Google Sheets Teaching You Can Do

Google Sheets is one of my favorite Google applications. (I think I say that about all of them, don't I?) I have chosen to purposefully add Sheets to the curriculum I teach with my 6th graders. This quarter, I felt like I needed to step up the learning portion before I gave my students the Google Sheets Choice Activity to show off their learning. 

I turned to my favorite "tech extraordinaire"  ... Eric Curts! He has so many amazing Google Sheets activities. I had been using one of Google's Applied Digital Skills lessons previously, but I felt like it was a little dry for my 6th graders, so I collected several of Eric's Sheets activities and really looked at what skills I wanted to focus on and then chose Sheets that worked with the selected skills. I put together a teacher version and a student version to make it easier for me to see what skills should be focused on on which sheet.

I present: Google Sheets ... Teacher workbook & Google Sheets ... student practice! It's posted on my connected blog, Templates for Teachers, so you can also browse for other activities for your classroom. I don't dig into complex Sheets formulas - most of it is on the basic level. My students haven't had much experience with Sheets - most couldn't even remember ever using it.

Sheets doesn't have to be an overwhelming tool - it is a powerful tool, that with some learning, can be beneficial to have at your fingertips. The "Directions" tab was a great way to start and probably the tab we spent the most time on. Laying this strong foundation was a great starting point. I'm definitely using it again!

If you use it - will you let me know how it goes? I'd love to hear feedback.

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Google Sheets Your Students Can Do

I believe spreadsheets are a necessary skill for today's world. I can hear the groans. When most teachers hear spreadsheets, I know they groan. They think data and analysis and blech. Don't worry! That's not the point of this spreadsheet activity for your students! (You might have fun working with it, too.)

One of the units I cover with my 6th graders is Google Sheets. Most of them have had very little exposure to Sheets at this point. I totally understand - Sheets isn't the easiest tool, not is it the "prettiest".  Using Google's Applied Digital Skills - Sheets, Part 1,  we do a few days of the basics with Sheets - vocab; inserting & resizing rows & columns; sorting; formatting; and a little bit of data validation. I tell my students up front, that this part isn't flashy, but it's necessary before we see Sheets in a different way.

Once we cover the basics, I give them the Google Sheets Choice Activity. The first tab contains the directions and the descriptions of the 6 activities. I crafted 6 different activities that should appeal to a variety of interests. I assigned point values to each activity and then I challenged the students to complete enough activities to accumulate 25 points. This is meant to require them to do more than one, but also to keep this activity within a 2 class period timeframe. So far, they have loved it! We didn't cover every single thing they might need to do - so there are times where I get to do a little more with various students. 

I've added this activity to my partner blog - Templates for Teachers - to keep all my templates in one spot. If this activity appeals to you, I encourage you to make your own copy and share it with your students. Even better, if you want to make changes to the template by adding activities, changing the requirements, or removing an activity, go right ahead! Make it your own and make it work for your students!

If you use it, I'd love to hear about it! 

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Self-guided Student Projects You Can Do

I recently wrapped up a grading period with my students and I wanted to do something "different". They were all fairly proficient with technology and they had a wide variety of interests. I decided I couldn't find or create anything that would satisfy and challenge them all, so I went in the opposite direction. 

I didn't design a project. I gave them ALL of the power.

If your students are anything like mine, they BEG for control and choice. But, I've noticed they often don't know what to do with it when they have choice. So I decided to provide a framework for the project, but allow the students to fill in all of it.

You should have seen their faces. We had 5 days left in the quarter and I wanted them to spend time brainstorming and "researching" and asking questions, which would really leave about 4 days to actually DO their project.

I shared the "Self-guided Project" template with them in our LMS. We walked through it together. I asked them to list 3-5 topics they are interested in - whether because they already know a lot or because they WANT to learn. Then to think about the tools we've used in class, as well as ones they are already comfortable with (I suggested this might not be the project to "learn" a new tool). Then we talked about the audience. This one was tougher for them. I agreed teachers quite often are their audience, but that wasn't my goal with this project. We talked through why a project made for a kindergartener would probably look different than one done for an adult, a parent perhaps. And then we brainstormed together who some different audiences might be.

