Teachers First - Thinking Teachers Teaching Thinkers

Building Schoolwide Literacy With Free Web 2.0 Tools
A Grade by Grade Elementary Model

Curriculum varies widely from school district to school district and state to state. These project ideas will help teachers envision ways that a focused set of web 2.0 tools can help students build skills in reading, writing, speaking, and listening as they master concepts and skills across the curriculum.

Grade 1

Tools:
Wordle, Bookemon (or Voicethread)

Grade 1 Ideas for Building Literacy with web 2.0 tools:

Wordle: whole class or as a center:
sight words**, spelling words (class or individual**), addition and subtraction combinations (http://www.wordle.net/show/wrdl/1805253/Adding_to_ten---OOPS!), one of these things is not like the others (living things: beginning letters, vocabulary lists for pre-reading or science/social studies, adjectives, nouns, etc., words about Moms (Dads, Thanksgiving, etc), rhyming words, any collection of words/terms that go together (or find the one that does NOT fit), Vocabulary development: other ways to say “said, ” other ways to say “big,” my favorite sound words (for use in poetry), feelings words, polite words, etc. Before reading: things we know about frogs, After reading: new words we learned about frogs (print and POST both on bulletin board!)

Bookemon (or Voicethread)
The class can CREATE together and work up to creating in small groups at a center, using whole-class account- start from PowerPoint template** with digpix provided:
Parts of plants, Seasons book, Holiday/special event books for gifts (FREE in online form!), textless book for oral expression and basic story patterns, simple stories, first-then-last books,repetition/pattern books: On Monday… On Tuesday, etc., Our school Community (with digital pictures of school workers, teachers)
Practice oral reading of written Voicethread comments left by others, including grade 2 buddies.

** differentiation opportunity