Five for... What Day Is It Anyway?

It's already... egads!.... SUNDAY! How did that happen? I had every intention of joining Doodlebugs for Five for FRIDAY... sigh!

My five are VERY random this week! I'm keeping up with the September Teacher Photo Challenge on Instagram, and my five are from there.

1. Yep, that's my alarm clock! What time do you get up? Do you hit "snooze" or are you a one shot and get up person? I usually wake up get waked up before the alarm; no snoozing for me... two hungry fur babies see to that!

2. See my small whiteboard? I teach THREE different preps of Language Arts and do NOT have anywhere near the board space that I would like. Sometimes I'd like to be able to SAVE something for the next day's lesson. I use LOADS of chart paper and digital paper for lessons that carry over from one day to the next. I used to complain about ALL the board space that I had in my previous room; now I'm complaining I don't have enough... sigh!

3. Do you grade papers with RED ink? I admit that I do. I know research says that RED for grading is intimidating and other colors are better, but.... a RED pen is a tool of my trade!

4. I blogged about Word Clouds and Wordle.net in particular on Thursday. I had to share another word cloud today. This was created using an app on my Smartphone. The app is called iLanguage and is available for the Android platform if anyone is interested. I've been having fun making quick word cloud puzzles, saving them, and sending them to my email for use in class. Here's one for you to solve.

5. I had to share my sweet Rosie's love letter. She made my day!

Be sure to stop by Doodlebugs' blog for more Five for FRIDAY posts.

Throwback Thursday: Word Clouds

Welcome to...

What is Throwback Thursday? How does it work, you might ask? Simply look through your PURR-fect Previous Posts, perhaps a particular favorite of yours, and re-post it! Then add the TBT badge to your post and include your link below! Purr-fectly easy and simple! Your post doesn't have to be from LOOOONNNGGG ago; it can be from last month or even earlier this week. And if you don't have a post to share, perhaps an old photo or two from WAY BACK will do! Even a favorite pin is PURR-fect! Just join in the Throwback fun!

This post first appeared on The Teacher's Desk 6 on April 8, 2013. I hadn't yet learned how to link graphics with a clickable web address, but I had figured out how to embed a Pinterest pin and a YouTube video.

I just had to blog about word clouds. I am WILD about them! 

I discovered them several years ago and have used them in my classroom, both for decoration and for instruction, ever since. If you're not familiar with what a word cloud is take a trip over to Projects by Jen. She's best known for her Guess the Wordle daily word cloud. Each day she posts a brand new word cloud for students all over the world to puzzle out.

My fivers LOVE this! It's the way we begin each Language Arts class. In addition, Jen has loads of tips and tricks for using and working with word clouds, including additional add-on programs to get REALLY creative with them.

There are many websites at which you can make word clouds. Each has its pro's and con's. I recommend trying them all to find the one perfect for you. Here is a listing of some of the more popular cloud generators on the internet:

• Wordle http://www.wordle.net
• Tagxedo http://www.tagxedo.com/
• ABCya (kids) http://www.abcya.com/word_clouds.htm
• Word It Out! http://worditout.com/
• Tag Crowd http://tagcrowd.com/

One of my favorite ways of using word clouds is at the beginning of the school year. During the first week of school, I always assign my sixers to write a single paragraph autobiography. I teach mini-lessons about paragraph formation, the six traits of writing, editing, writing process, word processing, etc. Once they have completed their paragraph, including saving it on a flash drive, they upload it to http://www.wordle.net, the word cloud generator that I prefer. The ensuing word clouds are printed, framed, and displayed outside out classroom. Additionally, I take a digital photo of each word cloud and compile them into a video that I run for Open House, parent conferences, and any time throughout the year that we have something special going on in the building.


This year I had my fivers complete Word Cloud Book Reports. What fun they had! Plus there was some great thinking going on: decisions about what words to include, what not to include, colors and fonts that helped convey a particular meaning. The finished product made for an attractive hallway display that sparked a lot of comments from parents and visitors. If you're interested in doing this project with your class, it is available in my TpT Store. The link is listed below the graphic. In the packet are directions, websites, suggestions, and two planning sheets.

http://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Store/The-Teachers-Desk-6

Jen no longer hosts the Wordle a Day website; however, I do still use her materials. Before she closed that portion of her site her followers were able to purchase her wordles for use offline. Unfortunately, the materials are no longer available. I still have my students make their autobiography wordles and I still use the Word Cloud Book Report. In fact, my sixers are working on the book report right now. Here is one that Hannah completed just today. Can you guess what book she read?

