Reading Informational Text with Ozobot - Small Group
For the Final Unit of the school year, our thematic focus is America’s People. This unit focuses on the idea that America as diverse nation. To help students gain a foundational understanding of how immigration plays a key role in the diversity of our nation, students will read multi paragraph texts that outline the process of immigration through Ellis Island. I know what you’re thinking….nothing about that task screams simplicity or novelty. But have no fear! QR Codes are here!
Check out a quick blurb about QR Codes. These QR codes transform simple (and sometimes mundane) tasks into exciting and engaging activities using technology. You can use unique QR Codes that link to a specified passage with information about the immigration to the US through Ellis Island. The students will access the text on a device.
This idea was originally adapted by Shawn Goff (Devon Elementary School) to suit a whole group setting using tiny programmable toy robots called, Ozobots.
In this activity, the Ozobot takes the voyage through a model of Ellis Island while students read information about each station in the journey. The Ozobots make the activity really interactive and give students a visual representation of Ellis Island, but is not a requirement for this activity. Below is the model Ellis Island that can be used for the Ozobots.
*Teacher Tip: It is suggested to do this activity with students during small group instruction. Each child would use the QR code to digitally access the text and then we would have a teacher-led discussion about the text. This is to ensure that there are no misconceptions about the voyage through Ellis Island. Within the small group setting, you can make adaptations and modifications to meet the ability levels of all learners.
After reading the passages that pertain to the journey through Ellis Island and the read aloud that kick-starts the unit, have students reflect and respond to the following TDA prompt: "In the text A Picnic in October, Tony and his family venture to the Statue of Liberty to celebrate her birthday. Based on the information learned about immigration through Ellis Island, why do you think Tony’s Grandparents think celebrating Lady Liberty is so important?" Use evidence from the text to support your answer.
At the end of the year, students should be able to tackle this prompt, but guidance and support may be necessary. Cause and Effect with Epic - Workstation
Activity 1
At the end of the year, most students are able to identify sound spellings within a word. To increase fluency as well as being able to identify sound spellings within a word, students can complete this activity in a workstation! The teacher will open Sound spellings (page 45 and 46) .
Summarizing with Seesaw - Workstation
In workstations, students will complete the ‘L’ column of the K-W-L chart previously started during whole group instruction. Students will use Seesaw to publish their K-W-L Chart. The teacher should place a copy of their chart in Seesaw for the student to work from. Here is a tutorial to learn more about using Seesaw in the classroom. You may also choose to use this task card with students for this activity.
Sequencing with Cubetto
In this lesson, students will read the story Jingle Dancer. This is a story of how a contemporary Native American girl turns to her family and community to help her dance find a voice.
This story lends well to a sequencing activity. The little girl goes from place to place collecting her jingles. A neat way to use technology with sequencing while teaching coding is to use Cubetto. To learn more about how to use and code with Cubetto, watch the tutorial below. Don't forget that Cubetto is available for check out. Contact your DIS for more information.
In this activity, students can program Cubetto to go to any spot on the grid or map. For this activity, you can make a grid of all the places that the little girl Jenna in our story goes while she is collecting her jingles. The students will program Cubetto to go to the jingle collection spots on the map as they recall where Jenna got her “jingles.” This, in turn, would be where they are sequencing the events of the story. Click here for the cards for this activity.
Teacher tip: This activity could be done in small group or as a whole group. You can also "dress" Cubetto as the character to support student engagement.
Standards
ELA 2.RI.13.1, 2.RI.6.1, CS 2.CS.1.3, 2.CS.2.3, 2.DL.1.2, AuthorChristine McClure
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Plot Diagram Activity - Workstation
With a partner, students will complete a plot diagram using the elements within the text, “Dragons and Giants”. We will be using Seesaw, a student learning journal, to publish our Plot Diagram activity.
Click here to access the Plot Diagram and task card for this activity.
Major Event and Key Details with Popplet - Workstation
In continuation of the unit Courage, students meet the character Peter who displays courage by saving his village. Peter overcomes a series of major events that contribute to his success in preserving Holland. In the activity provided, students will be able to identify the key details that support a specific (given) major event from the selection. The students will decipher between key details that support the major event and details that do not.
Cause and Effect with Codeable Crafts - Workstation
In Unit 5 Courage, students have learned how characters in previous stories have demonstrated courage. After having read the story, The Empty Pot students will be able to understand and express various examples of causes and effects that take place within the story.
To further demonstrate their understanding from the lesson, students will complete, during workstations, an activity in Codeable Crafts. Students will choose a cause and within Codeable Crafts they will select a character to move and answer what the effect is that matches their selected cause.
Codeable Crafts is an app for kids to create their imaginative stories by drawing and coding. With Codeable Crafts, kids can enrich their imagination and creativity, and learn the basic concept of computational thinking.
Here is a Cause and Effect teacher overview, the task card, and the Cause and Effect activity sheet for this activity.
