POST #3: Share a resource

One of the units taught at my school is roller skating.  I was looking for background music to play during the activities that would not be a distraction and is appropriate for elementary students, so rather than using a radio  I  explored Soundzabound.  Using my school login I searched for up tempo music.  I found a large library of songs which included the length of time of the clips.  I will be able to provide background music without the distraction of lyrics that may be age inappropriate from local radio.  I also found that these downloads can also be played in an arrangement that will help in timing the segments of the activities.  If I want a four minute segment, I can easily arrange for exactly four minutes of music which will allow me to better monitor the activity and not monitor the clock.

     I would use Culture Grams in my geography class.  I am aware that the site can make comparison graphs/charts of countries statistics, but I use the statistics in another way.
    My class size is usually about 24 students.  I divide the students into pairs.  I assign each pair a different country.  I choose the countries because I want to include major countries we will be learning about.  I also choose the 10-12 categories of statistics, such as area, population, income, literacy, etc.
    After each pair is assigned a country, I give each pair different colored post-it notes.  For example, I might give the pair assigned India 10-12 purple post-it notes  . the pair assigned Russia 10-12 green post-it notes, etc.
    While the students are doing this, I put 10-12 white post-it notes on the board horizontally next to each others.  These post-its should be placed across the middle of the board, not at the top of the board.  On each of these white post-it notes, I will have written a given stat about the United States.  When the students have finished writing out their statistics, the fun begins!
     The first post-it I have hung up is the land area of the US.  The,each pair then comes to the front with their corresponding post-it and places it either above or below the US area stat, depending if their country is larger or smaller.  If their country is larger, it goes above the US; if it is smaller it goes below.  Each pair comes up, on e pair at a time, and hangs their appropriate post-it where it belongs on the vertical area column.  (Use post-its because as the activity progresses, they may need to be moved.)
   At the end of the activity, you will have a colorful  display on your board to stimulate discussion about differences in countries of the world. For example, I think students will be amazed that although India is on the smaller side, its population is on the larger side.  I think it will be an eye-opening experience for my students!

  I think Culture Grams would be great in a social studies class!  Although the site can make comparison charts/graphs, I think it would be beneficial for the students to make their own.
  I would divide the students into pairs.  Each pair would be assign a different country that we will be studying.  Each pair would also be given a set of different colored post-it notes.  For example, the Russia pair might have green post-its, the China pair might have blue note, etc.
  I will list 8-10 categories of statistics on the board, such as area, population, literacy, life expectancy, income, etc.  Each pair will list one statistic on each post-it.
  Across the board, I will have posted these stats about the US on white post-its that I will hang horizontally across the middle of the board.
  Each pair will come up to the board one at a time and place their corresponding post-it either above or below the US depending how it compares.  For example, on the category area, China would go above the US and Germany would go below.  The US stats remain stationary.  Notes from other countries may change order as new countries are added.
  When each pair has posted their notes, there will be a colorful, comparison chart!  I think students will be interested to see, for example, that even though Canada is a large country, its population is comparatively small.  And India, which isn't large, has a high population. A great discussion could follow!

As I stated in my introductory post, I am a TLC Coach in my school.  Though it doesn’t directly pertain to me and my classroom, I can’t help but write about a suggestion I made to a colleague based on a resource I found interesting during this class.  I actually stopped what I was doing during this class and drafted a quick email to send to the teacher about the resource presented.

My colleague is an American History teacher in my school and the resource I shared with him is SIRS: Issue Researcher.  During the year this teacher dives into the US Constitution.  At the end of his unit on the Constitution, he assigns a Position Paper Project to his students.  Though this project is a hit with kids and the end product is usually really good, this resource may be a great tool for kids to explore as they begin researching their position topics.  In the past, the students have had to collect their information from a variety of sources to support their position, but SIRS has reputable and reliable sources organized already.  This could cut down on the amount of time dedicated to this project.

