As the world every changes, so must educating our students.
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Pages template, QuickTime, and Note-taking
Note-taking is a skill that middle school students need to actively be taught. It is a challenge to read, take the important ideas, process the information, and write it in your own words. Also, organizing ideas and figuring out what information would be useful to remember takes a complex thought process.
This year, the students have been shown and experimenting with different ways to record notes. They have tried a range of methods from using graphic organizers, drawing pictures and comics, to a more traditional organized writing method.
So for notes taken from textbook re
ading of Ancient China and Ancient Egypt, I tried a different way with them.
Using a template from Pages, “Visual Report”, the students canmix their writing with visuals that they collect from the Internet.
The notes are taken according to section headings from their textbook and the students choose a few bullet points of main ideas for each section of reading. The template has headings there and students can add tables easily.
Blog, Pages, and Memoir Writing
The students were learning different techniques for writing memoirs, such as using descriptive sensory words in their writing. Pre-writing strategies included taking photos and writing about the scene. This really helped them to visualize and think of words to describe their senses or the setting.
Adobe Acrobat and Plot Structure
After the students read a short story, I wanted to see what they already knew about plot structure from their previous year in school. They downloaded the PDF file onto their computer and could use the Adobe Acrobat features of “comment” and inserting objects to draw what was happening at certain parts of the plot. Even though the drawings were simplistic, they enjoyed creating a visual while selecting a scene for a certain part of the plot.
21st Century Learning Conference
A few weeks ago I presented in the Language Arts strand at the 21st Century Learning Conference Hong Kong. There were many diverse topics covered and more to think about as technology comes into our lives more and more.
As I daily think about how to meet the needs of the different learners of my sixth grade class, I’m always looking for creative ways to engage the students in what they are learning. Especially the students who find it challenging to express their thoughts in writing and being able to focus their attention on what they need to do.
Here are some main ideas from the presentation:
- Adobe Acrobat and Plot Structure
- Blog, Pages, and Memoir Writing
- Pages template, QuickTime, and Note-taking
- Keynote, iPhoto, and Vocabulary Cards
- Googledocs as “chat”
Apps for Homework Organization
My students normally use the school planner for recording daily homework and long-term assignments. For some, getting them excited about organizing their own work could be a bit challenging. Though some are developing their own systems of organization with their laptops, such as using iCal or Stickies to put their homework down.
Here are some Apps found in the iTune App store that can be useful to your students:
The Spark
I saw the light
It came
then BAM
it came and pushed the dark away
no matter what I know
it couldn’t leave me now
I saw it last
it wasn’t the same
after the
BAM
it is now
more than
a
a spark
Opening Up
The world is large.
Come take a look.
This is our world.