Another Website with Reading in the Target Language

This website is www.childtopia.com. Although it offers numerous activities such as games and drawing letters and numbers in different languages, it has an impressive collection of books in the target language. Each story has three comprehension questions at the end and comes with sound by clicking on "oral comprehension".
To start reading click on the link http://www.childtopia.com/index.php?module=home&func=coce&idioma=fra. For other languages such as Spanish, Catalan, Galician, or Basque, click on the flag at the top of the page.

Each language has about 30 stories that are at an easy-medium reading level. I use them with 2nd, 3rd, and 4th grades. First graders could probably read some of them too but probably need pre-reading preparation. I instruct students to select the oral comprehension option so they can hear the text read to them using headphones. It is also possible to select reading comprehension that has no sound. The multiple-choice questions pop up automatically at the end. There is also the option to click on the question tab at any time. The pictures are of high quality with some animation. There are navigation tabs to go back or forward at the bottom of each page.

To get rid of the advertisements on the sides there are different subscriptions available for about a $100 (school rate), prices are in Euros. This website is nevertheless very user friendly and helpful in the free version.

Skype in the Classroom in the Target Language

Skype is a great, free way to communicate using video-conferences with people near and far in your target language. In the immersion classroom I used it to communicate with students and teachers in France, Mexico, and across the United States from other immersion schools. It is fairly simple to use, the first step is to go on the website: http://www.skype.com/intl/en-us/home?intcmp=wlogo to sign up for a free account and to download the software.

I you do not have an integrated webcam, most new laptops do, you need to find one. Prices now start at about $30 up to $100. Popular brands are Logitech and Microsoft, I recommend at least 1.3 megapixels (HD) for better quality. An external microphone is also helpful when working with students.
Once logged in, look up the correspondent address and connect using the "video call" button. With a class I also use external speakers and project  the video on a big screen. The speed of the internet connection will be a factor important in the quality of the picture and sound.
The ideal is to start using video-conferences with a small presentation to get use to it, about 15 minutes. With a small class, students can take turns coming in front of the camera to introduce themselves. A group can make a short presentation about the class or the city. Once you have a reliable correspondent either here or abroad, you can move to more sophisticated presentations. One often-neglected use of Skype is to find somebody in the community who speaks the target language and is available to answer questions or speak about a topic of interest to your students.
For frequent users Skype has recently launched a beta version for educators: http://education.skype.com/ The goal is to facilitate the collaboration on projects and connection with other teachers.Teachers can join with their existing account. For advanced users there is the possibility to record Skype, which can be replayed later in class or posted on a website. Some of those tools are free such as: http://voipcallrecording.com/ or http://scribie.com/free-skype-recorder .

Reading in the Target Language

I recently discovered a free website that has books easy to read with the sound in different languages: http://www.professorgarfield.org/toon_book_reader/

This website has stories in French, Spanish, Russian, and Chinese that are easy to read. I started using it last week with second graders but plan on using it with first graders later this month  as well. Students select the language to display what stories are available.I assign the books students have to read. Students click on the book to start reading.

I instruct students to read each book twice: the first time they have to decode the words on the page, then they listen to the text read by clicking on "Read To Me". When they are finished, they click "Start Over" and read the book speaking softly without the sound in the headphones. This way I can check on their reading by walking around the computer lab.

This is a great website to practice reading in the target language.

World Maths Day 2011

World Maths Day is an event held once a year that promote numeracy with an international component. Students compete in friendly math games with students from all over the world for one minute at the time. The official competition starts on March 1 for 48 hours, check your local time because it is based on the Australian time zone. Until then, students can practice from school or at home.
To sign up, go on the World Maths Day website. Teachers can sign up their class, this year even teachers and parents can participate as well. Each person receive a unique username and password. Like last year, I have signed up students grades 1st through 5th. The first time I show the login process on the interactive board, next students get a slip of paper with their login info, then they try it and I provide help as needed. Most first graders are able to log in with little help, the other grades do it independently. I instruct them to take the slip of paper home and to memorize their login.
Students' login are easy to manage because they can be printed directly or exported in CSV format. The only problem is to edit a student because they can only be added or deleted, although I was not able to delete the one I wanted to, no corrections allowed, at least for now.

