“Choose Your Own Adventure”: Google Slides & Vocabulary Practice

We’re using word roots to study vocabulary in my Literacy Block class. The goal is for students to be able to understand the meaning of some Latin/Greek word roots to help them identify other words they come across while reading. I also want them to be able to use new vocabulary words (that use these roots) in context.

So, we’ve worked on three roots so far: chron-, dict-, and ambi-. For each root, students have gotten five new vocabulary words, which I pick base on how frequently I think students will encounter them in their lives.

I’ve noticed that the students usually understand the general meaning of each word, especially when we talk through how the root fits in.

However, after their first quiz, I found that the trouble comes with correctly using the word in context. For instance, their quiz asked them to read ten sentences and determine if the vocabulary word in each sentence was being used correctly. I reminded them that the word might be incorrect based on meaning or based on the form of the word. One of the sentences on the quiz was as follows:

“The district attorney should really indictment the man who they suspect stole millions of dollars from the company.”

This question was one of the most commonly missed on the quiz--many of them said the sentence was correct. Students understood that an “indictment” had to do with committing a crime; however, they were still struggling with using the actual word (or forms of the word) authentically.

So what to do, what to do? How can Google Apps help me with providing the students with authentic experiences with reading/applying these words, ideally while differentiating for each learner?

I found an answer in Google Slides. To review for the quiz retake, students could “investigate” each word in different ways, using YouTube clips, news articles, and images. I also tried to find ways for kids to practice actually using some of the words in sentences.

I created this Google Slides presentation and made copies for each student on Classroom. I asked students to investigate only the words they missed on the quiz.

Here, students are first practicing with exploring examples of the word. But they also get to practice actually using the word itself in their writing.

On the quiz, students really struggled to understand that we typically use the word “chronic” to describe a problem or negative condition. Some of these boxes led to discussion about whether describing them as “chronic” would be appropriate: a great conversation for students to engage in!

So in theory, I was pumped about this activity--lots of differentiation, multiple means for students to be engaged, and purposefully designed to reteach/practice skills students struggled with. In practice, although the students did not share my high level of excitement (still getting there!), they definitely bought in. I was able to review their work later that day to address questions I had for particular students the next day, asking them to clarify their thinking.

The downside here? This slideshow definitely took a decent chunk of time to put together. Granted, the planning was pretty fun--thinking about video clips to use and creative ways to get kids to see the words in context. But...shouldn’t students be doing that part of the thinking? In the future, I’d like to try asking students to put together an “investigation” slideshow like this. They have a model now with this first one, but I think asking students to create their own investigation practice, trying to find the words in authentic contexts, would really increase the rigor in technology implementation.

Google Keep: The App Love of My Life

We had a district Twitter chat last week, entitled “Sharing is Caring.” One question in the chat asked us which resource we love the most. I’m proud to say that when it comes to resources that help keep my sanity, the love of my life is Google Keep.

Here’s why:

1. I can take my sticky notes wherever I go. My desk at school used to be covered in multi-colored Post-its. Inevitably, notes got lost, I would forget about them if I wasn’t at my desk, and ultimately, they led to even more stress. I love Google Keep because I have my same sticky notes at my desk in school, in the classroom, at home, on my phone. Moreover, I can make whole lists on a sticky note (even with little checkboxes to mark off to help me feel even more productive!). And I can have a bazillion of them! Okay, so that’s probably a weakness--I need to be more selective with my lists...

A zoomed-out look at my Google Keep <3 <3 <3 (The stars are my attempt at happy anonymity.)

2. I can share my sticky notes with other Google friends. Collaboration, a core of Google Apps for Education, makes me a better educator. Between PLCs, clubs, team-teaching, and lots of other collaborative relationships, I’m constantly working with other people to share ideas and tasks. Google Keep to the rescue! I can create a note and share it with a colleague (much like a Google Doc), allowing us to communicate more efficiently and share tasks more clearly. This process totally transforms our collaboration: we don’t need to get lost in email chains or leave Post-its for each other. Instead, our shared lists become part of the Cloud. Bonus: a colleague in the Twitter chat noted that he also shares notes with his wife about tasks at home and grocery lists--super handy!

