Updates to Diigo

I have added several new links to my diigo account! Feel free to check it out and follow me if you would like! I have also added tags to several of my links, but I like the organization of the list feature much better.

Bucket Filling Digital Story

Have You Filled A Bucket Today? by Carol McCloud is a great way to build positive character within your classroom. My school has taken on bucket filling, inspired by the picture book. Students are acknowledged by demonstrating kind or caring behaviors with a certificate. In some classrooms, students have personal buckets where other students might place notes thanking them for acts of kindness. I have noticed a positive change in the way my students care for others and our classroom. Allison and I created this digital story to share how bucket filling has had a positive impact on our grade level. We used Windows Movie Maker to import pictures of our students demonstrating bucket filling. Importing and arranging pictures was very easy. Adding music was the hardest part, but we were able to figure it out eventually. I thought the project went pretty smoothly since it was our first time using Movie Maker. I will use this digital story to introduce and reteach the value of bucket filling to my students. I hope you like it and can use it in your classroom as well!

One More Story

If you are looking for a way to spice up your read aloud time, check out www.onemorestory.com! I used this site often when I taught first grade. My students loved seeing the pictures on the smart board and being able to follow the words. It was also exciting to hear a different voice reading to them!

As I explored the site this week, I realized that a few books I read aloud to my fourth graders are also available. There is probably something for every grade level, and I know the students really enjoy it. It's worth a try!

Have you filled a bucket today?

We have taken on a "bucket filling" initiative at our school to create a more positive school atmosphere. Students imagine that everyone has imaginary buckets they carry around. They can fill each other's buckets by being helpful or caring. In some classrooms, students earn certificates when they do something to fill a bucket. In other classrooms, students write down compliments to other students when someone fills their bucket. We began teaching about bucket filling by reading Have You Filled a Bucket Today? by Carol McCloud. Then we discussed ways students can be bucket fillers at school.

Allison and I both teach fourth grade, and our classes are very involved in bucket filling. We have decided to create a digital story about bucket filling to teach teachers how to introduce it in the classroom, and to teach students how they can become bucket fillers. We will be taking pictures of our students being bucket fillers and explaining some of the ways students can become bucket fillers. We have noticed a positive change in our classroom environments since we introduced bucket filling, and we think it's a great way to acknowledge positive student behavior!

To learn more about bucket filling or purchase the book, visit the "Bucket Fillers" website!

Diigo

I am beginning to feel more comfortable using Diigo, and I am realizing the value of it as an educational tool. I figured out how to create lists, which has been helpful for me to organize the sites I have been bookmarking. Creating lists seems more organized to me than using tags. I am excited to connect to other people's Diigo accounts to begin collecting more resources for my classroom! If you would like to share your Diigo account with me, please share your link so I can try to follow you!

Here is the link to my account if you want to check out some resources I use in my classroom. Happy bookmarking!

Digital Storytelling

I wish student teaching 6 years ago hadn't been such a blur! While student teaching in a fourth grade classroom, I worked with my students using digital storytelling.  My students created digital stories using Photo Story 3. They also published stories as comic strips using a really cool program called Comic Life. I feel like I am starting the process all over again now!

I am teaching fourth grade currently, but I haven't thought about bringing these programs into my classroom until now. My students loved using them a few years ago, and they were both creative ways for students to publish. They were also easy for my students to use!

Here is a tutorial for using Photo Story 3:



Here is a tutorial for using Comic Life: