Bat Facts with PicCollage Kids

I love using the apps PicCollage Kids and Seesaw to have students publish facts that they've learned about a topic. Here are some examples from Mrs. Davey's 1st grade. They studied bats and then wrote "Bats can, Bats have, and Bats are" sentences about bats. We used the web search tool in PicCollage Kids to find images of bats.

Safe Searches for Inquiry Projects

I have been asked this question a lot lately, as spring is here and many teachers are focusing on awesome inquiry and research projects in their classrooms:  What is the best place for students to safely search for facts and information about their topic?

Adobe Voice

So, my friend Sally has been singing the praises of this free app since last year, but I never quite got around to trying it out.  During NCCE in Seattle last week, it came up a LOT (almost as much as Seesaw, LOL) and I decided it was time to give it a go!  Luckily, my friend Mr. Anderson and his first graders were up for the challenge of learning it, and we were all so happy with the results!  Go Adobe Voice!

To begin, you'll need to install the free app, and create an Adobe account.  You will need to sign in to each device once - it will keep you signed in!

We decided to use this app to let students share facts they learned about adaptations polar bears make to survive in their habitats.  However, there are about a zillion things you could do with Adobe Voice. You can download an educator's guide with ideas here.  I love the idea of using this as a presentation tool at the end of an inquiry project, or to have students tell about a STEM experiment or activity. They could also use it for simple storytelling - what a great way to encourage student voice and creativity!

New Chatterpix Ideas!

I absolutely LOVE these ChatterPix Kids ideas from Mrs. Risser's 1st grade at Arrowhead.  Her students studied Martin Luther King, Jr, then made an adorable art project of MLK.  The unit she used is called American Heroes Common Core Informational Reading and there are 14 different heroes highlighted in this pack from Tpt.  There are also tons of cute ideas HERE.  They then used ChatterPix Kids to make their art projects "talk" and share what they learned about Martin Luther King, Jr.  They turned out soooo great!!  This could work for any biography study - wouldn't it be fun to assign each student a person to research and tell about using ChatterPix Kids?

I also love how her students got "creative".  Look at the ChatterPix they made using one of their classmates' Minecraft Tshirt!  Haha!  Love it!

Research Project: Going Batty!

We started a cool research project in a 1st grade classroom using bats as our focus.  I am going to document the activities here, but you can take these ideas and apply to any topic you'd like your kids to research.

We started by reading the story Stellaluna by Janell Cannon.  You can read the book, or use this fun video from StorylineOnline.  (It's the lady from Kindergarten Cop!)



We then used the Scholastic News Let's Find Out! issue about bats and birds to learn a little more about the similarities and differences.  If you don't have access to this, I suggest checking it out! AWESOME leveled resources that are super great for using with an interactive whiteboard!  It is about $5 per student, but here's a hint: I barely ever used the paper copies, I just like accessing the digital tools (and cool iPad app!).  So order the minimum number of subscriptions (which is 5) and you could have access to this tool for around $25!  Wahoo!

We recorded our ideas into a Venn diagram to discuss the differences between bats and birds.  We made one whole group, then had the students use the Feltboard app to create their own Venn diagrams.  The whole group Venn diagram creation would be a great opportunity to use your interactive whiteboard!  Create a Venn diagram, letting kids share the pen during interactive writing. You can use a template from your interactive whiteboard software (like Mimio Notebook) or pull a Venn diagram pdf into the interactive whiteboard software to write on.  They can save these to their camera rolls and publish to their Kidblog or other digital portfolio, if they are keeping one of these (which is so cool!)

Another idea is to use the app PicCollage for Kids to have them make a collage of birds and bats and add a fact about each.  I use the PicCollage for Kids app so they can use the web image search to safely add images to their collages.

To begin making a PicCollage, they tap the + sign to create a new collage.  Once in the blank collage, use the + sign to add elements like photos from the camera roll, web images, text, stickers, etc.

Students can adjust their font, size, color, etc and type into the area where the X is marked below:

We also utilized this theme in math class, using the free app Doodle Buddy to have students create equations using bats and birds.  Their job to to make an equation where there were less birds than bats.

Again, these can be saved to the students' camera rolls and uploaded to a blog or digital portfolio.  Wahoo!

The next part of our research project will be using the YouTubeKids app to safely search for information on bats.  They will type in: bat facts and see a series of videos with facts about bats.  

We will give them time to watch several of the videos, making note of facts they are learning about bats.  They could take notes while watching.  We will then meet whole group to discuss what we learned and create an anchor chart to use for students to use for their writing project.  We will use pages from this fun bat unit that I downloaded for FREE at Teachers Pay Teachers.  (Click the image to visit the Tpt page.) 

We will create the adorable bat craftivity from this unit, as well, and connect it to a video.  More about that later ... :)