Oct 25, 2015

Who Am I Project

Teachers!  Here is a project your students can create with a Halloween theme even if you do not wish to highlight a Halloween theme in your classroom.  It is called Guess Who I Am, and there are many different ways that your students can complete this project and have fun with it.

Here is an example of a finished sample project that I just completed using a video creation tool that I just learned about called Stupeflix.  Stupeflix is very simple to use.  You can also apply for an education account and be able to add up to 100 students for free!  Here is a very snazzy video tutorial about how to use Stupeflix, but basically you choose a theme and add photos, videos, and/or text to your storyboard, preview your video, then publish!



Here is the graphic organizer/sentence frame for the Who Am I Project, and here is a mask template that I found at freecoloringpages.co.uk.

There are many other ways you could have your students create this project.  Last year in my classroom, I printed out the mask template for each student, and I had them decorate the mask.  Then I had them handwrite their paragraphs using the graphic organizer.  They cut out their masks and glued them onto a final paper including their writing, and each day I read a few aloud to the class so the class could guess who the classmate was.  Then I hung them on the wall for others to see.  

Another idea is to have students create a Google Slides presentation with an image of their designed masks and writing.  The slides presentation could be shared with the class by the teacher so others could guess who.

I'm sure you have many more ideas for this project too! If so, please share!  I'd love to hear about them, and I'd love to see examples of this project too!  This project is loads of fun, and it definitely involves student creation and creativity!



Oct 22, 2015

Google Cardboard

What is Google Cardboard?

Google Cardboard is a fold-able cardboard viewer that is used to view virtual reality apps. And what is virtual reality?  Virtual reality lets you view the world in 3D!

Assembled Google Cardboard VR


One of the places you can purchase Google Cardboard is on amazon.com.  It costs about $20.  Then you download virtual reality apps onto your iPhone or Android device, place your iPhone into the viewer, and you can tour the world in 3D.

Here is a video that explains a little more about Google Cardboard.  This video was created in June of 2014 and the app that is presented in the video is now a little bit different, but it is still awesome!

I’ve been taking Google Cardboard into second grade classrooms to coincide with their unit of study on maps. You can take an urban hike using the Google Cardboard app, and on your hike you will visit Venice, Rome, Monte Carlo, Paris, London, Tokyo, Jerusalem, and the Great Barrier Reef!

To preview the lesson, I created a tour using Google Tour Builder.  Here is the link to the tour of the Urban Hike.  After the hike, I explained the use of the Google Cardboard.  Make sure to explain to students to be careful when walking as you cannot see where you are going when you have the viewer up to your face.  It would be helpful to clear a space in the classroom for students to use when viewing.

After students had an opportunity to take the urban hike, I gave them paper to write about where they visited.  Here is the writing activity on a Google Document that you can share if you have your students on Chromebooks. Since I only had one Google Cardboard viewer, each student was able to view the urban hike for about two minutes.  I also printed and laminated pictures of the places they could view on the urban hike to assist them with their writing.

Untitled image.jpg

There are many other virtual reality apps that work with Google Cardboard.  If you search Google Cardboard, you will get a pretty good list of them, and I’m sure many more are being created!  There are roller coaster apps, an app showing Paul McCartnery in concert where you are on stage with Paul and you wear headphones to listen to “Live and Let Die.”  I have found apps on the Solar System, and a narrated walking tour in New York City!  Here is a great article about the Top 20 Google Cardboard apps.

So check out Google Cardboard!  It is lots of fun for adults too! I think I know some people in my family who are going to get Google Cardboard for a gift this holiday season!