TIE Activity: Final Product

My final product can be found at the following link: TIE Activity

The students really enjoyed this activity and I will use this again in the future. Once I told students that they would be able to post their sentences on the blog, they became very excited and it seemed like they rushed through their work so that they could get on the computers. I wish that I would have waited to tell them about the blog until every student completed their work. Blogs are a great way for students to interact, but I would like to try Voice Threads with my students also. During center time, students will be able to log on to the blog and view and comment on other students' work.

TIE Lesson Plan & Blog

I have written up my TIE lesson plan and it can be viewed at the following link: TIE Lesson Plan




I have also created a classroom blog, which is where the students' final products will be located. The blog can be found at the following web address: Ms. Myrick's Field-Basing Classroom

TIE Preparatory Activities

For my TIE activity, I will be completing a lesson that covers the use of adjectives with my 1st graders. I will read the book titled Go Away, Big Green Monster by Ed Emberley and the students will then draw a picture of their own monster and write a sentence that describes the monster using at least two adjectives. The process of the independent practice is the following: (1) draw a monster, (2) describe the monster using adjectives, (3) put these adjectives into a complete sentence, and (4) proofread and turn in final sentence strip. After the first step, students will turn in their drawings and I will take a picture of each of their drawings with a digital camera. I will upload these pictures to our classroom blog, each as a separate entry. Once I have uploaded these pictures, students will be able to go to the computer station in small groups and go to the classroom blog to type in their final sentence strip below their picture. Students will be able to visit the classroom blog during stations at a later date and view the other students' work and post their comments.


The following are my TEKS for this lesson:
-English Language Arts and Reading: 1, 20, 21, 22
-Technology Applications: 2

Voice Threads

I listened to a voice thread on the Elementary Voice Threads website where a preschool student was describing her work. She used HOTS to describe and retell a story that her drawing illustrated. By verbally describing their work, students will better understand the information that they have been presented with and will feel accomplished and proud of their finished products. I think that my field-basing students would really enjoy this activity. Teachers can put all of the students' recordings on one web page and students can go in and look and hear about their peer's completed projects. This website was simple to use and I really liked how the website has categories of the different grade levels so that you can easily find a level that you are looking for. I will use this website as a resource in the future.

Google Docs

Google Docs is a great program for teachers to use during instruction in the classroom, as well as for providing announcements to students and parents. Instead of carrying around a flash drive, documents can be accessed from any computer with internet access. With Google Docs, you can create a document, presentation, spreadsheet, form, or drawing. Each type of program has its own features that can be useful in any classroom. I really enjoyed the given word sentences activity in class where several students were working on a single document at the same time. I would use this activity with small groups in my classroom. My favorite feature of all of the programs included in Google Docs is "Add comment". This feature not only allows you to make notes for yourself about the information in the document, but other people can also provide feedback on your work.


Affordances & Pedagogical Implications of Google Docs 

A Burst of First

Below is a link to a first grade teacher's blog that I found interesting. This blog is a great resource for me because I am field-basing in a first grade classroom.

A Burst of First

TIE Plan

View my TIE Plan

HOTS Integration in a 1st Grade Classroom

QUESTION: How can you specifically envision using a blog for HOTS integration within your field-basing grade level without any limitations?

-Students can use a blog as an online journal to document their thoughts about information that they have learned each day. Through blogs, students can read each others' thoughts and interpretations and gain a new perspective for themselves. Blogs can be accessed from any computer with internet access, which is great for students who have this technology at home. Teachers, students, and even parents can use blogs to communicate with each other about any questions or concerns that they may have throughout the school year.