Mother's Day Gifts

Using the online program Tagxedo, the students typed words to describe their mother. They chose from one of the heart shapes and many color themes to personalize it. I then printed their hearts in color and cut them out. Using a roller, they ModPodged their hearts on ceramic tiles.

Mother's Day Gifts

In the computer lab the students brainstormed various words to describe their mother which we recorded on a Circle Map. Then using Tagxedo, the typed in at least ten of the words. They then chose a heart shaped template and a color scheme they thought their mom would like. After saving the files, I printed them for the students in color and used Mod Podge to adhere them to tiles. It was a very simple and easy project for the students to express how they feel about their mothers in a lasting keepsake.

Fall Leaf Writing

In writing the students have been learning to use describing words. Last week the students wrote about fall leaves. Each week I model a writing lesson for the students and then they write their first draft, using Thinking Maps, individually. This is a part of our writing program, Write From the Beginning. On Thursdays, we have one-on-one guided writing sessions where the students work with me to answer questions about how to improve their writing. They then revise and rewrite their writing for a final draft. This week we hung up their work with their fall leaf they created using Tagxedo.

We Are Thankful

In the computer lab, the students brainstormed people, places, and things that they are thankful for on a Circle Map. They then typed those things into Tagxedo. They then chose a fall leaf template of their choice along with the color scheme. Here are a few samples of their work:

Tagxedo: Shaped Word Clouds

While searching for something else online, I came across a site called Tagxedo. Tagxedo is similar to Wordle except that you can choose what shape you want your word cloud to be displayed in along with the colors. I can see so many possibilities for this with my first graders. They could use the word clouds as graphic organizers to brainstorm ideas in a fun and exciting way. They could type adjectives to describe the various shapes such as the animals. They could use the word clouds to create gifts for their families at various holidays such as Christmas, Mother's Day, and Father's Day. They could use them to create beautiful affirmations as a part of Capturing Kids' Hearts. They could use the United States template to list historical characters. So many different things...

Here are two examples from Tagxedo that I created by copying in the URL to Bishop's Blackboard.