Symbaloo!

Sometimes, when my students find themselves at the end of a project before their peers, or are just in need of a little brain break, they ask to play computer games. For this purpose, I created a Symbaloo full of literacy and English language proficiency skill building games. Check it out!



Ms. Donohoe's ELL Games

Writing IRL

Last year my Level 2 writing class had a lot of fun with procedural writing. After a year of writing to prompts for assessment purposes, it felt good to stretch our writing "legs" and play around with different concepts. From step-by-step instructions about how to perform simple exercises to writing a recipe for ice cream sundaes, my kids learned about the importance of adding details, using precise language, and organization of ideas in a way that was fun and, occasionally, yummy!

For the coming year, I plan to incorporate as many real-life experiences into my writing classes in order to help the content be as relevant to my students' lives as possible. I recently read an article in the Huffington Post about students who partnered with a local animal shelter in Maryland. The students wrote letters about the animals, persuading potential adopters to choose that pet. The results were fantastic, and many pets were adopted into loving homes as a result. Here is the full article: "These Elementary School Students Will Totally Persuade You To Adopt a Dog Right Now"

Perhaps a field trip to Lincoln's new animal shelter could also be in order.... ;)

Techno

From technophobe to technophile in less than 3 weeks.

I've never been what anyone would refer to as "tech-savvy." I was elated when I figured out how to do caps lock on my iPhone. However, thanks to some technology courses I'm taking through Doane, I'm learning about some new applications for technology integration in my classroom.

For example, I now have a Twitter feed! I have been using Twitter to learn about, you guessed it! New technology to use in class... and cute animals. Check it out:

https://twitter.com/KatieEDonohoe

Look at me getting all 21st century and stuff!

One, cool app I found is Word Lens. Word Lens (formerly owned by Quest Visual, recently purchased by Google) allows a person to translate things like documents, posters, street signs, etc. by simply holding their mobile device over the targeted text. That sounds complex, even to me, so check out this video. It does a much better job of explaining this.




So far, the app is still in beta, which (I've been told) means it's still not perfect. However, it could be a valuable resource for people all over the world.

Try it out, and tell me what you think. How could this app, or one like it, help you in your daily life?

Make yourself at home!

Welcome to my blog! As the title indicates, this blog chronicles my educational pursuits and adventures as a middle school teacher of English Language Learners. Throughout the course of this year, I will share curricular endeavors, celebrations of learning, and cute pictures of some pretty special kids.

Everyone is an English Language Learner. Even native English speakers can improve upon their ability to read, write, and speak the language. My program operates on the belief that, though we come from various geographical regions and cultural practices, we are a family working toward a common goal. Like all families,we support each other, we respect each other, we care about each other's success, even in spite of our differences.

Because everyone enjoys a party, I am going to begin this blog experience with a celebration. I used Animoto to create a great slideshow highlighting some of our adventures for the 2013-2014 school year.
Enjoy!