Compare and Contrast with Book Creator - Workstation
As Unit 5 Courage comes to a close, the students have been exposed to characters that have demonstrated courage in a multitude of ways. In the story, “Brave as a Mountain Lion”, Spider is fearful of participating in his school’s Spelling Bee. He seeks courage and strength from his loving family members. Throughout the story, Spider has mixed emotions about his participation in the Spelling Bee.
In this enrichment activity, the students will use the app Book Creator to identify how Spider feels at beginning of the story, causes that change his feelings about the Spelling Bee and his feelings at the end of the story. Students will export their stories as a Video file into SeeSaw. Click this link to access the “Compare and Contrast” task card.
Standards:
ELA 2.RL8.3, 2.RL.12.1 CS 2.CS.2.3, 2.DL.1.3 AuthorsLauren Gross Central Idea Web with Popplet - Cooperative Learning Groups
In the Imagine It! Unit 4: Look Again students learn about how animals use camouflage for protection and to hunt for food. In this lesson, students read the story Animal Camouflage and create a central Idea web using the Popplet app. Here is a tutorial if you are not familiar with Popplet.
After reading the Animal Camouflage story, students will complete a central idea web. They will list the central idea first and then add web boxes that include key details from the story that support the central idea. The task card is linked here with directions of the assignment within Popplet.
Once they are done, students will submit their web digitally to the teacher. This could be submitted in different ways depending on teacher discretion. Here are directions to assist students with exporting their Popplet.
Author's Craft with Book Creator - Workstation
This lesson begins with reading the story Hungry Little Hare. In this story, a rabbit is looking for raspberry leaves to eat and bumps into many animals along the way. The rabbit cannot see the animals because they are camouflaged.
For this activity, students will use Book Creator to create an additional page to the Hungry Little Hare story. Here is a tutorial if you are not familiar with Book Creator.
This activity will begin as a whole group activity and then an independent learning activity. It will be introduced during reading & responding and finished during workstations. During the reading and responding lesson, students are asked to create an additional page to the story using words phrases and illustrations; continuing the word patterns and flow of the story. Here is a student example.
*Teacher Tip: Before introducing this lesson, determine how your students will submit their book creator assignment. In this activity, students will export their part of the story from Book Creator. Students could export their creation into Google Classroom, Seesaw, Google Drive, etc. It would also be beneficial to use Airserver to model how to use Book Creator for students at some point before the lesson.
Fact and Opinion with Padlet - Workstation
In this lesson students continue to learn about animal camouflage in the story How to Hide an Octopus. It is a story about an octopus, and other sea animals, that are trying to camouflage themselves.
Before you start this lesson, make sure you and your students have an understanding of how to use the Padlet app. This app allows students to create and collaborate via interactive multimedia bulletin boards. You will need to create a Padlet before the lesson. If you are not familiar with Padlet, here is a tutorial to help you get started.
Before students begin this activity, you will have to create the Padlet for students and assign it to them before they can add their facts and opinions. Click here for steps on how to set up the Padlet wall for this lesson.
*Teacher Tip: You may want to model how to use Padlet for students using Airserver before releasing them to complete this activity independently.
Compare and Contrast with Venn Diagram - Workstation
In this lesson, students read the story I See Animals Hiding to learn more about the various ways animals use camouflage to hide themselves. They will create a Venn Diagram to compare and contrast the Arctic Hare and the Bittern using the following topics: habitat, type of camouflage, color, and need for camouflage. Before you start this lesson, make sure you and your students have an understanding of how to navigate and use the Venn Diagram app and here is a tutorial that will help you get started.
This activity that can be implemented into workstations anytime after the story I See Animals Hiding has been read and discussed during Reading and Responding whole group instruction. You will need to create the Venn Diagram for students before they can complete this activity. Here are the directions on how to do this and an example of a finished product.
Standards:
ELA 2.RL.9.2, 2.RI.6.1, 2.RI.5, CS 2.DL.1.3, 2.N1.1.3,
Presenting Research with Buncee - Workstation
In Unit 3: Around the Town, students learn about different places in the community. We will facilitate this learning through a variety of technology tools to support student independence during workstations. The goal is for students to conduct research to show an understanding of the importance of a community library.
During workstations, students will spend one day on Epic and/or Pebble Go researching community libraries. As students conduct their research, they can take notes digitally on a Google doc, or on paper to use later in the week when creating their presentation. If you use Google Classroom, you can assign them this Note Taking sheet or you can print copies for students. If you would like to know more about Google Classroom, click here for a tutorial.
After students have completed their research, they will use the Buncee app to create a presentation to share what they have learned about the importance of community libraries. If you are unfamiliar with Buncee, click here to learn more about the features in this app. In their Buncee presentation, students should include an introductory slide with their name, who works in a library, how it functions, along with other interesting facts.
*Teacher Tip: You can differentiate by providing varied levels of text. Also, students can create more slides than the required minimum. There are 2 versions of the student task card. Use the version that works best for your students.
Students can submit their presentation to Seesaw or Google Classroom. They can also share their presentation with a peer in their workstation. To learn more about Seesaw, click here for a tutorial.
