Popplet personal narrative graphic organizer

I used Popplet to create a graphic organizer for a personal narrative. 
Ease of creation: Very easy!  My third graders will have no trouble creating this organizer.  It is simple to use, yet gives students a few choices in color, font, and organization.  I like how you can place each popplet anywhere on the screen that you prefer.  I chose to do a "mountain" where the pinnacle moment is on top.
Clarity: Popplet is very clear on how to get started in creating a Popplet, and you choose the organization of ideas.
Ability to Insert pictures: Pictures are super easy to insert.  A photo icon appears on the bottom right of each popplet where you can easily access pictures from vimeo, YouTube, or your computer.  You may also draw your own picture (I prefer to insert one already created!)
Suggested age level: This can be used for any grade level- You can make it as simple or as detailed as you want.

Of course, the traditional strategies of teaching writing will always be there, but technology can play a huge role in teaching writing.  Instead of having students plan their writing on paper, they and quickly and easily make a Popplet!  The article by Bogard and McMakin (2012) share other ideas about ways to teach writing using new literacies.  Two that stuck out to me were having students engage in recorded oral rehearsal with technology and to share these with a partner by listening to each others recordings and giving feedback to one another.

Flipping the Classroom screencast

I am interested in learning more about flipping the classroom!  First, I would love to observe it in action in order to wrap my head around the idea.  I like how I could serve as a coach rather than a lecturer.  I feel, though, that it would take a lot of communication with students and parents to implement such a task and to have them on board, but I think it could be really cool! 

This screencast addresses possessive pronouns.  My third graders will be learning about possessive pronouns in grammar next week.  Here is the link for my lesson:
https://www.educreations.com/lesson/view/possessive-prounouns/30095788/?s=WFbqfJ

Because not all of my students have access to the Internet at home, I plan to show this screencast at the end of a grammar lesson the day before our lesson on possessive pronouns.  It will set them up for the lesson the next day. 

I can see how beneficial it would be for students to watch these lessons at home so they come ready to practice the skill at school.  But I have more questions on how to flip a classroom when not every child has the opportunity to view it at home.  Any suggestions?

Digital Citizenship

I find the Common Sense Media Curriculum to be helpful in teaching my students about digital citizenship.  Here are a few examples I plan to use in my classroom…

1.  Video showing how to search for information online-

There are short 2-3 minute video clips featuring kids using technology.  Topics range from searching online to cyberbullying.  I plan to use the video about a boy who is interested in searching for baseball pitchers online and the process he goes through to find relevant details.  This would be especially helpful during our research unit in writing.

2.  Preventing identity thief online-

One lesson discusses how to stay safe on the Internet by identifying personal information vs. private information.  Students learn that private information should not be shared to protect from online identity theft.  Students can complete a chart in which they have to decide which examples are personal information, such as the name of a pet, and which information is private, such as a home address. 

3. Post the technology care poster-

This poster shows 5 ways to be responsible when using technology (don’t get it wet, share with others, be gentle, turn it off when not in use, and carry it with two hands).  It serves a great visual to remind students how to care for technology.  I am getting this printed pronto!