Connect Making to the Curriculum

Using Kid Techxperts to Teach Apps

Students in Mrs. Clark's class were faced with a dilemma.  They needed to learn how to use four different apps in only two 40 minute learning blocks.  How could they do it?

Through a guided discussion students shared ideas about how, when, why, and by whom.  They began by deciding that they could only learn 2 apps a day.  Next, they thought about the fact that some students already knew some of the apps.  After that, they debated on how a student could teach other students an app.  Then, students self-selected which app they felt was their 'expert app'.  Lastly, students applied a technique from PE for grouping off in order to group students with a kid techxpert in class.  Finally, each student techxpert took a small group of students and demonstrated the functions of the app for five minutes.  Once the five minutes had gone, the other students got their ipads and practiced what they had learned.  The student techxpert would monitor and support the others while practicing.

Over the 2 days, we completed the process for all 4 apps so students had the opportunity to either be the techxpert or learner.  Not only did these lessons accomplish our goal of students learning how to use 4 out of the 6 core apps for first grade, more importantly, it set a foundation in the classroom that students saw each other as excellent ipad/app experts and resources.

 

The Red Angelfish are Making Friends in Paraguay!

Ms. Gray's kindergarten class is starting a partnership with another class at the American School of Ascunción in Paraguay.  They began by making an intro video.  Here it is!

KG Share their New Learning about the Human Body

Mr. Lewis's class finished their guided inquiry on the human body and shared their new learning with some pre-k students.  It was exciting to see how quickly the kindergartners partnered up with a younger student and dove straight into explaining their models about the human body. I overheard one student saying, "You see the lungs are here [pointing to a printed picture of internal human anatomy] and here they are in my model too."  Students also shared how the sides of the brain control the opposite side of the body.  Other students explained how veins take blood back to the heart.

Mr. Lewis's students were very proud to be able to teach the pre-k kids and demonstrate how they had become experts about what is inside their bodies.

Here is a short video of their inquiry.

     

Visual Literacy in Kindergarten

I worked with a kindergarten class to integrate visual literacy skills with letters and sounds.  Students had to make a poster of a letter and an object that started with that sound while applying good poster design principles (solid color background, images large, straight, and lined up).  Below are some finished samples.  

Writing Small Moments Celebration Assembly

Mrs. Bourdon and I collaborated on a video with her class to show what they have learned in their Small Moment Narrative Writing unit.

2D Shapes with Yakit

Grade 1 students in Mrs. Coole's class demonstrated their knowledge about defining and non-defining characteristics of 2D shapes.  

Teacher Sample

Student Sample

A Shared Inquiry

Mr. Lewis, a kindergarten teacher, began a shared inquiry with his class and then asked the librarian, Ms. Cuthbert, and me to join him on their learning journey.

It has been exciting to watch the students explore together a topic they found intriguing.  We are only in the first stages of our inquiry according to Kath Murdoch's model.  Below are some photos detailing what those stages have looked like with Mr. Lewis's class.

Breakout with Ms. Greco's Class

Students in Ms. Greco's class worked diligently to collaborate and communicate with each other in order to unlock Mr. Hoe's secret cookie recipe lock box.

Setting up a G1 Makerspace

First grade students are starting to make and it is a very exciting endeavour for both them and us as teachers!

The G1 Makerspace is a shared open concept space where students can collaborate on ideas and use the materials for making, creating, and building. The space is organized into various making strands such as: artists, builders, cardboard makers, designers, fillmmakers, and gamers.  

There are basic supplies available already in the room and then students are bringing recycled materials from home.  

The first lesson to introduce the space had students walking around and wondering "What could I do in this space?"  Then, we establish the agreements to how the space should be used since it is shared by so many people.

1. Work with Purpose
2. Clean Up after Yourself
3. Always Show Respect 

After that, students begin to imagine what they would like to create on their next visit to the makerspace.  Students' ideas range from cardboard rocketships to programming robots to making a film about gymnastics to designing beaded bracelets.

Their excitement is contagious and I can't wait to see all of the wonderful creations that come out of this space!

Learning how to Take Great Photos

In my kindergarten and first grade classes, students have been investigating what makes a good photo. Students identified 3 qualities of a very good photo:

1. Fill the screen with what is important
2. Make sure it is clear
3. Photo should be right-side up

Here a few examples of photos that some students took during this lesson.

Creation Stations - Surpassing my Expectations

I was prepping stations for my first kindergarten class at The LOFT - Creation Stations and a colleague saw me pull out the Popsicle Airplane engineering station.  He asked if I was sure I wanted to use that station with 5 year olds.  I did agree that it seemed ambitious and could end in a total flop, but decided I was more interested to see what they could build by simply looking at an image of a bi-plane.  I could only use the image as most of these students can't even read yet.  

