Paul Erickson

I will no longer be posting on this blog because I use edmodo instead. Please feel free to view the work my class completed last year.

It has been a busy year so far! I am happy to say that all of the iPods are in student hands for the majority of the day. New ideas this year include:
1) App. completion tally chart
2) Much more writing when using the apps.

I will complete this update soon!

Fresh Fruit is a great app. that teaches students about healthy foods that are ripe each month of the year. It describes the fruit, teaches about health properties, nutritional information, caloric value, countries of origin, seasonality, and random facts. For example, did you know that in May the Pitaya can be found in markets to purchase and is considered a sacred fruit in some Eastern Cultures?

Here is a link http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/fresh-fruit/id323895540?mt=8

I am using this app. to prepare my students for our Community Garden field-trip so we can learn about tomatoes.

Making Generalizations seemed to be a challenging skill for my students to master. Without the iPod touch, I fear that some of my students (especially the language learners) would not have been able to master this important skill. For this project, I used what I had learned from our third project and wanted to have the class repeat the process for the story above. I can really relate to the author and the story because I spent a month backpacking and camping in Alaska’s Denali National Park. I am also a photographer and have had several bear encounters in Alaska, Yellowstone National Park, and Yosemite National Park. In other words, this was my favorite story that we read this year and I wanted to let my students experience Denali National Park and learn about Grizzly Bears from their desks. We took several virtual fieldtrips to Alaska and had a blast learning the key vocabulary words in the story.

To start things off, we reviewed how to add photos to our iPods from iWiki and the Internet. Next, we researched the author Michio Hoshino and learned that he was tragically killed by a brown bear in Russia in 1996. I showed the class some of my photos from Denali National Park and dove into the story. We spent a few days practicing generalizations and then I let them research and collect photos of the key vocabulary words and many other challenging words in the story. We “visited” Denali National Park and looked up dozens of vocabulary words the students needed to learn about to enable and promote reading comprehension of the story. Students re-read the story on their iPods and scripted 7 generalizations independently and created their own movies. I will post a few as soon as the students have a partner evaluate their movie and re-record their final project. This was so much fun! I can’t say it enough that the follow apps. are a must for an iPod educator!

1)iWiki

2)SonicPics

3) Web Reader

Here is an example.

Project 3 was a very fun experience for my students! As the project progressed, it evolved into a creative experience that was both frustrating and very funny! Here is a summary of the experience.

Days 1-5: As a group, we frontloaded the key vocabulary words and researched Pancho Villa on our iPods. We used the iReader application and wikipedia to learn about the key vocabulary words and Pancho Villa’s role in the Mexican Revolution. We read the story together and then students re-read the story with their iPods. We also watched a video I added to their iPods about story structure. As a whole group, we completed 2 practice book pages on story structure and the main character, Elena’s personality traits. Both pages covered story structure, noting details, and drawing conclusions. Next, I allowed students to use different strategies to prepare their recordings. Some used an additional story structure graphic organizer, some wrote out a script, and others used the practice book pages. In addition, some students collaborated independently and created some personal goals. For example, one student felt compelled to add figurative language into his project to “…prepare for the CST”. I was so proud of his “goal” to challenge himself.

Day 6: I introduced the application SonicPics and added a few photos of the story and of Pancho Villa to their photo library on their iPods. Students began to practice building their projects. Several students finished in 20 minutes. I was a little unimpressed by their work and showed the class how to add additional photos to their projects. I asked the class to “be more creative” and asked the group I was working with to add some sound effects. It spread like wildfire. Some students decided to be funny and add some very random photos to their projects. It was a little frustrating but very funny. I had to remind students that I was grading them on story structure.

Day 7-8: Some students re-recorded 6 times! I have a few more students that need to finish their projects, but most are completed as of today. I can’t wait to use SonicPics again!
It is a great application for creating projects in a user friendly and efficient way.

Here are some examples.

For Project 3, we are using the application called SonicPics to create a movie file about the story Elena. The students are required to discuss the story structure and use photos I took from the book. In addition, some of my students are researching Pancho Villa and incorporating images of him into their project (he is a character in the story). To complete this task, we completed a graphic organizer from the practice book together. The next step that I wanted to try is to differentiate the task for each of my U.A. groups. I am requiring each group to use a different graphic organizer and analyze different aspects of the story structure that they need to practice. For example, I plan to have one group discuss and draw detailed character traits from the text. Although this will be a challenge, I am optimistic that my class will do well. I will post some examples as soon as the projects are completed.

