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Spring and Earth Day Poetry

3/23/2017

This week marked the beginning of Spring, and even though it's warm all year 'round in Mumbai I still wanted to celebrate.

We brainstormed quite a bit to get started, which is always a bit frustrating for these girls. They like to dive right in to using the computers. We came up with some words that have to do with springtime and beauty and taking care of our earth. I had them think of a beautiful place they have visited and we came up with a list.

They also used a springtime and Earth Day word list I linked to from our Symbaloo webmix if they needed extra help or ideas.

First, we tackled acrostic poems. They didn't seem to have done these before and it was new for them. We chose our topic word and brainstormed words to go with it. Using ReadWriteThink's tool, one girl made her own about earth and the others collaborated together and typed the same poem on their own computers about Spring.

I told them that my kids love to give acrostic poems to others as gifts. If they ever want to give someone a birthday present and don't have any money, they can always write an acrostic poem using that person's name and write words about them. They seemed to like that idea.

Electricity must be saved, Animals should be respected, Recycle and reduce the trash, Thank for every living and non living thing.

Next we attempted Haiku's. These were harder and a good challenge. They had learned the concept but hadn't really been able to practice. ReadWriteThink's haiku tool makes it really easy and there was a lot of clapping out syllables until they got it just right.

We finished by working in Storybird on Spring and Earth Day books to be completed next time.

Word Play

3/2/2017

In todays’ outreach efforts my theme was WORDS. We started with playing the Heads Up app and the girls loved it. Each took a turn putting the phone on their forehead while the other girls tried to get her to guess what it was. It was most interesting for me to watch what they knew vs. what they didn’t. Elephant and taxi, for example, were easy. Several words (which I sadly can't remember) that were commonplace for me are just not part of their experience.

Popcorn!

Next, I used my Word Yahtzee die and they each rolled a letter and took two minutes to write down as many words that begin with that letter. Some used names of friends or nearby places. Others used common objects. It’s tricky thinking under pressure like that. I found myself struggling with A words.

We then used flashcards of common colors and classroom objects and they had to act out what the object was. One girl had “tape” and we struggled guessing it until she ran into the next room and grabbed some newspaper and started wrapping an item like a present. Perfect.

The girls then experimented with word clouds. We had a few technical issues so I wasn’t able to save their work, but they took the words they had gathered and created a variety of word cloud shapes and using different colors using Tagul and ABCYa. We’ll have to come back to that because I love word clouds as a learning tool.

We turned that same words list into word search puzzles and practiced solving them. We did a bit of work on our Storybird stories and did some listen-and-repeat activities within BrainPop ESL.

Like any other kids, they don’t like doing things that are hard and would rather jump around to different activities, and I’m still exploring the right balance between giving choice and options and having them focus on a hard task and see it through.

All in all, they reinforced many skills today without even realizing it (navigation, typing, copy/paste, customizing, vocabulary, explaining, writing, fine motor skills, etc.).

Binary Valentines and Offline Coding

2/9/2017

In the spirit of Valentines Day, I challenged the girls to make hearts using the binary alphabet similar to these. It was a concept they caught on to very quickly and needed little guidance. I'm told that Hindi, which many of them speak, is at its core a binary language so maybe that's in part why.

Using the ASCII binary alphabet, they chose three colors of beads: one for 0, one for 1, one for a space. Some did their name, some did the name of a friend, some did the word LOVE. This activity helps with foundational coding concepts and also improves fine motor skills.

Today I only had 3 girls which was perfect to practice offline coding using the Robot Turtles board game. It's made for young children, which I told them, but it really reinforces some foundational coding concepts that make it easier when we do more challenging coding online. They liked it, probably because I kept it fast-paced and we increased difficulty quickly by adding in new challenges. I liked that they became even more confident using basic commands and seeing immediate results from their program.

Storybird

12/15/2016

I've been wanting to have the girls try Storybird for awhile and today was the day. I've used this site for a few years and have taught a creative writing class built around it. The reason I like it so much is that it spurs creativity and reverses the usual writing process. Usually when writing, the story is thought up first and then illustrated. This site pools collections from professional illustrators together and users select which illustrations they will use...and then craft their story from it. I love this idea and the illustrations are beautiful.

Part of the fun of working with these girls is trying new things and seeing how they'll do. I try not to give too many directions or parameters and I watch closely what their thought process is. We read a book I had written using this tool just to get them thinking. They then got started choosing their artwork and adding some text. Some got started right away, others struggled.

One girl kept asking me, "What do I write?" Staring at a blank page is hard for any of us. Part of the magic of today was watching them get going, glance at their neighbor's ideas, take the plunge and start to write. When it came time to wrap things up, most wanted to keep going. They were genuinely proud of their efforts and we high-fived on being published authors.

Here are their books. Not bad for a first draft in an hour's time!

Stop Motion

12/1/2016

Today was all about Stop Motion! I'm pretty sure this was a new concept for the girls. They've taken heaps of photos and videos using a device of some sort, but this is different.

