Digital Blended Learning in K-2

How does Digital Blended Learning work with Kindergarten, 1st grade or 2nd grade? 

I am proud to share this new integrated unit 

as a freebie for one week only as a BACK TO SCHOOL special!

Living or Nonliving Unit

I integrated Reading, Writing, Listening, Speaking, Technology and of course...SCIENCE!  My favorite subject.

With just a little pre-teaching, your little ones will love the independence of Digital Blended Learning.

Try being a student and join my class here with this code: GHMU463

Right now, I like the goformative.com platform for younger students better than google classroom.  Plus, students can log in with their google classroom account!  This platform allows a teacher to upload content, like a pdf and make it interactive!  I can add a video to a section of the PDF or a text box and best of all a drawing box!  Unfortunately, I have not found a platform that allows students to respond with audio...I really want this feature for my ESL students.  So, if you find a platform that integrates a students audio response let me know.  Having a young student log into audacity.com, save to their google drive and post is just too challenging for most young elementary students.

All the resources are included or freely available as apps or downloads.  Included in this download is an editable 4 day lesson plan overview with center ideas.

The lessons are editable and meant to show you how to integrate the standards, where to model, practice as a group and which activities are for students to complete independently.  For my school system, this unit falls on between the 7th - 9th week of school.  As a result, this unit will take longer than 4 days as I teach procedures of working independently with these technology centers.

Ebooks are part of the unit!  I created this nonfiction Living or Nonliving eBook.

This ebook is printable, projectable, and downloadable to devices!  You will need at least one teacher read aloud with this unit and this ebook would fit that need perfectly.  Also included are other free eBooks links.  One link on the free teacher app GetEpic.com is perfect for a center.  Students can listen and follow along in English and Spanish! Many books have a quiz too.  I love this app for my older "newbie" students from Spanish speaking countries.  It quickly shows me the students home language literacy level.  Best of all getepic.com is completely free for teachers and librarians!

An important part of RLA and ESL is teaching students how to speak in complete sentences.  I created these speaking and writing prompts to fit the bill!

There are teacher models with examples of teacher answers AND a easy to use WIDA style speaking rubric to assess students speaking at the end of the unit.  In addition, I added these differentiated writing pages.

One of my favorite part of this unit are the photo card packet.  It is packed with resources to use whole group, small group and in centers.  From direct teaching to sorting to playing a game of Snakes and Ladders!

It would be hard to be an ESL teacher without pre-teaching needed vocabulary!  I love whole brain teaching and love to have visual of TPR move to reinforce the vocabulary.  So students learn a body movement to each word, see a visual of the body movement with the printed word, hear and say each word...basically it engages the whole brain!  Plus the kids love it.  They love this fast paced interactive teaching strategy.  So, here are VOCABULARY CARDS with the Whole Brain support.

For those Kindergarteners learning to identify upper and lowercase letters the first 9 weeks of school, I included direct instruction, practice and independent worksheets.  In addition, I included a Bingo game to use as whole group, small group, or even as additional center practice.

Okay, if that isn't enough, there is a culminating activity!  This adds rigor to your Digital Blending Environment.  Teach students how to APP SMASH!  This is where student use two or more apps to create a product.  Here is an example of a simple app smash:

Here is a more challenging app smash:

Imagine stringing your student videos into one big video to display during back to school night! Or simple keep these in the students google drive as a portfolio item.

Have fun and enjoy this freebie for 1 week!  Follow my blog for other limited time freebies! James and I are planning a new DBL for 3-8th grade covering our very unusual 2016 Presidential Election:  Non-Partisan Propaganda Patrol!

Jill