Graphic Organizers You Can Do

February is a time of year that I struggle. In Ohio, the weather is gloomy and cold, and I feel like we've been stuck inside the house for "long enough". I am not a big fan of snow, and this year we've gotten plenty of snow. Being inside always makes me look around and see clutter ... everywhere. I usually take time and doing some purging and organizing. And not just in my closets and living areas. I also look digitally.

This year is no different. This past week at the "Learning with Google" event, Google announced there will be some changes in storage capacity and that got me thinking. I need to do some major digital cleaning and organization! I won't hit the panic button. I love organizing! So I am going to seize this opportunity to do some cleaning & organizing.

My first step also coincides with a question from a couple of teachers about graphic organizers. The possibilities are limitless, but at the heart, there are some very basic graphic organizers that work in multiple different contents and for multiple different reasons. I did some searching and digging and I have brought together - in ONE Google Slide deck - 25 graphic organizers. I have kept them pretty generic. The reason for that is that I've also included a video on how to "better" use them in your classroom so they fit you and your students perfectly. [My favorite tip is to use the "Master slide" to help limit the "oopsies" of accidental deletions.]

Now, what I'd really LOVE to do, is collaborate with you and make this a really beefy collection of graphic organizers. After checking these out, the final Slide has a link to a Google Form where you can share a link to a graphic organizer you have created/used/found helpful and a link to spreadsheet that will become populated with links to all of these various graphic organizers that people share. Please share and encourage others to share theirs, too! Can you imagine what this collection will look like and the awesomeness that will be created with it?

Here is my Google Slide "Graphic Organizers Galore!" where I also share the video on "How To: Copy & customize a graphic organizer using the Master Slide". Below this, you will find a link for you to make a copy for yourself.

Here is a link to "Graphic Organizers Galore!" Feel free to make your own copy so you can customize how it works best for you. I've included a link to the original Google Slide in case you'd want to come back and see when more have been added.

If you are looking for some help on organizing in your digital spaces, I have "Google Drive Organization You Can Do" that might interest you. It's six steps to helping you organize your Google Drive.

As always, if you have questions or comments - reach out! All of my "socials" links are in the top right corner. 

Be sure to check out my Google Slides Wakelet collection, too!

Digital Learning Journal Your STUDENTS Can Do (& a bonus!)

We went back face-to-face 5 days a week in September. It has gone far better than any of us truly thought it would. It has been an adjustment, but we've done the best we can. As to be expected, we have had students who need to do school from home, for various lengths of time. Since my buildings are elementary, not everything is best done on a computer. Sometimes paper work is the best way for students to do work. (Don't get me wrong, there are plenty of great tech uses for remote learning; but sometimes, paper is better.)

I was asked this question, "How does a student return this work, in a timely manner?" I did some thinking ... adding an image directly into Google Classroom, while possible, isn't super easy - especially for younger students. BUT ... inserting images in Google Slides IS pretty easy! (Even for those who've not done it before.)

As a result, I designed the "Digital Learning Journal" to fill this need. There is no way I could predict how many slides everyone would need, so I designed templates on the Slides Masters. It's now as simple as adding in a new slide! And you can worry less about students deleting things you don't want them to.

To walk you through this journal, I made a video hoping it explains it better and more concisely than I could write it. (The journal is below the video.)

Like what you see in the video? Here is the Digital Learning Journal:

Would you like to make a copy for yourself? Here is a template link for the "Digital Learning Journal."

Now, here is my recommendation - make your own copy, then create an assignment in Classroom and use the make a copy in Google Classroom for each student. Don't add a topic to the assignment so it will be "pinned" at the top. This makes it SUPER easy for students to find and add work in. I suggest explaining it to all of your students ... and explain this is for when/if they do school at home. (You certainly don't have to do it this way - you could opt to ONLY assign it if/when a student needs to do work at home. Either way works - just please explain this to your students.)

Finally, I promised a "bonus", too, in the title. I added a template to my co-created site, www.TemplatesForTeachers.com. It goes back to my intentional focus on Google Classroom. This time it's for parents. I called it "Google Classroom for Parents." It's a "1 pager" meant to help guide parents to the key pieces in Google Classroom. I hope it helps. Supporting our parents who are working with our kiddos at home is important, too. Keep it simple - they don't need to know everything - the basics are perfect!

And as always, feel free to check out my Google Classroom Wakelet collection. Lots of good tips, tricks, and resources to help you make Classroom work for you.

Or connect & follow me on social media - all of my links are in the top right corner of my blog under my picture.

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Research Templates You Can Do

I am a believer in #BetterTogether and I'm always looking to share Tech You Can Do. The beauty of collaboration shines through when a teacher comes to me with an idea or topic or question rolling around in their head and asks me to help them make it happen - usually by infusing a tech tool. Sometimes it's an in-person conversation, sometimes it's through email, and sometimes, even via text messages. There are advantages to all 3, but the push-and-pull is where the magic happens, regardless of the method.

I have always thought of myself as a life-long learner. [My dad even used to tease me when I struggled to settle on a major in college, that I was going to be a "perpetual student". Not a bad compliment for a future teacher, eh?] After teaching in the classroom for 14 years, I have been a Technology Integration Specialist for the two elementary buildings for my district for 3 years. Supporting these teachers and students not only cements this life-long learning in me, but continues to push me to learn more and in various ways. 

I'm finding more and more, teachers are excited about the ability to provide options to their students while also being conscious not all students have the same background with the tools. It's very exciting to collaborate and create something to fit the teacher's desired curricular goals while allowing and encouraging student creativity. 

