Showing posts with label Computer. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Computer. Show all posts

Sunday, May 8, 2016

Online Interactive Reading: Curriculet


My new favorite instructional tool!

I've toyed with websites like Actively Learn, ReadTheory, and Newsela, but none compare to the free tools Curriculet has to offer!

Curriculet is a state and Common Core-standards-aligned interactive website that enhances learning and student engagement. It allows teachers to access e-books, many of which are FREE! The student can read the text online, read and write annotations, answer embedded questions, and learning can be assessed with embedded quizzes! 


I am all about metacognitive strategies, and if you've seen my recent post about text coding and annotations, you'll see I'm constantly encouraging students to annotate with specific purposes to monitor their comprehension. Curriculet allows teachers to upload rosters - students can login with their Google accounts, which is HUGE for me since Goolge Classroom is our current platform - and student progress is automatically documented and scored! There is an option for open-ended questions as well.


Teachers can create a new "Curriculet" (reading activity) or adapt one that another teacher has shared. Annotations can embed videos from YouTube or other public domains. 


It is extremely engaging. Students also have a tool to "define" words, which helps with understanding reading reference materials and word analysis like connotations and affixes. 



Check it out and let us know what you think!

Saturday, February 28, 2015

Disney Pixar's "Up" Inference Activity




This is a great activity for students to apply what they know about body language, music, and setting to draw conclusions about what is happening this movie clip.

There is a silent montage in "Up" that begins with Ellie and Carl's wedding and takes viewers through the hardships they experience together, as well as Carl's life when Ellie is gone.



This is a great movie, and the scenes evoke many different emotions.

You may want to go introduce the activity, watch the clip (available on YouTube), review the questions, then watch the clip again. It's interesting to see how the student responses differ based on their background knowledge.

Download the PDF here: