in September, to knowing all the letters and knowing many letter sounds as well by Christmas.

I don’t think students realize they are learning when they are playing these games. However, I noticed the difference. They are having fun and are more receptive to the information and knowldge that they are learning because it is fun!

The Anne Geddes website is not an interactive site, but it is a great suplement to the unit and a place for the students to start their research, since the unit also includes a historical aspect in which the students learn about the artist, not only her photographs. Also, a large part of the unit is creating “Anne Geddes-like” photographs. Students will use technology, their imagination, and the website to gain inspiration and ideas while working with their partner to create their piece of art, illustrating that students in our classroom need to be protected, nurtured, and loved.

I would definietely consider using Google Docs in my classroom. My students could work on one project, whether it be a document, spreadsheet, or a presentation, as a collaborative group, on seperate computers, all at the same time! No more worrying about who is doing all the work because they can all be working on it at the same time with their changes appearing immediately. Groups can work on their projects from home or school and collaborate all their ideas together.

Google Docs can also be used to create a class work of some sort. One person could start it and everyone could add their ideas and opinions to the document. I would use this mostly, I think, in English Language Arts. Many of the components of activities that could be done on Google Docs would fit extremely well into the Grade 4 ELA Foundational  Objectives: Reading Writing, Viewing, and Representing.

I think Google Docs would benefit my students because they would be able to use technology in a way that they haven’t seen before. In the past, group work has been challenging. Students face the challenge of deciding who will do what and someone always gets the easy or hard job. There is usually one who leads, and another who sits and does nothing. With Google Docs is is easy to see who is adding to the document and who is making changes and who is sitting back and not contributing anything. Plus, it is accessible anywhere, so students can work on their project whenever they have a spare minute.

I would have my students use this site in Grade Two Visual Art to explore lines so that they can clasify lines in their own words. I would have them draw the pictures on the site but then write a paragraph to accompany the drawing, explaining and classifying the lines (curvy, straight, wavy, jagged, etc.) This could also be used as an activity during other times, such as a center time activity.

I think this would enhance my students’ understanding of lines in art because I would use this in conjunction with exploring some examples of Picasso’s use of lines on the smartboard. I think by being able to actually create the photo, without having to actually draw it, many, if not all students would be successful. I think too much focus is placed on the quality of work in visual art and not all students are “artists”. By using this site, all students are given the ability to draw.

I love this site for a variety of reasons. I love the “teachers” section. It contains a bunch of neat ideas to implement into your classroom that are easy and fun. I found that the page on “how addition works” would be very beneficial to use when first introducing addition in grade one as it walks through the basic concept of it very well. It also has info for teachers on continuing their education, such as information on how to do things, such as e-portfolios, information on courses, and resources. I also love the “real excuse notes” page.

Not only does this site offer information for teachers it also offers information to parents. I am particularly fond of the “tips for getting ready for kindergarten.” This offers suggestions such as things to do while driving, like looking for numbers, or seeing who can find 10 red cars first. It also offers resources for parents as well to use at home to help their child with Math.

I love the fact that everyone involved in the child’s learning was considered in the planning of this site: parents, teachers and most importantly, the child. There are a ton of games on this site that a child of a large range of ages would be able to play and learn from.

Grade 3 Science, Optional Unit: Simple Machines

I would have my students vote on which surface they thought would allow the car to move the fastest. We would record the students’ votes and then test their theories. We would also then graph the results of the movement of the car. The lesson could be done as a class on the SmartBoard, but I think the students’ would get more from it if they were able to manipulate the surfaces themselves, rather than simply watching.

I think this site will improve students’ learning because they are able to see the movement of the car. I could also use this with the SmartBoard either during the lesson, or afterwards as an activity that students can play around with when they have spare time.