Finally, we talked about putting it all together. Since this was their first time with a project as open as this, I provided a list of potential projects they might want to consider, but strongly recommended they think creatively and that they could come up with something of their own design. Ultimately, their projects could be summed up in a sentence using this structure:

"I want to create a ___(fill in project) ___ about ___ (fill in topic) ___ for ___ (fill in audience) ___ using ___ (fill in tool)___."

They were off! It was awesome to see them design their project and move forward with them. Questions came up - help was needed - some projects finished quickly & new projects were designed with the same framework - some projects didn't get finished - but they all enjoyed it. Including me. 

The best part about this framework, it's not grade specific. It's not dependent on certain tools. If your students cannot handle ALL of the choices, you can fill in one or more of the components to guide them and as they gain confidence, you can reuse this with them and they will create something completely different.

I will definitely be using this again!

NOTE - as with most everything I do/create, the 1st rendition is rarely "amazing", so the version I'm sharing with you is somewhat different from what I used with my students. When I do it again, I wanted to be sure I was explicit with the four aspects - topic, tool, project, & audience - and I wanted to also have students create a Doc they could use more than once and not have to start over. 

If you'd like to make your own copy, please check out the "Self-guided Project Template" housed on my companion blog, Templates for Teachers. Feel free to look around at the other templates shared. You can make copies of any/all of them and then modify to best suit you.

If you use this with your students, will you let me know how it goes? I'd love to know.

Enjoy!

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Docs Scavenger Hunt Middle School Students Can Do

My adventures are picking up and I'm ready to share one of my recent ones. My 6th graders have quite a bit of knowledge - I'm quite impressed! As they get older, I know they will depend more and more on Google Docs, so I wanted to be sure they build a solid foundation. I did as I have preached so often ... take what it's already there and modify it! 

Just about a year ago, I published "Docs Scavenger Hunt You Can Do" sharing how I modified from Catlin Tucker. Today I'm sharing how I modified this - again - for my current 6th graders. We moved well beyond basic formatting into some pretty awesome tools and capabilities. Depending on how much background your students have had with Google Docs, you may need to modify this or take portions out. 

You can get your own copy of the scavenger hunt for middle schoolers on my partner blog, Templates for Teachers. (Feel free to look around at the other templates housed there, too!)

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Docs Scavenger Hunt You Can Do

I have been spending some time in 3rd grade classes lately and recently, I had the pleasure of showing them a little more about Google Docs. Docs is where most adults start when using Google tools, but it's the 2nd tool that students use (behind Google Slides). And at 3rd grade, our students already have a bit of background, so I used a "scavenger hunt" rather than a blank Google Doc.

The couple of weeks leading up to this tech lesson, we had dug into Google Slides, so I started this lesson off with "hands off" and just looking at your screen, compare Slides to Docs. [I HIGHLY recommend doing a visual comparison before jumping in ... you can quickly gauge how much each group knows/doesn't know so you can more easily pace your activities.] It's always amazing to me what stands out and what doesn't stand out. Some students notice very small things (one commented on not having the paint bucket in Docs) and others find much bigger things (the color of the "Share" button).

Moving into the actual scavenger hunt, I let the students know that I did not originally create it, but I DID modify it to better fit them. [Thank you, Catlin Tucker!] I've used this before with students and it works really well! This year, I broke up the questions a bit more to fit the amount of time I get to spend with them - my goal is one page per visit. 

I'm going to share the link to "Google Docs Scavenger Hunt for 3rd grade" here, but the link is going to take you to my co-written blog, Templates for Teachers. Keeping all of the student activities together makes a lot of sense. Now, I call it "for 3rd grade" because that is the group of students I use it with, but you are more than welcome to change it or take it off completely. Please also feel free to modify to add/subtract the "hunt". 

