Archive of ‘Computer Lab Activities’ category

A Squiggle or Two – Part 2

After presenting our 4th graders with a squiggle and seeing the amazing creations they illustrated (See What Can You Do With a Squiggle or Two), I decided to present the same opportunity to the 2nd graders. However, this time I gave them a choice of three squiggles.

Here is what they started with . . .

CreateCreate 2Create 3Some children chose to draw more than one picture. Enjoy their creations!

Mrs. Zabriskie’s Class

Mrs. Shapard’s Class

Mrs. Garcia’s Class

Next step . . . upload to their blogs and tell about their drawings. This was lots of fun and we’ll definitely be doing it again!

First Grade Caricature Collages

Toward the end of each year, I hand out mirrors, have the students open Microsoft’s Paint program, and ask the first graders to draw a self-portrait. No, they aren’t let go to do all this on their own (Have you ever tried drawing with just a mouse??) – they are guided through each feature. It does take a while to complete this. This year it was three 40-minute sessions. But, it is most definitely worth it. The students really take their time and it’s very obvious that this is important to them as well as fun.

I am absolutely amazed at what these students create! And the most impressive aspect to me is how much these self-portrait caricatures look just like the young artist!

Here are the collages for the Class of 2026.

2014-15 Hutchinson Collage version 2

2014-15 Kee Collage version 2

2014-15 Orehek Collage version 2

My, How They Change!

Once again we are nearing the time to send our fabulous fourth graders on to middle school. We know it’s time – they are ready, but it’s always sad to see them go. You see, we don’t have much turnover in our private school. Many of these students have been here since kindergarten so we get to know them well. And, it’s hard to let them go. The good thing is that we’ll still get to see them; perhaps not on a daily basis but we’re a tight-knit K-12 school so we really do get to watch them grow!

A few years ago, I started having the students draw a self-portrait using MS Paint. This became their avatar for various on-line applications – blogs, VoiceThread, etc. All second, third, and fourth graders did this. Then, one spring, I decided to try the self-portraits with first grade and make a collage.

This fourth grade class is the first group that has a self-portrait for each year as a “grader.” As a surprise for the students, I used Photoscape to create a collage of their drawings. Whether the children have been here for four years or one, each will receive a printed picture of their self-portraits. I have to admit that it did take me a while to pull this together – not because it was difficult! I just had so much fun looking at their illustrations, remembering when they created them, and observing how they had changed over time!

Here are some samples of their work over time. (Top row: 1st grade on left; 2nd on right. Bottom row: 3rd on left; 4th on right.)

Bart collageMegan collageAva D collageI hope these collages will provide special memories for the students and their families as they have done for me!

What Can You Do With a Squiggle or Two?

It started with this . . .

CreateAnd this is what was created!!

13 M megan Create

by Megan

8dA LTatum Create

by Tatum

by Collin

by Collin

18 dA Raegan create

by Raegan

by Kate

by Kate

by Megha

by Megha

The idea was found on Pinterest but this is something I used to do on paper when I taught in the classroom. I decided to share the design with our fourth graders and have them open it in Microsoft’s Paint program to see what they could create. The sad thing was that there was one person who actually asked if there was a “right” answer! That tells me the children need many more opportunities to just be able to CREATE!

Once the students started (and it took some quite a while to think), I was absolutely amazed at what they drew! The next step was to upload these illustrations to their blogs where they wrote a short summary about their drawings.

We will definitely do this again!

Here is the animoto of the newly designed squiggle.
(Mrs. Wright’s class  will have their designs added as soon as they finish!)

More Fraction Practice

After coming across a post about Fraction Name Art on the Super Sweet Second Grade blog, I decided to incorporate this into a lab activity for our second graders who were beginning their fraction unit.

The students were asked to use the Book Creator app to design a page with the following information:

  • Name in a large, bold font
  • A sentence telling how many letters were in their name
  • 2 “ends” of sentences about consonants and vowels (___ are consonants. ___ are vowels.)

Next, we used the pen function to circle the vowels and underline the consonants. I asked the students what fraction of their name were vowels; what fraction were consonants? The answers were written with the pen.

fractions
The students recorded their information and emailed the book to me. I’ve combined the individual books into class books.

To access the books, remember to tap on the links below while on an iOS device with iBooks installed. Choose download then open in iBooks.

Mrs. Garcia’s Name Fraction

Mrs. Zabriskie’s Name Fraction

For those of you without an iOS device, here are the video versions of the book.

Dr. Seuss and App Smashing Fun!

Oh,_the_Thinks_You_Can_Think_cover

For our Seuss week celebrations, I read part of Oh, The Thinks You Can Think and asked the fourth graders to think creatively like Dr. Seuss.

  • What would you invent if you were able to invent anything you wanted?
  • Would it be an interesting animal?
  • Would it be something that would make life easier?
  • What would it look like?
  • What would it do?

The students started by illustrating their invention on the computer using Microsoft’s Paint program. This could be done in an app but the students prefer the tools available in Paint. When they finished, I uploaded their pictures to my Picasa site so that they could save to the iPad.

The next step was to create a page in the Book Creator app. The students were asked to include the following on their page:

  • their name
  • title of their invention
  • picture of their invention
  • a recorded narration of the purpose of their invention (I had them write a script first! This really helps with the recording process; avoids stumbling over what to say!)

