Make Beliefs Comix

I am always looking for new ways for students to be creative in written expression.  Make Beliefs Comix is a great FREE website  for doing this, they also have an  iTunes app available.  Make Beliefs Comix is a website which allows children of all ages  to create their own comics.  (Recommended for children on independently from about 8-108, younger children may require individual assistance). 

Utilizing Make Beliefs Comix, user can create 2-4 panel comics.  If the user wishes to make more panels, they can opt to create their story in parts.  Make Beliefs Comix has multiple language options including English, Spanish, French and more!  There are a limited number of characters, which can be a pro in terms of students being overwhelmed and spending too much time deciding on characters.  This can be a con if a student has a particular character in mind that is not an option.  Students are also unable to upload their own characters. There are also options to add objects, scenes and speech bubbles in addition to character(s).  Within each panel students may resize objects/characters and also flip them in the appropriate direction, you are unable to rotate though.  There are also a limited number of background colors available.  Most students and teachers with basic technological skills will find this site fairly easy to use and navigate.

Make Beliefs Comix is a free website, therefore the trade-off is that it is ad-based and there is no login and you are unable to save incomplete work.  Upon completion of work, the student may email it to themselves, their teacher or parent(s).  They may also print it or save it as a PDF.  

Make Beliefs Comix also provides educator resources including prompts and lesson plans along with parent resources.   

Below is a quick sample that I created in less than 5 minutes!  

When using with students, it may be a good idea to allow them to explore this site first to learn how to use the tools.  I would also recommend for first time use having students plan their comic strip out on paper before hand in order to stay focused when they are using Make Beliefs Comix. 

For more detailed directions, check out this tutorial on YouTube.  

How are you using Make Beliefs Comix in school or at home?  

Moving Beyond the Walls of the Classroom

As part of my Graduate program, Technology in Education this post and future posts may reflect a particular assigned topic.  This week I was to blog about "What the Internet is good for in terms of education." 

In terms of education, the Internet is goof for an infinite amount of information and tools. It is hard to take even a portion of these possibilities and bottle them up into a blog post.  Therefore I will focus on how the Internet has helped transform teaching and learning in my classroom. 

 The Internet provides students with tools so that they can achieve possibilities that were once inconceivable before the Internet.  The Internet can be utilized for finding information, designing lessons, skill building, and many others.    For example students can extend their knowledge beyond the classroom walls by researching questions that arise as they are reading texts. As a teacher one of the comprehension strategies we ask children to when reading a text is to ask questions, we want them curious about the text they are reading, especially when it is information text.  However, often their questions are not answered in the text.  Before the Internet, it was often difficult to answer these questions, which can deter students from using this strategy. 

Beyond finding information the Internet allows students to connect with others throughout their city, state, country and world!  Prior to the Internet, students may have been lucky to have a pen pal in another state and exchange a few letters over the period of several months.  Now students and entire classes can video chat, email and more all in the matter of seconds.  Students and teachers are able to connect, collaborate and learn from one another like never before.  

Students are also able to be authors and producers of their own work.  Utilizing blogs, video software, and more students are able to create and produce products and post them online for authentic audiences such as their teachers, classmates, families and communities.  Having authentic audiences able to provide immediate feedback and recognition teaches students that they do have a voice, a place in our world and that their voice is matters.   

What is most amazing about the Internet is how through the use of blogging, social media and other platforms educators and students have become connected and learning from one another like never before. 

In terms of negatives… Just as a marker is a wonderful tool for use in the classroom, it can also be used for evil (to write on walls, etc.)  It is our duty as educators to teach students Internet safety, what is appropriate, what is not appropriate, etc.  At some point our parents, babysitters, teachers etc. taught us it how to use a marker for good; what appropriate uses for markers are, when a pencil or crayon may be of better use, how to care for, etc.  Teaching children to use the Internet should be no different than teaching them how to use markers. 


What are the pros and cons of Internet use you are experiencing in your classroom?  What is your favorite use of the internet in education? 

Bloomin' Innovators & Leaders

“Innovation distinguishes between a leader and a follower” ~ Steve Jobs

As we move forward to preparing our students for the 21^st century, it is important that we are teaching children to think critically, to be leaders and be creators. We need to move beyond the traditions of just teaching information and teach children what to do with that information. I utilize Bloom’s Taxonomy as a model in both classroom instruction and when evaluating student progress with subject matter.  Bloom’s Taxonomy is a great way to differentiate and meet students’ individual needs.  Bloom’s Taxonomy is based on 6 cognitive levels of thinking. 

