Wordle

Have you ever considered using Wordle in your classroom?  If not, you should!  It's a free tool that allows you to create word clouds that show prominent words in a body of text.  You can copy and paste any text, including individual words.  You can also use the Advanced feature to specifically tell the program which words should show more prominently.  (http://www.wordle.net/)


Here are some quick ideas on how to use Wordle in class -
• Analyze Presidential addresses - google a President's speech, then copy and paste it into Wordle; do two or more speeches to compare
• Use as a cover for a report - at a quick glance, the teacher can see what is being emphasized in the report
• Use for vocabulary or spelling words - introduce a unit, a story or the weekly spelling words in a Wordle word cloud
• Use for reading comprehension - design a Wordle with the important terms from some content area; ask students to make predictions of what they will learn as they read or ask students to review what they've read by writing sentences using the words in the Wordle
• For math or social studies, easily see results of surveys - for example, take a survey of the class as to their favorite colors or favorite foods, then use the Advanced feature of Wordle to input the results; at a quick glance, the entire class can see what the favorite color or food is (the one that was answered most)
• For language arts or social studies, use Wordle to find bias in news reporting - take a news article and copy and paste it into Wordle, then look for the prominent words


Wordle is very easy to learn and use.  For more information, go to http://tedteachersnetwork.pbworks.com/w/page/30355297/Wordle.  This is a Wiki page that includes 1) What is Wordle?; 2) How to make a word cloud in Wordle (video); 3) How can it be used in class? (list and video); and 4) Useful Links (at the time of this writing, there were 48 ways to use Wordle in the classroom listed).


Try using Wordle in your classroom today!  It's that simple and easy to do!

November is here!

Another month has arrived and it won't be long before we'll be planning for Thanksgiving and Christmas and everything in between.  This week I will be in the office for most of the time.  I will not be working on Election Day, November 2nd.  On Wednesday morning I will be spending some time with a teacher about SchoolLoop and on Thursday I will be at the middle school all day working with 6th graders and their ILPs (Individual Learning Plans).  The rest of the time I should be in the office working on various projects and tasks.


This week I want to share some sites that I found through Simple K12.  These are considered to be Web 2.0 tools, which usually means they are free and easily usable in a classroom. 


Graphic Organizers #1 - This site contains PDFs of graphic organizers to help structure projects and help students learn more effectively.  They are easily downloaded.


Graphic Organizers #2 - Graphic organizers are an illustration of your thoughts on paper.  They can help you brainstorm, organize, and visualize your ideas.  These graphic organizers have teaching notes that go with each type.  They are easily downloaded in PDF form.


Geography Mapping - This site gives you a place at the top and some hints on finding the place.  Your job is to find the corresponding place on the map at the bottom of the page.  Interesting!


Word Clouds - Create your own word cloud.  Type in or copy and paste text, then adjust the background and word colors, etc.  You can save, print or put the resulting Word Cloud on items to purchase. 


Exploring the Planets - This site lets you compare and explore the planets, plus lets you learn about the tools of exploration that are used. 


Hopefully you'll find something usable this week!  Don't forget to exercise your right to vote on Tuesday!