3. Google Keep keeps me focused with student communication. With five classes of students and only 47 minutes with each one, I find that my days fly by. Unfortunately, I also usually have eight million things I need to check in with students about one-on-one. I’ve tried a lot to help me keep that organized (especially in those 47 minutes): Post-its on the top of my laptop, a document with a list of who I need to talk to, written lists in a notebook. Nothing really solved the problem. And to be honest, Google Keep hasn’t entirely solved the problem: I still do forget sometimes. However, Keep has been the best thus far at helping me keep a quick list of who I need to talk to each day in each hour. I don’t need to open up a new document or remind myself to check a notebook: the list is always open in my Keep app (which is a tab I always have open on Chrome).

4. Most recently: Integration with Google Docs! I’m not yet super familiar with this feature, but I’m pumped about it. Google recently set up integration between Keep and Docs, allowing users to open a note on Keep alongside a Doc they’re working on. I’m excited to see how others use this feature, but I have my eyes set on using saved comments for my feedback on student work. Turnitin.com, our platform for checking for plagiarism, has always had a “saved comment” feature, allowing teachers to save a bank of comments to refer back to for student work. The Keep/Docs marriage brings Google up to that level.

With my Google Keep notepad on the right, I just have to copy/paste the selected comment and insert it into a comment on the student's paper.

     
The pre-saved comment feature has saved me hours of typing on Turnitin.com, so I'm super excited to have that ability in Google, transforming my instruction by saving me a truckload of time in typing the same thing over...and over...again…

I think Google Keep is one of the most underrated Apps in the Google Suite, probably because it doesn't, at first glance, seem to have much direct impact on student learning. However, organization and efficiency are KEY in my feeling like a good teacher; when I'm in a funk, it usually means I need to clean up my email, Keep, desk, or folders. I would argue that investing the time in organization improves confidence and focus (which I'm sure has been supported by oodles of research!).

Backchannel Chatting: Discussion Outside the Classroom

As much as I try to avoid doing so, my students always seem to feel like assignments from different teachers overlap in the same week, sometimes the same day. My sophomores might have an essay due in my class, a two-day exam in Chemistry, and a test in AP Euro: all within two days of each other.

That stinks.

I can be flexible with due dates, but at the end of the day, my students' schedules are crazy busy, not even thinking about sports, extracurriculars, jobs, and family obligations.

So, how can I offer support, ease anxiety, and work with students to build skills in a way that better accommodates my students' schedules?

One possibility I learned about a few weeks ago is a nifty online discussion tool called Backchannel Chat.

Backchannel Chat basically feels like an old-school chat room but without the creepy anonymous factor. Several safeguards are put in place: students can't join the room unless the teacher is also logged in, inappropriate language is filtered, and students don't need to give any personal information in order to sign in.

While I can see Backchannel Chat as a great tool within the walls of the classroom, I decided to try it as an opportunity to "meet" with my students outside of class to prepare for a test over Their Eyes Were Watching God the next day.

I posed the idea to my students, saying that I'd be signed into the chatroom that evening between 7-9 p.m. Students could drop in as they pleased to ask any questions and participate in the discussion.

Three students stopped in to chat! Out of a single class of 26, I was okay with that turnout, especially on such short notice. As I opened the chatroom and emailed out the link, I reminded students that they needed to use their real name. I felt comfortable enough with this class to trust I wouldn't have any "imposters" invading the discussion.

I also encouraged students to ask and answer any questions in the chat. One benefit of opening a full chatroom rather than limiting students to emailing me with questions was that all students who entered the room could see the ideas being posed. The discussion became much more like an actual discussion rather than a Q&A with the teacher:

Since the goal of this discussion was simply to talk through ideas from the book to prepare for a test, I wasn't expecting earth-shattering insights; however, I was super impressed with the initiative the three students took in responding to each other rather than staying focused just on my response as the teacher. Students asked questions, but I also posed new questions in response, encouraging them to think deeply about the novel--and they encouraged each other to do the same, too!

The group also phased in and out--it was clear that we were all working on other stuff, too. But that was okay. The purpose was to accommodate my students' busy schedules, and Backchannel Chat helped me do just that. I look forward to trying it out again!