Second graders at Holladay Elementary have been learning about time (SOL2.9), so today students in Ms. Fournier’s class created a Time book with Book Creator. First we practiced telling time to the nearest five minutes with an analog clock online (other ones are here and here). We discussed the difference between AM and PM and the activities they would be doing at the different times. Next we went to Book Creator, and I showed them how to use the various tools: text, drawing, recording, camera and image search. I explained that they could use any of the tools they wanted to create their book. Each student made a title page with the word “Time” and a photo or two of clocks. For the next page, I gave them an image of a blank clock face that they could upload to their books. Then they used the drawing tools to draw a minute hand and an hour hand on it. They also typed a sentence telling the time and what they would be doing at that time. I encouraged the students to add extra pages to their books if they had time. One cool feature of Book Creator is the “Read to me” button at the top right. If you click it, a computer-generated voice reads the book aloud. This is a great feature to help students proofread their writing because they will hear when the voice reads something that doesn’t sound right. Finally, after the students finished their individual pages, I combined them all together into one class book that you can see here.

Second graders at Holladay Elementary have been learning about probability (SOL2.18) and predicting whether an outcome is likely or unlikely. Today, students in Ms. Edmonds’ class created a Probability Book with BookCreator. After reviewing several examples of probability, we logged into BookCreator with the teacher code and created a new book. On the first page the students added a text box and typed “Probability.” Then they added a photo of themselves using the built-in webcam feature. I also showed them how to change the background color. On the next page, they drew a group of different colored objects and typed a sentence like, “What is the probability of picking a yellow ___ ?” Finally, on the last page, they typed the answer (LIKELY or UNLIKELY) and added a photograph from the Internet. This gave them practice using the three different ways to get images in BookCreator (using the webcam, drawing, or uploading a photo). Once all their pages were finished, I combined them into one book and published the link on Schoology. Now, as they read their class book, they are reviewing probability and its terms in a fun way! You can read their book here.