In this resource, different viewpoints are presented right away, with a plethora of supporting sources linked at the bottom of the page.  The SIRS database also allows kids access to topics that they might not otherwise explore on their own.  It offers a variety of issues, some more common than others.  The other great thing is that the supporting resources for each issue come in a variety of mediums, from newspaper articles to videos and audio to government documents.  The SIRS database could realistically be used for the whole project because of the vast quantity of support materials.

http://online.culturegrams.com/
I plan to use Culture Grams in my classroom.  The target audience will be 80 4th grade students (4 sections of 20 students each).  We will start by learning how to navigate in Culture Grams.  The first few times we will do this whole group so students start to become familiar.  We will do this weekly for some extra information.  We will pick a place and learn some information about it.  I will use the World edition to look up fun information about other countries and incorporate it while we are learning some map skills (which I understand is lacking in 4th grade). I will also use the states edition for the same thing.  They would locate states on the map while we find out information about that state.  We will also use the state edition to focus on Iowa. We will find out facts about Iowa as well as talk about changes over time in areas like agriculture and technology.  By this time the students will know how to navigate the site.  They will work in groups to create a book/poster of information to share with everyone.  So they will be able to meet those standards any many more  in our Social Studies Iowa Core.  

One of the resources that I would like to start using with my students is TeachingBooks.net. This resource has reading support activities and information that would be great for extending student learning further after reading a book. In particular, I would like to use TeachingBooks to extend what I already teach about the Iowa Children’s Choice Award. I would introduce my 3rd and 4th grade students to the additional information and activities that are available for them. I would start by showing them the website and exploring one or two of the book resources on TeachingBooks. In order to do this, I would provide them with the QR code (using the “QR Flyer” option on their website), linking them to the list of books and the extension activities and information that TeachingBooks provides. All of my students have a school-issued tablet, so using the QR reader to get to this list of books that TeachingBooks has already created should be fairly easy. In showing them examples, I would start by selecting Left Out by Tim Green. We would discuss how this resource doesn’t have the ebook on it, but it does have more information about the author, you can watch author interviews, look at activities you could do that are related to the book, and even listen to a recording of someone reading an excerpt of the book. I would also show them that they can use the search bar at the top of the page to search for a title, author, or keyword for almost any book. Overall student outcomes would be students using this resource during library class, during classroom time, and outside of school (where they have an internet connection) to further their learning and discussions with their classmates about these books. I would also be a good resource for them to use if they are doing an author study in their classroom or as a chosen research topic.

http://online.culturegrams.com/kids/

Our MS/HS Spanish teacher has communicated that she will be focusing her 6th grade Spanish class around cultures.  So I spent sometime navigating through the KidsEdition of CultureGrams.  In addition, we met and took sometime brainstorming how she could use this resource in her classroom.  Under the Lifestyles tab, there is information about games, holidays, food, schools, and life as a kid in every country around the world.  We discuss how should could use the information in a variety of ways.  For example, listening to a country's national anthem as she introduces that country.  Or even ways to have students conduct research.

The resource that I like to use often is the AP Images database.  When we are creating our own presentations about American History for class we have found that using visuals is a great way to connect the ideas with the event. When the student can see how the actual event is happening or see pictures of the people that are being discussed they have a better recall and also can compare to other times to "see" the changes. When you go to https://www.gwaea.org/educators/online-resources and then select AP Images you will login using the user name and password provided by your Library to access the resource.  Once in the resource you are able to select your search parameters for the time frame and events.  As we use the resource more to be using the "legal" visuals for our own lessons we are able to navigate the site more proficiently to be able to teach our students to use the site also.  One of the ways that I have started to use the site is to have the students use this to "illustrate" their notes in their homework since we have Chromebooks now.  The students have the access to the network to find other picture or images that demonstrate their understanding of what we are studying  and then comparing their images to what we have used to find similar examples of the topic.  There is also the option to find contrasting image evidence.  For our visual learner this has become a popular option for demonstration of understanding.  This activity can be used to demonstrate the 21st century skills of understanding copyright issues and the proper use of images from the internet.  It might be easy and available to "grab" an image from many sites on the internet.  That does not mean that the image is appropriate or open to that type of free use.  As the students advance in academics or later in business it is important that they have learned the correct issues of copyright and where they can find the best images to support their projects.  One of the best teaching tools is to lead by example so if we are using the resource for our class presentations then it demonstrates that it is a valuable tool for the students to use in their own work.