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2033 Time Capsule You Can Do

We are in a very unique month ... February 2022 ... or 2-2022. And if you look at specific dates, you'll see two more more unique dates: 2-2-2022 and 2-22-2022. Have seen the posts on social media suggesting  students to create time capsules like I have? What makes 2/2022 even more unique is the current first graders will be in their SENIOR YEAR in 2033! Layer on specific dates and these 1st graders will experience March 3, 2033 ... or 3-3-2033 ... in their senior year.

How cool are these dates?

I shared this idea of time capsules with the 1st grade teachers in my district and they all loved it as much as I did. I'm excited to see what becomes of this activity! Today, I am sharing the digital activity I created to go in the time capsules.

This activity is loosely based on the idea of capturing "now" in a way that can easily be compared to future dates. I bought something like this for my own daughters capturing their birth year information. You are welcome to use it "as is" or it can be completely customized to better fit you and your students. I created one slide to fit current 1st graders and one slide that will work for students of all ages.

Interested? Click the image below to make a copy for you & your students. What else will you include in YOUR time capsules?

Tech-infused Valentine's activities You Can Do

I was inspired last Monday to create an activity for a group of kindergarteners for Groundhog's Day. I had just watched a video about a new extension called Mote. (Website - https://www.justmote.me/) I thought it would be perfect to use, if it worked the way that had been explained. It absolutely did what it said - easily inserted audio onto Google Slides.

 I shared the activity via Google Classroom and I got to see first-hand these kiddos doing the activities I had designed. For the most part I was thrilled! But I also saw some things I had not anticipated. I knew I could do better and I wanted to do better! So this week, I sat down and took all of that in and created what I am sharing below.

One of the things I realized very quickly is including audio is a VERY important step, especially if we want to encourage independence. Adding audio in short snippets and locating it in strategic spots is also important. Something else I realized is these kiddos like choice. I try to use a variety of activities that use different skills. I also wanted to make sure there was several activities so the kiddos who can do more have more to do. Keeping each slide simple is also important.

Finally, more than ever, I see how valuable the master slide is for this age group. Being able to put text or visuals on a slide with little ability for students to accidentally delete is critical. I have been intimidated by the master slide for awhile, but I'm embracing it now and loving the benefits!

And ... if you've not yet checked out Mote, don't waste another minute! I cannot tell you how easy it is to use!!! (And it saves directly to your Google Drive - but not in a specific folder, so make sure to organize the recordings right away.)

The slides below are created for kindergartners, but you are welcome to make your own copy and modify it to better fit your students! The links are below.

If you want your own copy, here is a link for a template view: Valentine's Day

Looking for more - or different activities - for Valentine's Day? I've got an entire Valentine's Wakelet collection for them! 

I hope you (& your students) enjoy this or any of the other activities! If you have any questions, please feel free to comment below!

You can also find me on:

Twitter - @kiefersj

Facebook - Sarah Kiefer

email - sarah@TechYouCanDo.com

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.

*** Every Monday, I share a newsletter with a collection of Tech You Can Do resources. It is delivered right to your inbox. Interested? Sign up here!  ***

Gratitude A-Z You Can Do

This week I am taking a pause from Google Classroom because November is quite possibly one of my favorite months! I'll be 100% honest - it IS my birthday month, BUT honest and truly, I love the leaves changing ... I love the fall smell in the air ... I love how some days are warm, but some have a chill ... and most of all, I love Thanksgiving. My mom does an AMAZING Thanksgiving dinner. The entire nine yards. Yum!!!

This year has been a tough year. Yes, all around T O U G H. But here we are. It's mid-November. I can smell the turkey. I can taste my mom's dinner rolls and the pumpkin pie. (I load mine with Cool whip!) Yum yum yum.

