Happy Mother's Day

Happy Mother's Day!  This is a classic example of taking a project that you are already teaching in the classroom and adding a component of technology into the lesson.  For Mother's Day, my students always write an acrostic poem for their mothers as a present.  We use the following template below:

Usually, the students write their poem in their best handwriting on the template above.  I take a nice picture of each student outside, and they glue everything on a large piece of colored construction paper and add decorations with markers.  

This year, the students wrote a rough draft using the template above.  I assigned a blank Google Drawings Document through Google Classroom and allowed the students to design their poem however they wanted.  See an example of their work below:

I assigned the Google Drawing as a landscape document.  Some of the students struggled with fitting the whole poem on the page.  Next year, I will assign the project as a portrait so that the students have more room.  Even if the student did not fit the poem on the page, their project still turned out great.  I think it added a special artistic touch.  

For the finished gift, I asked the students to glue their poem along with their picture on a large sheet of colored construction paper and decorate the paper with markers.  Yes, I could have allowed the students to insert the picture into the Google Drawings Project and kept the project completely digital.  However, I wanted to allow the students to showcase their drawings which added a personal touch.  I hope this gift becomes a treasured keepsake for the mothers.

Working Collaboratively with Google Drawings

This week the students were asked to identify a problem and create an invention to solve the problem.  The students worked collaboratively in partners to make a plan for their invention in Google Drawings.

The students worked on the same Google Drawings document.  They were excited to see how when they changed something on their screen, it also changed on their partner's screen.  This was a great way for the students to share their knowledge of using the Chromebooks with others.

A few of the groups struggled with working on the same document.  It was important for both students to agree on the same vision for their invention before they started working together on the collaborative document.  When some of the students became frustrated with their partner, we took a quick break from the project and had a conversation about respecting one another's work.

Each group was assigned a blank Google Drawings document in Google Classroom.  I had ten different groups; therefore, I had ten different assignments.  I used the differentiation feature in Google Classroom to assign partners to the same assignment.  When the Google Drawings document was attached, I choose the option for students to edit the file so that both of the students could work on the same document. 

The plan created by the students was going to be used the next day to build the invention in Makerspace.  It is amazing to see how some of the students followed the plan to build their invention.  Below are a few of the plans with the finished product.  The first invention is a snow machine (to be used in the summer of course), and the second invention is a toy for a child who does not have any toys. 

A Practical Application of Google Classroom

I love using Google Classroom as a platform for my students to access their assignments.  It is quick to set up and easy for students to use.  Here is an example of a lesson in which I use a digital worksheet and assign it through Google Classroom.

Our topic in math focused on the relationships between coins.  The lesson started with a YouTube video reviewing the value and relationships of different coins.  After the video, the students completed the digital worksheet below.  All components of the lesson were assigned to the students using Google Classroom.

This digital worksheet was created using Google Drawings.  On the left, the images of coins are piled up on top of one another.  The student drags the equivalent amount of coins to each box.  Below is the original worksheet in which students drew pennies, nickels, and dimes to show equivalent amounts that inspired the creation of the digital worksheet above.  

Here are the steps I used for creating the lesson in Google Classroom.  Make sure that you assign the components of the lesson in the order that you want the students to complete the activities.  

First, I assigned the YouTube video with the insert video link.  Then, I assigned the coin sorter activity from Google Drive.  Make sure to pick the option Make a copy for each student.  This will assign each student's name to a different file and allow students to work independently on their own document.  

When students have completed the assignment, they have the option to Turn It In.  This feature alerts the teacher that the student has completed their assignment, and gives the teacher access to the finished product to assign a grade if desired.  

Below is the coin sorter activity completed by a student.  A big thank you to Emily Turner for creating the digital worksheet used in this lesson.  

Creating a Project with Google Drawings

Google Drawings is my favorite program to use for students to create projects because the possibilities are endless.  Basically anything that you create with a blank sheet of paper, can be created using Google Drawings.  Here are the steps that I give students when creating a project with Google Drawings:

These directions do not happen overnight.  I teach each direction as a different project until the students become more familiar with the program.  The idea behind teaching with technology is not to invent new lessons, but to incorporate technology into lessons that you are already teaching.  Remember, add a little at a time and build on the last piece of technology taught.

I introduce Google Drawings with a blank graphic organizer like this one.  This is a great opportunity to teach the students to double click on the shapes and practice typing.  I even teach students how to change the font and font color when they are ready.

Next, I teach students how to insert an image.  I use a lesson about schema in which students insert images to show their interests.  Inserting an image is easy in Google Drawings because you can search for images within the program.  When inserting images, it is important for students to spell the words correctly during their image search.

