Wednesday, April 25, 2012

Literacy Project

I was away for our April 12th class, so I had a lot of catching up to do. I had an idea in mind for my literacy project, but hadn't yet begun it. During our April 19th class we had the chance to play around with Weebly, which I liked at first and thought I would use as the platform for my project (I was in awe of all the background options). I started typing in some of the research I had done on my project (fairy tales for second grade) during class, but then when I got home I realized it wasn't as easy to work in as Blogger is. I had trouble linking to other websites, formatting pictures, and so on. So, I created a new blog--Lisa's Fairy Tales Blog--and transferred all of my information on fairy tales to it. I like this platform much better, probably because I'm so much more familiar and comfortable in Blogger because of this blog.

I can definitely do a lot more with the fairy tales blog, but I'm feeling stressed out that I haven't finished the entire project yet. I included four fairy tales for students to read/have read to them through a cool site I stumbled on called "Speakaboo" (I shared it through Diigo). I didn't realize there is a subscription attached because the stories I listened to were provided. I'm guessing the first few are free as demos. I provided links to related sites as well as collaborative activities. I still need to complete the lesson plan in the preferred template, add a rubric, and get reaction from students (actual second graders or from our class). I also came across some great activities to use on a SMART Board (fairy tales Jeopardy!, a vortex game with "Real" vs. "Fantasy," a fun concentration game, etc.), but I have no idea if I can cross-link smart notebook activities in a blog or how to get that information across on this platform. If I was doing this unit with a class, I would simply put the activities up. If anyone has any suggestions I'd love to hear them!

From fairytalesforsecondgraders.blogspot.com
Image credit: Google Images
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5 comments:

  1. RosanneApril 25, 2012 at 5:49 PM

    Very cool, creative idea! I like the amount of detail you put into each part. How you can apply this to the curriculum and when appropriate is clearly displayed through the blog. I will be starting a fairy tale unit next week with my first graders, do you think I can share this with them?

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  2. Mrs. CushingApril 25, 2012 at 6:46 PM

    Hi Roseanne; thanks for the positive feedback! This ended up being much more than one lesson, but I kind of got carried away and wanted to showcase a lot of different ideas. Definitely feel free to share it with your students!

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  3. Kate M.April 29, 2012 at 12:38 PM

    Lisa I love this idea. It sounds like you are putting a lot into it and the kids will get a lot out of it. The best part of technology is learning the tools and then knowing which one to use. This is based on knowing the tool and also knowing your comfort zone with it. As well as knowing your students and how they will engage. Your blog is very welcoming for viewers. I want to take your class. I love fairy tales. I can see your blog taking on a whole new form of its own once you get it up and running. And have the kids add to it also. I am following it so I will be able to see it. Thanks for sharing.

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  4. Kate M.April 29, 2012 at 12:41 PM

    PS I am also impressed that you added the internet safety rules. What a great idea and an important one. Something I need to add to my class website. Thanks for the idea.

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  5. Mrs. CushingApril 29, 2012 at 7:12 PM

    Thanks so much, Kate! I had some doubt and moments of panic while working on this project. I don't have my own classroom, so I haven't planned lessons/units in a long time. I really appreciate your comments; I've always loved fairy tales and thought it would be a fun and nostalgic topic to work on.

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