Activity - Postcard to a Community or School Worker

Students use AlphaSmarts and AppleWorks Templates to create a postcard.

• Put students in small groups. Invite a parent volunteer or study buddies to help type if necessary. Enter the name of a community worker or school worker into an alphasmart for each group.
• Keyboarder shares group community worker and the group brainstorms everything they know the worker does.

Compose a group letter.

• Review the structure for the letter and have each group compose a letter to their community worker.

  Dear _________, We think you _______. What else do you do? Sincerely,

Create the postcard.

• Upload the contents from the AlphaSmarts into the postcard template.
• An image created from KidPix can be inserted, or postcards can be printed and students can illustrate them.

Additional Ideas and Resources

• KidPix Projects completed by Jordan School District classrooms.
• AppleWorks Templates
• AlphaSmart Ideas
• Balanced Literacy Site

Considerations:

• Use AlphaSmarts in a center
  • Parents can be asked to transcribe
  • Study Buddies can be asked to transcribe
• Create the written part of the project as an entire class. Have individual students create their own illustration.

Activity 1: Classroom Newsletter

Using AlphaSmarts and an AppleWorks Template to Create a Class Newsletter

• Brainstorm all the different articles that could be used in a class newsletter
• Assign groups or individual students an article to complete. Students write articles using AlphaSmarts
• Upload articles from AlphaSmarts into the newsletter template. Add images and edit text.

Activity 2: Pass the Story

Students use AlphaSmarts to create several round robin stories.

• Each student begins with an AlphaSmart. The first round students begin a story by describing the setting where the story takes place.
• Students rotate alphasmarts and read over the paragraph written introducing the setting. The second round begins as students describe a character to the story.
• Students rotate alphasmarts, read the entire story and continue the story describing a problem the character has.
• Students rotate the alphasmarts and finish the story with a solution to the problem.
• Stories can then be among groups and with the class.

Activity 3: StoryMap

Students read a story and use AlphaSmarts and Inspiration to create a story map.

• Students read a story as a group.
• After the story is read, students think of all important events that took place. One student records the events on the AlphaSmart.
• Use the "RapidFire" option in Inspiration to upload all events from the group brainstorm. (Select and delete all links once the information has been loaded.)
• Arrange events in sequential order and replace symbols with appropriate images.

Additional Ideas and Resources

• AppleWorks Templates
• AlphaSmart Ideas
• Balanced Literacy Site
• 6-Traits Writing Page