Sharing Writing with Shadow Puppet - Writing Activity
As students continue reading stories in Unit 3: Around the Town, they will continue to learn about places in the community. In this lesson students will read to learn about a banks and money. Students will conduct research in order to create a video presentation showing what they have learned about banks and money.
In order to complete this task, students will need to have access to the Shadow Puppet app. Shadow Puppet allows students to easily create videos to tell stories, explain ideas or document their learning. To learn more about shadow puppet click here.
Students will illustrate their story by drawing or taking pictures of money manipulatives to use in their presentation. Students will access their photos in the Shadow Puppet app. They can add text, animation, preloaded music, and even narrate their story. Everything students do while recording will be saved. When finished students can turn in their completed product to Seesaw. Click here if you need support for getting started with Seesaw. Below is a task card to guide students as they complete the task.
*Teacher Tip: It would be beneficial to bookmark PebbleGo and Kiddle in the chosen web browser used on iPads for faster access for students. You can also create a collection of books about banks for Epic in advance. If you are unfamiliar with how to create a collection of books on Epic, click here for a tutorial.
Comparing and Contrasting with Popplet
In order to complete this task, students will need the Popplet app downloaded on their iPad and the grocery store links doc shared with them in Google Classroom or Seesaw.
Popplet helps students think and learn visually. Students can capture facts, thoughts, and images and learn to create relationships between them. If you have never used Popplet before, here is a short tutorial to help you understand how it works.
Students will use the three internet links and two Epic titles suggested on the grocery store links doc when comparing and contrasting how technology has changed in grocery stores today and long ago.
Using the story and their research, students will create a Popplet comparing and contrasting grocery stores today and long ago. Here is atask card for students to use while completing this task. You can also show this sample to get students started with their formatting.
Once finished, students can screenshot or export their Popplet and submit to your preferred platform.
*Teacher Tip: An unplugged option for this lesson can be found here. For this option, the teacher will need to print the articles on the grocery store links doc or check out books from your school library.
Showcasing Learning about Communities - Inquiry/Flex
This unit contains stories about different places in the community. Students learn about the library, bank, grocery store, bakery, and City Hall. To conclude this unit, students will create a presentation to show what they have learned about a chosen place in the community.
In order to complete this task, students can choose from the following apps: Book Creator, Popplet, or Shadow Puppet Edu. In the previous blog posts, there is information and tutorials for Popplet and Shadow Puppet. Book Creator is a simple way for students to create interactive books and multimedia presentations to publish and share with others. Click here for a tutorial to help you get started with using Book Creator.
Students will complete a graphic organizer to help them gather information needed for their final product. The students will be able to choose which app (Book Creator, Shadow Puppet, or Popplet) they want to use to showcase their learning from this unit about their chosen place in the community. A task card for students to follow while completing this inquiry assignment can be found here.
Standards:
ELA 2-I.2.1, 2-RI.6.1 CS 2.DL.1.3, 2.NI.1.1 AuthorsHeather Chambers Nature Walk - Whole GroupInquiry-based learning is about triggering curiosity. For our introduction of Unit 2, Let’s Explore, we will use inquiry to get students excited about the upcoming stories. Each week students will gain a better understanding of the natural world around them as they progress through the unit. In this activity, students will work in groups (4-5 students) to go on a nature walk. During the nature walk, students will take two photos of what they find interesting in nature and post their findings in the Seesaw journal. Each student will respond positively to two other posts of either what they would like to learn more about or what they already knew about, to enhance inquiry. Here is a task card for this activity if needed. To learn more about Seesaw click here.
Kindness Selfie with PicCollage - Whole Group
The overarching theme of this unit is kindness. In this unit, students will explore the concept of kindness. Below you will find various types of activities that will support teaching this theme.
To introduce students to this concept, you will watch the video below whole group. This will lead into a class discussion about what kindness is and how we can show kindness in our daily lives or classrooms. Through this discussion, be sure to emphasize the causes and effects of kindness on others. Students will then read the story Because of You.
To learn more about the PicCollage app, click here.
Teambuilding and “getting to know you” activities create community in the classroom and foster collaboration and teamwork. Almost every school year begins with this type of project. We will be using Seesaw to publish our Get to Know You activity and introduce Seesaw as a tool to be used as a student learning journal.
Seesaw: The Learning Journal is the most commonly used primary tech-tool in HCS. It helps to document student reflection and capture communication among teachers, students, and parents. Create your seesaw class on the web or in the Seesaw app.
You can introduce Seesaw to your students in a variety of ways. Try these ideas from the Seesaw Second Grade Getting Started Guide.
Once your class has an understanding of how to use Seesaw and how it will be used in your classroom, now you can share the Seesaw Describe Yourself activity. *Activities that are created/assigned in Seesaw will be located in the Activity tab.
If you are interested in customizing and sharing more Seesaw activities, be sure to view our Dear DIS tutorial.
Here is a task card for creating an offline version of this activity for a no-tech modification. Standards: ELA 2.C.3.2 CS 2.NI.1.3 |