Digital Learning Newsletter
October 2022
In this issue you will find
- Resources for Digital Citizenship Week
- Resources to support learning about Election 2022
- Information about the free, online Explorer Magazine from National Geographic for grades K-5
- Fun ways to get your class's attention during October
- Information about free access to "Hi-lo" books for secondary students with lower reading levels
- Halloween Magnetic Poetry activity in Google Drawings
- Build a Jack-o-lantern with Google Slides
- Three seasonally themed virtual rooms for brain breaks
- Information about the 2022 Michigan Google Conference
- Access to a tutorial to help you learn to set up and use Reading Progress with Microsoft Teams
- Links to some of the latest episodes on the Michigan Learning Channel
- Links to several of the instructional SOS strategies found in Discovery Streaming
- A FREE, virtual, professional learning opportunity with Jon Corippo, co-author of the EduPrototocl Field Guides
- Information about the Michigan Short Story Contest
Please reach out if you have questions about any of the information in this newsletter.
~Laura and Vinos
Digital Citizenship Week - October 17-21
Below are some resources you can use to guide your students to becoming digital citizens who appreciate the responsibility they hold for their choice of content and actions when going online or using cell phones.
- Common Sense K-12 Digital Citizenship Curriculum - Lesson plans, videos, student interactives, assessments, resources for families and more
- NetSmartz Teaching Resources - K-12 - lesson plans, videos, tip sheets, presentations, Internet Safety pledges and more
- Hector's World - Grades K-2 - Animated videos about personal information online, computer security, and cyberbullying. Use of the videos is supported with lesson plans and classroom activities that offer primary students practical guidance on staying safe and managing risks online.
- Google's "Be Internet Awesome" in Interland - Grades 3-5 - A free, online game consisting of five lessons that walk students through making safe and smart online decisions
- 21 Things 4 Students - Grades 6-8 - Five of the things cover Digital Citizenship. They are Digital Footprint, Cyber Safety, Be Legal & Fair, Social Networking and Buyer Beware.
- Teaching Digital Citizenship - InCtrl - Grades 4-8 - This is a series of free standards-based lessons that teach key digital citizenship concepts. The lessons are designed to engage students through inquiry-based activities, and collaborative and creative opportunities and come with videos, resources and supporting lesson plans.
- Edpuzzle Free Video Lesson s for Digital Citizenship - access videos that teach about digital actions, making friends online, plagiarism, and public wifi, in addition to many more.
- Use these Digital Citizenship Bingo Card Ideas to create your own challenge
Election Resources
Center for Civic Education Voting Lessons - A selection of lessons for elementary, middle, and high school looking at the timeline of U.S. voting history, what it means to be an informed voter, U.S. Presidential elections, and more. Each lesson includes objectives, vocabulary, and classroom activities.
Engaging Congress from Indiana University
Engaging Congress is a FREE, fun, interactive game that uses primary source documents to explore the basic tenets of representative government and the challenges they face in contemporary society. Throughout the various scenarios, students will be asked to explain the central idea of a primary source, accurately summarize the key details and ideas in a primary source, evaluate differing points of view on the same historical event by using primary sources, evaluate multiple sources of information presented in diverse format, and analyze a primary source and relate it to an issue of the past. The game includes useful explanatory videos and is available in three different formats - Web, Android and iOS. There is a Teacher Toolbox that will be helpful to you as you use the game with your students.
Resources for Elementary
Explorer Magazine from National Geographic
Explorer Magazine is a free, online compilation of nonfiction articles with lots of great images that support and enhance the text. There are six different magazines leveled for grades K-5. Articles can be read aloud with the click of an icon and there are clickable features within the articles like "before you read" prompts. The non-fiction content supports national reading and science standards. You can assign magazine issues to students using a QR code or URL There is a projectable version of each magazine and a teacher's guide that includes lessons, lexile levels, worksheets, and assessments for each story.
Fun October Signals to Call Your Class to Attention
Kelsey, who is on Instagram as myclassbloom, recently shared five fun October signals to use to call your class to attention. They are listed below.
