Classrooms often use journal writing, research reports, and process logs to record knowledge. As learning becoming more visual each day, certain online tools help make this process more successful. This presentation geared to the elementary classroom and beyond, takes a look at four great tools to get you started.
30. Pic Lits
More:
Create a Book
Poetry
Song Lyrics
Combine with Animoto
https://fredkoch.edublogs.org/tag/elementary/
https://twitter.com/piclits
https://www.facebook.com/pages/PicLitscom/147032205340793
41. Resources
"101 Ways to Use Tagxedo - Google Drive." 101 Ways to Use Tagxedo - Google Drive. N.p., n.d.
Web. 01 Aug. 2013.
"Basic Facts About Sea Turtles." Sea Turtles. N.p., n.d. Web. 01 Aug. 2013.
"Collected Works of Abraham Lincoln. Volume 7." Collected Works of Abraham Lincoln. Volume
7. N.p., n.d. Web. 01 Aug. 2013.
Korman, Gordon. Swindle. New York: Scholastic, 2008. Print.
"Manatee." National Geographic. N.p., n.d. Web. 01 Aug. 2013.
"Sharks." National Geographic. N.p., n.d. Web. 01 Aug. 2013.
"Word Families - EnchantedLearning.com." Word Families - EnchantedLearning.com. N.p., n.d.
Web. 01 Aug. 2013.
Notas do Editor
Welcome. My name is Laurie Dole and I teach for Virginia Beach City Public Schools. Today I would like to talk to you about adding visuals to the messages your students share. This will help make their messages more exciting and more successful. It’s also a lot of fun!1m.
Classrooms often use journal writing, research reports, and process logs to record student knowledge. But learners are becoming more visual each day. If they are learning this way, doesn’t it make sense for them to be sharing this way also?1m.
Your message is much more than the objective for the day. It involves the idea, the format, and most importantly, the receiver. All of these things must align for the message to be clear.1m.
Before you begin to build a message, you need to determine these three things:Who are you trying to reach?What do you want to say?How will you say it?We all share many messages each day, some clear, some garbled. I want to be able to help my students share what they’ve learned in an easy, understandable way.1m.
These four tools will help you and your students combine images with text in order to share a message. Each of these tools has the potential to motivate creative writing and excite student presentations. They help students share both as they learn and after. The tools are free and easy to use in the classroom, making them perfect for the elementary student and beyond.1m.
First off is Tagxedo.10s.
Tagxedo is a word cloud tool that transforms text into images. If you’re familiar with “Wordle,” this is taking that same idea to the next level. http://www.tagxedo.com/20s.
The free version provides a choice of over 30 themes, over 30 fonts, and 30 free shapes to choose from. Words are interactive when you view your image online (words “pop out” when you scroll over them, and link to a Google search.)The more times a word appears in the entered text, the larger it appears in the image. This helps draw attention to important ideas.1m.
Custom fonts and custom shapes will require a subscription.Images are licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-ShareAlike License 3.0, and must be attributed to http://www.tagxedo.com. The images created by Tagxedo are free for personal use, including usage on personal blogs, non-profit organizations, and non-profit education institutions, subject to the Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-ShareAlike License.It is easy to lose track of time when you explore the multitude of options available.1m.
First Grade: Word FamiliesEnglish Language Arts SOL 1.4 The student will orally identify, produce, and manipulate various units of speech sounds within words.Students can create word family Tagxedo images for review or practice.1m.
Third Grade: Animal AdaptationsScience SOL 3.4The student will investigate and understand that adaptations allow animals to satisfy life needs and respond to the environment1m.
Fourth / Fifth Grade: Abraham Lincoln, Martin Luther King, Jr.Virginia Studies SOL VS.7 The student will demonstrate knowledge of the issues that divided our nation and led to the Civil War VS.9The student will demonstrate knowledge of twentieth- and twenty-first-century Virginia 1m.
101 Ways to Use Tagxedo is just that, full of ideas and inspiration. Daily.tagxedo.com offers images created by various contributors. Tagxedo is also linked to Twitter and Facebook.30s.