NOW IT'S YOUR TURN TO THROWBACK...

Tried It Tuesday: Autobiographical Wordles and a Giveaway Reminder

It's time to link up with Fourth Grade Flipper for...

... and with Technology Tailgate for ...

This week my fifth graders and I tried Autobiographical Wordles. "What's that?" you say. Why it's a great way to integrate technology with the writing process.

First we reviewed the writing process MY WAY. I add peer conferencing into the standard process that these students have worked with for years. I also explain my writing process clipchart and what we will be doing with it.

And we go over the six traits of writing via the acronym MOVIES.

Next we discuss what makes a great paragraph and the hallmarks of the genre autobiography. Finally, they write an autobiographical paragraph via the writing process. Once I have read and OK'd each paragraph, each fifth grader word processes his/her paragraph and saves it in the class file on the network.

Next I introduce what a word cloud is via Wordle.net. Once the fifth graders are comfortable with this website via my demonstration, they are encouraged to "play" with it independently. Once they are able to maneuver through the Wordle website, I show them how to copy/paste their paragraphs into the Wordle site to make their autobiographical word clouds.

Here are their creations...



And that's what we tried this past week! How 'bout you? Anything technology related? Check out all the great posts over at Fourth Grade Flipper and Technology Tailgate for more fun.
Before you go...

I am happy to offer you the chance to obtain your very own Classroom Friendly Supplies pencil sharpener in your choice of color (there is even a pink one available). Just enter the giveaway at this blog post between now and 11:59pm Nov. 27, 2013. On Thanksgiving Day I will announce the winner of the World's BEST Sharpener in a blog post and by email. The winner must have a U.S. mailing address. Good luck!
Happy Teaching, Angela The Teacher's Desk 6

Wild about Word Clouds

I just had to blog about word clouds. I am WILD about them! 

I discovered them several years ago and have used them in my classroom, both for decoration and for instruction, ever since. If you're not familiar with what a word cloud is take a trip over to Projects by Jen. She's best known for her Guess the Wordle daily word cloud. Each day she posts a brand new word cloud for students all over the world to puzzle out.

My fivers LOVE this! It's the way we begin each Language Arts class. In addition, Jen has loads of tips and tricks for using and working with word clouds, including additional add-on programs to get REALLY creative with them.

There are many websites at which you can make word clouds. Each has its pro's and con's. I recommend trying them all to find the one perfect for you. Here is a listing of some of the more popular cloud generators on the internet:

• Wordle http://www.wordle.net
• Tagxedo http://www.tagxedo.com/
• ABCya (kids) http://www.abcya.com/word_clouds.htm
• Word It Out! http://worditout.com/
• Tag Crowd http://tagcrowd.com/

One of my favorite ways of using word clouds is at the beginning of the school year. During the first week of school, I always assign my sixers to write a single paragraph autobiography. I teach mini-lessons about paragraph formation, the six traits of writing, editing, writing process, word processing, etc. Once they have completed their paragraph, including saving it on a flash drive, they upload it to http://www.wordle.net, the word cloud generator that I prefer. The ensuing word clouds are printed, framed, and displayed outside out classroom. Additionally, I take a digital photo of each word cloud and compile them into a video that I run for Open House, parent conferences, and any time throughout the year that we have something special going on in the building.


This year I had my fivers complete Word Cloud Book Reports. What fun they had! Plus there was some great thinking going on: decisions about what words to include, what not to include, colors and fonts that helped convey a particular meaning. The finished product made for an attractive hallway display that sparked a lot of comments from parents and visitors. If you're interested in doing this project with your class, it is available in my TpT Store. The link is listed below the graphic. In the packet are directions, websites, suggestions, and two planning sheets.

http://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Store/The-Teachers-Desk-6

Happy Teaching,
Angela
The Teacher's Desk 6