While it's been a tough year, I still know I have a lot to be grateful for. I write 6 items I am grateful for each day in my journal. My family is always number one. Our health is number two. Sometimes it's the weather, sometimes it's a co-worker who has been incredibly helpful; it has been that my husband didn't lose his job, my daughter didn't need stitches, we all got to go back to school, and so on.

The activity I'm sharing today is "Gratitude A-Z You Can Do" and has all the slides A-Z in the add a slide area, so it won't overwhelm any student. Instruct students to complete 1 slide each day, or multiple. It's a total of 26 slides. Not sure you can devote that much time to it? Have students spell out their name or "thankful" or another Thanksgiving-related word.

Interested in making your own copy? Click on this link for "Gratitude A-Z You Can Do." Now you can use your own copy to create an Assignment in Google Classroom (or your chosen LMS). I highly recommend using the "Make a copy" for each student.

In case you are looking for more, or even something additional, last year I shared the activity I created for 4th graders in my district. I called it "Thankful Thoughts You Can Do". (Feel free to click the link and explore that activity.) I've also been collecting Thanksgiving-related activities in, you guessed it, a Thanksgiving collection. I hope you and your students enjoy!

Do you know of other good activities? I'd love to add them. You can leave them in the comments below ⤵ or connect with me on the socials - linked above right. 

Google Sheets in the Classroom You Can Do

Last week I shared one of the presentations I did at TCCA. This week, I'm sharing the other one. Google Sheets in the Classroom is focused on using Google Sheets with students in your classroom. Sheets - at first glance - is a spreadsheet tool. And you're not wrong ... but as with so many of the Google tools, don't just use it for its initial use. Look beyond.

Google Sheets has the ability to break any activity or task into multiple parts ... use the tabs at the bottom in a similar manner to new slides in Google Slides or a new page in Google Docs. You can insert images two different ways; merge cells to make larger spots; change the font, the font size and color; fill cells with color; and so much more! I also built my entire presentation IN Sheets so that you can see quickly how versatile Sheets truly can be.

In my presentation, I share 5 activities I've created for use in classrooms. I also share one of my favorite tools - Flippity.net - where Steve shares numerous pre-made activities you can also do. ALL use Sheets as its creation tool. My favorites are the Flashcards, Spelling Words, Matching Game, and Timeline. Sooooo many more - I encourage you to check them and use them. But don't stop there ... encourage your STUDENTS to also use them and build their own.

The most common comment I hear when I bring up using Sheets with teacher and students is that Sheets is very intimidating and teachers are uncomfortable using it. I want to change that. I'm hoping that by sharing this presentation and activities, teachers will see Sheets as a valuable tool.

And here is my presentation, Google Sheets for the Classroom. 

I hope you try out at least one of the activities with your students. I do believe that Sheets is a wonderful addition to every class.

One more thing ... if you are interested in learning more & going more in depth with Google Sheets, I did a 2 hour webinar this past summer called "Intro to Google Sheets". I'd love it if you check this one out, too!

Do you have any questions? Need or want some help? I'd love to help. Please feel free to comment below ... Tweet at me @kiefersj ... find me on Facebook ... or even email me sarah@techyoucando.com.

And don't forget ... I have a Google Sheets Wakelet collection where I'm always adding to it with awesome Sheets tips, tricks, and resources.

Templates You Can Do ... like Alyssa!

I am thrilled to share this today! It's a bright spot in all of the strange and difficult times we've been through the past couple of months. To start, you might know I have a co-created website - Templates for Teachers - with Beth Kingsley. We shared it nearly two years ago and have worked to add to it. About a month ago, we shifted it over to a new site and have enjoyed it even more! I can't believe it's been a month since we shared out the new site. We've published a handful more templates as we continue to move them over & we'd love for you to check them out.