One of the neat feature is the opportunity to design one's own avatar. Once logged in, students can click on the image on the top left to modify the different features, such as hair or accessories. In class I limit the time students are allowed to spend on their avatar to 5 minutes the first time, then 2 minutes the following sessions. I remind them they can access it from their house to fix it.

The first time we spend about 15 minutes to log in and get started. The subsequent time we use 5 or 10 minutes at the end of class time. Practice opens a month before the competition. Last year we modified the schedule to have each class come for 30 minutes, however the server became inaccessible for a good part of the day due to the volume of traffic. I am sending a message to all parents to let them now about the event. Parents can email me if their student has trouble logging in from home.

This year there is also an app for iPod, iPad, and iPhone but it is a separate account. New as well is the Math Spelling Day on March 3 but we will not do it in class because it is in English. Our students start English the second semester of second grade and I try to focus on the target language.

Another Tech Challenge of the Month for Teachers

For January the tech challenge was to design a video clip using Animoto (http://animoto.com/). The purpose of those tech challenges is to invite classroom teachers to use a new technology tool (e.g., http://lingtlanguage.com/) or revisit an existing one (e.g., personal webpage).
After a break it is always good to review the classroom procedures. To make it quick and interesting I turned to Animoto that offers free 30-second video clips when signing up for a free account. Unlimited videos in HD are available for a fee. The design process is fairly straightforward, it consists in 4 steps. The first one is to select the background or style among 20+ designs. Next is the upload of your own pictures and/or video clips. The site also has a bank of pictures and clips to choose from. For 30 seconds a maximum of 12 items is recommended, in the clip below I used 7. The next screen allows to select the music, here again from a bank of music or your own MP3. It is easy to navigate back and forth between images and sound using the tabs displayed on the left. There are several popup windows along the process to promote the paid version, which is understandable but annoying. The last step is to finalize the video, with the option to customize the image pacing and to change the style one last time. The link to watch the final product is sent to the email link to the account a few minutes later. Videos are stored on the user's account for embbeding or sharing.

I start the lesson by showing the video, then I ask questions on which procedures students recognized and their importance. Upper grades are expected to provide more complete answers in the target language. We spend a couple of minutes discussing those elements before watching the clip a second time.

Working with Fractions in the Target Language

These are great activities to work with fractions for grades 3 and 4, although grades 2 and 5 could also use it. The first one shows on the left a fraction using colors and on the right the numerical representation to be completed. It accepts equivalent fractions but asks to represent the fractions exactly as shown to move on. This activity is excellent to familiarize students with recognizing and writing fractions. The first time I demonstrate on the interactive board how it works.
There is a drop down box at the bottom to switch language (French, Spanish, and Chinese).
http://nlvm.usu.edu/en/nav/frames_asid_104_g_1_t_1.html

Activity in French

Activity in Spanish

The second one shows a fraction and a circle that students have to divide using the button below to show the same as written.They have to match the number of parts with the denominator. It also accepts equivalent fractions but require the exact one to move on.
http://nlvm.usu.edu/en/nav/frames_asid_103_g_1_t_1.html

French

Spanish

Two-digit Subtractions in the Target language

To participate in this lesson, students have to be familiar with base-10 blocks. Teachers can either use class sets of manipulatives or use online sets such as the one for this lesson: http://nlvm.usu.edu/en/nav/frames_asid_155_g_2_t_1.html?from=category_g_2_t_1.html to conduct a whole class demonstration. It is the National Library of Virtual Manipulatives (NLVM) hosted by Utah State University. The homepage has dozens of activities that can be viewed either in English, French or Spanish. Switch the language in the box at the bottom of the screen.

For this lesson students click on the link that I posted on the grade-level page with the language already selected. I instruct them to use the correct number of columns, in this case 2 by clicking on the down arrow. Before students go on the computers, I demonstrate one subtraction on the interactive board asking questions such as what do we have to do when there is no more blue units (or cubes)? What happens to the numbers on the right handside? Once I have modeled one with the help of students coming to the board, I show them how to move to the next problem. I remind them to use the minimum number of moves.

 

When students are working, I circulate to see who needs help. Some students need individual help to make it through the first few problems. Others need reminders because they exchange tens when not needed.