On another project, I focus my lesson on inserting shapes and typing sentences.  Google is flexible and allows you to type directly into a shape.  Here is an example of a student project when the class was working on adding text.

The last step is to teach the students how to add a background.  There are two ways in which students can add a background.  To add a single color background, right click anywhere on the page.  On the right click menu, choose the background option.  From there, a variety of solid colors will be available.  When you choose a color, the color will cover the entire canvas.

Students can also insert any image and enlarge the image to fit the whole page as a background.  This is a great way for students to illustrate the setting of a story.  I tell students to do this step first because of layering.  When students insert the background last, they panic because the background covers up all of their work.  Of course this can be fixed by sending the image to the back, but the whole catastrophe can be avoided if the students insert the background first.    

Remember, when you teach lessons with technology, you add technology into lessons that you are already teaching.  I take paper projects that the students have completed in previous years, and restructure the same projects utilizing Google Drawings.  What are some projects that your students can create using Google Drawings?

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!

One of our parent gifts this year was for the students to write a note to their parents saying thank you.  The students made an outline in their Writer's Notebook and completed the final project in Google Drawings.  I think their projects turned out amazing.  I hope the parents appreciate the hard work their children put into creating their gifts.  Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!

Collaborative Writing Using Google Drawings

Do you remember doing Round Robin Writing in school?  The student starts writing a story.  A bell goes off and the student moves to another desk, reads that student's story, and adds to the student's writing.  The bell goes off again, and the student moves to another desk.  This continues until the teacher thinks it is time for the students to stop and return to their desks.  When the students return to their desk, they read their story that has now been added to by many other students and add a conclusion to the story.

I decided to try this same concept with Google Drawings on the Chromebooks.  The students were told to pick a background for their story.  They could add details to their project with images.  Then the students needed to start writing a story.  Each project was supposed to have a place where students could write their name when they contributed to the project.  

The students were excited to start their stories.  After about 10 minutes, I told the students that it was time to switch to another computer.  Most of the students were not ready to switch (some students take longer than others when using technology), so I changed my directions.  I told students to stand up when they were ready to switch, and I facilitated which computer each student should work on.

The students were eager to work on each other projects.  When the student started on another student's project, they were told to read the story first, and then they were allowed to add more images or more to the writing.  Reading the story first was an important step in the process because the students needed a lot of reminders to make sure what they added to the project matched the project.  For example, one student liked to add kittens to all of the projects she was working on, but this didn't work when the background for the project was a football field with football players.

Some students did not like the other students adding to their work, and I had to assure them that they would be able to return their computer in the end to edit their work.  One rule I did make was that you were not allowed to delete anything that anyone else added to the project.  Students were allowed to move things around, change the color, and add more images, but they could not delete anything.  

Overall, the project was a positive learning experience for the students.  When it was time for the activity to end, the students were excited to go back and see who worked on their project and what was added.  Students were also given the opportunity to put the finishing touches on their project before they turned it in.  Below is a project that three of the students completed together.

My name is Duck.  I am at school right now.  This is my friend named Bird.  I like my friend bird.

One of my goals this year is to increase collaboration among students by using technology.  This is my first project to include collaboration with the Chromebooks.  I will share more projects utilizing technology to increase collaboration as the school year progresses.

Adding a Background in Google Drawings

Happy Thanksgiving!  This week our class read the book Run, Turkey, Run! by Diane Mayr.  After reading the book, I taught the students how to write a super sentence.  We start with the sentence: The turkey ran.  After we discuss how boring this sentence is to the reader, we add more details to the sentence to make the sentence more exciting.

Once the students have written their super sentence, it is time to publish their work.  In the past, we have made a turkey out of construction paper and displayed the writing in the hallway.  However, I thought this would be the perfect opportunity to teach the students how to insert a background into Google Drawings because each sentence contained a setting.  The purpose of using technology in the classroom is not to invent new lessons but insert technology into lessons that you are already teaching.

I love adding backgrounds to Google Drawings because it adds a lot of visual appeal to student projects.  The background is simply a regular image that is enlarged to fit the entire page.  Therefore, any image can be used as a background.

When inserting a background, always insert the picture first.  This is also a good time to teach students about the undo button.  There will be many times when the student will accidentally move their background, and the students quickly learn that the undo button is their friend.

The cool fat turkey ran to the trees to hid in the trees at 12 o'clock.

