Portfolio+for+Amanda+Holender

= **Amanda's Web 2.0 Portfolio ** = =//6th Grade Literature// =

Twitter: @ iherdcats
Though I'm not a new teacher, I'm new to the tools being explored! Thanks for letting me join you all!

=**Week 5: Blogs** =



Here is a picture of the blog I started several weeks ago; admittedly, I have not been good about keeping up on my posts, but I've been so busy reading everyone else's blogs! If you would care to visit, click on the picture! (Please?!) And leave a comment on the "What Are You Reading?" post because I'm still trying to compile a list of educator's MUST-READS!

Week 4: Wetoku

Coming Soon! I haven't forgotten you NTBootCamp!

Week 3: StoryBird

I'll be honest, here. I'm completely stumped on this week's assignment. I understand StoryBird, how to use it, how to embed it, and how students can use it in the literature classroom. The thing is, I'm not a person that can write creatively, quickly. I've poured over the beautiful artwork, but I cannot "write". (There is a lesson here for me, I'm sure - If I cannot do this "on demand", how can I expect my students to be able to do it). I'm thinking I will find a collection of my favorite poems and find artwork that compliments the theme. It might take me a while, though.

If anyone has any ideas or tips on how to overcome this, please let me know!

A

Week 2: VoiceThread

I created my first VoiceThread using some images from a Google Docs presentation on Wordle! Two birds with one stone!

media type="custom" key="9992583"

Here is the link: [|Wordle Ideas: A VoiceThread]

====1. **Poetry VoiceThread**: Use VoiceThread as a way for students to present their original poems or poems of their favorite poets. The can use original or found artwork/photos. This could be an alternative to a Poetry Unit test.====

====2. **Visual/Audio Portfolio**: Students could take pictures of their tangible projects or screenshots of their digital projects and present them in an end-of-the-year VoiceThread as they narrate their experiences and growth.====

I <3 VoiceThread!
Thanks again, Lisa!

= = =Week 1: Wordle=


 * [[image:All_Summer_in_a_Day_-_Bradbury.JPG width="800" height="440" align="left"]] ||
 * For this Wordle, I copied and pasted the text of Ray Bradbury's short story "All Summer in a Day". I love the idea of using this as a pre-reading activity! The students can look at the Wordle and make predictions about who and what the story might be about. I would use this for any story or poem that I can find online. I would also use this to discuss connotation and denotation: the students can try to identify the mood of the story based on which words are most prevalent. Already, the possibilities are incredible. ||


 * [[image:Richard_Peck_Introduction.JPG width="800" height="398"]] ||
 * This Wordle is made from the text of Richard Peck's introduction to his book of short stories //Past Perfect, Present Tense//. Like the first Wordle, We could use this to predict and also to look for main ideas. I would probably show this Wordle to the class before reading and AGAIN after reading to help them find the main ideas. ||

Though I don't have an example for it, I also see having the students use Wordle by pasting in the text of their essays/writing and looking for overused words. Also, they can look for the main ideas of their own writing to make sure they have not wandered in their focus! Of course, this would be a great get-to-know-you exercise at the beginning of the year.
 * [[image:Wintered_Sunflowers.JPG width="800" height="426"]] ||
 * This Wordle is from the text of a poem titled "Wintered Sunflowers" by Richard Snyder. This would be a good pre-reading excercise for predicting but also for identifying difficult vocabulary. Also, I see an interesting conversation stemming from the fact that there are no apparent "repeats" of words..... ||

Awesome program! Thanks, Lisa!