You Oughta Know About...

I’m back today for the You Oughta Know link up! Are you looking to add more technology into your classroom? With our state testing turning from the paper version to the computer version next year, we are looking for more opportunities for students to use the computer! Here is something that I am doing in my class.

All of my students have access to our Kidblog account. It’s super easy to sign up for, and it takes a couple of times to teach the students how to log onto it. I start them off easy. I post a question and allow them to respond to me. We then talk about appropriate ways to respond to one another. Students have to use one of our accountable talk stems when they respond to one another. I found this poster on Pinterest and students use it when we have verbal discussions. 

As we build our stamina, the posts become passages. The passages end with open ended questions. Soon, I link up passages, news stories, or videos for them to look at and to post responses. 

 It’s amazing how they respond to one another. Their typing skills grow so much in just a matter of months. On top of it all, they begin to learn how to use the internet and the terminology of it all! Talk about college and career ready! 

One tip I have for keeping your sanity when introducing websites into your classroom is to have students keep up with their passwords, or to have a central location where students can find their information. This helps so that you can keep teaching and your students can keep learning! Here is a product from my store to help you keep organized! Create booklets with passwords. You can hole punch them and put a binder clip on them to hang from a hook, or staple them and put them in a box. Pretty simple! 

An InLinkz Link-up