Beth's and my goal with Templates for Teachers is that we create for our classes and we share the templates on our site for anyone to take. You are welcome to use them as they are, or modify them to your own needs. Our previous site only allowed us to actually share the templates. Our new site allows us to also share ideas on how to use them with younger or older students. You can also use the filtering to help you view similar templates or types of templates.

I received an email from a good friend of mine, Alyssa, on April 29. She shared a Google Slide with me and included a note telling me she'd found a template on our site & modified it to fit her class. It's stories like this that are bright spots in the midst of these strange times. 

Here is Alyssa's story - Beth created the "Mother's Day Gazette" for her 3rd graders as a project for Mother's Day last year. (This is an amazing template and they turned out super awesome!) Alyssa was browsing our site and saw it. Alyssa is a 7th & 8th grade Social Studies teacher, mind you. When she saw the gazette, she saw it as a way for her 7th grade students to demonstrate their learning of the Renaissance with a scrapbook. 

Whaaaaaaat??? Do you see a Renaissance scrapbook from the Mother's Day Gazette? I didn't, but Alyssa did! And she is graciously allowing me to share it on our Templates for Teachers website - to quickly find it, click on the label "Alyssa Bruck" on the far right side of the site! You have to check it out - BOTH are amazing! And it's truly a dream come true for me to see a colleague (& friend!) to take one of our templates and modify it to fit her needs in such a creative way!

Alyssa has since followed up the scrapbook with THREE more Renaissance themed templates! (These are also featured on our Templates site) And then this week - just when I was struggling with focus on school work, yet ANOTHER email from Alyssa appeared. I opened it to find a Civil War Choice Board she created & is using with her students during these last weeks of remote learning. Kudos to you, Alyssa! I was blown away! Truly! And to think ... all of this happening during our time of remote learning!?!

This just goes to demonstrate we all have room to grow and we all have our struggles. But when we pull together, we can do more than we thought possible. I count myself lucky to work with both Beth & Alyssa, and I count myself lucky to be able to share it with you. 

Do you have questions or comments? I'd love to hear from you! Please comment below - connect on Twitter (@kiefersj) - or email me directly (sarah@techyoucando.com).

Finally, I have a few exciting things to share:

* I was honored to be a guest on the GEG Ohio April meeting. I shared about the apps I've created with Slides & Glide Apps. You can check out the recording here (April meeting YouTube link) - be sure to fill out the fill out the form to earn PD credit!

* I am going to present a more detailed session about building apps with my #NYC19 Google Innovator Coach, Dr. Desiree Alexander, on her FREE webinar series. This will be Sat, May 30 @ 12 pm EST (11 am CST). You can find more info & the sign up link at edalex.net/appbuild .

* I will also be presenting "6 Steps to Organize Your Google Drive" on June 2 at 1 pm EST (12 pm CST) for the GEG Louisiana. The leader is fellow #NYC19 Google Innovator, Wiley Brazier! You can sign up on the GEG Louisiana website. 

Infusion of Tech You Can Do

I planned to share this about 6 weeks ago - my heart was swelling with pride & accomplishment! Life changed suddenly and I put this on pause. Now, I want to share it because it deserves its day in the spotlight. It's sure to make you smile!

The second grade team at one of my buildings asked me to help them last year with their Wax Museum. They wanted to record their students "being" the historical person and then share the video with parents. We set up shop in a small conference room with a simple black background and the title "2nd Grade Wax Museum". I used a video recorder to make a video for each teacher and then handed it over to each teacher to share. When all was said & done, one of the teachers and I started chatting about potential "level ups" for the next year.

Fast-forward to THIS year. Our district is knee-deep in PBL's (project-based learning). This 2nd grade team chose to use the wax museum to be their PBL and they asked me to help. We talked through their requirements and structure and I came prepared with some ideas. We settled on how we wanted it to go ... and can I tell you right now how PROUD I am of the students?!?!?! (The teachers did a phenomenal job getting them ready, too, but the students were the stars!)

