My Old Blog

shawnzrossi (Flickr) When I introduced the site called Storybird to my students, I wasn't completely certain of how they would receive it.  Would they like the wide option of images offered on the site?  Would they think it would be too "juvenile" given most of them are around 12 years of age? They have been so excited about using this tool since I mentioned that we would start publishing their stories on our wiki.   Last week, my students were working on their Harry Potter Book project in Edmodo.  One of my students, who loves to write, approached me and asked "could I please go to the Storybird site?".  I casually responded with a "yes".  Shortly after, I heard a flurry of whispering among the students and a few other students then approached asking the same question.  They were eager to write stories! So what does this experience teach me?  Apart from the fact that Storybird has become a popular tool in my classroom, it is teaching m...

This fantastic gem appeared in my Facebook status update feed today.  The American Association of Teachers of French shared a link to this pdf version of a board game you can use with students in your classroom. This is a great game for students to learn parts of the body, colors, and action verbs.  Instructions are also enclosed in the pdf attachment at this link. Amusez-vous!

My grade 6 French Immersion students have been using Storybird to create stories in the classroom.  I can't even think of one student who is not excited about using this site.  Even the students who usually struggle to construct a few sentences on paper in French seem to have a plethora of ideas to write down using this tool. Storybird contains several colorful illustrations that its audience can use to create stories.  You can then publish them for the world to see or mark them as private.  Because this service is only offered in English, Storybirds will not permit public views of stories in other languages at this time.  You can, however, create stories in other languages and keep them marked as private.  Should you wish to display them on a blog or wiki, you can send them to yourself by e-mail, create a screenshot of the Storybird's cover page, and add a link to its image that you received via e-mail. Our students are still working on mastering som...

I came across this video in my Facebook feed today, thanks to a friend who is a Language Educator. The teacher featured in the video explains the value of using music to teach young children a language:  I also see the value of using songs with adult learners. There are plenty of wonderful songs that can be used to teach verb tenses, vocabulary, expressions, and grammar. I have used Youtube videos with adult learners for this purpose and find that in addition to teaching the language, I am also teaching the culture through them.  I would strongly recommend always preview the lyrics carefully to ensure the words are appropriate for the audience. I would also recommend providing the lyrics to students so they may sing along. For young children, encourage as much movement to music as possible. Correspond hand and body actions with words to help them solidify connections between the spoken language and its actual meanings.  Consider using songs with your lang...

I have been very intrigued by the "Flipped Classroom" for some time. I have created a page about this approach which you can view on my site at this link. While teaching online last year, I pondered how much of what I was doing could be applied to a classroom in a face-to-face context. I provided learners with videos and links to sites and documents that aided their understanding of what we were learning about. I also provided learners with a space to discuss and ask questions pertaining to topics we were exploring. I am currently teaching grade 6 French Immersion learners face-to-face in a public school. I have been fortunate to teach in a classroom equipped with a digital projector, laptop, and speakers. I have been extensively making use of digital resources with learners across the subjects. I have also created a wiki for learners to visit and view all content that we are exploring in the classroom. I would like to eventually reverse my approach to teaching...

My daughter is beginning to learn Spanish. I use Tux Paint, an open source drawing program for children, as an instructional tool to help my daughter learn Spanish more effectively. Last year, I published "An Educator's Guide to using Tux Paint: Creative Ideas for Using Tux Paint with Young Children" I have been using Tux Paint as an interactive white board on my desktop for language teaching. Young language learners will appreciate the colorful stamps as visual aids in learning new words. These stamps can be used for storytelling in the target language among other possibilities. As I've mentioned on this site, I also am very passionate about teaching mathematics. You will find plenty of ideas on how to use Tux Paint to teach mathematics to young learners in my guide . From teaching patterns to multiplication, Tux Paint is a very versatile instructional tool for the Early Childhood Mathematics curriculum. I would strongly advise teachers using tools lik...