Pass the Story Please!

My fourth graders are working on writing fiction. We added two twists using Google docs. Each student created a document in which they started writing a story with two characters. They are creating rebus stories, in which some words are omitted and are replaced by images.

Using Google documents makes this task seamless. Using the research tools, students can conduct searches in the same window in which they are writing. Research is opened under "Tools."

Students select "images" (signified by the camera icon) in the pull down menu of the search window. I help them narrow the type of images they find by asking them to use "clip art ______." When they find an image they wish to use in their story, they simply drag it into the sentence and resize it. If they want to use the same image later in their story, it is easy to copy and paste it.








Students wrote the beginning of their story only. They then shared their document with a classmate designated by me. Each student went to their "Shared with me" folder to find their classmate's story beginning. After reading the story beginning and selecting a different font, they continued the story. My instructions gave them freedom to change anything about the story except the characters. After writing the middle of the story, they share it with a third student who changes the font again and writes the story ending.

Students enjoyed writing these collaborative rebus stories.

Need to gather information easily? Try Google forms!

Our district now has Google Apps For Education (GAFE).  I have a difficult time answering the question, "Which App is the most useful?" I am really enjoying docs, presentations and drawings. When I need to assess students or gather information from students or staff, I use forms.

I am able to write my items in a variety of formats. Here are check boxes, a text field and multiple choice options. The red asterisk indicates the item is required. I find it really handy because students are unable to submit their responses if they leave a question unanswered. In this way, they never inadvertently miss giving a response.

A recent improvement to forms is the ability to drag images onto the items. It greatly expands the kinds of information you can share with your audience. I used Skitch to label a photograph to help students practice their search skills. Think of the possibilities in using images for math, geography, science and art.

While it is easy to write and edit the items in a form, the ability to automatically collect all responses in a Google spreadsheet is a huge time saver! Instead of looking at a stack of quizzes, surveys or assignments, you can view all responses on one screen. I love being able to compare all responses to the same item at a glance.

We collect teacher feedback after all school-wide professional development sessions. I used a Google form for our most recent session as a way to introduce the use of forms to our staff. 

When done creating your form, choose where you want the responses to go. I usually select a new spreadsheet, which will be named as the form is. Double check to make sure "Accepting responses" is showing.


How have you used forms in your classroom? How might you?