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To develop early literacy

               Ann Dearborn Home        Learn More        Standards        Inspiration        About the Author

Where Did My Thinking Begin?

Why are my students disengaged in nightly reading and responding to that reading was a question that kept me up at night.   How could I make home reading more engaging for my students?  Knowing that, Time spent reading is one of the crucial components of becoming a good reader according to the National Education Association (2015).  Thus,  I needed to make sure my students were engaged in their reading. I decided to focus on how communication and collaboration effect engagement with independent reading as the driving question for my research.  I began by introducing a technology component to their nightly reading and saw immediately that the level of engagement increased.  
The inforgraphic below was developed with data from my research. Putting it into infographic form makes it a fun way to display information for other people without boring them!

This motivated me to want to teach other teachers about the exciting tech tools available to help promote 21st century skills (communication, collaboration, critical thinking, and creativity) in our classrooms.  

Here is what you will find under the links to the right:
  • Lessons on how to implement blogging with your students and using the Common Sense Media website
  • How-tos on screencasting, Kidblog, and to introduce the ISTE standards and Common Sense media to your staff
  • References:  Links to valuable resources, articles, bloggers, and book recommendations
  • Assessments: data and rubrics
A few of my favorite tools to use with my students.  Give them a try!
  • Kidblog - a great, easy to use website for a classroom blog
  • Kahoot - a website used to create fun, interactive quizzes for students
  • Padlet - a place to collaborate with your students or colleagues
  • Google Forms - an easy way to survey your staff or students
  • Storyboardthat - a website where students can practice creating narrative stories
  • WeVideo - an easy website for making videos

Click on any of the images below to access their websites and learn more information
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LESSONS