Student Created Gifts

Students are always excited to give a family member a gift but it can be tricky to find something that is feasible to create in a classroom, everyone can use and doesn't break the bank. This year my class decorated mugs to give as holiday gifts and they came out great!

Every student got a white mug and decorated the mug however they chose using Sharpie markers.

Students could choose any person to receive their mug and any occasion to celebrate. Many students chose Christmas or Hanukkah, but one student chose her mom's birthday and another decided it would be a "just because" gift. 

After the mugs were decorated I brought them home and baked them at 400 degrees for an hour to set the ink.

The finished mugs were lovely and students were so excited to wrap their gifts and present it to the recipient! 

Mother's Day Gift

The class was so excited to make a gift for their mom for 

Mother's Day!

Each student got a plate and using permanent markers, carefully added a design. Students were very careful to choose their mom's favorite colors.

I brought the plates home and baked them to set the design. I baked the plates at 350 degrees for 30 minutes.

The finished products are beautiful! Many students were a little dismayed and concerned that the baking faded some of the colors, particularly green and blue.

Happy Mother's Day!

Mother's Day Cards With The Tellagami App

 An early Happy Mother's Day to all the fantastic moms! We created Mother's Day cards, but of course, added a 21st century twist.

First, students wrote a script in Google docs containing the message they wanted to send to their mom. After editing and practicing reading aloud, students were ready for the next step.

Using the Tellagami app, students created an avatar that looked like them. Then they set the avatar somewhere. 

What I love about this app is you can take a photo and set the avatar somewhere, real, like the classroom! This adds an element of Augmented Reality, one of my favorite new learning tools.

Next students read their script into the app, attaching their voice to their avatar.

Once they finished, a link to their video was generated. Students took the link and inserted it into a QR Code Generator. Then, they copied the URL of their QR Code and inserted the image of the QR Code into a Google doc, which I printed for them. In order to scan your special message, use any free QR Code reader. I like the i-nigma app, but there are literally hundreds to choose from.

The final step was pasting the QR Code onto their card, adding stickers, decorations and a personalized handwritten message to mom! Everyone enjoyed this project and the Tellegami app (free!) was a big hit! Happy Mother's Day!

Here is a link to an adorable sample gami and here is another! 

Cinco de Mayo Fiesta

We wrapped up our unit about Cinco de Mayo with a fun fiesta on the 5th of May!

We learned about the significance of Ojo de Dios and each student got to create one. 

Later we read a short story about pinatas, and then everyone got to create their own paper bag pinata. They were stuffed with candy and sent home to be smashed.

Our final activity of the day was a delicious snack of chips and salsa, which every student really enjoyed! 

Happy Valentine's Day!

We have been working the last week or so on a special Valentine's Day project. First, students had to write a Valentine message in Google docs. 

Next, I recorded each student wishing their Valentine recipient a happy Valentine's Day. Each movie was uploaded to YouTube and the privacy setting was changed to "anyone with link can view" (meaning it can't be searched or found, so the movies could remain a bit of a surprise!) I emailed each student their link and they went to goo.gl, shortened the URL and created a QR Code. Then, students copied the URL for the QR Code and pasted it into their document. We printed all docs and QR codes and glued them to our Valentine greeting. 

A QR Code is a type of matrix bar code. QR stands for “quick response” and the code is able to hold significantly more data than a traditional bar code. Additionally, the code can link directly to text, a website, a telephone number, a vCard, a video and more!

We have been using QR Codes in the classroom all year, as it is one of my favorite learning and teaching tools! I did a TED Talk about QR Codes last year and still find them to be extremely engaging. The QR scanner app we use in the classroom is called i-nigma, but there are many other free QR scanner apps available. QR codes can be scanned using any smartphone and most tablets. If you don't have access to any of those devices, they can also be scanned on a Mac or PC using QReader, QuickMark or QR Code Reader.

If you have any challenges scanning your child's special Valentine QR Code, please shoot me an email and I will gladly help!