The whole theme to my blog is "Tech You Can Do" and each week my goal is to share something that you and your students can do. For this one, I don't have a template for you to duplicate. But what I am going to share below is their process and what the students did. It is just flat out awesome and I know you can duplicate something out of here for your own students.

May I start by pointing out to you that we are talking about 7 & 8 year olds? Yep. Second graders are 7 & 8 years old. To start, they chose a person that interested them. Then they did some guided research with their teachers - and used both online and print resources. Students took their research and turned it into a paragraph about their person, most of them using a first-person voice. This was typed on a single Google Slide. A second Google Slide was used to create a backdrop for their person using images or items that match their person. Throughout this, they also were working on costumes or props for their person.

Prior to our scheduled taping day, I turned a conference room into our "studio" with the help of our media manager, Diana. After various trouble-shooting and some quick thinking between Diana & myself, we welcomed the famous people into the studio. On recording day, each student stood in front of a large screen display - with their background on display; I was in the center, next to a table with my phone, which was our recording device, a pair of headphones with a microphone attached stretching toward the student; and a second large screen behind me, displaying their Slide with their paragraph (our "teleprompter"). We also had tape, a step stood, and various odds & ends that allowed for the "best" recording for each student. A chromebook was attached to each display to allow the teachers to bring up their Google Classroom where the 2 Google Slides were housed.

Now you, might think, whoa. What did you do with all those videos? Easy!!! Each teacher set-up a Flipgrid grid and I actually just recorded IN the app, so each students' video automatically was captured there. At the end of each recording, I adjusted the names to be that of the student & their historical person. IT. WAS. (and still is) AMAZING!!!! 

And it doesn't end there ... an unintended ability with Flipgrid is the teachers were able to share the videos with their class - allowing for commenting - but ALSO, a QR code & link directly to each student was created and easily shared. Oh how I love when a tool works out so nicely!!! It was amazing to see the kids and be part of this project. Working as a team, we recording right around 100 students! (I even re-recorded a few whose videos were taped side-ways.)

I'd like to wrap this up with a couple of main points:

1. I've used Flipgrid maybe twice before this ... it was a huge risk on my part! Yikes! I was nervous!
2. This was big change in the way this project worked for the teachers ... and it was AWESOME!
3. It's never a bad idea to try something new!

We got some really positive feedback from this from the parents. My favorite is one of the teachers shared that the dad of a student is currently deployed, and his mom wrote to say thank you because she could share the video very quickly and easily. The dad could see his child and feel better connected. Tears. Then and now. 

I also want to give a shout out to Ann Kozma! I contacted her prior to the taping to ask some questions. THANK YOU! I appreciate your help!

Have a great week!

"Val the Valentine" You Can Do

I did not plan on creating this activity. It is actually not even my idea. But sometimes, hallway conversations have a way of pushing me TO do something I hadn't thought of or planned. 

Many of the templates I create have a pretty cute story behind them. Here is the story of Val. I was walking down the hall last Thursday, and a young student paused and smiled up at me. I smiled back and he stopped, looked at me and asked, "Are you going to come to my class so we can decorate hearts?" 💖

A little background to this question - I've gone into our 1st grade classrooms around Halloween to decorate a pumpkin (thanks to Eric Curts); around Thanksgiving to dress up a turkey (thanks to Beth Kingsley); and Christmas to decorate a tree (thanks again, Eric Curts). 

So really, he already anticipated this activity. We chatted for a bit about how he'd like to decorate hearts and then he proceeded to give me specific dates he'd prefer I come in - he apparently has a vacation coming up and didn't want to miss out 😆.

So thanks to this little one, I designed "Val the Valentine"! It it definitely geared to a younger audience, but older students can add in their own flair if you are ok with that by changing colors, adding in space to write a Valentine note, or search additional Valentine themed images and borders.