- Teacher says, "Hocus Pocus" and students say, "Everybody Focus."
- Teacher says, "Double, Double" and students say, "Toil and Trouble."
- Teacher says, "Who you gonna call?" and students say, "Ghost Busters."
- Teacher says, "Scare me" and students say, "Boo!"
- Teacher says, "Knock, knock" and students say, "Trick or Treat."
Resources for Secondary
Skittles and Google Sheets Math Activities
Eric Curts has created an interactive, self-checking Google Sheets template called "Skittles and Sheets" which allows students to practice skills including:
🤔 Estimating
🖐 Counting
⚖️ Comparing
➕ Adding
➗ Dividing
📊 And Graphing
The Google Sheet is self-checking, so it provides feedback to the students as they work through each problem, letting them know if that got it correct or not.
Visit Eric's webpage for the Skittles and Google Sheets activity to get your copy of the template, as well as access a short recorded tutorial video on how it works, and also written directions.
Hi-lo Books via the Michigan eLibrary
Michigan eLibrary (MeL) provides free access to Hi-lo Books for anyone using a device anywhere in Michigan. According to Rinaldi & Averill in the text, Practical Ways to Engage All Struggling Readers: A Multi-tiered Instructional Approach Using Hi-Lo Books, “Hi-lo books offer struggling readers access to well-written and compelling fiction and nonfiction across all grades. These books present age-appropriate content—something that will grab a student’s interest (i.e., high-interest)—at a readability level that is accessible (i.e., low-readability).” There are hundreds of hi-lo readers within the MeL eResources. One series that is especially popular with secondary students is the Orca Soundings series. The books are provided in pdf and epub format. There are unlimited copies of each title so there is no waiting for a book to be available.
Contact Ann Kaskinen, MeL K-12 librarian, if you need help getting started with using Hi-lo books with your students.
Digital Activities for Halloween ☢️
Halloween Magnetic Poetry
Kasey Bell created a Halloween-themed magnetic poetry template using Google Drawings. There are ~100 words provided. After you make your own copy of the template you can remove words as desired and add others. The words Kasey created are actually images and cannot be edited, but you can delete them. You can add your own by creating a new text box and filling it with a white background, or right-click on the name box and copy it to use. You can use this as an independent activity, or make it a collaborative activity and see how the poetry evolves.
Build a Jack-O-Lantern with Google Slides
Eric Curts has created and freely shared a "Build a Jack-O-Lantern Activity.
Below are the basics steps for using the activity with your students.
- Make a copy of the Google Slides "Build a Jack-O-Lantern" template."
- The template has a blank pumpkin and several slides full of items for students to add to their Jack-O-Lanterns, including eyes, mouths, hats, arms, feet, and more.
- Students should copy and paste the items to build their Jack-O-Lanterns.
- Students can even use the Shapes tool to add or draw their own shapes as needed.
- When done building, students can write about their Jack-O-Lanterns in the textbox. They can describe it, tell a story about it, or explain who it is.
Brain Breaks
Halloween & Fall Virtual Rooms
Virtual rooms can be used for early finishers, class parties, exploration around a targeted topic, or in whatever way works best for your classroom. Sarah Wood has created and generously shared three virtual rooms that are perfect for the fall season.
Google Workspace
miGoogle Conference is Back!
The Michigan Google Conference is back!
The Michigan Google Education Summit is a two day conference organized and run by Michigan educators, featuring unique applications of Google tools in the classroom – from Chromebooks to Google Drive, Jamboard, Maps, and more! miGoogle is not about devices or products, it’s about inspiring educators with the future so that they can engage and inspire their students to do great things.
- November 10 - 11, 2022
- Hosted at Notre Dame Preparatory School and Marist Academy
- Registration information
Microsoft 365
Reading Progress in Microsoft Teams
Reading Progress is a free tool available in Microsoft Teams that is designed to help students build reading fluency. Instead of the teacher listening to each student read a passage individually to score their reading fluency students can record their read aloud using Reading Progress. Passages can be assigned to your class as a whole or you can select specific passages for individual students. Reading Passages has auto-detection tool with adjustable pronunciation sensitivity that track student and class progress automatically through Education Insights.