Needless to say, I was flabbergasted at how quickly the three boys took to this station, investigating the materials and seeing how they could be attached together to design a bi-plane.  After all three students were able to use a clothespin as the body of the plane and a popsicle stick as the front wings, two of the boys felt they had accomplished their goal and engaged in dramatic play with their newly created bi-plane.  That is, until the other student continued to study the image and went on to add a paperclip for the horizontal stabilizer.  After that, he broke a popsicle stick into half and used one half of it for the vertical rudder.  Of course, his classmates who were originally content with their planes began looking at his and thinking, "I want to add that to mine too!", which meant they went back to designing as well. The other student was still so engrossed with his bi-plane, that he added broken bamboo skewers as struts and as a way to attach buttons to the plane for the wheels.  Lastly, he glued another button as the rear wheel directly to the body of the plane and finished his design off with a pipe cleaner propeller.

I was absolutely impressed at how this 5 year old student had shown character and critical thinking skills to create his very own bi-plane model with only certain materials available based on a simple diagram.  I will never underestimate our youngest learners at school again!

Rules for my School iPad

This year, for both my initial kindergarten and first grade ipad lessons I took a different approach to our digital citizenship agreement.  Instead of just sharing with students what the school rules for ipads were, I engaged the students in a discussion on what kind of rules they have with devices at home.  I was super impressed at how quickly children shared rules about time limits, only using ipads on Saturdays, not being able to download apps, not knowing their parents' passwords, having to ask permission to use the device, certain apps (YouTube and "war games") were off limits, etc...  We then agreed upon which of those rules should pertain to school.  Below is an example of the school ipad agreements for one class.

The SAS Elementary School's Top 10 Apps List

Teachers for each grade level independently completed a survey identifying their top 10 apps, the apps that they used most frequently in the classroom.  The graphic below shows the compiled data.

Lego WEDO 2.0 Rover Races

Students in Ms. Anderson's class had a blast building, programming, and racing their Lego WEDO 2.0 rovers.  

Discovering 'Makey Makeys'

A few students in Miss Kumar's class decided to undertake a Makey Makey exploration for their scheduled time at Creation Stations.  They began simply by opening the box, connecting the Makey Makey to a desktop computer, and following the directions on the How to page on the Makey Makey website (http://makeymakey.com/how-to/classic/). Step 5, 'Play some Makey Makey drums!' required collaborative problem solving as the students Makey Makey seemed to only work some of the time.  They discovered that they drums wouldn't play if they didn't have the Makey Makey grounded. Once they solved that problem the drum sounds were abundant.  

After that, these two students designed their own drum controllers using small cardboard rectangles, tin foil, and glue.  Their were so excited about their accomplishments that several other students from the class were intrigued to learn what they had discovered.  

They quickly crowded around the computer for a short 'show-and-tell' about the station.  I look forward to seeing how many different students will be interested in this Makey Makey station when Miss Kumar's class arrives again next week.

Discovery Time Sewing

Ms. Analu's class has been diligently working on their passion projects for months.  Some students have successfully completed 1-2 cycles of the personal time inquiry while the sewing group has persevered with completing their first cycle of learning over this four month period.   Today, several of this group's members accomplished their goal of sewing a stuffed toy!  They were so excited to have a finished stuffed animal that they made all by themselves.  I was so proud of the students' ability to work hard and to not give up even when they observed classmates tasting success with their projects and moving on to other discoveries.

Make a Digital Map of Singapore

Grade 1 students are learning about popular destinations and landmarks in Singapore for part of their Social Studies unit.  During this particular lesson, students began activating prior knowledge and growing their knowledge in a fun partner whiteboard quiz.  Locations are called out and partnerships have to look at a map with numbered destinations on it.  Students decide which number represents that location and writes it down on their whiteboard.  The teacher then shares the correct number that correlates with that location.  After all of the locations are discovered, students use the app of their choice to make a map of Singapore and include a minimum of 3 landmarks discussed in the beginning of the lesson.

Here are some student samples:

       

        

 

Google Map for Reference

Lego WEDO 2.0

Grade 1 students in Mrs. Kelly's class trialled our new Lego WEDO 2.0 kits last week.  Students worked in collaborative pairs to build a Lego rover robot, program the robot to move forward, and then wirelessly control the rover through their ipads.  Their ability to work together, troubleshoot, problem solve, and achieve success was exciting to observe!

