Kristin+L

My Wiki address is: Miss LaRonde's Word Wall Wiki

I developed this with my current students in mind. They are between the ages of 11 and 13 but read at varying levels from about a 1st grade to 3rd grade level. Many of them are very interested in books and they love listening to me read stories and chapter books. But since their own reading skills are so delayed, they have trouble reading on their own. They have a lot of difficulty reading fluently, so we are continuously practicing strategies to increase their reading fluency so they can read with ease independently. Identifying and studying word families is one way to increase their word recognition. In my Wiki, I incorporated the use of a word wall into an online exercise. They all love to use the computer and the internet and are very good at maneuvering around it, so I thought this may be a way to motivate them to practice reading word families and becoming familiar with a large repertoire of words. The students could work on this in class, we could set aside time in the computer lab for it, or I could give them the website for use at home.

I would like to use the Wiki in a way that my students can log onto the site and edit the page themselves. This would give them a great sense of accomplishment. I would also like to explore using Wikis for thematic unit research and lessons. We could make a Wiki for a given unit topic, and the students could add information to the Wiki as we go along in the unit. I definitely lean toward using the Wiki for collaborative projects and assignments. Although, using it for content delivery is another good idea. It may be a good way to review and reinforce things learned in class. I also like the idea of using it for collaborative note-taking. This would not work for the class I teach now as they are just in the beginning stages of knowing how to take notes, but with an older or more advanced class, I think it would be great. They could all add their own notes and then we could use it as a study aid/guide for unit tests. Using it as a space for discussion is another way I would love to someday use the Wiki. I love the idea of each student having a space to state his or her own ideas and thoughts. This may be a more comfortable way for some students to express those ideas as well.

All in all, big supporter of the Wiki!

Here's my podcast! media type="file" key="Kristin podcast.mp3" width="187" height="32"