49
Thanks!
Click on this link to learn more about the ILA Annual Conference!
?
Classroom CloseUP
Thanks foR
Coming !
by Linda Meckem
Your Ad Could Go Right Here!
Would you like to reach hundreds and hundreds of involved and active educators with information about your company? Contact us to place an ad in the next issue of The Missouri Reader. Costs are very reasonable:
- Full page - $200
- Half page - $125
- One-quarter page - $75
- One-eighth page - $50
Ask about special rates for pre-order ads in multiple issues (e.g. Fall & Spring, etc).
Click here for advertising request form. Complete the form and send a digital copy of the high-resolution ad image (png or jpg) to Glenda Nugent at [email protected] along with payment.
Advertising deadlines:
January 1 - Spring issue
August 1 - Summer/Fall issue
Henry's Freedom Box: A Meaningful Read Aloud
by
Kristen Dejong
My kindergarten students and I recently shared a very meaningful read-aloud experience that I would like to share with you. I teach at a very diverse school and my class embodies students of all races and cultures.
I have been reading Henry's Freedom Box by Ellen Levine to my class of five- and six-year-olds for three years now. I always choose to read this book right around Martin Luther King Jr. day because it is very relevant to what Dr. King was fighting for during the Civil Rights Movement. This story is based on true events relating to the underground railroad and the slave trade. I preface the book by telling students that we will be hearing a story about a special boy named Henry, who didn't always have an easy life.
Prior to reading this time, we had been studying right versus wrong and standing up for what you believe is right. We had written our own I Have a Dream speeches and displayed them in the hallway. Although they are young and barely at the beginning of their educational journey, I believe kindergarten students can comprehend and understand much more than we give them credit for. I try to give my students as many authentic experiences that relate to the real world as I can. I LOVE when they ask questions too.
On one particular day, I was reading right after lunch and I had their full attention. We briefly talked about what we had been learning, and how this might connect to our story. I wrote the words Henry's feelings on the board and told them we would come back to this to make a list about the main character in the book. As I read, I stopped to ask them questions about the book.
In the beginning of the story, Henry's master allows him to have some freedoms that other masters do not allow their slaves. For example, he was able to meet a woman he loved, get married, and have children. However, the first hardship Henry faces in the story is having his family sold to another master and taken away. My students are very empathetic and simply could not believe this. They immediately wanted to have a conversation about this (which we did quickly) and then I kept reading.
Henry ends up inside of a shipping box as a last resort to escaping slavery and heading up North. Although the story has a hopeful ending, it does not have a happy beginning or middle. My students and I talked about this. I believe I had their attention more than I would have with a traditional picture book because of the real emotions and sadness that the book encompasses. We completed our list of Henry's feelings. Some of their ideas were sadness, hope, and fear. We talked about why our nation does not practice slavery anymore and how public figures like Dr. King helped to end inequality such as this.
This was a great learning experience for my students that they still talk about. They beg me every day to read Henry's book again. I had several students ask me even more questions after I was finished reading. I feel as though this is a text that can be used for several different lessons, and for many different grade levels (depending on how deep into understanding you go). This book would also very valuable for a character study.
Kristen deJong and is a third-year Kindergarten teacher at Bayless Elementary in St. Louis County. She is currently pursuing a Master's in Literacy through Missouri State University with the goal of also receiving my reading specialist certification. Reading and everything it entails is her passion, inside and out of the classroom.
.
.
See next page for References
Teachers are presented with technology tools on a daily basis. We get emails from technology directors, companies, and organizations. There are pop-up ads, Pinterest pins, and supplements from Teachers Pay Teachers. Technology components are also embedded in curriculum—the possibilities are endless. Finding just the right technology tools can be daunting. “The right technology tools can help us do our jobs better and make our teaching more interactive, authentic, motivating, and self-directing” (Routman, 2018, p. 93).
Another struggle with utilizing technology is finding just the right fit with a specific group of students. According to Routman (2018), “Technology in the classroom can be used to meet a variety of learners’ needs; it can support and enhance reading and writing in the classroom” (p. A8). Teachers may need to try out a variety of apps before they discover a few that work for their students. After exploring different options, I have found success with my fifth graders with integrating technology and literacy through app-smashing, which means to merge multiple apps together in order to create your lesson (Kulowiec, 2013). My three favorite apps to smash together are Epic!, Seesaw, and Flipgrid. Let’s get smashing!
Epic! (www.getepic.com)
Epic! is a digital library of books at differing levels, genres, and interests. I appreciate the fact that this website is completely FREE for teachers and students to use at school. Teachers can begin by setting up a class (if you already use Google Classroom, you can import your students). The process of setting up a class provides a class code. This is how students log in. Teachers can then search for books based on topic, theme, title, author, guided reading level, Lexile level, Accelerated Reader (AR) level, or by age group. Users can mark favorite books by liking them, adding them to their library, or even by setting up collections of themed books. Assigning books to a class is easy because you just click assign, select students, and the book and/or collection appears in their mailbox.
How I Use This App in My Classroom:
I begin by assigning themed collections to my students (example: sports).
Within the collections, I have all levels of books, so students are free to choose. I instruct students to read one book in their assigned Epic! collection in order to complete an assignment. This is where the second app comes in, and the first smash happens.
Seesaw (www.seesaw.me)
Seesaw is a digital portfolio. Students can reflect, share, and collaborate on activities within any content-area or standard. To utilize Seesaw, teachers create a class, similar to Epic!, and they can also import students from Google Classroom as well. Seesaw also provides you a FREE class code, just as Epic! did, and this is how students log in. There are some additional features with Seesaw that users can upgrade and pay for as well. With Seesaw, teachers can create assignments or browse the activity library where other teachers have already created and shared multiple activities. Seesaw is interactive, and the lessons on this app have the ability to be embedded with multimedia components great for standardized testing practice. When students complete an activity on Seesaw, it is saved to their online journal. Other students can view, comment, and give feedback on their work.
.
App-Smashing: Using Multiple Apps Across
Content Areas to Enhance Literacy