To provide context, we discussed animation and how it used to be made using many different drawings, strewn together to depict motion. We then took photos and pieced them together to make movies. We made still things–solid things–move.

One of my goals with these girls is to foster their creative and innovative spirits. They are extremely bright and have many who care for them. I want to build on all of that and give them even more opportunity to think in ways they may not do very often. I brought a few piles of small objects (cubes, Jenga bricks, and Brain Flakes). I gave them a very short how-to on the Stop Motion app and showed them a few examples. Then I stood back while they tried, adjusted, and tried again.

Stop Motion takes patience, steadiness, and perseverance. It doesn't come together after just one try. One girl became frustrated, even bored, and asked to do something else. I encouraged her to keep trying and then she wouldn't stop. She got into it and changed the effects of her Jenga tower structure, background, and took great pride in her work.

That's what it's about.

Here are a few examples, made by them with very little help from me. I offered encouragement and later did a few minor technical edits before publishing. This work is theirs.

Watch all their videos here (they are super short and you can see their thought process evolve).

EAL Practice and Support

11/17/2016

Today with the girls I focused on English language support. I knew they wouldn't jump up and down for joy – and they didn't – but they solidified some skills and had enough fun to press through.

I intended to use Duolingo, an engaging language support platform, and I created logins for each student, set them up as a class, and assigned certain tasks for them to complete. I figured it would either be too easy or hard but that we'd eventually find what was about right. Instead, due to complications I couldn't overcome in the moment (the text was in Hindi as they practiced their English, so I couldn't help them know where to click and navigate through lessons. Also, not all of them are fluent in Hindi and typing in Hindi text on the keyboard wasn't possible.) So, that was a bit of a bust. Hopefully next time I'll succeed at configuring it better or find a different tool.

We switched over to BrainPopESL. They each took a placement test and it walked them through appropriate lessons and videos accordingly. Even the older girls seemed engaged and in various vocabulary and grammar activities.

So, they made it through. With a few minutes left we practiced some typing and the older girls are all 20WPM or higher. I challenged them to try it without looking so much at their hands, but they are in a good spot.

Next up: hands-on, offline!

Keyboarding and Coding

10/27/2016

While we're no family Von Trapp, my kids do play musical instruments. We have a few pianists, a trumpet player, a flutist, and a violin player. Playing a musical instrument isn't easy, and in the beginning it isn't very fun. Practice can be tedious and frustrating. However, I've enjoyed watching them progress over the years to the point that they really enjoy playing and they see how far they've come.

Similarly, learning to type is like that. It's such a necessary skill in today's world and one that is often picked up rather than strategically taught. Yet, with a little practice as often as possible, students build fluency and improve. I learned to type in 8th grade during a keyboarding course and to this day I am an excellent typist without looking at my fingers. I try to help students of all ages improve their typing skills because it will serve them well.

Today was my first time on the computers with the girls and I was pleasantly surprised with how well it went. I know they get regular computer instruction from a different volunteer and they had workbooks they showed me from school with basic computer terminology and parts. We reviewed some of that (by pointing to various parts of the computer and named each) and they are quite adept. They easily drag and drop, open a website, search, navigate around, and perform basic troubleshooting. Even our youngest first grader did great. The internet worked fast enough and overall today’s effort was a success.

Now that I have a better handle on where they’re at, I am excited about the possibilities of moving forward from here and building on what they already know. They, like most kids I’ve worked with, naturally gravitate to mindless games or searching for random images and the like. I’d like to motivate them to use the computers for learning and expanding and enriching.

We started with a review of basic terminology and a quiz. With the older girls, vocabulary included:

World Wide Web
Email
Internet
Search Engine
URL

With the younger girls we reviewed in their notebooks the parts of a computer.

Then I gave a pep talk on keyboarding and encouraged them to practice even a few minutes whenever they can.

I let them practice using DanceMat typing (interactive and fun but can't save progress) and typing.com (less colorful but students can log into a teacher-created account and keep track of progress). I stepped back and watched how they'd do and I think they surprised even themselves. I gently guided proper fingering and placement but they were self-motivated and pressed through several examples. A couple of the younger girls got a little frustrated towards the end but gave it a solid effort. I'd like to see them all practice once and while on their own.

We then did some Hour of Code activities from code.org. We reviewed some offline coding activities from before and they tried their hand to program an Angry Birds maze or make Elsa ice skate around the rink. At times it was frustrating but they stuck with it and were authentically proud of themselves when they'd complete a portion of the code and it worked.

I'm really looking forward to what's ahead with these amazing, bright, and motivated girls!

Balloon Rockets

9/22/2016

Today as part of my STEAM effort with the girls' home we designed and launched balloon rockets. It was a 'BLAST'!

With the older group, I reinforced through drawing and discussion force, motion, thrust, and friction. We reviewed the scientific method and filled out a worksheet that encouraged asking questions and making predictions about what they thought would happen.