Remembering is the first or simplest level, remembering can be often be prompted by questions such as who, what, where, when, why .  When we ask children to memorize things, we are working with level one of their thinking skills. 

Understanding is the second level, understanding is applied when we ask students to rephrase or regurgitate information into their own words. 

Applying knowledge, this is transferring learning from one subject or project to another through application. 

Analyzing is the fourth level, such comparing and contrasting things such as characters.

Evaluating, such as being able to defend or challenge something.

Creating is the sixth and highest level of thinking according to Bloom's Taxonomy.  Creating includes things such as writing a unique story or making an art project that is one of a kind. 

 

 

I’ve put together a few of my favorite Bloom’s Taxonomy resources for you {many of them are FREEBIES}.  I’m looking forward to featuring many more posts as the school year begins on how I am incorporating Bloom’s Taxonomy into my classroom.  In the meantime, I would love to hear about what your favorite Bloom’s Taxonomy resources are!  What are your thoughts/experience on using Bloom’s Taxonomy in the classroom?

Hop on over to Technology Tailgate to check out one of my favorite teacher apps that assists me with Bloom’s Taxonomy. {here}

Great New FREE Lesson Resource

Quality FREE Lessons!

Great new FREE website   www.sharemylesson.com  launched as a collaborative resource to provide lessons aligned with the Common Core Standards. 
Check it out -> www.sharemylesson.com

Great article about sharemylesson {Click Below}

AFT Partners With Private Firm to Provide Common Standards Resources - Teacher Beat - Education Week

MLK Bulletin Board

Go-To Book

Stephanie from  is hosting a great "Linky Party" about your must have  Go-To book for teaching.  What a perfect topic?!  My must have book that has changed my teaching is "Launching the Writer's Workshop (Primary Grades) by Kristina Smekens and Linda Schmidt.  (The new revised primary book is now blue and the upper grades 3-12 book is yellow.) 

This book does an amazing job in giving you everything you need to successfully implement Writer's Workshop.  Management, ideas, anchor (example papers), mini lessons, cd with reproducibles, and more!  It has truly changed my life! I now feel like I am really teaching writing (not just having the kids write).  My entire district has adopted this book as our "bible" for writing.  We have Kristina (the author) or her sidekick Courtney come and present to our school each year on writing and the six-traits.  We could not be happier with them, they have done an amazing job at teaching us teachers how to teach writing effectively and painlessly.  Her website contains lots of great ideas too in the "Idea library."  Her conferences are well worth your your time if you ever have a chance to attend.   http://www.smekenseducation.com/

Friendship Building

I LOVE to take advantage of this fresh start in January by reviewing our classroom routines and expectations.  I tend to focus on the expectation I have that we are a positive community of learners.  I like to be proactive in this area as it seems like even the best of friends can suffer from cabin fever when we are stuck indoors for too many recesses together! My favorite resources for teaching compassion and community building skills is "Have You Filled a Bucket Today?" by Carol McCloud.

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Bucket Filler actions… *help others (without being asked) * use kind words *spread joy and good feeling *show love and happiness to others *give compliments *try your best *give second chances *accept one’s apologies *show compassion *show respect *show responsibility

Bucket Dipper actions… *say things to hurt others feelings *laugh at others *mocking others *being pessimistic *avoid helping

In September we read the book several times.  We all made a pledge to be “Bucket Fillers” (It was an option to pledge, the children did not have to make the pledge- however they all did :)  We made an adorable banner with our pledges on it (will post a pic soon!) We brainstormed many different ways to be bucket fillers.  We drew pictures and wrote a sentence telling another person how they had been a bucket filler for us.  When we return to school we will be reviewing and brainstorming bucket filling ideas. I will also introduce children to the following pages, so that they can honor the actions of others or themselves.  I plan on putting this as a choice for children to work on writing and will then hang their bucket filling ideas with our pledge banner from earlier in the year. 

These can be downloaded from here

More great resources below!

Click here for-> Link to Bucket Filling resources by bucketfiller101.com

Click here for-> Link to Short video clips created by kids on School Tube "Bucket Filling Moments" (These kids did a great job on these clips, check them out!My kids love watching them.

I would LOVE to hear if anyone else has done any "Bucket Filling" in their school and any new ideas that are out there!