February 22

Google Docs Cloze Worksheets

If you want to create your own Cloze worksheets for building vocabulary, check out this short video by Flipped Classrooms: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LoACo03N82g

In a nutshell, he goes over how to use an Add-on called “Cloze-It” to select vocabulary words in a Google Doc paragraph that you type or copy and replace them with blanks. Then add-on generates a word bank that students can then use to fill in the correct word. You  have the option of removing the entire word or leaving the initial consonant as a hint.

I’ve added the Cloze-It add-on to our “approved” list for Google Docs so you shouldn’t have any trouble installing it.

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November 30

Website Worth Sharing: Sutori

If you like to have students create their own projects using multimedia, you might want to offer Sutori https://www.sutori.com/ as an option. Sutori products allow you to add text, images, etc. in order to create a visual timeline. This would be great for retelling a story, or presenting historical information. They provide templates or you can start from scratch. I used their Frayer Vocabulary template to create this quick presentation and found it really user friendly:

https://www.sutori.com/en/story/vocab-frayer-model-vocabulary–zjqhS2YpDHkqa6nAub6W95fF

There is an option to collaborate so that students can work together on it. There is a free version and a paid version. The free one doesn’t come with as many tools, but still allows students to create basic timeline stories with text and images. The Sutori for Department option for Departments (6 people) is $500 so might be a nice option for a Foundation Grant (the next time that comes around). With the paid version you can include video and audio files and more.

Here is a quick video that shows you how it works:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZOd1eVK_4Gk

And a more comprehensive video if you want to dig in deeper.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pFdp76EvROM

Here are some guides and ideas for specific subjects.

Sutori for English and Language teachers: https://www.sutori.com/en/story/sutori-for-english-and-language-teachers–2FoDykeT8fKTraejyRySTKy9

Sutori for Social Studies Teachers: https://www.sutori.com/en/story/sutori-for-social-studies-teachers–7bmFcNow8Ms67ePV8yMcX6cH

Sutori for Art and Music Teachers (I think this might make a great portfolio option): https://www.sutori.com/en/story/sutori-for-art-music-teachers–6q8s8PVjtMXME4RygfNYMczK

Sutori for STEM https://www.sutori.com/en/story/sutori-for-stem-teachers–RquvzoePZEpenfsokn8Pgitf

 

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November 2

Website Worth Sharing: ReadingIQ

 

If you like the idea of sharing online books with your students, you might want to check out ReadingIQ: https://www.readingiq.com/teachers This site provides students access to online books similar to Epic and MyON. This site is targeted to families who pay for the services, but they provide teachers and their students access for free (in hopes that parents join, but that is NOT a requirement.) When you set up your account, the site gives you the option of syncing with Google Classroom. There is one login page for your class (look for the Class Login link on the top right of the page), students just need to click on their name to get started. There are not a lot of fancy tools, just lots of books to choose from including some Disney titles which might be popular. Many of the books have a read aloud feature (look for the speaker icon on the book) and some have AR tests. I found the text to be a bit small on some of the books, but there is a zoom feature- note that you have to zoom back out to turn the page. You can set the book level for your class and there is also the option for students to take an individual placement test. Here is a video that walks you through the setup: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AuHPwfZEyfE

Students use your login to access the class page, but if you login for them and then set up their account to “remember login” when they do it the first time, they will be able to get in on their own. You can get into the teacher tools by clicking on your name in the login page and entering your password. This will give you access to the classlist and the reports. There aren’t a lot of supports for this site (I couldn’t find many videos or “how to” documents), but it is a nice option for providing access to online books if you need some variety. You can also just access the books on your own and project them to read as a whole class activity. The read aloud books would be a good option for using it this way

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May 25

Tech Tips: Google Cleanup (Drive and Classroom)

As you start looking to wrap up the school year, you might want to think about spending some time 🧹cleaning up your Google Drive. Your future self will thank you for doing it!  Sarah Kiefer at “Tech You Can Do” created a great slideshow with tips and recommendations for doing this. I made a copy of her slideshow and added a few of my own tips. If you’re already familiar with the concept of organizing materials into folders, you should still check out tip #5 which gives you some shortcuts for quickly navigating through your Google Drive files. I like her tip of setting a timer and spending 10-15 minutes at a time. It won’t seem so overwhelming that way. Did you know if you search Google for “Timer” the first result will be a time you can set? Leave that tab open, go back to cleaning your Drive, and it will go off when your time is up (screenshot below).
Slideshow: 🧹Google Drive Cleanup 
In addition to organizing your Google Drive, there are steps you can take to finish out your Google Classroom after you end the year. You’ll find Sarah’s helpful slideshow on this site. I would add the suggestion of making a copy of your class if you want to re-use the assignments from this year with next year’s students You can find the directions here.
If you’re leaving Kelso at the end of the year don’t forget to take your Drive contents with you. This document shows you how. We generally suspend accounts a few months after staff members leave and then delete them a few months after that.
Finally- It might be helpful to set aside a little time to train your students how to organize THEIR Google Drives. On occasion I need to login to student accounts for troubleshooting purposes and I’m often amazed by the lack of organization. There are very few folders and TONS of Untitled documents. You can help them with this. The Preview shortcut (Step #5 in in the Google Drive Cleanup slideshow) would help them quickly deal with the Untitled documents.
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May 24