I like to see the collaboration of the teachers with their colleagues to use the resources in creative and time efficient ways.  As we have discussed in previous posts the time to use these resources is always a challenge and the use of research so the students can do much of the work outside of class is a wonderful way to learn the SIRS archives to find the information to support their work.

I’m actually going to share two separate resources because I’m really excited to use both of these!
https://www.pebblegonext.com/modules 
The first site is a science/social studies website called Pebble Go Next. The target audience for the resource is my fourth-grade classroom. This will be a terrific site to help in several target areas I will be instructing this upcoming year. The first module I will use is called “States.” We will be working on understanding state regions as well as several features that each state has including industries, agriculture, different land features (mountain, deserts, etc.), as well as several other important features from both regions and individual states. It will also help my students with facts and information to help them with their state reports/projects.
https://digital.scholastic.com/resources/slp/#/login?productCode=bkflix&ref=MTU2NzY1Mjk4NHxodHRwOi8vc2RtLWJrZmxpeC5kaWdpdGFsLnNjaG9sYXN0aWMuY29tOjgw
The second site that I am going to be using with my fourth-grade students will be Book Flix. Listening to Reading is an important modeling skill for fluency. By listening to adults read and following along they will be able to listen to the expression used in the narrator’s voice as well as the intonation that is used while listening to a variety of stories. Each fiction story is connected to a nonfiction story as well. This will allow me to teach both fiction state standards such as making predictions, inferences and summarizing. They will also be able to decide on text structures that are used such as fact and opinion, sequence of events and texts used to provide detailed information.

So, one of the components in my Life Skills Classes is Service Learning.  Through a process, we have created a winter Craft Show here at the Middle School.  I have invited adult crafters to register for spaces, and this year we are combining it with "Breakfast With Santa."  SO my Life Skills students have researched some Charitable Organizations that they found interesting or had a connection to.  Through a creative and collaborative process, we will have each group of students create items to vend at their own space at the Craft Show.  Some of the students have chosen places overseas, and some in the US.  I think the Culturegrams program will be a unique resource for them to get a slice of life in other countries.  For example, one group chose LifeStraw.  We had a discussion on the potability of water in other countries, and I'm sure that, since we live in an area not affected by hurricanes and earthquakes, their access to potable water doesn't really give them the sense of what a true commodity it is.  Using Culturegrams can help them at least get a sense of another country's environment.  Another group chose African Children's Haven, and another Puerto Rico Hurricane Relief.  Hopefully this resource will open their eyes to another culture!  
http://online.culturegrams.com/index.php

In navigating the different databases from Iowa AEA Online I have selected CultureGrams Online Database. I will use this with my special education students to assist them not only with their individual reading and writing goals but also to assist these students their general education classes. Specifically, in a 9th grade class they have that has them annually creating a comprehensive report and power point presention on a different country.
The direct link to the CultureGram Online Database is  http://online.culturegrams.com/  The target audience is 9th grade students who will listen to each other's presentation of research information on the country they have selected. The outcome/objective of this assignment is for each student to gain practice with conducting research projects in which they will be gathering relevant information from authoritative print and digital resources. They will be learning to integrate that information into a flow of ideas and will need to learn to follow a standard format. They wll demonstrate their understanding of the subject of their research. These are skills we need to be teaching which are from the Iowa Core Literacy Standards.  

I went to Heartland AEA, library & digital resources, online resources, 6-8th grade, and then clicked on Freedom Flix.  After opening Freedom Flix, I went to Colonial Era and then selected "The British Colonies in North America."  This opens an e-book and connected materials concerning this topic.

When you first open "The British Colonies in North America," the page contains a "watch it" and "read it" option as well as a menu of other options along the side.  The "watch it" is a short video (around one minute) that works as an introduction to the topic and book.  Next, is "read it" in which you open the e-book and progress through the story.  You can manipulate how you want to read the book, I would recommend students with any reading disability to use the 'read to me' feature.  The voice in this feature is easy to understand and you can slow down the fluency rate.  You can adjust the view by zooming in and out or switching to full screen.  There is also a glossary and search feature.