The students were told to insert a background that went with their setting, insert an image of a turkey that looked like their adjective, and write their super sentence.  One of my favorite features of Google Drawings is the ability to insert pictures right into the project without even leaving the program.  When the student searches for their image, there are a lot of images available.  This gives the students a lot of choice when picking the image that works best for their project.

Halloween Writing with the Chromebook

Our project this week was to put everything we had learned so far about Google Drawings into one activity.  The student was to insert their picture from a shared folder, insert a relevant picture, and write about their picture.  As always, the students had the freedom to pick their own fonts and colors.  Happy Halloween!

I am Ray.  What are you going to be for Halloween night?  Ray is brave.  She helps people when they are hurt.

For directions on how to set up the project for students to insert their own individual pictures from a shared folder, please click here.  To learn more about teaching students how to insert a picture into Google Drawings, please click here.

I would love to see what your class is doing with the Chromebooks.  Please comment and share the projects that your class is creating with technology.

What is Inside Your Head? An Introduction to Inserting Pictures into Google Drawings

This week we talked about schema.  Schema is the background knowledge that we use to make connections.  We use our schema in both reading and writing; therefore, it is important for students to recognize their own schema.

Usually, I introduce the topic of schema by asking students to reflect on what is in their head.  This project includes a picture of a large head in which students draw pictures of things that they are "experts" on.  I thought this would be the perfect opportunity for students to learn how to insert pictures on the Chromebook.  Therefore, I assigned the students a picture of an empty head in which they could fill with pictures of things that were important to them.  This template was created in Google Drawings.

One of the best features of Google Drawings is the ability to search for images without leaving the program.  When you insert an image, choose the search tab, and you are able to search through a large amount of images.  Students love this feature because they are able to pick the picture that is best for their project.

Here are a few pointers when teaching students to insert pictures into Google Drawings:

1. Spelling is important when searching images.  Sometimes if the word is close to the correct spelling, it will work.  However, students usually have to spell the word correctly to find their image.

2. Students struggle with resizing the image.  When you insert an image into Google Drawings, the image is usually very large.  Resizing the image is a task that needs to be modeled constantly for the student.  However, by the end of the lesson, the students are successful with this task.

3.  The undo button is your friend.  Sometimes I would check in on a student and the head would be missing.  Usually, we were able to undo enough times to find the head again.  Sometimes I had to restore the project to the original version if using the undo feature was not successful.

You can download a copy of schema template here.

Becoming a Better Writer with Google Drawings

Google Drawings is my favorite program to use with the Chromebook because it offers endless possibilities for student projects.  Basically anything that a student creates with a blank sheet of paper can also be created in Google Drawings.

Right now, my students are focusing on writing two or more sentences.  This is not an easy task for a first grader but practice makes perfect (or better in the case of a first grader who is still mastering the art of spelling).  Last week, we were blessed by a visit from two baby goats.  The students loved meeting the goats, so I thought it would be the perfect foundation for a writing activity.  Sometimes the best lessons happen by accident and never make it in your lesson plans.

I love teaching writing with technology.  This is an excellent opportunity to highlight focus on the capital letter at the beginning of the sentence and the period at the end because editing is super easy on the computer.  The students also love to correct their own spelling when the red squiggly line appears, telling them that they have made a mistake.

One thing that I have noticed with writing on the Chromebook is that misspelled words stick out like a sore thumb.  In my head, it is okay for students to misspell words when it is in their own handwriting, but when the students misspell words while typing, the teacher inside of me wants to correct it.  I am trying to work past this need to control my students and remind myself to let it be because it is their creation.

When using Google Drawings, students are given the freedom to pick their own fonts, colors, and shapes.  One of my favorite features of Google is the ability to write in a shape without having to add a text box.  It makes it easy to create professional quality work (so easy that a first grader can do it).

Lady is pretty. Prince is handsome.  I did not know that goats can climb.

The How To: This project was created by assigning a blank Google Drawings document in Google Classroom.  Each student had an individual picture taken with one of the goats.  All of these pictures were put in a folder in Google Drive and shared with the student's e-mail address so that the folder would appear in the student's Google Drive.  The instructional technologist on my campus created a group e-mail for my class so that I was able to quickly share the folder with all of my students using one e-mail address.

Another positive quality of Google Drawings is the ability to insert an image without leaving the program.  When the student inserts an image, they pick the option to insert an image from Google Drive.  From there, the students can choose the "shared with me" tab or the "recent" tab.  Here they are able to pick their picture and insert it into their project.  I thought this project was going to be a lot of steps for the students, but they quickly learned the steps to insert their individual picture.  Remember, slow and steady wins the race.  Start small and add a new technology feature with each new project.