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Elementary Technology Conference promotional image with smiling fruit characters using a computer
Professional Learning

Why the Elementary Technology Conference Is So Special

by Andrew Roush
written by Andrew Roush

This summer’s most exciting elementary learning event is just around the corner. The 2021 TCEA Elementary Technology Conference is online beginning June 13. We’re bringing fun summertime vibes and plenty of useful, research-backed ideas to help advance teaching and inspire young learners when you get back into the classroom.

Here’s some of the highlights you can expect from this year’s event.

Solutions for You

There are lots of professional learning opportunities out there (including some great ones from TCEA!), but not many are tailored specifically for elementary educators. ETC is all about technologies and teaching practices that are most relevant to elementary educators. We’ll cover topics like social-emotional learning, Google tools, podcasts and video, and more, all with an eye to their effectiveness in PreK–5, rather than across all grades. Getting together and sharing with other elementary educators can be a powerful thing in a world of grab-bag PD.

It’s not just for classroom teachers, either. Everyone involved in elementary education can benefit from this event, whether you are an administrator, librarian, instructional coach, or technologist. Creating connections across specialties can help you amp up your teaching this fall, or help you stay connected with your classroom teachers.

Connecting for Education

Of course, getting so many engaged elementary educators together also means you get the chance to connect, chat, have some fun, and be inspired by your peers. That’s why we have social networking events each day, June 13–15. 

Enjoy interactive networking rooms with dedicated sharing time each day, live morning kickoff events with TCEA speakers, and an evening networking game of Shazingo (think Bingo meets Shazam). You’ll have a chance not only to catch up with old pals and make new friends, but also to spend time sharing ideas, stories, and tips.

Join Us at #ETC21

That best thing of all? You can still register for ETC! Get all the details and learn more at the link below.

Register Now!
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Good Teaching

Winter Resources for the Elementary Classroom

by Andrew Roush
written by Andrew Roush

It’s important for students, especially young learners, to understand the changing of the seasons and the rhythms of the year. These lessons can frame all kinds of learning from numeracy to literacy. In winter, we can deploy activities that engage the changing seasons and holidays to boost learning.

In fact, neuroscientist Judy Willis suggests that the nature of changing seasons can be harnessed to encourage learning. And, of course, the modern school year itself is based on the changing seasons.

There are a number of useful online resources, repositories, and ideas that you can use or customize for your classroom based on the seasons. Let’s explore some options.

Engage the Youngest Learners

Seasons are an important idea to convey to PreK students. The National Association for the Education of Young Children (NAEYC) discusses the power of seasonal learning in a blog post from Kathryn Maisonville:

As we moved into winter and the landscape yielded to the cold weather, we spent one morning talking about the changes occurring outside. This led to children’s questions about the lack of birds—why some remained while others left the area. The children’s inquiries and observations were full of interest and knowledge. We had found our new topic!

This set of activities from PreKinder includes “activities, lessons, and printables for Pre-K, Preschool, and Kindergarten.” Learn new vocabulary with winter word cards, find winter-themed books perfect for your age group, or even surprise your students with instant snow.

Embrace Diverse Topics

As the NAEYC article indicates, teaching about the seasons isn’t limited to just winter holidays and changes in the weather. Broader lessons about the environment, like Maisonville’s students observing a lack of birds, can open up early lessons in scientific inquiry, even the scientific method, for example.

  • Julie Smith, “The Techie Teacher,” has complied a number of winter activities focused on tech, but which can teach math, creative writing, and more.
  • Ed Tech Ideas’ diverse list of resources includes games, cards, Santa-tracking, and fun uses of Google Earth.
  • The Connecticut Education Association has lessons plans ready to go for grades K-12.

Embed Excitement

Just need to add a little excitement to the day? Try one of these activities to mix it up in your elementary classroom.

Don’t Forget to Ask Santa!

And of course, don’t forget about TCEA’s live chat with Santa! As part of our annual tradition, Kris Kringle himself will visit TCEA headquarters on Tuesday, December 7, 2021 to answer your Christmas questions. Learn more about the event in this blog post.

Have seasonal activities or resources you’d like to share? Let us know in the comments!

More Winter Resources from TechNotes

unsplash-logoPhoto: Ethan Hu
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2 examples of the pumpkin building.
Good Teaching

Fall into Elementary Autumn Resources

by Peggy Reimers
written by Peggy Reimers

How do you know autumn is upon Texas?

The temp drops below ninety.

Football season is in full swing.

School zones are blinking with lights.

My favorite holiday is near

Bats, ghosties and pumpkins, oh dear.

Signs are out for pumpkin spice

And TCEA rolls out some fall resources that are ohhhh, so nice.

I am an elementary teacher at heart and always will be. One of the things I miss about teaching is designing fun activities for my kiddoes. I hope you and your students enjoy the following activities. By all means, share these resources with your fellow teachers.

