Using Video for Vocabulary Development

To assist with vocabulary development with kindergarten ELL students, I created this video.  It supports an IB unit that O'Connell school is currently working on (Unit 5-An inquiry into characteristics of living things. After giving a pre-assessment, I determined which animal names were unknown to students.  The unit only has four weeks left so I plan to cover 10 animals a week.  Students are having some difficulty remembering the names so I am hoping that seeing the animals in action in combination with my narration will help them to remember.

*These video clips were all taken from Youtube posts for educational purposes, I do not claim any ownership.

Want a New Way to Apply PhotoPeach?

PhotoPeach seems almost identical to Animoto in terms of creation and sharing.  They additionally offer educator packages for entire classes and schools that allow all the students work to be in one central location for the community to view.

We all know how to use this type of tool for creating a video but I just read a new idea for using this tool for instructional purposes.  PhotoPeach has an option to select quiz in the educator's package.  The captions you add are questions and multiple choice answers complete with a timer!  For a step by step instructions with screen shots, please visit a Dropbox link on Lori's Latest Links.

To see an example of the quiz format, please click on the following link:  Life Feast: Creating QUIZZES with Photopeach.  This example is of particular interest to me because it was created to practice English grammar by Ana Maria Menezes, an EFL teacher in Brazil.  

Application?

I was thinking of using it as an "All About Me" type of project.  Many of my students have very interesting heritages that would be fun to share.  For those of you that have classrooms, you could send a fun and interactive "All About..." to introduce yourselves to your new students and their families on your blog.

In addition to the grammar example, I could use the video as a type of pre- and post assessment for determining background knowledge in the content areas or for vocabulary development.  I'm not sure of the logistics yet.  I wonder if there is a way to have students respond with clickers to collect data.  I have no idea if that can even be done with iPads but after this week, I am thinking probably not!

If you have any other ideas, I would love you to share them!

   

Digital Storytelling

I was so excited when I stumbled upon Larry Ferlazzo's blog because not only does he have great ideas for digital storytelling but he is an excellent resource for ideas for teaching my ELLs!!  I can't think of a better way to motivate them, to inspire creativity, to integrate technological tools, and to simply get them to write with a project based approach all while giving them an opportunity for self expression.  



Sadly, as I talked to my students, I discovered that most of them don't know their "stories."  They couldn't answer my questions about immigration or what their parent or grandparents lives were like in their native countries.  Some of them could describe some details of their native countries but not as much as I had hoped.  I will try to reach out to the families but that is difficult with the language barriers.  

Admittedly, I wanted to include many of the tools but I haven't explored enough to feel that I can choose my favorite at this point.  I promise I will update as soon as I figure out more....but I do know that it will be another way I can better integrate my iPads.  The iPads are so versatile that students can use them for photos, videos, and text.  They just need a teacher that can get herself savvy with all the tools.