Comics in the Classroom

We all want students to write more and search for ways to get them to do that.  Having students use Comic Strip creators is a great way to motivate the students to write.  Then it is a small jump for them to turn their comic strip into a piece of writing. 

Videos on my 3 Favorite Comic Creators:

• Comic Creator:  Probably the easies to use.  Grades 1-4.  You can't save so you must finish comic without closing.  Video  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vNOMfWqwshw
• Make Belief Comix:  One of my favorite.  Several tools, but not too hard to use.  You can't save so you must finish in one setting.  Video  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dORHwge-JSQ
• ToonDoo:  Has more features. You must create an account and login, but that allows students to save and continue work.  Grades 4-12.  Video http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zYAK6j6oqow

Using Comics in the Classroom:

• Write a new ending to a story
• Create a story map
• Tell current events
• Retell event in history
• Tell steps in a process
• Instructional Menu
• Begin a Personal Narrative
• 10 Ways to Create Comics

List of Comic Creating sites:

• 11 Great Sites to Create Comics
• Comic Strip Makers

Wordle- Word Clouds

What is a word cloud?

The concept of a Word Cloud maintains that “If a picture paints a thousand words, then what can a thousand words paint?” Wordle is an application that creates Word Clouds (pictures made of words) based on the frequency of the words that are entered in the Wordle Site.

 

Creating a Word Cloud:  First find some text you wish to make a word cloud of and make sure you make a copy of it. Next go to (http://www.wordle.net/). Believe it or not… you are half way finished. Click on “Create Your Own”. You will see a box to paste the text you had copied earlier. Scroll below… and hit submit. Within a few seconds you will have your own Word Cloud. Use the controls to make it look the way you like.

Saving a Word Cloud:  Wordle does not provide a way to save but there are ways around that.. Of course you can print it… but then you may want an electronic copy. The best way is to us one of these techniques. If you have SMART Notebook or SMART board tool on your computer you can use the camera icon to capture the word cloud image. In Windows 7 you may wish to use the Snip It Tool which gives you a lot more options including the ability to save as an image and crop.

Changing the size of words:  The more often a word appears the bigger it is in the word cloud. However, if you want to manually change the size of the words follow this method:

Use the Advanced Wordle which can be found at http://www.wordle.net/advanced. There are some advanced Wordle users that do not even know this exists. It is well worth your time to discover! It really is quite simple. You must type in the word, followed by a colon, followed by the number (no spaces). You must hit return after each entry so that each word is on its own line.

Keeping compound words together:  By default Wordle assumes that every space means a new word is coming its way. This is a problem in the instance of wanting compound words and phrases to stay together. There is a fix and it is called using the tilde character (~) between words. Just type in the tilde (found above the Tab Key on most keyboards) in-between the words of a compound word of phrase… no spaces. Example: North~America, one~small~step~for~man

Making numbers show up:  Wordle has a setting that automatically removes the numbers. Perhaps you wish to keep your numbers. In fact this might be helpful in math, or using a tilde when giving a word with a quantity. This is very easy. Once you make the Wordle you will see a Menu sho up. One of the items is “Language”. At the very top of the language menu you will see “Remove Numbers” is checked (it is the default). Click and uncheck it and notice… your numbers will now show up!

Include all words in the word cloud:  Wordle likes to eliminate some of those common words it refers to as a “stop word” (a frequently-used, but unimportant word, such as “the”, “and”, or “but”). But if you want to show a student how often “and” is in their writing you will want to stop this feature. Once again go to the “Language Menu” once the Wordle has been made. You will see a command that says, “Do not remove common words”. Make sure it is checked and all of your words will show up.

Changing fonts, colors and size:  You can have so much fun changing any of these. Make sure you discover all the possibilities after making your Wordle. You will find these opportunities in the Drop Down Menus: Fonts, Colors, and Layouts. You can spend hours making it look just the way you wish. If you don’t like your last change… just go to the Edit Menu and click Undo!

Classroom Uses:

1. Students copy and paste their written text into Wordle. The larger words are the ones they use most often.

2. Students write a “back cover” or summary of a book. Copy and paste that information into Wordle as a way to promote the book to others.