After reading all or part of the text, I would recommend using the "explore more" or "related web sites" features.  Here you will find links to sources about people, places, events, and topics found in the story.  There is also the "project idea" page which has a suggested project or assessment.  I like the "what do you think" page because it contains a few comprehension and application questions to get students to think deeper into the subject.  The last feature is "show what you know," a short quiz to check comprehension.

I am recommending that our eighth grade social studies team use this resource when teaching about colonial America, particularly when addressing how European settlement affected native societies.  The overall objective is that students will analyze how European colonization of North America affected the ways of life of Native Americans.  This resource will be used as a reference within class with students working in small groups to find evidence to answer a compelling question.

As a Vocal Music Director I have my students do quite a bit of music from other cultures and regions.  Anytime that we do that I like to make a cultural connection for my students either with information or videos of the culture that might help us make a connection to the music and where it is from.

A piece that I would like to have my choirs do is "Penyou, Ting" which is a choral piece from China.
I would go to iowaaea.org and select Culture Grams on the bottom of the page.  After logging in I would select World Edition, Asia, and then China which would bring us to the following link:

http://online.culturegrams.com/world/world_country.php?cid=34&cn=China

Once we are at the site I would have the students explore through all of the attributes of China, paying close attention to Language, The Arts, and some of the Greetings that we could use.  After they explore and discover facts and information about China I will let them know that "Pengyou, Ting" is actually in the Mandarin language.  

I think this could be a wonderful resource for us to use as we look at different cultures and regions.

One resource that I found that I can use with students in my classroom is from the AEA resource Bookflix. Here is the link to the specific resource: https://bookflix.digital.scholastic.com/pair/detail/bk0027pr/start?authCtx=U.600004734

More specifically, this link will take you to the reading of the fiction book Diary of a Fly  and the nonfiction book It Could Still be a Worm. One of the standards for third grade is that students must be able to compare and contrast the most important points and key details presented in two texts on the same topic. (RI.3.9). Students must also be able to identify similarities and differences between fiction and nonfiction texts. This resource is a great side-by-side example of two types of completely different texts on the same subject-bugs. For my lesson we would first discuss what it means to “compare and contrast.” Then we would listen to and watch the reading of both stories on Bookflix. Next, I would have students create a Venn Diagram comparing and contrasting the two different stories and facts they learned about a fly vs. a worm.

In another lesson I could use this same exact resource to help students identify differences between fiction and nonfiction texts. Students could point to and highlight various text and graphic futures throughout the nonfiction text that makes it different from the fictional story.  

I will be using the CultureGrams resource for my classroom.  http://online.culturegrams.com/states/state.php?sid=15&sn=Iowa 
This is for my students in Japan to learn about America.  In the past I have helped the social studies teacher in teaching about America.  Usually creating a powerpoint to show the students with whatever information is in the Japanese textbook and adding a little personal touch.  Recently I taught about the American Revolution and how it connected to the French Revolution.  I could use this resource to provide more accurate information as well as entertaining information.  I want to make regional presentations for my students so they can learn more about America.  I’ll start with Iowa, since that is where I am from.  Yamanashi and Iowa are sister states, so there are a lot of connections students can make back to Iowa.  In November we will have baconfest here in Yamanashi.  I would like to teach about Iowa’s agricultural importance to not only American but also the world.

Many of these databases have potential for immediate use in my fifth grade classroom. The one that I plan to introduce this week is the Gale resource of Kids InfoBits. Using Kids InfoBits, my students will be able to easily navigate through the site to research at their pace and level, viewing books, biographies, magazines, pictures, and newspapers.  I especially appreciate the citation box at the bottom of each page. [This will facilitate a lesson on the importance of, and the steps to, properly citing resources and why abiding by copyright laws is important.]

