My students are participating in Literature Circles this term. This has been introduced in response to a need - it is a way for students to analyse and discuss texts with the support of others, and to encourage accountability for deep comprehension and critical thinking about literature. The focus is not on the book, but on the … Continue reading Google Slides for Collaborative Literature Circles
Author: emily.fintelman
Google Translate: Removing EAL Barriers
I have a student in my class for three weeks. She lives in China but has come to Melbourne for a short time. Naturally she has had some trouble being able to communicate because English is not her first language. Off their own bat, two girls in my class decided to help her out by using Google … Continue reading Google Translate: Removing EAL Barriers
Campfires in Cyberspace: Creating Classroom Spaces for Learners
Having moved this year from a modern open plan, flexible learning area school, to a classroom in an old red brick building built in 1922, I have had some new challenges with learning spaces. I have been considering and implementing the notion of 'Campfires in Cyberspace', a term coined by David D. Thornburg The Campfires in Cyberspace theory considers … Continue reading Campfires in Cyberspace: Creating Classroom Spaces for Learners
Teaching Measurement using Google Maps
Just a simple activity using a tech tools to enhance student understandings. This week I have been working on area and perimeter with my 4/5s. This has included a lot of estimation. It became clear early on that students were unsure how to estimate common units for measuring length (i.e. mm, cm, m km). To … Continue reading Teaching Measurement using Google Maps
Gender in the Classroom: Books about Girls
Often when I read a picture story book to my students they will identify characters as male, regardless of the character's gender. They will use 'he' and 'him' to describe a character that has just been called 'she' or 'her' only seconds before when I read aloud from the book. I thought this was a strange … Continue reading Gender in the Classroom: Books about Girls
Term 2 Goals
Term 1 was massive for me. Being at a new school and a completely new year level has had me completely floored. I feel like I have spent the entire term in a whirlwind of not really knowing or understanding what's going in, which has been completely different to my previous experience of understanding most things … Continue reading Term 2 Goals
Showbie and Evernote: Digital Tools for Assessment
I am sitting here in the middle of writing my final reports for the year, and am just SO IMPRESSED with my assessment and collection of student work samples and evidence of learning. I need to share two amazing apps that I use for assessment throughout the year. Using them provides me with a working … Continue reading Showbie and Evernote: Digital Tools for Assessment
Class Blogs for Reflection
Lots of us start off a class blog with great intentions! We start strong, with heaps of posts and lots of time allocated to reading and writing comments, but it somehow trails off, snowed under by all the other new and exciting things that inevitably appear throughout the year. Sound familiar to anyone? I've had … Continue reading Class Blogs for Reflection
Growing Good Digital Citizens
For anyone trying (like me) to get their head around the DigiTech curriculum, hopefully this can help get you. I plan on sharing some of the things I do in my school that address this proposed curriculum at a grade 2 level. My school's Digital Learning Team has identified the area of "Promote and … Continue reading Growing Good Digital Citizens
Integrating the Class Blog into Literacy
Something I have been working on this term is making stronger and more efficient links between reading and writing, and authentically including the class blog into those sessions so we don't need a whole session allocated to blogging each week. Here is an example of what I have done this week. My students are learning about … Continue reading Integrating the Class Blog into Literacy
Mrs Fintelman Teaches 