Technology in the Classroom II
Here is Part II of III of quick tech ideas that I have
completed with my 1st graders over the past several years. Many of the PDF
examples I am sharing with you were done in Kid Pix. We now have Pixie in our
computer lab, so a few of the ideas will have come from that program. In many
ways the two programs are very similar, so you should have no trouble adapting
the ideas! Hopefully you will find something here that you can use with your
own students or maybe these lessons will inspire an idea of your own!
Our first grade math program has my students working a lot
with the number ten. Having that strong foundation helps students as they move
into counting on, kip counting, ten frames and more. I have my students use
stamps to show different ways to add to the number ten. You can use holiday
stamps, themed stamps, shape stamps etc. Afterwards, we talk about the many
different ways you can add to ten and tally the ways that students found the
most. We also learn that 4+6=10 and so is 6+4. The fact that addition is
friendly and that even if the numbers are switched, the end result stays the
same.
Download Holiday Addition to 10
By October, we are working hard on ending, middle and blend sounds. Having students stamp a favorite object and then label each one, gives you a great formative assessment on their sound spelling strengths and weaknesses. I love doing Halloween stamps because some words are very simple and some incredibly complicated, and there are silent letters and blends as well. Besides it makes a fun learning display for read-around-the-room center if you have one.
In science we can work on simple sentence writing by making sure we use a capital letter at the beginning of our sentence and punctuation at the end and that our sentence shares a fact about something we have learned. Using the “draw” tool allows students to add illustrations to match what they wrote. Austin happens to be home to the largest urban bat colony in North America, so I often teach a unit about bats in October in hopes to educate my students on this wonderful treasure of our city and to dispel any “scary” thoughts my students may associate with bats.
Download What I Know About Bats
I love creative writing assignments that encourage my
students to use their imagination. One of my favorite holiday writing
activities asks students to answer the question “How Do Reindeer Fly?” Students
type their answer and then decorate with a holiday boarder. Finally students
create an illustration to math their answer and both are hung in the hallways
so everyone can get a chuckle out of the cute answers my six and seven year old
students come up with.
I like to give my students many different types of
opportunities to use the draw program in Pixie. When completing out unit of
Solids and Liquids, I have students choose three of the solids we had been
working with and to label them with two different properties that describe each
solid. Since my students are “scientists” when completing science activities,
they are instructed to be sure to illustrate exactly what they see to the best
of their ability. So each solid drawn is colored accordingly, and texture can
be added as well, to make their drawings look as realistic as possible. We also
have a tower building contest with the solids we have been working with; here
is a photo of our 1st and 2nd place winner for the tallest tower!
We still work with pattern blocks and shapes in my 1st grade
class. It is creative, great for spatial reasoning, a good introduction to the
concepts of fractions etc. I always have a free explore activity day, where
students can create their own pattern block picture on the computer that we
print in color for them to save. They have to title the piece and explain it to
the class. A student explanation can take what looks to be a pretty simple
picture, into an interesting and inspired place. I always like to glue their
work on construction paper and laminate it so they have it to save forever.
Download Pattern Blocks Free Explore
“Oh, he is like the Time Man in the Will of All (Wizard of Oz)” Eliah Ms. Atkinson’s Class 2008-2009
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