Social Stories and I-Pads

 That is what learning is. You suddenly understand something you've understood all your life, but in a new way.-- Doris Lessing

For the past 2 weeks, my student intern from Jacksonville State University has been teaching her fall unit.   The students have been enjoying all of her fun and creative activities.  Mrs. Sarah is doing a fabulous job teaching our Pre-K class.   I am very proud of her.   She is going to be an awesome teacher!  Mrs. Sarah will be with us until November 22nd.   She is going to be greatly missed when she leaves.  

While Mrs. Sarah has been teaching, I have been steadily working on a set of social stories for our students.   You might ask, what are social stories?   A social story is a concept devised by Carol Gray in 1991 to improve the social skills of people with autism spectrum disorders (ASD).  Social stories help teach students routines, expectations, and behavioral standards in an alternate way.  The information is presented in a story format and gives visual examples of behavior expectations.  The goal is to provide suggestions for conduct in specific social situations.    These stories are great for all children, but can be extremely effective for students on the autism spectrum or for those children with ADD/ADHD.   Sample story topics from the past week include: “I Feel Angry”, “Manners in the Lunchroom”, “Circle Time”, "Walking in the Hallway" and “Preparing for Veteran’s Day Program".    The topics that can be chosen for a social story are endless.  I create a story when I see a particular need in my classroom.  

When considering how I would create the social stories, I thought of none other than our Ipads!   These devices are just too handy!   I decided to try out several apps.    The first story I created, "I Feel Angry" was created with IBooks Author.    I liked the simplicity of the application (very user friendly) and I loved the fact that the story could be instantly downloaded into IBooks.  There are still a few things that I still need to tweak, but overall I am pleased with the end product! 

The second app I used was called Move and Match.   This app is not intended for storytelling, but I knew it would be very interactive and that my particular student would benefit from this particular style.    I created a social story (without words) for lunchroom behavior.   The student must arrange the pictures that show good behavior under the smiley face and bad behavior pictures under the sad face.   I took a screen shot so that you could see what the app looked like: (keep in mind that the pictures can be moved and manipulated on the app. 

The third I app I used is called Kid In Story.   Kid in Story Book Maker is very easy and fun to use.  It allowed me to create a social story that supports early literacy with the student as the star character!     You can take a picture of the student and it will superimpose it directly into the story! The app also comes with an audio option, and the story can be set to read to the child automatically.   Can we say brilliant?     We created a story about getting ready for our Veteran's Day program.   Many children have difficulty when schedules change and my goal was to have my student ready and prepared for the upcoming change.   I also used this app to create a social story about what kind of behavior is expected in the hallways.   Personally, I think the social story is more effective when the child's picture is used in the story itself, so that is just what I did with both of these social stories.   The students definitely favor the stories that include their picture.

A sample script from one of our social stories goes like this:

"I am a big boy.  I go to Pre-K at Kitty Stone Elementary."
"At school, I have to follow rules.  One of the rules is how I should walk in the hallways. I need to walk and not run."
"I need to be quiet and not stomp my feel while I am walking in the hallway.   I keep my hands behind my back at all times."
"I keep my eyes on my teacher and face forward."
"I can be a big boy.  I can have a good day at school."

I included pictures and audio to go along with each story.  

 I am very pleased with this app and will also be using it for digital storytelling in the near future!  I would love for the students to create a story when they return to school after our Thanksgiving Break.  I know they will have lots of experiences to share.

Have a wonderful Thanksgiving,
Love,
Mrs. Weathers


 

Math and I-pads!

What a fantastic couple of weeks we have had in Pre-K!   This week, our curriculum is focusing on the letters:  Tt, Gg, Ee and Rr.   We have added new QR codes to our bucket that include songs that review these letters.  We also added the Five Little Pumpkins poem and the Life Cycle of the Pumpkin. The QR codes give the children instant and safe access to online material.   When making our QR codes, we use Safeshare.TV.   This site gives me a link to a safe site for children to view the videos. 

