I decided to create a character web cloud that I will use with my students as a discussion piece during one of our afternoon meetings early on in the year. The cloud was inspired by a book I read last week called, How Children Succeed, by Paul Tough. It was a really fascinating book about how traits like grit, perseverance and character are more reliable indicators of success than more traditional academic measures such as IQ or achievement test scores.
The second study tool I decided to try out for myself was Quizlet. I have had some of my science olympiad students use Quizlet to help prepare for events, but I have never made anything on Quizlet myself. I must be completely honest and say that this Quizlet I posted is not my creation, but it is one that I am looking forward to using with my students right away next year. The beauty of Web 2.0 is that if there is something already created that fits the need you are looking to fill, you can borrow from others. I look forward to using Quizlet with my language arts and math classes as we have our different vocabulary units throughout the year. I like Quizlet for its ease of use, both on the setup side of things as well as on the studying side. There are just a few simple options the students have to choose from that will get them engaged and using the material right away. I am going to make a Quizlet using the math vocabulary flashcards we purchased as a grade level last fall. I will post it here when it is finished.
I love the words you put in your word cloud and the shape you chose is perfect. I am interested in the book you read...I'll have to check it out! I like your idea of using it as a discussion piece. Also what a true point about the greatness of the web is sharing and using instead of recreating!
ReplyDeleteI really like what you did with Tagxedo. This would be a great way to talk about the social pieces to success and how important they are in our lives. It would be fun to have the fifth graders make ones with words they feel they already possess and others that they would like to improve on in the future. Great idea!
ReplyDeleteI love your Tagxedo too and I'm glad to hear it can be accessed without an account. You are right, keeping track of all of these new resources, and the information we need to remember in order to access them, will be a challenge.
ReplyDeleteAs all of the above, I love the strong character words which pop out of your Tagxedo. They all should be synonymous with the characteristics found within an Island Lake student. Thank you for reminding us that with Web 2.0 you can use an existing idea.
ReplyDeleteI like your Tagxedo, too! It is a very good idea to use it as a discussion piece in your classroom. I agree with you that there are a lot of web 2.0 tools out there with info/presentations/content already available, you just have to be able to sort through it all and present just the "good stuff" to your students.
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