Learn more about how to use Reading Progress with your students via Microsoft's getting started guide. This guide covers practical topics like setting up a Reading Progress assignment, navigating the student and teacher views, using insights and analytics for reading fluency, and more!
Michigan Learning Channel
Michigan Learning Channel's Let's Read Together Challenge
The Michigan Learning Channel is challenging classrooms and households to complete 1.000 minutes of reading between October 1 and November 30. Complete the challenge and you will be entered in a drawing by age group to win a prize! Sign up here to join the challenge and learn more.
Michigan Learning Channel's Featured Lessons
- Read, Write, ROAR: "Letters All Around and the Letter P."
- Math Mights: "Compare Images and Numbers."
- InPACT at Home: "Stretches and Exercise."
- GreenBeats: "Help the Garden Grow."
- Read, Write, ROAR!: "How do You Shine? And L Blends."
- Math Mights: "Add and Subtract Using 10."
- ArchiTreks: "Landmarks."
- Meet the Helpers: "Counselor."
- Read Write ROAR!: "Words with -aw- and -au- and My Place in the World."
- Math Mights: "Measuring with Centimeters."
- Metroparks: "Watch Baby Chicks Hatch."
- InPACT at Home: "Positive Self Messages."
- Read, Write, ROAR!: "A Powwow and Suffixes."
- Math Mights: "Add within 1,000."
- InPACT at Home: "Movement Flow Elementary."
- Live from the Opera House: "When I Grow Up."
Grades 4-6
- Extra Credit: "Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr."
- Story Pirates TV: "Alex Gets a Promotion."
- DIY Science Time: "Magnetic Racer."
High School and Above
- Create a space for relaxation and reflection with a Mindfulness Moment video.
- Career Girls: Learn what it means to be a STEM Activist.
View the full schedule on the Michigan Learning Channel website.
Discovery Streaming
Note: Discovery Streaming subscription and login required to access the resources in this section. If you do not know if your school has a subscription please email laura.cummings@oakland.k12.mi.us.
Discovery SOS Instructional Strategies
Looking for creative ways to engage your students? If you haven’t already, try one of the research-based SOS Instructional Strategies with other Discovery Streaming digital resources. There are dozens of SOS Instructional Strategies to choose from. Below are some Discovery Community favorites to get you started.
Free Professional Learning Opportunity
More EduProtocols with Jon Corippo
Date: Thursday, November 3, 2022 from 4:30 PM - 6:30 PM
Join Jon Corippo, co-author of the bestselling EduProtocol Field Guides, to begin or continue your EduProtocol learning journey with a focus on the 12 new EduProtocols found in Book Two. You will learn how to use the protocols in conjunction with each other (rack and stack), the learning theories behind the success of the protocols, and tips for how to continue to pursue mastering the art of teaching with EduProtocols!All attendees will have a copy of EduProtocol Field Guide Book 2 shipped to them at no cost following the session.
Short Story Writing Contest
Write Michigan Short Story Contest
Encourage your students to enter the Write Michigan Short Story Contest for an opportunity to win up to $500 and become a published author!
- The contest is open to Michigan residents of all ages.
- Stories must be submitted by November 30, 2022.
- Stories are judged on traditional short story elements such as character, setting and plot.
- The top 10 stories in each category are posted on the Write Michigan website for a public vote from Jan. 16 to Feb. 6.
- Winners are published in a Chapbook Press anthology.
Registration and requirements can be found at this link.
OAKLAND SCHOOLS DIGITAL LEARNING TEAM INFORMATION
Oakland Schools Digital Learning Consultants
Laura Cummings
Laura.Cummings@oakland.k12.mi.us
248-209-2283
Vinos Kassab
Vinos.Kassab@oakland.k12.mi.us
248-209-2229
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