Edmodo and Discussion

Edmodo is obviously a great resource to use in the classroom in many different ways.  I just wanted to share one way that I use Edmodo and how I use it to promote discussion.

Edmodo is a great way for students to discuss their self-selected reading text.  I created small groups with in my class group.  These groups are heterogeneous so that the students can gain information from each other and learn about a variety of different books.  By grouping the student heterogeneously, the students can build off of each other, gain vocabulary, and learn about books that they might not even be capable of reading.

Basically, every week I post a question or a topic for them to discuss about what they are reading.  The students have to post about their book and then respond to two other people's posts within the week.  Not only is this pushing their reading to the extra step, but it is integrated reading and writing.  It is also a great way to promote literature discussion.  Sometimes, I even post something during the week to get them thinking at a higher level if their discussion seems to be surface level.  The students participate in literature circles online through technology!  They love getting to share what they are reading and learning about other good books from fellow classmates.

Just a quick idea!
-h

Word clouds in the content areas

Who knew word clouds could have so many uses? Earlier, I posted about using word clouds as an activating strategy. Another way that I use word clouds in my classroom is when learning content area vocabulary. After learning vocabulary words in Social Studies, the students got in groups and made a list of words that describe their designated vocabulary word. Then they created a Wordle using Wordle.net. I printed these off for an activity the next day. At the beginning of the next lesson, I posted the student-made wordles around the room and numbered them. The students then did a silent activity where they walked around the room and wrote down which wordles they thought went with each vocabulary word. We discussed their responses, and I wrote the word on each wordle. I kept these posted until their assessment. This ended up being a great way to review vocabulary in a visual fashion.

-h