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building schoolwide literacy Share

TeachersFirst - Getting Started with Sway

Create visual presentations and documents.

LITERACY GOALS:

  • summarizing
  • including details
  • presenting information effectively

With guidance and support from adults, use technology to produce and publish writing (using keyboarding skills) as well as to interact and collaborate with others.

GETTING STARTED:

  1. Start here: https://sway.office.com/
  2. Log in using your Microsoft account to begin or create a new account using your email and a password.
  3. Start a new presentation.
  4. Add content to your storyline using links to add text, images, and media.
  5. Alter the look of your Sway using the Design tools to change the color palette, layout, and fonts.
  6. When finished, click the "Share" button for options to share to Facebook, Twitter, URL, or copy the embed code.
  7. Sway will work on any device with a modern Internet browser and an Internet connection. They also have an iOS app.

TIPS:

  • Sway can effectively enhance student learning.
  • Use during your presentations to increase student engagement and interaction.
  • Learners can combine text and images to tell a story.
  • Students can share their work with peers in a virtual show-and-tell gallery walk.
  • Use for STEAM projects by having your students import charts, graphs, and images from their latest work into Sway, and then have them enter their written responses in between.
  • Use Sway to illustrate a text you are reading in class.

PROJECT IDEAS:

Third Grade:

  • Utilize for science, social studies, and health units, collaborative group projects, and presentations.
  • Challenge students to create a Sway demonstrating their knowledge about a subject being taught in class.
  • Utilize Sway rather than a traditional book report. Learners can combine text and images to help tell about the important parts of the book.
  • Students can interview an important person within their life. They can use Sway to share the information in an interactive way. They might include photos, audio, videos, and other special memories.

Fourth Grade:

  • Use sway to create an interactive journal or report. Students can respond to topics over a period of time during the school year.
  • Create a class newsletter using Sway. Students can work collaboratively to write an informative piece with photographs, images, and other multimedia. This can be shared with the entire school.
  • Utilize Sway for reading portfolios, allowing students to reflect upon their reading and highlight their most noteworthy reads. This allows them to make connections between texts and develop an understanding about their own reading interests, while often encouraging them to try new genres and authors.

Fifth Grade:

  • Use Sway during Reading workshop, learning labs, or other long-term projects. It can be used as a singular portfolio that holds a variety of assignments that the students produce over time.
  • Sway can be used to effectively present projects, such as during a science fair. Students can even create a QR code for their Sway presentation so peers, parents, and families can easily view each student's interactive presentation.
  • Utilize Sway as a portfolio, showcasing a student's work over a set time period (a semester or a year). This offers the opportunity for the completion of a variety of learning projects, presentations, and written assignments which can help to show a student's strengths and growth.