We have been working so hard as a class to record all of the eight research-based reading comprehension strategies: Using Prior Knowledge, Making Connections, Questioning, Visualizing, Inferring, Summarizing, Evaluating and Synthesizing. To be honest, we (I) got a little side-tracked because we have been using a really cool app. called "Freestyle" that Mr. Soucy from Oak Hill Elementary told me about. We have been rapping some freestyle lyrics and creating audio poetry to become more familiar with this powerful and engaging application. My next plan is to incorporate musical beats with Reading Comprehension strategies and I can't wait to hear the results from my amazingly creative students! I will add a few samples when we complete this project.
Anyways, I don't think I will have a Garage Band example for another few weeks. Below are a few recordings that my students have created so far.We are now in a routine to record individually, in pairs, and in small groups, various reading comprehension strategies. We discuss ideas and use graphic organizers, handouts, and even pages from the L.A. practice book to organize our thoughts before we record. Students are required to evaluate their recordings before I upload them to iTunes via iTalk Sync. It has become a smooth and low-stress routine. Here are some samples from Themes 4 and 5. The student samples range from CELDT 1 students to English Only Students.


Multiple R.C. Strategies Example:


Noting Details Example:


Summary (for Fluency Practice) Example:


Prediction Example:


Picture Walk Prediction:



Inferencing Example:


Questioning Example:


Drawing Conclusions: (Using a page from the practice book)

Compare and Contrast: (Using a Venn Diagram)

I've started a photography club at Lincoln and we are using some old digital cameras that were gathering dust. I am shocked with the amount 5th grade students interested in my "other" passion. We meet a few times per week at lunch and I am teaching basic photography "rules" to the stundents using a few of my stock photos as examples. I am so happy that I volunteer my time for this wonderful club and hope that some of my club members submit their photos to the Escondido Youth Media Festival. I've been talking about various reading comprehension strategies as well to remind students that "A picture is worth a thousand words"...Here is a Keynote I put together to launch our new club.

For our 2nd project, we have been recording various reading strategies and comprehension skills with our microphones. So far, student have recorded predictions, inferences, summaries, and they noted details. We will continue this process for each story's focus. I am very pleased with the dedication and revisions that my students have made so far. After we record appropriate questions for the next story and compare/contrast characters, we will record and evaluate our comprehension skill recordings. Once all of the recordings are completed, I will teach the students how to work in Garage Band and compile their recordings into a project. The final details with come together once we complete all of the recording but I want my students to evaluate the quality of thier own recorded work. In other words, I want them to decide what strateries they feel are most effective to increase reading comprehension.

I started adding a song each month (of my choice) to allow the students to listen to it and read the lyrics. After listening to the song a few times, we discuss the artist's voice, message, and use of figurative language. It has been an amazing activity with positive results. I plan to continue this lesson when time allows because it is very engaging and motivating. Please be sure to choose an approprite song with some meaning. I also let the students sing and it is quite FUN!

I started using various learning apps. as a reward to motivate my class. It has been working and despite the fact that it takes some extra time for me, I feel that it is worth it! Feel free to ask me about any specifics :)

My class had a fun time creating their own keynotes! I provided them with a vague outline to follow and let them loose. The results show a great deal of thought and hard work as each student had to review their final writing and locate the following:
1) Fact
2) Opinion
3) An example of figurative language using words from Theme 1: "Nature's Fury"
4) Their favorite thing about Gymkhana

In addition, they had a folder of images to use and we practiced some basic keynote skills together. I plan to continue the lesson next week so the students can include some transitions and additional effects. We ran out of time in the computer lab this week, so we are not quite finished yet.

In retrospect, I wish that as a class, we would have spent a lot less time writing and editing the drafts because we could only dedicate an hour to practice, record, and build the Keynote presentations in the computer lab. For the reasons above, we were unable to record all of the written work.

Here are some samples

Today we learned how to blog. I love to use my iPod touch!