Thinking Maps and The Global Read Aloud

For several years, my teaching partner Ginny Limer has encouraged me to use Thinking Maps. She uses them daily in all subjects. I have used the circle map, but haven't ventured much farther until this past week. We are participating in The Global Read Aloud - a world-wide event where classes read the same book and then share via social media, blogging, skype, etc. We are in the second week of our reading of The Miraculous Journey of Edward Tulane and so far we have made predictions and asked questions with other classrooms via skype and blogging. Yesterday, I wanted my students to write about how Edward looked and felt before and after being thrown off the ship. Ginny has shared examples of the thinking maps with me, so I looked through to see which one would work best for this assignment. I chose the cause and effect map because the boxes were set up just the way I wanted. During a class discussion about our reading, each student completed their own thinking map. Using the map, they were able to easily organize their thoughts. This example is from a student who tends to get hung up and frustrated. The thinking map allowed him to be articulate and confident in his writing.

   
After writing, my students use an Editor's Checklist to assess their own work before turning in. I have found that this pushes them to scrutinize their own work more thoroughly.

The link to this check list can be found HERE

For more information on The Global Read Aloud click HERE 

Chromville - Augmented Reality in the Classroom

During a recent Twitter chat, I learned about a new augmented reality app called Chromville. A group of very creative people in Spain have come up with an imaginary world that you can bring to life using this FREE iOS and Android app!  
My students enjoyed visiting the website, Chromville.com, to print the coloring sheets and read about the history of the villages. They selected their favorite character to color and experience in 3D. We are now diligently working on stories to go with our characters. This has been a perfect opportunity to work on the writing process by brainstorming ideas and getting creative! 

The app brings the coloring sheet to life. The animated characters and scenery are inspiring!

The characters and scenery become animated right on the students' desks!

As an added bonus, the students were able to Skype with the Chromville creators all the way from Spain! We were able to ask questions and learn more about the magical world and how it was created! We learned that artists and programmers must work together to create the 3D animation, come up with the stories, and make the app. Some of the students also shared their ideas for the stories they are working on.

We were also treated to a demonstration of another one of their projects: Imascono - Augmented Reality Apparel. The t-shirt image triggers different heads. This one is a power ranger, but we also saw a chameleon and a gorilla!

This good-looking group of geniuses are the creative energy behind Chromville. I can't wait to see what else they have in store for us! 



Resources:
Chromville Home: http://chromville.com/
Chromville Instructions: http://chromville.com/?page_id=4031
Download coloring pages: http://chromville.com/?page_id=3528

Imascono Home: http://imascono.com/?lang=en
Imascono video: http://youtu.be/D21BEqJ2Ew8

International Peace Day

We celebrated International Peace Day with a few books and writing activities.
First, we read Todd Parr's The Peace Book and wrote in our writing journals about what peace means to us.


I also write in a journal while the students write. One of the ways I bring peace and calmness to my classroom is by doing mindful breathing. We take time to stop, listen, breath, and smile. It is amazing how this can settle a busy classroom in just a few short minutes. My journal entry is about the 4x4 breathing activity that our principal has us do during morning announcements.  I also drew a picture in the style of Todd Parr.

Next, our counselor visited and read How Full is Your Bucket? by Tom Rath and Mary Reckmeyer. 

The students spent time writing notes on paper "drops" to their friends, teachers, and staff. It is so fun to see their faces light up when they receive a drop. It is also nice to see how excited they are about giving the drops with kind words and encouragement. I have set up a basket and a stack of drops in a central location in my room and have designated our morning settling-in time as the time they write and deliver drops. I am planning to keep this a positive, ongoing activity in my classroom.

We have taped baggies to our desks for easy delivery and storage of our drops!

Instant Grammar Check with Grammarly

I recently received a comment from "anonymous" about the slogan in this picture:

Cute ideas here. I'm always looking for ways to enlighten my middle school library. As an English teacher-turned-librarian, could I please ask that you punctuate your quote above the chalkboard correctly? I am the best; therefore, I should act the best. As it appears, it's a run-on sentence. Thanks. 

I was mortified! How could I have this posted in my classroom for two years and not have noticed the incorrect punctuation? This is our class slogan. Every morning we launch our day enthusiastically using hand and body motions! Ugh!!!

Coincidentally, I had just been asked to do a product review for Grammarly Grammar Checker. I simply typed the sentence into the blank document on Grammarly and selected "start review". Within seconds, I had the information I needed: Add a semicolon before "therefore"! Duh! (I added the duh). Grammarly also suggested that I change some if the wording, but that would change the meaning and origin of this slogan. The idea behind these words is to encourage students to tell themselves and everyone else that they are the best. The second part is extremely important because we frequently talk about the choices that we make in our everyday lives. We start our day proclaiming that we will choose to act our best. The slogan originated from Charles and Nafeesha Johnson of Edusoul. While it is not grammatically perfect, it is the perfect way to start our day!

Grammarly Grammar Checker Product Review

Grammarly is not only an instant grammar checker, but it also checks spelling, writing style, and originality. Simply paste your test in to the blank page and select "start review". Grammarly will provide a detailed report giving suggestions and examples for correct usage of grammar, punctuation, spelling, writing style, and much more.

This site will be extremely helpful for my high school-age children when they are unsure of correct punctuation and grammar usage. The Grammarly grammar checker is a comprehensive grammar editing tool that checks your text for the proper use of more than 150 common and advanced grammar rules, including everything from subject-verb agreement to article use to modifier placement. When checking grammar using Grammarly, all of the grammatical errors are categorized, clearly displayed, and organized for your review and revision. The plagiarism checker is another notable feature. If text from another source is detected, Grammarly demonstrates how to properly reference material from other sources.

Grammarly will also help with my blog posts. I tend to be informal in my writing and am guilty of using dashes and ... instead of correct punctuation. I like to think of it as my unique writing style, but actually it is a bit of laziness on my part. I have installed the Grammarly button on my side bar so I will no longer have incorrect grammar on my blog posts!

*This is a sponsored post.