Volume 2 Issue 10 February 2014
Microsoft
TIS and THAT Patricia Carey Hancock County
Teresa Murray Monongalia County
Valentine’s Day Students use WV Writes to practice writing for the Westest Other resourses to help students improve their composition skills.
Happy Valentines Day The history of Valentines Day began in the 3rd Century A.D.. The emperor, Claudius, had banned marriages to keep young men primed for war. A young priest, Valentine, married young couples secretly. He was sent to prison and while there he was given thank you notes from couples that he had married. He fell in love with the jailer’s daughter but was executed on February 14. He left a note to his loved one and signed it, “ From your Valentine.” Valentine’s Day was born. To this day, we send letters and cards to the people we love. This is a good example of why it is important to develop the skill of expressing our thoughts and feelings through writing. Often the initial and possibly the only impression you make is based on what you have written. Nobody knows what Father Valentine looked like, but through his writings we know that he was a
a kind and compassionate man. What you write is you, it takes your place when you are not there. That applies to resumes, mail, e-mail, reports, cards and yes even love letters possibly 17 centuries into the future. See the following site for some cute Valentine’s day activities. http://www.apples4theteacher.com/ holidays/valentines-day/
Digital Storytelling Valentine Apps
WV Writes As in years past, we are getting down to the crunch time for the Westest writing assessment. We are currently using the WV Writes program to edit, proof read, and score student practice compositions. Teachers have the choice of assigning descriptive, narrative, informative and persuasive prompts that are already available or using teacher written prompts. There are also prompts that have been used in the past and sample responses. These and many more resources can all be found at.: http://wvde.state.wv.us/search.html? q=writing+assessment&x=0&y=0 This program helps improve students’ writing skills by scoring their essays on organization, development, sentence structure, word choice/grammar usage and mechanics. An Iterative writing mode
can be turned on so that students can have their essays scored, while giving them narrative feedback. In this mode students can edit, revise and have it scored again, all the while improving their scores. Using WV Writes incorporates 21st Century learning skills and each essay could easily be used as a project based unit. Using the iterative mode, students can self assess and/or peer assess for formative assessment. After the first score, teachers could have a conference with the student to check their understanding of what they need to improve. A checklist is available for students to use before and after writing. Students could also share their essays with their classmates allowing them to see other samples of writing on the same topic. The writing rubric could be revised and used as a summative assessment.
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More Resources to Improve Student Writing Skills More Writing Resources http://thestorystarter.com/
There are many resources to help improve student writing. SAS Curriculum Pathways http://bit.ly/SASPath has interactive standards based resources for grades 6-12. It has a writing reviser and a writing drafter that helps students develop coherent sentences and paragraphs from organized ideas. Also, in SAS Curriculum Pathways is a writing planner which helps students generate ideas and organize them into a plan for writing. There are some very good apps for pre-writing or for students to use while writing a story. Sentence Builder has a free version that can be used for 3rd and 4th grade students for writing sentences while practicing parts of speech. https:// itunes.apple.com/us/app/sentencebuilder-foripad/id364197515?mt=8
Dragon Diction writes down spoken texts which can be used for students who struggle with writing. It is a good way to write down ideas before and during writing. https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/dragondictation/id341446764?mt=8
Ideas for writing is a creative writing app that has prompts and exercises to help with writer’s block. https:// itunes.apple.com/us/app/ideas-for-writingcreative/id529876147?mt=8
Inkvite –Social Story Writing is an app in which students can collaborate with up to 4 people in writing a story. It may be a good way for students to improve their writing by working with others. https:// itunes.apple.com/us/app/inkvite-social-story-
http://lesson-plans.theteacherscorner.net/ writing/ http://www.tapnik.com/brainstormer/ http://www.plagiarismchecker.com/ http://wvde.state.wv.us/teach21/ writingrubrics/
Writing Checklist Organization _____My focus is clear.
_____My purpose is clearly stated in a topic sentence. _____My ideas are summarized in a conclusion.
Development _____My main idea is supported with details and examples. _____My ideas are logically presented.
Sentence Structure _____My sentences are complete. _____My sentences vary in length and complexity.
Word Choice and Grammar Usage _____My word choice is vivid. _____My nouns, pronouns, verbs, adjectives and adverbs are used Correctly.
Mechanics _____My punctuation is correct. _____My capitalization is correct. _____My words are spelled correctly.
W ONDERFUL IDEAS R EVISE YOUR WORK I MAGINATION T ELL A STORY E XCITING
Just Write While most subjects in school require study and memorization, writing is unique. Basically there is no right or wrong in the expression of thoughts and ideas. Hatching a new idea in your imagination is exciting. The ability to communicate your thoughts through a well written, grammatically correct, story is rewarding. Impromptu, unstructured, “just write what you think or feel” activities encourage the student to create subject matter and rely solely upon their imagination. In short, the mirror image of the acronym WRITE will be:
EVERY TEACHER IS READING WONDERFUL WRITINGS !!!
Digital Storytelling: Children Telling Their Stories Online Our children are growing up more technologically savvy than ever. They are also more creative than ever. Digital storytelling can transform your students’ writing into a visual work of art that is filled with emotion and voice while allowing them to enhance their creative skills. Digital storytelling is the practice of taking a narrative and adding images, video, and sound to create a short movie. The resources available are endless. Also, digital stories can be created by groups of studies or by individuals. So, if you want to “beef up” your next writing lesson have the students create a digital story to share with the class. You can also share this with their parents during parent/teacher conferences. The students and the parents love it. Here are 5 free Digital Storytelling apps:
Tellagami
https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/tellagami/id572737805?mt=8
Videolicious
https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/videolicious/id400853498?mt=8
Screen Chomp Animoto
https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/screenchomp/id442415881?mt=8
https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/animoto-video-maker/id459248037?mt=8
Puppet Pals
https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/puppet-pals-hd/id342076546?mt=8
Digital Love: Must-Have Valentine’s Day Apps
Coming off the heels of a record-breaking holiday season for mobile app downloads, developers are trying to keep the momentum going through Valentine’s Day. According to the National Retail Federation, total spending for Valentine’s Day this year will reach $17.6 billion, up 12 percent from last year’s projected figure. Couple that with the fact that app usage has eclipsed time spent surfing the web on mobile devices and tablets, and it’s no wonder there’s been a seemingly larger influx of Valentine’s Day themed apps this year, ranging from where to make dinner reservations to important dates and events from your relationship so you never forget any of your special moments. Red Stamp With hundreds of eye-catching and customizable designs to choose from, skip the run-of-the mill greeting cards this year and send a personalized Valentine via e-mail or text with Red Stamp. You can still get your love note out for a nominal price that includes printing and postage. Requirements: iPhone, iPad, or iPod touch Price: Free http://www.redstamp.com/ https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/red-stamp-cards/id414561551?mt=8 Julius Hearts Cupcakes
https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.libiitech.cakesalon
This app allows your students to choose cupcake flavors, icing, and decorations to master the art of baking at different levels. Cute Cupcake App ($2) Valentine’s Day Coloring Book https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/valentines-coloring-book-valentines/id498158092?mt=8 This app makes it fun for lil ones to personalize and send ecards for Valentine’s Day. Coloring Book App ($2) Valentine’s Day Painter https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/kids-fingerpainting-valentines/id417899330?mt=8 Send art to anyone and everyone with this FREE Valentine’s Day heart Painting. App. (Free).