The Boo BreakoutBoo Breakout title page

The Boo Breakout is a Halloween-themed breakout with five digital locks. You can find all the answers in the hidden links from the breakout site.  I did not include any external links to eliminate annoying ads or possible inappropriate content. Fourth graders and up should be able to solve The Boo Breakout. Don’t forget that you can always email me for hints if you get stuck on the puzzles.

little monster sortingLittle Monster Sorting

A big shout out to Eric Curts and his Control Alt Achieve blog sorting activity, “One Fish, Two Fish, Red Fish, Blue Fish” for being my inspiration for this next activity. Last spring, Eric designed a graphic organizer to sort fish based on their characteristics. I was inspired to create my own sorting activity with Venn Diagrams. My design is centered around little monsters. Make a copy here.

Autumn Pixel Art

Spider created in Pixel art

Another one of my favorites from Eric is his Pixel Art. Designing ghosts, pumpkins, and fall leaves can easily be created in this medium. Check out his directions and templates.

Leaves FALL Down Digital Breakout

Fall Leaf Graph in Tanya Coffey's breakout.

Tonya Coffey just released her newest digital breakout, Leaves FALL Down. Currently, Tonya has eight holiday and three seasonal digital breakouts for elementary students. She has designed four teacher breakouts as well. Tonya creates digital breakouts for the second to fifth graders at her school. When asked about grades levels, she comments, “Depending on the level, additional support will need to be given. If you want students to work independently, I would say fifth grade.”

Stop Motion Autumn Animationpumpkin stop motion animation

Try this easy-peasy stop animation with Google Slides for your little ones. Check out my example.

Steps to the Stop Motion Animation Jack O’Lantern 

  1. Open up a new Google Slide presentation
  2. Draw and decorate a large Jack O’Lantern
    • I used the polygon tool and connected the ends. If you connect the ends, you can use the fill bucket.
  3. Duplicate the slide.
  4. Change the color of the eyes, nose, and mouth.
  5. Publish your Google Slides presentation to the web.
    • Under File: choose Publish to the Web
    • Under Auto-advance slides: choose every second
    • Select: Start slideshow as soon as the player loads
    • Select: Restart the slideshow after the last slide 
  6. Copy and share the link.

pumpkin building

Pumpkin Building

Check out this worldwide collaboration project. I designed a Google Slides presentation for students to turn a pumpkin into a jack o’lantern. This project can double as a digital citizenship lesson.  The collaboration of artwork reinforces the concept of respecting each others work. You can build on my slide deck which is Shareable with the World or you can Make your own Copy to Use in Your Classroom.

For even more (and I mean PLENTY MORE) autumn resources, check out this blog post. Happy fall, y’all!

Featured image and activity screenshots by author.

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LEGO wall
Educational TrendsLibrariesSTEM/STEAM

Making: Our Library’s LEGO Wall

by Guest Blogger
written by Guest Blogger

This guest blog post was contributed by Dr. Mark Weems, librarian at Negley Elementary in Hays CISD. Mark is a maker and LEGO enthusiast.

The library at an elementary school offers endless opportunities for adventure and creativity. Thanks to our principal and PTA, a LEGO wall that measures 80” x 100” (rivaling the one at TCEA Headquarters) now serves as the visual centerpiece of our library at Negley Elementary in Hays CISD and is an integral part of our makerspace initiative.

From Inspiration to Construction

As much as I enjoy LEGOs and building, the inspiration for the LEGO wall came from a colleague. Darby Rodriguez, our enrichment teacher, attended a number of sessions on makerspaces at the TCEA Convention & Exposition last year. When she returned to campus, her excitement was infectious; she described several amazing possibilities she had discovered, including a LEGO wall. I loved the idea.

Our principal at Negley, Melody Crowther, thought that the LEGO wall fit well with her vision for our school; she encourages students to learn by exploring their interests and interacting with their environment. So with Ms. Crowther’s enthusiastic support and Mrs. Rodriquez’ inspiration, we developed a plan.

First, we sponsored a LEGO drive. Students donated their old LEGOs, and incentives were provided to classes that collected the most. By the end of the 2015-2016 school year, we had acquired a large number of bricks at no cost.

Over the summer, I attended a TCEA Makers workshop. I was able to view their LEGO wall, discuss makerspaces with librarians from all over and the very helpful TCEA staff, and discover other activities that would work well in our library makerspace. Peggy Reimers directed me to Diana Rendina’s blog Renovated Learning , whose post How to Build an Epic LEGO Wall includes a time-lapse video and just about everything else you’ll need to get started.

Putting the LEGO Wall Together

When this school year began, I spoke with Sharon Turner-Rushworth, our PTA president, about the LEGO wall. She recruited three excellent volunteers: Susan Santoro, Kristian Henderson Myers, and Kristian’s brother Joshua Henderson, the owner of Henderson Handyman Services. (You can imagine how relieved and happy I was to have an experienced carpenter for this job!)

Using the instructions we downloaded as a guide, we ordered Creative Builders 10” x 10” Building Brick Base Plates (from Amazon.com) and plywood, screws, and glue from Lowes. The wonderful PTA volunteers mentioned above came and constructed the wall in about four hours over a weekend.

Making LEGO Part of Our Library

Everyone is excited about the impressive green wall in the library. Teachers can sign their classes up to use it during designated makerspace times, and students can work on it when they visit the library. We anticipate many hours of fun and learning as our students explore and create with this very unique canvas, and it has also helped us draw interest for the Ozobots, puppets, and other options for making in our library.

 

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