Digital Reading Logs

I love reading logs, but I hate the paper mess of keeping up with them!

Problem Solved: Digital Reading Logs

I used these Digital Reading Logs last school year, but "tweaked" them for this year. I like them so much more!! Last year, students completed them EVERY day, answering a different question about their book. While this gave me more data to see how much they're reading at night and how much they're understanding within their book, it was very time-consuming and became redundant.

This year I took on a more simplistic approach. The Book Check-In will help me to keep up with what students are reading, how long it's taking them to finish their books, if they're finding good fit books or just grabbing the first one off the shelf, and so much more. 

Once students have finished a book, they're writing a 3 sentence summary of the book and listing their favorite part. This will help me to see if they are comprehending their books, as well as reiterating a difficult topic: SUMMARY!

Here is what the first page of the form looks like:

With the Book Check-In, I'm using a paper grid with student names and a coding system to write down the book they're reading each week. I'm going to update it when they test on books and can use this as a data piece later, if needed. 

I implemented it this week (our first week back this semester) and have been happy with the process so far. It's simplistic, but includes everything I need to help my readers.

Task Card Grading Made Easier

Task Cards = Engagement

Most often we use Task Cards as a formative assessment - a way to "see what they know" in the middle of the unit/topic of study. That being said, it can sometimes be extremely time-consuming to grade the paper versions of task card recording sheets. Once it's graded, you give it back to students a day or so later... and it's no longer fresh on their minds. 😔

I needed a solution for this because I love using Task Cards. Last year, we started using Google Forms for recording sheets. Students get immediate results for how they did and can see which task cards they missed. At that point, they can go back and look at the Task Card again and see where their mistake happened. This also gives the teacher the ability to see which task cards were big struggles for the students and use that card as an example or to throw in later as an entrance/exit ticket. 

Here is an example of one I'm using this week:

Text Structure Sentences with Coggle

Nonfiction is always one of my favorite things to teach. Every year, when learning about Text Structure, groups of students create posters where they choose a topic and write sentences for each of the text structures in a bubble cluster format. This year, I wanted to add a technology component to it. While meeting with our Technology Specialist, she mentioned Coggle - online mind mapping. After I started playing with it, I knew that it would be absolutely perfect!

In groups of 5, students made a copy of the template I created for the assignment. My template included the middle box for topic, 5 branches from the central topic box, and labels for each of the 5 text structures. After making a copy, one group member was responsible for sharing the Coggle with their group mates. This adds the collaboration component to the assignment as each student was working on the same Coggle, but on their own Chromebook. Each student was responsible for a different text structure: Description, Compare & Contrast, Cause & Effect, Problem & Solution, or Chronological Order.

Example Coggle Shown to Students Prior to Starting the Assignment

Their projects turned out AMAZING, and I'm so excited to display them in the hallway! I was also really impressed with some of their unique topic choices this year! Here are some of the completed Coggle projects:

Unicorns

Rainforest

Guinea Pigs

Online Story Maps

This year has been off to a CrAzY start. With missing 2 weeks for Hurricane Harvey, it's been an interesting start. This year, our ELA team is trying to read more of the short Bluebonnet Books with the students. This helps them to get their AR Points toward their 1st 9 Weeks goal, as well as get credit toward their Bluebonnet goal.

We have now read 3 Bluebonnet Books and students are completing their 3rd Story Map. In my class, we did our first Story Map as a class with sticky notes. I created a poster with the different Story Map components for a fiction story. The second one was done with their table group on a shared page.

The third one was done using a Google Doc Template. Since the third story we read was a biography, I had to adapt the Story Map.

I set up an assignment in Google Classroom and had it set up the document to "Make a Copy for Each Student". This way, students were able to open the assignment and begin working in the Story Map. I also linked a video of the story being read aloud on YouTube so it could be referred back to, if needed.

Here are a couple of my student responses:

Parent Contact Form & Weekly Newsletters

We have had a great start to a new school year!! I'm excited to share the new things we do in class this year. Students get Chromebooks next week, so that's when the good "techy" stuff will start coming around.

Meet the Teacher - Google Form for Parent Contact

I have been using a Google Form to get Parent information for 3 years now. I like the format of this one because I like to include the parent's names on my contact list. I also like to know if I'm emailing mom or dad (sometimes you can't tell from email addresses). I feel like it helps us to effectively communicate with parents.

Here's what the Google Form I created and use looks like:

 At Meet the Teacher, parents completed this form in each of their child's Homeroom classes. Afterwards, I import all the email addresses into Google Contacts and update the entries as needed. I love how easy this is to do and that I have so many email addresses to start the year with.

Weekly Newsletter with Smore

I sent our first Weekly Newsletter today and have started using Smore (www.smore.com). If you haven't heard of this, it's AMAZING!! They're online "flyers" that can be used for so many different things. I love that we can use the same format all year and update it regularly, republishing it as needed. You can also add pictures. It's AWESOME!!

We have a spot for each core subject to type in a snapshot of their week and potential homework, as well as reminders that we have for the class. I love that it's all in one place and the formatting is perfect. I can't believe I didn't transition over to this sooner after hearing about it from other teachers on our campus!

I'm excited to see what this year holds for me. Last year, I started this blog after our Digital Learning Coach recommended it. We have a new Digital Learning Coach this year, and I can't wait to see how she helps me grow as a "techy teacher"!