The children have also been exploring our sensory area.  Our sensory bins are full of corn, leaves and tiny, plastic pumpkins.   We love to dig for our treasures!  Our rice bin is full of tiny, plastic spiders and skeletons!   Our sand table still contains foam letters and seashells.   The children cannot get enough of the soft, white sand from the Gulf of Mexico.    (I can't either!) 

This week the children became very familiar with one of my favorite apps Doodle Buddy.   This app is free and can be used in so many different ways.    This week we used it to practice writing letters and counting.   The children had such a fun time choosing colors and items to count.  

This is my 6th year of teaching and everyday I get more and more excited about the opportunity to be 1:1 I-pad in our classroom.   This is the first time in my teaching career where I have seen 100% of my students be actively engaged in lessons on a consistent basis.   This is how we must teach the next generation.  

The video below is of the children writing numbers using the app Doodle Buddy.   Can you see and hear the excitement?    
The pictures are of the students using Doodle Buddy to count objects (one to one correspondence).  What I also love about the I-pad is that the students can take a screen shot of their work and save it to their camera roll.  We have instant assessment!!    ENJOY!

More Digital Storytelling!

Our I-pads are becoming an integral part of our classroom. My goal is to not just pull out the I-pads for "tech time", but to fully use them as a learning tool throughout the school day.   We are making great strides in that direction!  All of the I-pads have been loaded with specific apps that meet the individual need of each student.   The variety of apps on the market is astounding.   I can find an app to focus on just about any Pre-K standard.  (In a future blog post, I will share with you some of my favorites!)  The apps (and I-pads)  will never replace good instruction from the classroom teacher, but they can be a powerful tool to enhance learning or extend a skill.     Having a class that is 1:1 Ipad has allowed me to differentiate instruction in a way like never before.  While one group may need to focus on a math skill such as patterning, another group may need remediation on a specific literacy skill such as rhyming.   This is our first year to be 1:1, so we are learning as we go...and we still have a long way to go.   I am always in a constant state of planning, teaching, and reflecting. 

This past week the fire truck visited our school!   Prior to its arrival, we read books and talked about fire trucks.  We made a chart with all kinds of words that we think of when we see a firetruck.   When the fire truck came on Wednesday, the students used their I-pads to take pictures.   Afterwards, the students created a digital story about their experience using MyStory App.  The students imported pictures from the camera roll and used them in their digital story.   They had so much to share!   The children really love the audio feature on the app.   It's great for them to listen to themselves telling the story.   Sometimes, they will want to go back and correct something they don't like.   This app is not only making them good writers and storytellers, but also good listeners! 
 

Please click on the following links and you can see a sample of the stories from the week.   Don't forget to listen to the audio.  You will need to click the play button.    Enjoy! 

Fire truck story #1 

Fire truck story #2 

Fire truck story #3 

Fire truck #4 

Five Little Pumpkins Re-Tell  (this story is having a hard time loading..please click the arrow on the right side of screen and it should work)

 

Digital Storytelling / STEM

You don't understand anything until you learn it more than one way."-Marvin Minsky 

We have been blessed to have been given a set of classroom Ipads for our Pre-K class.   Having these tools can open up the world for our young learners.   Ipads can provide all kinds of opportunities for learning.  Because of these devices, we can truly create a student-centric learning environment.    We are currently using some great apps that strengthen fine motor skills and review letters and numbers in a fun and engaging way.  Although these apps are great, I want my students to not just consume content but to create content on their Ipads.   That is where Digital Storytelling comes in....

This week we took a familiar children's story and added Science, Technology, Engineering and Math (STEM) and re-created our own version of The Three Little Pigs. 

I am so excited to share with you what these little learners did this week in Pre-K!



The first link will show you the process. Please click the PLAY button under each picture to hear the audio.   

http://msty.me/15tOMK0 


The second link will show you the new story that was created by the students.  

http://msty.me/18pRoFn


ENJOY! 

