Students use technology to make new friends
With the help of crayons, Chromebooks and Popsicle sticks,
kindergartners at three Gaston County Schools learned more about
their community through a fun class project.
Through a special “Popsicle Pals” lesson, students were able to
make new friends at other schools via letters, photos and a Google
Hangouts video chat on the classroom SMART Board. In the process,
they reinforced important points of their kindergarten curriculum from
writing and learning color names to practicing good character traits.
Tammy Cavanaugh, a student teacher in Kim Crain’s classroom
at W.A. Bess Elementary, developed the lesson, which also included
kindergartners at Bessemer City Primary and H.H. Beam Elementary.
Kindergartners were paired with a “Popsicle Pal” in another school.
They mailed letters to one another listing things such as favorite
color, food and school activity and included a picture of themselves
glued to a popsicle stick.
Cavanaugh, who earned her Bachelor of Arts in Elementary
Education from Belmont Abbey College in December, explained how
she developed the project: “Awareness of the world around them is
part of kindergarten curriculum,” she said. “They don’t understand
there are other kindergartners in the community learning the same
things they are.”
Cavanaugh added that she also wanted to incorporate technology
into the lesson: “I wanted them to be more than just pen pals.”
Thanks to classroom Chromebooks, the students were able to
meet their friends face-to-face. During the Google Hangouts, pairs of
“Popsicle Pals” from Crain’s class and Michelle Pence’s class at H.H.
Beam Elementary had the chance to step up to the webcam and
introduce themselves.
Afterward, Pence said she heard many of her students say, “I
have a new
friend.” Her
students
enjoyed the
activity, she
said.
“At this
age, having
friends is really
important,”
added Pence.
“With the video
conference, the
children were
just amazed.
They enjoyed
getting to see
other students
at another school. This is a great learning opportunity and matches
perfectly with so many standards that we teach using technology.”
Crain said her students at W.A. Bess enjoyed the activity as well,
and it reinforced the building blocks of the kindergarten curriculum.
“Their letters did support the writing,” she said. “When we did the
video chat, they were able to use their manners. It supported the
character traits that we teach in our classroom and our school.”
Getting a chance to see their own faces on the classroom SMART
Board also made a big impression on the students, Crain said. “I hope
we’ll get the chance to do it again. It was really fun.”
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Parent Teacher News• Jan/Feb 2016• 3