Showing Data Digitally

Students in Grade 1 have begun their data unit in math.  They have learned how to collect information through surveys and explored how to show the data using real life objects (i.e. shoes for a shoe graph) and also representative objects (i.e. yellow snap cubes for vanilla ice cream).  So, for tech class, students were faced with a challenge, "How can you show your data digitally?"

During the chalk and talk students brainstormed apps that would be a good tool for the job.  Pic Kids, Doodlecast Pro, and Drawing Pad are usually the first apps mentioned but after a few minutes students begin to 'see' through a wider lens and start suggesting apps such as Tiny Tap, Stop Motion, and iMovie.  As a group, we discuss apps like iMovie and try to tease out how we could make a graph in it.  Other students are quick to note that iMovie would not a good tool for creating a digital graph.

Students are then set off to 'test' out the app of their choice and see if they can make a graph with given data.  It is wonderful to see that all students are able to make a graph with the app of their choice.

Here is the lesson and some student generated samples on the last two slides.

Discovery Time Share

Ms. Angle's 1st Grade class has been on a personal learning adventure over the past several months called Discovery Time.  Students brainstormed their own interests, wonders, and passions first.  Then, they followed an inquiry cycle.  At the end, they shared their learning with a grade 2 class. 

The LOFT Creation Stations

The ES Ed Tech team has been transforming the LOFT into a creative indoor 'playground' for students where the SAS DSLOs (character, collaboration, communication, critical thinking, creativity, content knowledge, and cultural competence) are finding traction.

The learning activities are organized under 5 themes: Art, Building, Coding, Engineering, and Filmmaking. Then each theme has various stations where students can explore, make, and innovate based on Challenge Cards specific to that station.  Challenge Cards come in levels as well to take into consideration that students from ages 5-11 use this space.

In addition, students are tracking their progress with the use of a Creation Stations Passport.  They must note down which station they completed (under the correct theme) and demonstrate and/or explain to a teacher which level they accomplished.  Success is noted with an 'Explorer', 'Maker', or 'Innovator' stamp in the student's passport.    

Here is a short video of grade 1 students exploring, making, and innovating at just some of the stations.

How to Arrange a Playdate in Mandarin - Green Screen by Do Ink

Students in Xu Laoshi's mandarin class used the app Do Ink by Green Screen to record realistic videos of 'How to Arrange a Playdate'. 

Discovery Time with Ms. Analu

Post written by Ms. Analu

"We have embarked on a fantastic journey called Discovery Time.  The kids shared different passions and areas they would love to explore.  As they shared their interests, Mrs. Buxton and I helped the kids sort them into different categories:

• Movie Making – (Star Wars clips)
• Sewing – (stuffed animals)
• Building – (castles, dollhouses, Star Wars characters)
• Science Investigations – (volcanoes)

They made a plan.  They asked questions.  They researched.  Now they are doing – creating! It has been so much fun!

We would like to thank Mrs. Buxton for guiding us through this journey and Ms. Nora for teaching us how to sew.

At the end of this cycle, we will reflect and see what worked well and what could have been better.  Then we will start a new cycle.

It was wonderful to see the kids collaborating, thinking critically, persisting and trying again.

Take a look at a glimpse of our Discovery Time today."

Tiny Tap

I am testing out a new app called Tiny Tap. Grade 1 students are trying it out as a fun way to share their animal research. 

Game 7,

http://www.tinytap.it/games/g18mb/Game-7
Handmade with TinyTap - Free iPhone/iPad App

Sent from my iPad

Beebots

Beebots are a coding station at the Creation Stations. Students learn how to operate a Beebot, make the object follow a path, and then create their own path for the Beebot to follow.  Some key skills learned are problem solving, iterating, and persevering.  Meko learned all of the skills and by his 7th attempt he succeeded at making the Beebot follow the path he had invented!  

Creation Stations

Creation Stations are located in the upper level of our Elementary School's library. The ES Ed Tech team has organized this space to be an inspiration for both students and teachers to be creative and learn through experimentation. Each station supports one of the five themes: art, building, coding, engineering, and filmmaking.

Students choose a station and explore, make, or innovate at it. Here is a video of a Grade 1 class that recently visited Creation Stations.

Discovery Time

Today Ms. Analu and I introduced Discovery Time to her class.  Discovery Time is a personalized inquiry time where students have an opportunity to explore a passion, interest, or a curiosity.  After a brief introduction, the students ideated effortlessly proving that children really are naturally curious.  Students documented their idea using the app Pic Kids and then posted their ideas on their class's student-run blog.  We will follow up with a planning session. During this lesson, students will have to document how they will make their idea happen as well as note the materials they will need.  Their enthusiasm was contagious and I can't wait to continue either!  

student Pic Kids poster sample