A Poetry Presentation Using VoiceThread

With the end of the school year comes many reasons to celebrate.  In my fifth grade classroom we have an annual Literacy Celebration that allows parents to come in to the classroom and see all the progress their children have made in reading and in writing.  Students take all the published pieces of writing from the year and create their own writing portfolio using a binder and sheet protectors.  Students also write an About the Author page with their picture on it, and put it out on their desk for display along with their portfolio, Poetry Books, Heritage Books, and Civil War projects.  Each student desk looks like the picture below. 

Student work presented at the Literacy Celebration

Picture of Student Poem

As part of the celebration I also have students choose their favorite poem from their Poetry Books and read them to the parents.  Although this is a great way for students to demonstrate their reading and writing skills for the entire audience, I have run into problems with this format in the past.  Sometimes students read too fast or too soft, so their poems aren't heard or understood.  Additionally, this year I have a student who cannot read and therefore would be unable to read his poem.  For these reasons I felt that this was a good opportunity to turn to the help of technology. 

Picture of Student Poem

 I decided that instead of having students read their poems live, I would use VoiceThread to record their readings, and then play the presentation for the parents.  Once students decided which poem to read, I took a picture of each one and then uploaded them to VoiceThread.  I then called students one at a time (after they practiced of course) to recite their poems as I recorded them.  All but two students read their poems perfectly the first time through, and the other 2 were able to perfect it the second time around.  For the student that is unable to read, I said the words quietly in his ear, and then he repeated them.  The end product resulted in a presentation that was uniform, visually pleasing (since the audience could actually see the poems and how they looked on the page), and representative of their best poetry reading.  Please enjoy our Presentation of Poetry.

VoiceThread

Another great cloud application that can be utilized in the classroom is VoiceThread.  VoiceThread can be used by both students and teachers to create a presentation for an audience. 

Many teachers currently using VoiceThread use it to share and discuss documents, present information or student work, or display images and audio files.  A combination of pictures, audio and text can be included on each slide, plus there is the option to record your voice in order to say something about what is being presented.  Having the microphone is great because once a VoiceThread is shared, either with a particular audience or the entire world, other people can add their comments or questions to the slides.  If they prefer not to comment using their voice, comments can also be written by typing them into the space provided, or even texted from a phone. 

Here is a brief sample of how VoiceThread is used.  

Dozer & Madison

Here I have taken a picture of my dogs, uploaded it to VoiceThread, and recorded the comments you hear when you press play. 

Right now I am working on a VoiceThread with my students.  I have taken pictures of the poems they want to share at our Literacy Celebration, and am in the process of recording them reading it.  When the poems are presented for parents, each student will have a slide displaying their poem, and their voices reading them.  This is my first time using VoiceThread with my students, so wish me luck!

Global Read Aloud

So, I just signed up to participate in the 2014 Global Read Aloud!  I actually just learned about it today after reading up on the Global Read Aloud blog.  As a teacher I read aloud to my students every day, even as fifth graders.  Research has shown the benefits of reading to students of all ages because it models fluency, expression and vocabulary development among other reading skills and strategies.  When teachers read out loud to students often times it is a book that is too hard for them to read on their own, but one that students are really interested in reading.  When used as an instructional opportunity, read alouds engage students of all reading levels and invite them to participate in conversations, ask and answer questions, and even debate over certain topics and issues.  There is a lot of merit to whole class read alouds, so when I heard about the Global Read Aloud I was intrigued to learn more.  Basically, the premise of this event is to connect students all across the world with one book.  For 6 weeks in October every teacher and class who signs up to participate reads the same book and then shares their thoughts, feelings and reactions to it with students in other towns, states, and countries.  This communication can be with one, two, or as many other classes as the teacher feels suitable, and can be made through email, blogs, skype, and facetime.  Knowing the valuable conversations that take place within the classroom about a book we are all reading together, I can only imagine how rich and meaningful the discussions will be with other classes in other parts of the world.  Additionally, by bringing students from all areas of the world together in such a way, students can see what it's like to live someplace other than their town, and also learn how living in another country can affect the way people view certain topics or issues.  

I am excited to try out this new journey with my students this fall and anticipate many positive outcomes from the experience.  All that is left to do now is decide which book we will read!  

My Favorite Student Project

One of the benefits of teaching fifth grade is that the students are independent, creative, and have a lot of the skills and stamina necessary to complete long term projects.  Starting in April my students start to experience the reality of juggling multiple assignments and deadlines.  For some students this challenge is easily met as they learn time management skills and make good use of their class time, for others it’s a realization that as they move into the upper grades of increasing demands they need to get their time management together ASAP.  That being said, my favorite project that fifth grade students complete is also the longest to complete, and can be hard to manage.  However, the value of the project is irrefutable and students love completing the Heritage Book Project.  

Heritage books are worked on during the social studies unit on immigration and industrialization, as well as coincide with Immigration Day.  The purpose of these books is to give students a way for them to learn more about themselves, their families, and their heritage.  Students choose one country from which they are known decedents of and conduct research on what life was like was like for people living there during the big waves of immigration, why people wanted to come to America, what their journey was like, and what they did once they got here.  As students learn more about their heritage through their family tree, derivation of their last names, parent interview and family artifact they create final products to be put into the book.

Additionally all fifth grade students in my district participate in an authentic simulation of immigrating to America and getting processed at Ellis Island.  A week before the simulation students randomly draw descriptors to give an identity to their immigrant selves.  These descriptions include information about their health, education, wealth, occupation, image and character and make for authentic life stories that reflect real situations of immigrants.  On the day of the simulation students dress up as if they are real immigrants from their country of origin and are processed with the "immigrants" from two other elementary schools through stations at Ellis Island.  There is a lot of waiting in long lines, waiting in silence, unfamiliar faces and fear of deportation, just like at the real Ellis Island.  Throughout the day I take tons of picture of my students and print them in black and white.  The pictures are then added to their heritage books as a way of remembering an experience similar to ones their ancestors faced.  

Once the final projects are put together students have a book that is truly all about them, their families, and their past.  These books not only require teaching and learning across content areas, they provide authentic and meaningful learning experiences that students will remember for the rest of their lives.  In addition to all the new knowledge they acquire, students also gain a keepsake of special memories that they can cherish forever.