Finally, the students air dropped their books to me and I combined all into one class book. I absolutely LOVE that Book Creator offers options for sharing! I exported it in two different formats: one as an ePub book (to be read in iBooks) and the other as a video (a great option for those who don’t have iOS devices).

Click here to download the ePub book. (Remember you’ll need to be on an iOS device with the iBooks app installed. Choose Download then Open in iBooks.)

Here’s the video:

Since video was one format to be shared and since I’ve been wanting to experiment with some AppSmashing (Thank you Greg Kulowiec for creating this great term and for the awesome workshops I’ve been able to attend), I decided to get creative with the intro to the inventions!

Here’s a chart to show the apps used.

Click to enlarge

Click to enlarge

In this case, I was the one who created the video clips to be combined with the student work in iMovie. Students could certainly do this part – perhaps have the early finishers work on some type of introduction.

LOVE the power of AppSmashing!

I Wish That I Had . . .

IWishThatIHadDuckFeetI’ve been celebrating Dr. Seuss’ birthday (March 2) for more years than I can remember (and I’ve taught for a LONG time!) so I’m always excited when our week-long celebration comes around.

This year I asked our third graders to turn on their imaginations as we discussed on of Dr. Seuss’ books. We read I Wish that I Had Duck Feet, a clever story about a boy who would like to have various animal appendages. He weighs the pros and cons of each part and finally decides that he’s better off just being himself. (Watch a video reading of the book.)

After reading, the students were asked to think of what they wish they had. What could that animal part help them do? What would they look like? What problems might they encounter if they had that part added to their body?

They were to do two things:

  • Answer the above questions in a new post on their blog.
  • Illustrate a picture in Microsoft’s Paint program and upload to their blog.

What they came up with was very clever! They seemed to have a great time deciding what animals they could morph into and then realizing that there just might be a downside to having those parts!

Here’s a sample post:

3rd Eli SeussThe students would love to have you take a look at their posts. And they would be even more thrilled to receive comments!

Mrs. Gramentine’s Blog
Mrs. Prescott’s Blog
Mrs. Weth’s Blog

Making Wishes on St. Patrick’s Day

The Leprechaun's GoldThe Leprechaun’s Gold by Pamela Duncan Edwards is an Irish legend about two harpists who have the same wish but go about earning it in different ways. (Watch a video reading of the book.)

Before reading the book to second graders as a St. Patrick’s Day activity, I asked the children to think about selfish vs. unselfish wishes. We discussed a few examples and then I asked the students to open the Book Creator app and illustrate an unselfish wish of their own while I read the story. Talk about quiet workers! They were engaged in their drawings and enjoying the plot of the book!

After the reading, the students scattered to various corners inside and outside of the lab so that they could record their wish. The books were then air dropped to one iPad to allow me to combine all into one class book.

This activity could easily be done in a variety of apps. I chose Book Creator because it is extremely user-friendly! Drawings can be created within the app and recording narration is super easy.

Enjoy the class books!

Mrs. Garcia’s Book of Wishes

Mrs. Shapard’s Book of Wishes

Mrs. Zabriskie’s Book of Wishes

Directions to download books to your iOS device (iPad, iPhone, etc):

  • You will need the iBooks app (free) installed on your iOS device.
  • Click on the book link above (while on your iOS device).
  • Tap on the download button.
  • Choose Open in iBooks
  • The book is now in iBooks on your iOS device.

Shapes are Everywhere!

Recently the second graders took their iPads and headed outside for a shape hunt. Lots of photos were taken of all kinds of shapes!

The mail van provided all sorts of interesting shapes!

The mail van provided all sorts of interesting shapes!

After collecting photos, the next step was to bring everything together. We used Book Creator for this. The students made a cover page, a page for plane figures, and one for solid shapes. They were to label and record information about their shapes, then export the book as a video.

Working in Book Creator

Working in Book Creator

By the way, the mustaches were worn in celebration of Dr. Seuss and The Lorax!

Next the videos were uploaded to their blogs. (They would love comments!)

Mrs. Garcia’s Class Blog
Mrs. Shapard’s Class Blog
Mrs. Zabriskie’s Class Blog

Enjoy a peek at the students at work:
Reflections:

We were rushed to do this activity since it was done in the computer lab over two 40 minute sessions. The students really didn’t have adequate time to reflect on their learning. Next time we’ll be sure to allow time for that.

Where Can We Find Shapes?

Everywhere, as the first graders discovered!

On a chilly, blustery day we took our iPads out for a shape hunt. To correlate with their math unit the children were searching for circles, ovals, squares, rectangles, triangles, pentagons, hexagons, and octagons. Students could also photograph solid shapes if they wanted.

After two quick reviews – one over shapes and one about taking quality photos, we picked up our iPads and started the search.

IMG_2398FullSizeRender(1)After searching for a bit, we returned to the lab where the students used the Pic Collage app to insert and label their photos.

IMG_2384Next, the students uploaded their collages to their blog. They were asked to reflect on the shape hunt.

  • Was it hard to find all the shapes?
  • Were you surprised at where you found shapes?

FullSizeRender(2)FullSizeRender(3)The students enjoyed their search and were surprised at some of the places where they found shapes!IMG_2434

IMG_2434IMG_2436IMG_2435

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