One of the "secret weapons" on any template I create/use with students, is including "speech bubbles" for use to provide specific directions, options to go further, additional resources, or remind students of the basic requirements of the project. Using Google Slides - my #1 go-to - I also use the speaker notes at the bottom for many of the same reasons. Slides and Drawings both have gray space, which I consider valuable real estate for these same reasons. I typically add the note "Delete when finished" to help guide students, acting as a checklist.

Digital File Folder for Animal Research

File folder for research

One example of a template is this digital file folder for research I created for a 3rd grade class. The goal was to do some research - specifically on animals - and present it in a different way. The original idea was an index card but as we talked about items to include, we decided it needed to be a bit "bigger" so we settled on a 'manila folder' feel. I was invited to come into the class and work with the teacher and her students for 2 class periods. This allowed me to not only teach the students some of the tools, but the teacher was able to be a learner as well. (She has mentioned several times she enjoys this which just reminds me this is valuable for everyone involved!)

I can see making a couple of adjustments to make it work for older students: as easy as changing the font size to allow for additional typing OR a little more complex, by adding in "stapled" sheets of paper for longer research rather than the 3 small index cards on the inside. On the other hand, simplifying it can allow for use with younger students, too!

Animal File Folder template

"Who Would Win? book"

Who Would Win book

Another example is for a 4th grade class. I can't take all the credit for this one ... my friend Beth Kingsley created the book cover for her 3rd graders to use last year when they did animal research. Her students LOVED it as did the author, Jerry Pallota! 

One of the 4th grade teachers I work with, saw this book cover on our Templates for Teachers website, and asked if I could adjust it to have "inside pages" for her students to write their research. Of course!!! After doing my own research on these books, I added a few inside pages in the theme of the book, and voila! The "Who Would Win?" for 4th graders was created. Again, the teacher invited me in her class to walk them all through the customization of the template. Students were already paired up and worked collaboratively on the book. This was a beautiful time to also discuss digital collaboration.

When a second 4th grade teacher asked if I'd join her class for the same activity, I happily agreed. I never know who enjoys these activities more ... the kids or me! There was one curveball with this class. Some boys called me over and asked this question, "Mrs. Kiefer ... there are 3 of us. How do we do the cover?" 

I was stumped - the teacher confirmed they had an odd number, so these boys needed their cover to reflect this. I responded, "What do you think?" After only a small hesitation, one of the boys proposed placing the 3 animals in somewhat of a triangular arrangement on the cover. Brilliant!!! When it came to the inside pages, it was set up for 2 animals, and the boys told me, "Don't worry, he just duplicated one of the slides so there is another page for our third animal." I was so impressed! Problem solving and creativity ... excellent!

I love this process ... from start to finish. Collaborating with the teachers to create the template, working with the students to make the template their own, and then the pride on their faces when they see what they have created. If anyone wants to know why I love my job ... this is it. 

Who Would Win? (middle) template

Narrative Non-Fiction Writing

The final template I want to share was created for a 7th grade language arts class. I collaborated with a teacher I started teaching with back in 2002. We created this template in response to her desire to do something "different" for her narrative non-fiction writing. We settled on creating a magazine template for her students. 

She looked through the magazines she already had in her classroom and picked out several features she wanted to include, allowing her to reinforce text features at the same time as the writing. You'll notice there is a great deal more space dedicated to text ... a reasonable expectation for 7th graders. After she selected the text features, we decided on the layout. We created a 4 page spread for students to type in, again, a reasonable expectation for students of this age. Rather than saying "write a 4 page essay", she used the template layout to show them the space, giving them the idea they needed enough information to fit it.

Again, we used my secret weapon - speech bubbles - as well as the gray space to allow her to include directions and "helps". She then used our LMS to provide a copy for each student. Since she teaches at our middle school, I wouldn't be able to join in on this classroom adventure. She and her students enjoyed this writing activity done differently. She shared with me later, another teacher asked what program she used to create this template ... she told him, "I used the Sarah Kiefer program." What an awesome compliment! I think you'll agree our template turned out pretty professional looking! 

Narrative Non-fiction magazine

Narrative Non-fiction Magazine template

Today I've shared 3 templates. My friend Beth (mentioned above) and I have created a website - Templates for Teachers - sharing these, and many others, that you are welcome to peruse, take and use as they are, or better yet, take and modify to fit your needs. 

I truly love working with teachers and their students. The collaboration is something I will never get tired of. I am also finding our students are hungry to express themselves, especially when it comes to demonstrating their learning. Don't be afraid ... you don't need to know everything ... you just need to be confident enough to work WITH your students. And if you don't feel that confident, find a friend and collaborate with them. 

Reach out ... I wouldn't mind being that person. 

Have a question or comment? Feel free to comment below, reach out to me on Twitter @kiefersj, or email me at sarah@techyoucando.com.

15 Days of Resources You Can Do

This share has been brewing in my brain for quite some time and it feels like the perfect time of year! The rush of the new school year has worn down, the weather is changing, and you have a good grasp on this year's students. Now is the time to stretch ... check out something new ... try something new ... To help, I've compiled 15 resources for you to review and see if any fit you and your students.  

Starting with today and for the following 14 week days, I will share a resource I've come across and some potential applications for it on my companion blog. Nothing long winded - just enough to peek your interest, or for you to pass on. I will add links to each description below the graphic for your perusal. Please share these! It might not be the best fit for you, but it might be just what your friend needs. 

   
Week 3:

• Dec 17: Character Scrapbook by Scholastic [LINK]

• Dec 18: Chrome Music Lab [LINK]