Student Driven Whiteboard Activities

    I'll be the first to admit, usually I write about traveling, but forget about the teaching side of this blog's title.  So, teaching...
    A few months/posts ago I wrote about our trip to the Vietnam Tech Conference.  I wrote a little about what I did.  First of all, my part was about .03% of the whole thing.  The folks who put it on did an incredible job.  Some parts were quite innovative: a cheap conference, teacher run, unconferencing and speed geeking.  I'd loved every part.
    I was surprised at the positive responses I got for my part.  I had a 2 part speed geeking presentation.  Of the two things I presented on, I'll write about one.  I'm sectioning out the Green Screen part for the sake of space and limited interest. I talked about 2 websites I use a lot. First, let me explain my schedule.
     The bell *Ding a ring a ring a brrrsss* at 8:15.  Kids make their way up the stairs and come into class.  BUT!  School doesn't start until 8:30.  Busses and cars are still arriving until 8:30.  What do I do with an uneven drifting in of 10-11 year old students over 15 minutes?

      Simple, I hand the first one (or if it is the same student for a few days, the 2nd or 3rd) through the door an IWB pen.  I have a Mimio bar and a website setup.  I use two websites for 99% of things; funtrivia and wishball. These are great activities for kids to join into, and they are not just time fillers.
     It took about 20 minutes to introduce the IWB to them.  A little longer for them to learn to type - with a pen, on a board, on an on screen keyboard (In Windows it is Start-Accessories-Ease of Access- On Screen Keyboard).  Now, they launch the keyboard from a start-menu pinned location.

    Wishball is a great game to teach place value.  The one linked is for the ultimate challenge.  Simpler versions are available for use with younger kids.
    The funtrivia link I gave is to the word play for kids section.  It has been helpful to my 15 ELL students and my 1 English speaker.  It bridges the link between a game and some basic warm-up activities.  I also believe that my students need a bit of transition time from the native/home language to the mix of languages they speak on the bus and playground into the full English classroom that they go to school in.  I'd rather ease them in through a shared activity than just throw them into the academic world of learning in English.  Although the link points in the language area, there are many other kid friendly topics.  I've used quizzes on Greek mythology and science, of course not as quizzes, but as a "remember that guy in that story we read yesterday about those old Greek people?"
     I hope to keep up post like these in between pictures of our trips.