Comparing and Contrasting Text in the Digital Age

These week I am working on a very important standards with my students: Comparing and contrasting two informational texts about the same topic. In the past, I have had students read two informational texts and compare these texts in their reader's notebooks. With the PARCC test looming around the corner, I thought it was time to venture into the 21st century!

I was lucky enough to attend a workshop earlier this month about using the Microsoft suite to update instruction in this digital age. After the workshop, I was itching to give these new tools a try. This is my first attempt!

For this lesson, I used OneNote. Unfortunately, my district only purchased accounts for the teachers and middle schoolers. Elementary students will receive accounts next year. For this reason, I had to make a few adjustments to my plan.

I created an "online binder" for this lesson. Normally I would assign elements from this binder to my students, but since they do not have accounts, I created a page for each students in my "binder."

To begin, students watched a video about how a robot called the VGo is being used in schools. The students had very little background knowledge about this topic, and the video really sparked their interest.

Then, students read two articles using the OneNote app on the iPad. Both of these articles were about how schools are using the VGo robot. Each article had one question that required students to type a response, while also highlighting evidence from the text.

We continued to use our RACE technique! Then, students created a Venn Diagram on the iPads comparing and contrasting the two texts. As the final activity, students answered a short answer question requiring students to analyze the way information was presented in each text, including the text structure. This answer was also constructed using the RACE strategy on the iPads.

Overall, the students were highly engaged in this lesson. They loved using the iPad for every step of this lesson. They're typing skills definitely need some refining. I am going to continue using OneNote for many lessons in the future!

How do you prepare students for reading and analyzing texts on the computer?

The Role of Technology in Intervention Instruction

Today I am guest blogging over at Learn2Earn! I would love for you to stop by and let me know your thoughts! I am writing about the role of technology in intervention instruction.

How do you use technology in your intervention groups?

The Old with the New

With PARCC looming around the corner, it seems like we are being asked to do more with less. How are we supposed to prepare our students for the complicated technology tasks they will be asked to complete without the proper equipment? This post is about my attempts to prepare my students for a high tech test with limited resources.

Recently, I have become obsessed with an app called Good Reader. The name of this app doesn't lie, the app really does help your students become good readers! I have been using this app to familiarize my students with several components of digital reading.

1. How to read using a screen
2. How to zoom in/out
3. How to turn the pages
4. How to read articles (columns, directionality, etc.)
5. How to mark up the text digitally

I started by selecting a text from EBSCOhost. I added the text to my Dropbox. Then, I had students open the file on an iPad in Good Reader. Students read the text carefully, and we discussed the text. Students were able to use the "post-it" feature to record the definitions of new vocabulary words. We previewed the words and recorded the definitions in the app. Then, students were able to access these notes as they read.

With this first text, I wanted to focus primarily on written response. The acronym my district uses is RACE.

Restate the question

Answer the question

Cite the text             

Edit your answer     

I wanted to start with the very basics. While all of this new technology is awesome, we also need to remember the basics. Rome was not built in a day. I wanted to take my students to the very beginning of written response. We are building from the ground up.

I began by having students record the question in their reader's notebooks. (Yes, in the future I hope to do all of this on computers, but...baby steps!) Then, my students went back into the text and used Good Reader to highlight or underline where the answer was found. Next, we began constructing our response using the RACE method.

Students then went back into the text and also highlighted/underlined evidence from the text to support their answer. When finished, students had to proofread their answer. All in all, this one question took a very long time. To me it was worth it. Quality over quantity in my book. Slowly, we will continue to transition the whole process to the computer. While I don't have a lot of fancy equipment, one little app on the iPad made a world of difference.

How do you prepare students for PARCC's written response?

iPad Apps for Reading!

This week I gave a presentation on iPad apps at my district. It was a great experience, but very nerve-wracking! Now, I am more than happy to share the apps I use with all of you!

Here is a link to the prezi if you would like to see the entire presentation!

Good Reader

This app is my favorite. It allows students to mark up the text in a variety of ways. Some ways that I use the app include having students tag notes for vocabulary definitions, use the online dictionary feature, highlight important parts or evidence for questions, and underlining. The possibilities are endless, really. This app works very well with Dropbox. I place articles in my school Dropbox account, and then students are able to access the texts. Then, students save an annotated copy of the text back into the Dropbox account so that I can review student work. I honestly cannot say enough things about how awesome this app is.

Record of Reading

I've mentioned this app before. It really simplifies running records. You don't need to prepare copies in advance. You can even take a picture of the text to keep track of the words as students are reading. There is also an option to record the student's voice as they are reading. Most of the scoring calculations are done for you as well. Then, you can send the record to your email or other storage system.

Fluency

This is a great app if you like reader's theater. With this one, students can read scripts you have prepared for them, or students can write their own scripts and upload them into the app. Then, students can record themselves reading the scripts and submit the recording to the teacher. This app requires you to have Dropbox for the scripts and the recordings. The scripts also must be saved as .txt files, but that can be done in Microsoft Word.

Phonics Genius

I really love this app for reviewing various phonics skills. Students can practice different phonics patterns with flashcards or in a game format. The app can be customized many different ways. You can have audio with the flashcards for teaching, audio only clicking on the word, or no audio. For students with phonics gaps in my intervention groups, this is a life saver.

Recording Lite

This is just a simple recording app. I use this app to have students self-assess their oral reading. They record themselves reading and then use a rubric to assess themselves. I later assess the students on the same recording, and together we discuss areas of strength and weakness.

Dropbox

This is just a great app for transferring files between your laptop or desktop and the iPad. I tried Google Drive and One Drive, which are good, but more apps seem to be designed around Dropbox. I have found it much more useful than the other cloud storage apps.

What are some of your favorite apps for reading instruction?

Running Records on the iPad!

Teachers do not have a lot of extra time to spare. We are always looking for more efficient ways of doing things. I recently discovered the amazing ability to take running records on the iPad. We know how important running records are for analyzing our students' reading abilities. Now you can complete them quickly, without wasting time calculating scores. And...you can reduce paper waste!

The app is called Record of Reading. It is published by Clemson University. Now for the best part...it is FREE! Even if you aren't sure if you can give up the paper and pencil quite yet, there is no harm in trying something that is free!

The app opens your standard running record form. You type in the basic information, such as the student's name, age, the title of the book, and the reading level.  You have the option of recording the child as they read for future reference. Then, you start the timer once the student begins reading.

As the student reads, you mark their errors and self-corrections. I chose to use a stylus, but you could also just use your finger. You then tap the column for either error or self-correction and mark whether it was meaning, syntax, or visual. (Since this is a higher level text, I did not use the check marks for every single word, but you certainly can make the checks.) When finished, you type in how many words the student read total. The app then calculates the students accuracy rate, self-correction rate, and words per minute. There is also a section to give a fluency score and write comments. Within the app, you save the running record and can send it to yourself as either a JPEG or pdf.

To add a comprehension component, I had my students write a summary of the text in their reader's notebooks. I scanned these summaries and merged them with the pdf of the running record. Maybe in the future, I can have students type on the computer. I just don't have enough computers right now!

Overall, this app cut down on a lot of calculation time. It also cut back on paper waste. My district is pushing very hard to reduce paper usage. I love using the app and would recommend it to anyone! (And, no! I wasn't paid for this post! :)

How have you used technology to save time and paper?