Website Worth Sharing: Almost Fun- Culturally Responsive Math Lessons and Test Prep

The Almost Fun website has some nice interactive teaching resources for a variety of topics. This non-profit has a goal of providing culturally-responsive learning resources for diverse students that will engage them in learning about math. In addition to the Math Lessons: https://www.almostfun.org/lessons , they provide resources for teachers like Lesson Templates https://www.almostfun.org/for-teachers . This would be a good way to provide additional resources when students struggle with certain concepts.

In addition to their Math lessons, they provide SAT Test Prep for all 3 subjects: https://www.almostfun.org/app/profile?s=reading

You might also want to check out their College guides: https://www.almostfun.org/guides

You’ll notice that some of their lessons, especially the more advanced topics, are still under construction, so you might want to visit back if they don’t have what you need.

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May 11

Website Worth Sharing: Science News for Students

You might want to add this website to your Google Classroom resource list: https://www.sciencenewsforstudents.org/ It contains news articles written for students on a variety of interesting topics. The reading level for the articles spans between 6th and 9th grade. There is a menu at the top that allows you to sort articles by category, but if you use enter a search term into the search field at the top it will give you advanced search options. Some articles have vocabulary word lists. If you enter your email address in the box on the website, it will give you access to educator resources

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April 27

Websites Worth Sharing: STEM Careers

STEM Careers are rewarding and challenging. There is also a big need for qualified applicants for many STEM jobs, and the pay is generally very competitive.  Students might not be aware of the variety of STEM options available to them. By sharing career information using resources like the links below you can open them up to the possibilities.

PBS: https://opb.pbslearningmedia.org/subjects/engineering–technology/careers-in-engineering–technology/

Code.org: https://code.org/careers-in-tech

Discovery Education STEM Careers: https://clever.discoveryeducation.com/learn/channels/channel/300d3d9f-2d8c-44db-9efc-3827241d5734
(Kelso teachers need to login through Clever- Contact Brenda Sargent for directions)

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April 27

Website Worth Sharing: Docs Teach

Social Studies Teachers:

I think you’ll find http://docsteach.org/ to be a rich resource of Primary Source documents for American History.  You can tap into activities that have been created utilizing the documents. Here is an example where students are asked to compare two versions of our Constitution: http://docsteach.org/activities/805

You can also create your own customized activities to focus on  your course learning targets. Just create an account, choose from one of their activity formats, then search for and add documents (which include pictures and some video clips) from their site. These activities really seem to tap into the upper levels of Bloom’s.

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April 13

Website Worth Sharing: Whiteboard.chat

If you’re a fan of using digital Whiteboards like Jamboard, you might want to look into Whiteboard.chat https://www.whiteboard.chat/. This free service allows you to create a digital whiteboard that you can use for demonstrating or you can share it with students. This is a pretty common feature, but an even cooler option is the option to create a lesson that also creates an individual whiteboard for each student that you can view. You can post a link right into Google Classroom for them to join. As a nice security feature, they can’t see each other’s boards unless you choose to “showcase” them. They can draw, add text, add images, etc using the toolbar on the left. One cool option is that you can bring in a pdf or multiple page pdfs that they can interact with. There are great tools like a “freeze” button (the digital version of “stop what you’re doing and listen for a minute” or “1,2,3 eyes on me”), a digital timer, built in polling option, images and manipulatives, mathematical symbols, music images, graphical organizers and more. There is even a built in video chat feature.

This is a nice option for formative assessment and monitored practice and could be used for students both in and out of your classroom. I could see it being used for math, annotating reading materials (use the import pdf option), graphic organizers, music composition, and more.
You and your students don’t have to create an account to use it, but teachers won’t be able to save their work without creating an account. The basic version is free and there’s a lot you can do with that version. The premium versions allow you to save your work without it expiring.
Here is a nice video demonstrating how to use it: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uT56XnEGJJc
Here is a more comprehensive (and longer) video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zaBx3rErTcg
I tested it out and it was a little bit glitchy, but the refresh button seemed to fix any issues. This is a pretty amazing tool and free is a good price. I think you’ll find it worth your while if you want to utilize the Chromebooks for interactive lessons both in and out of the classroom.
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