The URL is  https://go.gale.com/ps/start.do?p=ITKE&u=kaea008  This database will work well as we wrap up our current language arts unit. The students will use this tool to answer their inquiry question generated from the theme question about why people seek the unknown. I will model how to navigate the site by typing “Mount Everest” in the search bar and point out the resources listed - books, biographies, pictures, magazines, news. I will choose a picture to display and demonstrate how to right click to save as or copy and how to capture the citation. I will also choose the news article, “California 12-year-old readies for Mount Everest climb” to read and discuss since my students are close in age and might be interested to learn why a 12 year-old would be interested in climbing Mt. Everest. Again, I will stress the need to capture and the citation information. This assignment will serve as an introductory lesson to using Gale.

I am choosing Bookflix as I like how each fiction video storybook has a related nonfiction eBook. Children can read each nonfiction eBook independently or read along as each word is highlighted on the screen. These nonfiction eBooks introduce real-world facts and build content-area knowledge.
BookFlix features additional activities and resources that are informative and fun! It provides
creative pre- and post-viewing activities for each fiction-nonfiction pair that extend student learning.  All content and video content is aligned to state standards.  I went to Bookflix clicked on
https://bookflix.digital.scholastic.com/home?authCtx=U.631650521  then searched Moon clicked on The Moon
https://bookflix.digital.scholastic.com/pair/detail/bk0058pr/start?authCtx=U.631650521
Clicked Explore the Web and get
https://bookflix.digital.scholastic.com/pair/detail/bk0058pr/explore?authCtx=U.631650521
Find Why Does the Moon Look Like It Changes? And click GO
You can watch the video of the book or choose to have it read to you.
You can work on vocabulary with word match, Fact or Fiction or meet the creators.
 
The student can then follow along as it highlights the words being read.  I like the fact that the book is being read to the student when students hear the story and see the words on the screen they understand the story better.  When the book is over, I ask them questions about what the book was about to see if they were understanding the book. So the goal is fluency, comprehension with some vocabulary development as well.

I am trying to learn everything Bookflix has to offer.  First, I logged into Bookflix with my school's username and password thinking about our upcoming units .  

Since the next first grade unit we will be working on is "The Sun, Moon, and Stars" I clicked on the "Earth and Sky" button.  Then I clicked on Happy Birthday, Moon paired with Updated: The Moon.  

These two books go perfectly with the standards we will be covering:  RI1.2  Identify the main topic and retell key details of a text. and RL1.5  Explain major differences between books that tell stories and books that give information, drawing on a wide reading of a range of text types.

The students will read along with the narrator to learn facts about the moon in Updated: The Moon.   The fact or fiction activity is perfect to complete on the interactive whiteboard.  Then we will work to determine the main topic and details.  Next, students will watch Bear try to give the moon a birthday present in Happy Birthday, Moon.  We will work to identify the differences between the two books.  

We could also use the Bookflix paired texts, Stars! Stars! Stars! and Looking Through a Telescope to work on these two standards.

The resource I decided to explore was BookFlix. I went to the AEA Online Resources page and clicked on "BookFlix". I then used the username and password supplied to me from the AEA.

On the homepage of BookFlix you are instructed to click on a category. The categories include:
>Animals and Nature
>Earth and Sky
>People and Places
>ABCs and 123s
>Adventure
>Family and Community
>Celebrations
>Music and Rhyme
>Imagination

I clicked on "ABCs and 123s" to explore. Once I clicked on this, I was presented with 10 pairs of books to choose from. I clicked on the link for "Chicka Chicka Boom Boom" and "Let's Have Fun With Alphabet Riddles". After clicking on that link, I was given several options on the left side of screen, including "Watch the Story" and "Read the Book". When I clicked on "Watch the Story", I was directed to a video of the book "Chicka Chicka Boom Boom". I really liked the option at the bottom of the video to "Read Along" or not. I think this is a great option depending on the age group you are working with or what your focus of watching the video is. This allows for more differentiation of instruction.

After completing "Watch the Story", I clicked on "Read the Book" and was directed to the book "Let's Have Fun With Alphabet Riddles". Again, I like the option of reading along or being able to read the stories aloud myself to my students.

Other activity options available for these two books are:
>Word Match
>Fact or Fiction?
>Which Came First?

Overall, this is a great resource to be used with kids aged PK-3. I like the options of being able to make it more and less advanced depending on which age level you are working with. The option of both fiction and non-fiction books is also great.