Val the Valentine

Here is a link to the template.
If the preview doesn't work, try ↬ Val the Valentine 

Feel free to make your own copy & share out with your kiddos. (I suggest using the "Make a Copy for each Student" in Google Classroom for your littlest ones.) I've also added it to our ever growing collection of templates on "Templates for Teachers". You are welcome to make your own copy of any of them and share/modify to make them your own.

For older students, you might want to check out Valentine's Activities You Can Do, a choice board of activities I shared out last year. There are 6 activities definitely geared toward older students.

Do you know of other Valentine themed activities? I'm working to grow my "Holiday-themed" Wakelet collections and my Valentine's is pretty weak. You can check it out here ↬ https://wke.lt/w/s/eUTHpQ . Would you mind sharing ones you know of? I'd love to grow this collection.

And as always, I'd love to connect! Do you have a question, comment, or idea? Share them with me on Twitter (@kiefersj), via email: sarah@techyoucando.com, or in the comments below.

Happy Valentine's Day!

Insert Audio (... for kids!) You Can Do

Just under a year go, Google announced the ability to add audio in Slides. I was SUPER excited! I couldn't wait. It was released and I immediately went to try it out. I didn't have it in my school account, but I did in my personal Google account. Woot! Woot! 

I figured it was just a matter of time before I had it at school. I talked with a few teachers about using this new feature ... and we waited ... and waited ... and waited ... and waited ... and, then I read Google was halting the release. Boo!!!

But it has finally arrived and it's widely available! YESSSS!!!!

So far, I have utilized this feature on a few of the templates I have created, especially for the little ones. It is a fantastic way to help ensure, that regardless of the reading ability, students will be have the ability of independently (or repeatedly) hearing the directions.

I also used it with a 7th grade ELA teacher around Christmas time. She wanted her students to write a Christmas story for younger readers, and read it out loud on slides. These slides were then shared with the two elementary buildings and teachers could listen to the wonderful stories written AND read, by the 7th grade author. Such a WONDERFUL activity!

Recently, I have been working with multiple grades on PBL projects (Problem Based Learning). Some of the students are interested in using this feature, so I decided some instructions might be in order so teachers can share them with these kiddos now, and have for future use, too. The steps themselves, are simple. But there are a few of them - and settings will be important for the end result.

As always, feel free to make your own copy & adjust specifics if you need to. And don't forget, YOU can do this, too! The directions are the same. I also created a "Quick Reference" tip sheet you can print & share with students. Don't worry, I included a QR code that links them to the comprehensive directions.

Insert Audio You Can Do document
↬ Google Docs, ready to share (feel free to make your own copy and modify to best fit you & your students).

Insert Audio: Quick Reference sheet
↬ PDF version, ready to print
↬ Google Drawings version, in case you want to modify





How many different ways can you think to use audio in Slides? Please make sure to share with others. This is a fantastic tool for students of ALL ages! I'm excited to hear what others do with this ability. Be sure to let me know!

Have a question, comment, or idea? Share them with me on Twitter (@kiefersj), via email: sarah@techyoucando.com, or in the comments below.

Research Template You Can Do

For the past 3 weeks, I've shared about doing better Google searches, results, and citations. During this time, my own 4th grade daughter brought home a research project ... to be done at home. (How ironic?!) 

As I was writing "Citations You Can Do" last week, she began doing her own research ... and quickly became frustrated. Now, she knows how to do the basics: she created a Google Doc, opened a tab and began doing her research. But she became frustrated with HOW to go about collecting information. She had her rubric in front of her with her teachers' requirements, but from there she was lost. She hasn't done much research, nor has she been given much direct instruction on research. She started copying and pasting information from the Internet and told me she was done. When I questioned her on putting it in her own words, she got frustrated and walked away from the computer.

It dawned on me in that moment:

• it's not that she didn't WANT to research (she was actually very excited!)
• it's not that she COULDN'T research (she understood the process of looking up info), and
• it definitely wasn't that she didn't have the TOOLS to research (we have a desktop & various devices along with her info from her teacher).

