Seesaw with First Grade

This week has been an exciting week for my MSDSC primary teachers and students. I was able to work with teachers during a collaboration on utilizing Seesaw as a tool for student/teacher communication. (The parent feature will come later.) I was also able to jump into a few classrooms to help teachers and students get more acquainted with this awesome tool. I just wish Seesaw had been around when I took on the role as a technology integration specialist five years ago. It would have made my job a whole lot easier! (I had kindergarten students sending emails from iPads to turn in content.)

At Ryan Park Elementary, I was able to work with Mrs. Moor's first grade. They had some experience with Seesaw, but Mrs. Moor really wanted to know more about the capabilities of this tool. Being the first year she and her first graders have had devices (iPads), Seesaw can feel a little overwhelming with all the various opportunities it holds.

One of the options I find very useful is the ability for them to copy and edit an item you provide for them. This would be great for spur of the moment exit tickets or any other quick check you would like to do. It is also great in a scenario where the teacher has a specific item he/she would like annotated. To do this, you must go to the "manage class" option in the menu. The teacher will then need to turn on the "Enable Item Editing" option. Now students can make a copy by pressing the three dots under the teacher's post and choosing to copy and edit the item.

In my lesson with first grade, I provided them with examples of proper nouns. I started with a picture of a dog and chatted about how we can make sentences about the dog. We started with just using the word "dog" as sentence with a common noun and worked into how we could include a proper noun. I sent the image of a dog through Seesaw as a teacher, but used a student iPad to copy and edit the image as a class.

Next, I sent an image of their principal, Mrs. Heavin. All of the students were able to tap on the three lines, choose to "copy and edit" the image, and write their own sentence about Mrs. Heavin. Once students began submitting and I approved their work, the magic started to happen. Often teachers ask why they should bother allowing students to view each other's work. The dialogue that takes place is magic as they read each other's sentences and listen to the recordings. It strikes up conversation and collaboration that would have never taken place had you made them complete a worksheet and turn it into the tan trays in the back of the classroom for only the teacher's eyes to see.

In the video below, many of Mrs. Moor's first grade examples are shown demonstrating their ability to write sentences with proper nouns. They are not perfect by any means, but they will not forget how much fun it was to make sentences with Mrs. Heavin and Mrs. Minick as their subjects for proper nouns.