3. Teachers put words about a story or topic into Wordle. Students use the Wordle to determine what the topic is or what genre the story is.

4. At the beginning of the school students create a Wordle about themselves. Using the tip above “changing size of words” students can make their name the largest and the other words describe themselves. Students could also do this for a friend, historical character, about mom for mother’s day, etc.

5.  Put vocabulary words in Wordle and post throughout the unit.

6.  As a pre-unit activity, students brainstorm words on the topic.

 

Other Cloud Resources:

1. Stixy www.stixy.com: create a board that collaborators can add post it notes, upload pictures, upload documents or insert links. Really cool. Here is one I created, but locked it so no one else can work on it. http://www.stixy.com/guest/193725 A teacher might create a Stixy board that students can go to and download a file, then come back to the board and share their response to the reading or ask questions. Each board can be password-protected if you choose, although this open-ended tool does leave itself open to students editing or erasing the items on the board, so take this as an opportunity to teach ethics and online etiquette.

2. Tagxedo www.taxedo.com makes the most amazing word clouds. I have shown some of you Wordle in the past, but this makes word clouds in shapes. I pasted the text I found about taxedo and created a word cloud about it (see below). Students can put in famous speeches, their stories, brainstorm ideas, nouns, adjectives, prime numbers, etc.
3.  Website for additional ideas http://21centuryedtech.wordpress.com/2012/05/21/108-ways-to-use-word-clouds-in-the-classroom-word-clouds-in-education-series-part-2/

Assessment Technology

I think we all can agree that assessment, review and quizzes are a big part of our curriculum.  There are many sites out there that help teachers do this quickly and efficiently.  I have a few favorites that I list with the pros and cons. 


Socrative:  Probably my favorite.  Turn any computer, laptop, tablet or smart phone into a clicker repsonse system.  Teachers can create an instant Multiple Choice or Short Answer quiz by asking the question orally and students sending their answers in via their device.  Or, teachers can pre-create a test in Socrative for students to take.  In this format, teachers mark the correct answers and get an excel spreadsheet showing all of the answers. 
Pro:  Easy to use, Free, Allows teachers to ask questions without pre-making a test (formative assessment)
Con:  I don't see anything right now that is super negative about this.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eseWmUyi7L8

Quizlet is a free resource that allows you to create flashcards for your students to practice online. Your students can access these through a computer, tablet or Smartphone. These quizzes are great for vocabulary words, spelling lists, math facts practice, and review questions. The quizzes are stored on your dashboard so you can use them year after year. I have created a 4 minute video on how to use this awesome resource in your class.
Pros:  Easy to use.  Link it to your website for easy access for students at home or in the class to review and practice.  You can get access to other resources created by other teachers.
Cons:  I don't see anything right now that is super negative about this.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TR2GVHWqDew

Story Jumper--Get Writing

 

When I began teaching I remember turning student writing into books.  This was a long process that involved writing paper, needle, dental floss, rubber cement, cardboard and shelf liner paper....don't ask, just trust me it was long and messy.  StoryJumper is one of many sites that allows students to write and illustrate books quickly and easily online.  Students of all ages will enjoy working collboratively or independently to create a book. Teachers can create class accounts and view each of the student's books.

 

Class Uses:

• Creative writing for all grades
• Upper grades create a story for lower grades
• Write a story demonstrating steps in a process --StoryJumper allows you to use your own camera images: take pictures during FACS cooking and create a "How to make" book. Take pictures during a science experiment and create a book. Take pictures during a field trip and create a book. Take pictures during Grandparents Day and create a book.
• Write a story summarizing a book you just read, add a different ending, from another characters point of view
• Write a book for promoting safety or school issues: Red Ribbon, Bullying, Texting

 

This link takes you to a 6 minute video on creating books. See below where to click when you get to the site http://www.storyjumper.com/book/create

How to set up a classroom account
http://www.storyjumper.com/main/classroom

Features of a Class Account:

• Teacher can see the students books
• You can send parents a link and password and they can view the student's book