Questions?2m.
Next we will look at .Animoto10s.
Animoto is a tool that combines photographs, text, and music into a customized video.http://animoto.com/20s.
Add photos and videos, choose royalty free music, add text-only frames, then click “create.”Apple and Android users can download the app and use many of the website features on their phones.30 seconds of free video. Educators can apply for a free account that allows for longer videos and student login.1m.
Style and music choices apply to the whole video, you cannot zoom in and out.Animoto is similar to iMovie, but easier.You can upload photos from Facebook, Flickr, Photobucket, Picasa, SmugMug, or Instagram. However, problems arise when you have a large number of these files to upload. You will need to separate the photos that you plan to use before uploading.1m.
Second Grade: MetamorphosisScience SOL 2.4The student will investigate and understand that plants and animals undergo a series of orderly changes as they mature and grow. https://animoto.com/play/M3gektQOrF0g4xC0mMcJAQ3m.
Book Trailers – best for third through fifth gradesEnglish Language Arts SOL 5.5 The student will read and demonstrate comprehension of fictional texts, narrative nonfiction, and poetry.https://animoto.com/play/8d5cZP44eFtWeQbT1EGaxQ#3m.
Animoto could also be used for video introductions, scavenger hunts, or research reports. It can easily be shared or embedded into a website or blog. 30s.
Questions?2m.
Third on my list is PicLits.10s.
PicLits is a creative writing site that matches images with key words to inspireshort messages, poems, and prose.http://www.piclits.com/compose_dragdrop.aspx20s.
Add words to capture the meaning of a photograph. Site editors choose photos that are appropriate for all ages.Drag and Drop from lists of nouns, verbs, adjectives, and adverbs for inspiration or choose the freestyle option to type your own text.Works on all mobile devices and also can be used on a classroom white board.1m.
Users cannot add their own images or word suggestions to the drag and drop list at this time.You need to have a working email account in order to sign up and use the site. Educators have used Gmail linked/sub accounts to manage their student’s profiles on the site so they do not need to have their own emails. This is a free site and banner ads from Google AdSense are the current source of revenue.1m.
Ernest Hemingway was once challenged to write a short story using only six words. He came up with: “For sale: baby shoes, never worn.”Six-word stories are a great way to practice your writing without actually having towrite very much. They can also be used as a warm up before working on a short story.1m.
First Grade:English Language Arts 1.8 The student will expand vocabulary. 1.13 The student will write to communicate ideas for a variety of purposes.1m.
PicLits is a perfect tool for short poetry. Students can type directly onto the template or cut and paste from a document. The word bank below the picture offers support for any case of Writer’s Block.1m.
Students can join all of their PicLits together into a book at the end of the year.Use images as backdrops to Haiku or other short poems or songs.Combine PicLits into a video using Animoto. Click this link and scroll down to see a classroom example.https://fredkoch.edublogs.org/tag/elementary/3m.
Questions?2m.
Last, but not least, is Big Huge Labs.10s.
Big Huge Labs is a site that will help you transformtext and photos.http://bighugelabs.com/20s.
Upload your own or use images from Flickr or Facebook. This site will even cite the photos you use.Free educator/student accounts have no ads.Images can be combined with texts and other images using simple templates.1m.
There is no spell checking feature. To avoid errors, it is best to cut and paste from a word document or similar program.This site is closely linked to Flickr. Several features work more easily if you have a Flickr account.If you choose not to log in, advertisements appear at the top and on the side of the screen. This can be distracting to young users.1m.
Science SOL 1.5The student will investigate and understand that animals, including humans, have basic needs and certain distinguishing characteristics. These animal Trading Cards were created as a culminating activity. First graders then traded their cards with classmates and used them to review information.1m.
English Language Arts SOL 4.5 The student will read and demonstrate comprehension of fictional texts, narrative nonfiction texts, and poetry.These examples show Magazine Covers created to identify character traits from a popular book. 1m.
This site has an abundance of resources that can be used alone or combined. Other favorite activities have been Motivation Posters for Reading Month and classroom calendars.30s.