Mrs. Weathers 

Change is good!

"If You Keep Doing What You’ve Always Been Doing, You’ll Keep Getting What You’ve Always Been Getting."-Unknown

What a fantastic few weeks we have had in Pre-K!    All of our friends are learning new things at such a fast pace!   I chuckled when one of the parents mentioned to me that their child has been going to bed at 5:30pm!    "Big school" can take some time for our bodies to get used to, but I am sure we are on our way!   I am very proud of how well all of the friends have learned the new school schedule and procedures for each day.    My goal is to continue to review all of our daily procedures each day in a fun way.  (Yes, we are still using Rover our dog puppet!)    I know that once the friends know what is expected of them each day, they will begin to take ownership of the classroom and their learning.  

This year has brought some new changes.   As a teacher, I am constantly reflecting over what I am teaching, how I am teaching it, and whether the lesson is engaging and meaningful to the students.   If I see that a change is needed, then I adjust.   I want my lessons and how I spend my time in the classroom to always be purposeful and not do something because it has always been done a certain way.    After some research and speaking with other professionals, I have made the decision to change up the "traditional" calendar time.   (see this article that helped me make this decision..http://www.naeyc.org/files/tyc/file/CalendarTime.pdf) 

What I have come to realize is that the traditional calendar time I have been doing in the past has some elements that are not developmentally appropriate for my Pre-K friends.   Four year olds are not able to grasp the concept of time by teaching the days of the week or months of the year.  They rarely can tell me what day of the week was yesterday or tomorrow.  Even after much repetition, they almost always do not know what month it is.   We can sing and recite them all day long, but they still do not truly get a grasp of passages of time.   So instead we will start by focusing our lessons on understanding yesterday, today and tomorrow with an activity that is solely focused on that skill.  I love the idea of the students creating a visual time line displaying school events.   We will also use tangible items and pictures to help the children develop a better understanding of the passage of time.  We currently have a picture schedule in our classroom and often times I catch the students referring to it throughout the day.  Pictures are helpful for this age and knowing what comes next in our day gives them a sense of security.  It also helps them understand at what point in the day we do a certain activity and develop a sense of time.  Traditional calendar time also involves counting the days on the calendar and reviewing patterns.    This is not a bad activity in itself but for our class we will instead focus our time and learn numeral recognition, counting sequence, and patterns in small groups and centers.  The students will be more engaged when they are learning these skills in authentic ways. I will provide activities that are relevant to them such as counting household objects and creating patterns with our big cardboard blocks.    I want to end by saying that there are some skills during a traditional calendar time that might be effective for some students.   In addition, there are many children who can memorize and recite things very well.  But, for our class, I feel it is most effective to provide them with hands-on activities to better help them understand these abstract ideas.  

Making patterns with our necklaces

Making patterns with our blocks

Completing patterns on our Ipad

Making patterns on our own with cereal

Visuals to help us understand time

Our sensory area has been re-arranged this week too!  I have moved all of our sensory bins (sand, rice and water) underneath our loft.   We also have rain sticks for the children to use and a cuddly bean bag for students to relax and read.   The new curtains have provided a cozy nook for the children.  I want them to have a place to "escape" to during the day when need be.   We can all use a place like this...right?  

 

 
We had a  great trip we had to the Jacksonville Public Library last week.   The librarian was super impressed with our students.   She was nice enough to bag up our craft so we could leave a little early to get back for lunch.    I am so proud of all of our friends.  They practiced their manners and did a great job! 

On Friday, we had a Pinkalicious Party.  The children LOVE this book.   You can click HERE and listen to the book online.  We iced cupcakes and had a blast!

Over the next few weeks, we have much to do.  We will introduce many new letters and sounds, but I am most excited about teaching the children how to use QR codes.  We will be linking up with some really cool things online to reinforce letter recognition and sounds.   

Pre-K is a blast, ya'll! 

 

MORE PICTURES!  

Chicka Chicka Boom Boom!