My first graders have been working on animal research this week. We had previously worked on animal research in small groups. This time around we went to individual animal research. Students got to pick their own animals and record all their information about their chosen animal. To accomplish this, we used Google Docs, Britannica School Elementary (available through our AEA), Symbaloo and Kidblog. Google Doc Set up We are not a GAFE school. I used my personal Google Account to set up the documents that each student would be working on for their research. I began by creating a new Document for each student. I saved it as their name. After creating the document, I had to make the document "shared." I changed the privileges to anyone who had the link could edit the document. By allowing anyone with the link to edit, there was no log on necessary by my students to add content. After you have changed the permissions, you can then copy the link. Anyone who has that link will be able to edit since you just changed the permissions. *This link will be important to add to Symbaloo. Below is a visual of what I added to each document. The students then added the rest of the content. I provided them with the template to assist with organizing their text as they found information. Symbaloo Set up We already use Symabloo for all of our links. This is a simple way for students to quickly access everything we use on the web. Below is a screen shot of the Symbaloo page. Each student had one icon that when clicked would open their Google Doc. Below are the steps I used to add each icon to our Symbaloo page. This process would be repeated for each student. Since I have 23 first graders, I had to add a total of 23 individual icons that would provide a shortcut to get to their Google Doc. Britannica Below is a screen shot of what the Britannica page looked like for my kids. They chose the mammals link to choose their animal and find facts for their animal research. After clicking on mammals, students got to find an animal. Once an animal was found, they would then click on that animal's name. Once on the chosen animal, they could try their best to read the information. There is an option to have the text read aloud. Many students took advantage of this option to gather the facts about their animal. Kidblog After students finished their animal research, I was able to embed the Google Doc within their Kidblog. I did this part as it took some changes to the Google Doc to allow for embedding on their Kidblog. Below is an example of an embedded animal research project.
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Part 1--QR Code Riddle Hunt We recently started our new unit in science called Balls and Ramps. To begin this science unit, we worked in small groups to solve riddles about a mystery ball. I had created a "scavenger hunt" for students to sort clues based on the ball being described. Below is the example that I put together. Feel free to download and use by clicking here. The above file shows the layout of this project. Let me describe it so it makes more sense. The first page has a soccer ball, football and golf ball. There are also a total of 10 clue numbers listed underneath (The numbers could be crossed out so kids knew which clues had been listened to already). The next couple pages are the actual QR Codes that I cut out and glued around the classroom. The last page is the answer key for which clues described which ball(s). Kids would use the Qrafter app to scan the codes. The codes played an audio clue. The student would then put the "clue number" under the ball they though it described. I created the audio clues using the website Record MP3. This website lets you record audio and once saved, generates a URL for your audio recording. This URL was then pasted into the Chrome app QR Code Generator. These QR codes were then saved into my document. Part 2-STudent Created riddles with Educreations After students had finished their QR code riddle hunt, we then gathered to talk about creating our own riddles. Students were put into small groups of five. Each group was given a picture of a ball (The file can be downloaded here). Each group was given a template to record their clues (Download here). Each student had to come up with a clue that described his/her group's ball. Once these clues were written down, we used the Educreations app to insert a "Mystery Ball" picture and have students record while reading their clues. After students had recorded their clues for their group's "Mystery Ball," we embedded them onto our class Kidblog. This allowed students to go on and guess each group's ball based on the clues. Below is an example of an Educreations final product. I have been putting together a Symbaloo page of animal web cams. Every fall in science, we talk about living things. Our big focus is on plants/trees. However, these animal web cams will be a great asset to help differentiate the needs of living things and how these are met by animals. My students will be able to watch animals in real time and identify how they are meeting their needs to survive. They can compare and contrast this with plants. The full page is embedded below but feel free to check it out here too. Another tool that I plan to integrate as well is the Cactus.AR app. This app utilizes augmented reality. You must print out the marker to display the cactus. Put the marker in view of the iPad's camera and see a virtual cactus appear. Students get to take care of this virtual plant and see how it changes if not taken care of correctly. |
Andrew FenstermakerInstructional Technology Coordinator | Innovation Coach | Google Certified Innovator | Presenter | Blogger | Adjunct @UiowaEducation | Owner @kids_f_i_r_s_t |