A Hunting We Will Go

We have been learning to read and sing "A Hunting We Will Go" as a way to practice fluency and identifying rhyming words. To hear a recording of the students singing, check out this link: https://www.dropbox.com/s/g5fnn94gyhr4dcp/A%20Hunting%20We%20Will%20Go.m4a

Ocean Research Movie

During a computer lesson, the students used their ocean research notes to create a computer slide in Pixie 2 about their ocean animal. They first added an ocean background, then they imported clipart of their ocean animal. Next they added a text box of their choosing and wrote at least one fact about their animal. They wrote their facts in first person and then recorded themselves reading their facts. All of the slides were then put together as a movie using the Pixie 2 software. The video was uploaded to our class podcasting site hosted by PodBean. You can view the video there or below:

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Podcasting for Educational Purposes

Many of you have emailed recently asking how the students record themselves reading. You've also asked how we turn those recording into podcasts. We use podcasting to give the students a real audience for their reading - I've found that students improve and work harder when they realize someone is listening to them. The first year that I started using this method, I saw the students' fluency rate jump alomst 20 words per minute in a month! We also use the podcasting so students can hear what they really sound like and to help them hear first hand areas that need improvement. I learned this method through our instructional media specialist, Sharon Thornton. You can learn more about the technical side of podcasting through one of my previous blog posts: http://bishopsblackboard.blogspot.com/2011/01/how-to-podcasting.html. This post links to Mrs. Thornton's website with more detailed information. Mrs. Thornton's page has so many great resources to check out!

"I Have a Dream" Podcast

In honor of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., and as a part of our Social Studies lessons, the students wrote their own dreams. We discussed how Dr. King believed that all people should be treated fairly and judged not by the color of skin but by their actions. After writing their dreams, the students recorded them using Audacity software. You can listen to the podcast with the player below or download it from our podcasting site hosted by PodBean.

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If I Lived in a Snowglobe Podcast

Here is a podcast of the students reading what they would do if they lived in a snowglobe. The podcast was recorded using Audacity software and was then uploaded to our class podcasting site hosted by Podbean.

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Five Fat Turkeys Podcast

This week we are learning more about poetry. In particular, we are learning about the use of rhyming, alliterations, and sensory details. The students practiced reading "Five Fat Turkeys" to identify rhyming words. To help them increase their self-awareness when reading and to increase their fluency, we used Audacity to record their readings. The students would give themselves a rating, a part of our Capturing Kids' Hearts process, and decide if they should record it again. Once they were satisfied with  their reading, we saved the recording. I later uploaded the recording to our podcasting site hosted by PodBean. You can also download Audacity for FREE to use at home. All you need is some kind of microphone input device which can be found at most electronics stores or Walmart/Target for cheap.

You can listen to their podcast of Five Fat Turkeys here. You can download the podcast to any MP3 enabled device.