My paraprofessional and I received a stack of thank you cards from Mrs. Nelson’s Kindergarten class yesterday. They were recognizing us for National Library Week (which we celebrate one week later than the rest of the country, due to standardized testing which takes place during NLW). Each student illustrated their card with their favorite Pete the Cat book.
Pete the Cat Fans
I first introduced the Kindergarten students to Pete the Cat this past fall when I read Pete the Cat and His Four Groovy Buttons. I also played one of the video clips of the song and they went wild, rocking in their seats, singing along. Mrs. Nelson’s class is just crazy about Pete.
I just had to share a couple of photos of the students’ illustrations. They are just too cute!
NLW Thank you card with Pete the Cat I Love My White Shoes illustration.
NLW card illustrating Pete the Cat Saves Christmas by Kindergarten student.
Pete the Cat at the Beach NLW thank you card from Kindergarten student
I recently found out about the app, ChatterPix by Duck, Duck, Goose and looked around to figure out how we could incorporate this into some grade level’s curriculum. The fourth grade students were preparing to study the American Revolutionary War and they are required to know about seven different historical figures from that time period.
Duck Duck Goose ChatterPix
I thought this would be a perfect opportunity for these students to practice their research and note-taking skills. I wanted to design it so the students would avoid plagiarizing, so I decided they would write their “speeches” in first person.
Graphic Organizer
First I looked at what the students are responsible for knowing about these American Revolutionary figures and designed a graphic organizer to help the students focus their research.
Livebinder
Next, I created a Livebinder to gather internet sources for the students so everything would be in one place. If you are not familiar with Livebinders, check it out. It is a neat, graphic way to organize websites and it is called a binder because the organizational design looks like the tabs of folders in a binder. Here is the link to the one I created for this assignment http://www.livebinders.com/play/play?id=1249911&backurl=/shelf/my.
Students using Livebinder to guide research
Assisting the Research Process
I introduced the project at the first library visit and the students had a short time to conduct research. I had non-fiction books pulled and put out on tables, so the students could spread out. They researched during one more library visit and after that I worked with groups who had been assigned the same person at the end of the school day.
Writing First Person Scripts
After the students completed their research, I pulled them during their lunch time to assist them in writing their first person script. I had books pulled that had portraits of all of the figures (George Washington, Patrick Henry, Benedict Arnold, etc.).
ChatterPix App
The ChatterPix app allows you to let anything “talk” by drawing on a mouth on an image. The students took a photo of their person, drew the mouth across and then recorded their 29 second script (that is the time limit of the app).
Student recording their ChatterPix from script.
They then added a title and I exported them to my YouTube channel.
It was my turn to make the presentation to the school board in honor of National Library Week last Monday. Oh, joy! I decided that since our school system is looking toward implementing more technology that my presentation would be digital. I created an Animoto video with the ALA theme, “Lives change @ your library.” I requested that the library media specialists from our school district send me photos of activities, instruction or anything that showed what we do everyday. After a very brief introduction, I played the Animoto. All the library media specialists loved it.
thelibraryteacher 