Past projects 2
Ready, Set, Visualize. Virtually!
Funded Jan 20, 2021This product was a game changer in how I was able to deliver content in both the full virtual and hybrid models of learning. I teach at a Title 1 school and many of my students come from a low socioeconomic background and who are already disadvantaged by family hardship. I currently support two grade levels with students whose disabilities range from Autism and Emotional Disabilities to Specific Learning Disabilities and Other Health Impairment, My students are all very different and require different support. The document camera has enabled me to better meet the various needs of my students. I was able to take sorting games, writing activities, stories, manipulatives, and a variety of other materials and display it on my screen. Then, I was able to model the target skill and the students were able to see my hands and follow along with me just like they would if they were all in school at my table together.
There are various activities and areas of content that I have been able to enhance with the use of the document camera. However, my students seem to prefer the sorting games, especially the Nonsense words. They are themed games that have a variety of word cards. Some cards are real words like hat and jam, while other words are nonsense words like jib and snig. The students like it because the words are silly and fun. It also helps with crucial decoding skills and how letters work together to form sounds. They also enjoy the spelling activities in which I lay out a few magnetic letters and the students help me arrange them to spell the target word.
Some of my students who struggle with comprehension also struggle with focus and the traditional teacher led discussion can be a little boring. So, using the document camera, I was able to spice up our comprehension groups using comprehension dice. They are foam dice that have different generic comprehension questions such as who is the main character and what is the setting, Now for questions, I call on a student and I roll the dice. Whatever question it lands on is the one they answer. If they struggle, I am also able to use the same document camera in the moment to display to story and refer to the text to find the answer. It has been a powerful visual that many of my students find beneficial and engaging.”
With gratitude,
Ms. Dolinsky
Let's Level the Reading Field
Funded Jan 19, 2021Although this product is not technology in the digital sense, printed text is a form of technology too and one of the most beneficial ones to many beginning readers. I teach at a Title 1 school and many of my students come from a low socioeconomic background and who are already disadvantaged by family hardship. I currently support two grade levels with students whose disabilities range from Autism and Emotional Disabilities to Specific Learning Disabilities and Other Health Impairment, My students are all very different and require different support. With the purchase of these leveled readers, I was able to buy reader's theater scripts (comparable to plays) in a range of DRA reading levels from A1 through 20. This provided me the ability to provide my students two crucial services: 1. Being able to meet them at their current level and grow appropriately with them and 2. I was able to plan ahead and send paper copies of the books home to virtual students because a tactile object can have a great impact on some students than a digital one.
The fact that these stories were reader's theater scripts. Reader's theater's are comparable to plays in the sense that both follow scripts. Students were able to get a different character that they could really focus on and we were able to base a lot of interesting activities around these stories. The two activities my students enjoyed the most were: 1. The Kahoot interactive games that I was able to design based on comprehension questions about the play and 2. Character analysis in which they usually had to compare themselves to their character.
Some of my more socioeconomic challenged students were especially found of this project. This project allowed me to be able to plan ahead far enough to be able to print off copies and send books home to my virtual students. This was powerful for two reasons: 1. They received mail and it made them feel special. Many of them were grateful and were excited to show me the story when it arrived. 2. Many of these students don't have access to printed text and this enabled me to give them a story that they could keep and hold.”
With gratitude,
Ms. Dolinsky