Classroom Tools

Classroom tools sounds like an incredibly vague term.  Topically, when I think of classroom tools, I of course think of the things that I use to make my life as a teacher easier.  However, when presented with, more specifically, classroom tool software, my mind is immediately drawn again to PowerPoint and simple concept maps, diagrams, etc.  Essentially, I use these tools as a way to organize my students' thinking.  The bulk of my curriculum is teaching Spanish vocabulary.  For each unit, depending on the grade level, there are anywhere between 10 and 30 new vocabulary words for my students to learn.  I use these tools as a way to organize and make meaningful the various vocab words.  I will very often create webs to illustrate how different words are related, and help to compartmentalize various vocabulary.  For example, one 4th grade unit is Food and Restaurant.  We will create a concept map that starts with foods and restaurants and branches out to fruits, vegetables, meats, drinks, desserts, etc. as well as ordering food and talking about a menu.  I quite often use PowerPoint as a means to introduce new units and present new material in a meaningful way, so as to create both a visual and audio memory of the vocabulary.

My students will often help contribute to said PowerPoints and webs.  Many times I will pass out papers for students to fill in their own webs as we are having a classroom discussion, organizing their thoughts in their own way, and I will ask for a reflection for understanding.  Similarly, if we are going through a PowerPoint, I will often have a slide that asks them what they already know about a topic, and will fill it in as we go along.

Moving forward, I would like to utilize these tools as a means of productivity on my own end.  Having webs with vocabulary helps me remember from year to year students' thinking as I tried new means of introduction or discussion.  Furthermore, keeping amendments to my PowerPoints and keeping notes keeps me thinking about how I can do something different from year to year or even unit to unit (perhaps a venn diagram was not developmentally appropriate for one age group, while a concept map was not challenging enough, for example).