It was simply she didn't know HOW to take the requirements from her teacher and use it to guide her when she researched.

Now let me give you a little background on her ... she asks questions all the time. She is happy to ask ANYONE questions ... me, her dad, sisters, teachers, principal, even Siri & Google. So why not this time? Why not now? I didn't realize it at first, but I realized she didn't see the requirements as questions to answer. They were statements. She read "climate" and researched "climate". She found a paragraph about the climate for her ecosystem and copied & pasted it. Done, right? Requirement fulfilled?

With this new realization, rather than argue with her, I tried a different tactic. While she was taking a break, I jumped onto her Google Doc and wrote the requirements as individual questions. One piece of information at a time. For each of the 3 required paragraphs. (I also included a direction at the end of each paragraph for pasting the URL of her sources.) When she came back over, she asked what I was doing. I asked her to try again, and this time, answer the questions. Just type out the info she finds. We didn't worry about complete sentences. She searched, she read, and she jotted down info in her own words because she was answering the questions. It worked!

* On the left is the paper she brought home. The typed part on the right is what I did for her. *

Once she had the research part done, I took a deep breath and told her it was now time to write her information in paragraph form. I waited for a negative reaction. BUT ... she jumped in, restated the questions, and wrote her paragraphs (clearly, she's had practice doing that!). And since I had her copy and paste the URLs from her searches (for her citations at the end), if she had questions, she was able to open them up and confirm her own questions. She even took the time to include a few pictures of the plants and animals she included. (That's my girl!) And since she is confident enough in Docs, she tackled the spelling & grammar errors like a champ!

The realization that there is a difference between giving students a set of requirements to include in their research and the ability of them to DO the research smacked me in the face. How often have I assumed students know HOW to take my expectations and turn it into a report? How often has that word "assume" come back to smack me in the face? How many more times will it?

So rather than sit back and hope this gets better, I created a template to share. There is no way I can anticipate every research project for every teacher, but hopefully, you can look at this and recognize ways you can make modifications to your rubric/guidelines/ expectations/etc so your students are able to better research.

Research Template

To the left is a peek at the research template I created. (It is a Google Doc since most reports are seen as word processed documents, but I can easily see this done on Slides, too.)

I broke it down into 4 parts. Feel free to use or adjust what works for you.

At the top, there is space for students to write down the topic. This is very important, especially working with younger, or first time, researches, or if your students will be researching with the help of parents or another teacher.

Part 1 is dedicated to the actual research. I suggest teachers write the requirements on the left in the form of questions. Students are asked to write their info on the right side of the chart.

Part 2 asks students to write their paragraphs directly below the chart of info they gathered. This is helpful so they are working only with the information for that paragraph. I also hope it limits the fear of being overwhelmed. One paragraph at a time.

Part 3 guides students in turning their sources into citations. I like using "Cite This For Me." However, if you are working with older students and have very specific guidelines, please feel free to substitute your instructions.

Finally, Part 4 is all about cleaning it up. (I called it polishing up.) Since it's a Google Doc, the version history will always tell the full story. I included a couple of suggestions on how to polish it up. You'll have to decide what's the best for you and your students.

Click here for the link for the "Research Template". If you like what you see, please click on "File" and then make yourself a copy. I cannot stress enough that you are welcome to use what works and adjust anything that doesn't.

I've also added this template to my co-created website "Templates for Teachers". This site is devoted to sharing out items similar to this research template. My friend & colleague, Beth Kingsley, & I created this over a year ago and we have just about 70 templates for various activities. You are welcome to make your own copy and fit it to you and your students.

And if you are looking for help on how to guide them to better research, please check out these previous blogs:

• Better Google Searching You Can Do
• Better Google Results You Can Do
• Citations You Can Do

Research is something we all want our students to do and to do well. Please do not assume they know how to do it, or that they know how to do it well. Even if they are high school students, I'd love know how much they improve if we take a little bit of time and do some direct instruction on good research skills.


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