Using this framework as a guide, we wondered aloud:

Will changing the shape of the balloon make the rocket travel faster?
Will adding more air affect how far the rocket travels?
What will happen if we raise the incline of the string?

We practiced calculating velocity based on how far the rocket traveled and how long it took.

I especially liked when we added cargo on top (a rupee coin inside half a ping pong ball) and predicted at what point along the way it would fall out. It actually made it all the way to the end of the line.

In the end we found that the more air in the balloon, the faster it goes. It also matters if the straw is straight and if it's going with or against the breeze coming through the window.

And everyone enjoyed the leftover balloons...

STEAM manipulatives

9/14/2016

Today is a major holiday in India, Ganesh Chaturthi, where millions take Ganesha to the beach to be immersed. There's a lot of music, dancing, drums, processions, and celebrations. The girls had the day off school so I had a few join in that I don't normally get to work with.

Pouring monsoon rain, a holiday, and a bunch of eager girls meant: manipulatives.

I plan to incorporate a STEAM-related activity each month, and fortunately so many fun things fall under the STEAM umbrella: including manipulatives.

The older girls have been studying force, motion, and velocity and need a bit of hands on reinforcement. We started with a warm-up on the iPads using the Meet Science app. They watched some instructional force and motion videos and demos of related experiments, and then they played a couple of catchy games that reinforced the concepts. These girls are super bright and are doing high school level physics. While this app is geared for younger kids, it worked fine as a lead-in activity or extra practice to reinforce the concepts.

iPads are awesome but the ideal plan is 1:1 instead of sharing. I'm going to do better cycling girls through and giving them the space to explore on their own for maximum benefit.

Next, I followed this framework for working with Keva planks. I first discovered these blocks at the USA Science and Engineering Festival while in Washington, D.C. several years ago. I was immediately impressed with how simple they were and yet required critical thinking skills to produce complex outcomes. Most importantly, they are fun and kids of various ages love how open-ended and versatile they are. Today we stayed pretty basic.

I gave them 10 planks and challenged them to build as high as they could. Then they did the same with 20 planks. They rotated spots and added another person's structure. I gave them 4 small cubes and asked them to build a structure starting with only the 4 cubes on the bottom. I asked them to design a ramp that would carry a ball down and we filmed it in slow motion and talked about the force of hitting the dominoes at the bottom.

I found it fascinating how individual each girl's approach was. Some instinctively dove in and seemed to know just what they wanted to build and how to make it come together. Others struggled and kept looking at the instruction booklet for some ideas. Some got restless after a few attempts and some could have built for hours.

I asked them questions as we went along about how a ball might fall through their structure, what would happen, how high would it bounce, or similar attempts to get them predicting. Nothing was too formal but I think they had fun and saw a bit of force in action.

Next up, the younger and middle crew. For them, I set up several different stations and we rotated through. Again, it was fun to see different approaches, creative thinking, and problem-solving skills. Some organized by color. Some prefers to work with a partner and others alone. They enjoyed showing off their creations and trying some new tools.

Plus Plus (she made the Indian flag)

These girls are sharp, creative, and open to new experiences. I look forward to what we'll try next.

Literacy Grant Begins with Coding

9/8/2016

Literacy is far more than the ability to read and write. It's also understanding, communicating, and thinking.

I was awarded a literacy grant from Phi Kappa Phi to do some STEAM outreach with a group of girls here in Mumbai.

These girls come from underprivileged backgrounds and a variety of circumstances. There is a small army of volunteers and others who look after their daily care and welfare. Some help tutor academics and English language, others participate in cultural celebrations and wellness efforts. I am honored to join those who reach out with their time and love to support these girls.

For the purpose of this grant, I've expanded the definition of literacy. I have three main goals:

Girls will improve English language skills
Girls will learn digital literacy skills
Girls will strengthen their innovative spirits.

I will rotate through Coding, Digital Literacy, STEAM, and English language activities. My goal is to expand their thinking and expose them to tools and resources they don't already have.

Today was my first day and like all first days it was a bit rough but also wonderful.

Coding 101

I like the computational and critical thinking that coding requires. Using the Move It, Move It lesson plan from Code.org, I introduced some offline coding activities.

We defined "instructions" and practiced giving each other instructions. We played the Move It game where a person gives simple hand signals one at a time to another player in order to find the hidden smiley face. They caught on really quickly and I had to keep adding papers to make it harder.

To test their understanding, they completed Meet the Flurbs worksheet, pasting in arrow commands. They aced it.

Having built a foundation, they were ready for something more challenging. On the iPad we practiced with Daisy the Dinosaur, Move the Turtle, and Cargo-Bot. It was a little tricky sharing iPads, as it always is (even with only 2 kids on a device), and they each wanted sufficient opportunity to try.

Perhaps the most rewarding part for me was watching them try, get frustrated, try again, feel proud of themselves for succeeding, and then reach over to help the other person figure it out.

That alone is a valuable journey for Day 1.