The Way I Teach

Read Part 2: How you can use QR codes to teach mini-lessons and reach more students.

QR codes have helped me,

reach more students

cut down on interruptions

ensure students are learning and not just copying

teach vocabulary

teach numbers

front-load

offer scaffolding support

and more

This isn't just for young kids. QR codes can help you teach at any grade level.

Here are 3 main ways I used QR codes to help me teach in the classroom.

Self-Checking
Mini-Lessons
Independent Activities

Under each of those 3 topics there are many different ways to use QR codes. What I mean is this.

Self-Checking can look very different depending on the grade, activity, and purpose. There are 2 things, however, that remains the same for all students, teachers, and grades.

Self-checking is a researched based practice that supports student learning by giving students feedback to monitor their learning.
Giving students immediate feedback can be difficult for teachers.

QR codes can help you give students feedback on their work in a variety of ways regardless of age and grade through images, audio, or video. Those media files can be made by you or by others.

Mini-Lessons can be given using QR codes. But think of the different types of mini-lessons you might need.

Vocabulary support
Charts (graphics or class made)
Rubrics (when students forget criteria)
Phonics Skills
Refreshers/Reviews of content
Front-loading

Independent Activities can help you reach more students. If you have QR codes that lead to lessons, you can reach more kids. Sometimes that may require audio for your ESL students or non-readers but other times it can lead to lessons that are personalized for a specific student or groups of students.

If you are having a hard time visualizing these 3 topics, here are a few examples of resources that demonstrate self-checking using QR codes.

Purpose:

Student support
Immediate feedback

Here is an example of a resource that uses QR codes linked to videos.

I worked with a wonderful lady who made me think harder and that is how the resource below evolved. She was a skeptic of centers and felt that many kindergarten kids probably practiced words that they couldn't read and if they could read and write them, then, why were they practicing them?

Point Taken.

Resource Link

First 10 Words FREE Sample Link

She was correct. If you do centers or word work,take your kids who are struggling with reading and writing vocabulary words in any academic area, sight words, or spelling words in any grade level and I am certain you will find the same thing. Ask them (struggling students) what the word says, means, or to spell it.

In Kindergarten, I did that. My lower 3rd of the class were practicing words in word work centers and they had no idea what the word was that they were doing a word work activity for!

A Solution:

QR codes on rings that students could scan and see and hear the word no matter what center they were in. They also used these in writing. Kids stopped coming up to me to ask, "what's this word?" They had the rule ask 3 before me interruptions were still happening.

Why it works:

Kids got immediate feedback when they needed it and when it mattered.
The QR codes addressed different modalities of learning: visual, kinesthetic, and auditory.
Students were using technology in a meaningful way.

Here is an example of a resource that uses QR codes for self checking linked to images. A QR code with audio would be a great option for students who may have difficulty reading the text.

Resource Link

Students read and better understand how descriptive details lead to painting a picture (literally) but with crayons. When they finish they scan the QR code. If they read the description correctly then their picture should look very similar.

Common Use in Classrooms

Typically, and what you will see a lot of, is teachers who use QR codes for the ever so popular "write the room activities." That's where kids at any age or grade level and any academic area area walk around the room and scan QR codes to reveal a picture, word, or answer to what they are trying to solve. The QR code can reveal an image, text, audio, or video, depending on what you are trying to accomplish.

An example in a primary classroom would be a picture taped or stapled to a wall. The student writes the word, then scans the QR code to see if they spelled the word correctly. That's not the only way but you get it. In the example below, students counted how many animals were on the card and then used a clothespin to clip the number. Students then scanned the QR code to check their answer and get a mini-lesson. I'll show you the mini-lesson in part 2 of this series.

Resource Link FREE

In older grades it might be a math problem or vocabulary word. Students write the definition, scan, and reveal. These are forms of self-checking that help them monitor their learning.

There are so many things and ways to use QR codes in the classroom and you don't have to have Ipads. Chrome Books work with QR codes too. I'm wondering how you might be thinking you can use QR codes to reach your students and help you teach or what questions you might have? Leave a comment or questions below.

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Read Part 2: How you can use QR codes to teach mini-lessons and reach more students.

What teacher doesn't need more time and what teacher doesn't want to save money, even if it is so you can spend more on "ALL the THINGS?"

Two of the biggest complaints we hear from teachers when it comes to teaching is something you just cannot buy. TIME and MONEY.

Well, I am here to tell you I can help you save time and save $$$$$. I've began creating resources to help teachers do just that. Save TIME and MONEY. How you ask?

I have taught myself and learned how I can create documents that let you type in a word or words or skill or math problem once and then the entire document will auto-fill for you. So now you can customize resources with the words or skill you need for you and for your students.

There was a time when I recall downloading freebies during the holidays that consisted of read and color the sight word. Only problem was the sight words weren't the sight words we were working on in class. Ughhh! the frustration. But, I'd download anyways because I was in a pinch and I needed a back-up plan while we finished holiday projects.

If you teach grades TK-3rd then I believe these resources can help save you TIME and MONEY. You won't need to search and spend hours looking for all those supplemental resources each week for your foundational skills.

Further, the activities stay consistent which means your students become more and more independent each time they use the activities because they are familiar with them.

You may want to sign up to receive emails because I will be sending one of the auto-fill games below to subscribers.

Let me show you how I can help save you TIME and MONEY.

But wait . . .

or if you need weekly supplements for your phonics instruction take a look at this . . .

The above resource includes:

focus word cards
sorts
sentences
games
centers
notebook component

and you can use weekly sight words and your phonics focus! Totally customized to what you need and every week the activities stay the same but the words change. You may not use all the templates but you can just print what you need!

To get your resource that will save you TIME and MONEY you can click on the pictures or click HERE and HERE.

Don't forget to sign up to receive emails so you'll get your FREE auto-fill game and be updated when I add more resources that will save you TIME and MONEY!

If you are wondering how to differentiate sight words and your word work in a simplified way you may be interested in this post about my auto-fill sight word management system HERE.

Happy Teaching,

Tonya

If you use Bee-Bots in the classroom, these job cards will help your students work as a team to get the job done.

I went back and forth on using job cards because ideally you want kids to be able to break up the tasks and delegate jobs with-in their own group. If they can do this on their own your students will be more independent and will get practice breaking tasks into jobs on their own. In the long run it is better. Due to time constraints, 30 minute class sessions with kids and once a week, I opted for the job cards with kinder and first. You can click on the picture or the link to download the Bee-Bot job cards.

Job Cards Download Link
I did find that using the job cards made tasks less abstract. It also helped kids take turns. They switched job cards after one complete go through of the process. These job cards are like training wheels so when students start designing mazes, obstacle courses, and so forth for the Bee-Bots, they will hopefully recall how they worked as a team and be able to pick and choose their jobs based off of the tasks and which job they prefer (student strengths and personalized learning).

I made these job cards last year and wrote this reflection about using job cards and Bee-Bots last year if you are interested in reading it.

I'm going to say it again, I am in a 1st year (now in 2nd year) Innovation Makerspace position after teaching 13 years in grades K-2. It has been a learning year for me with lots of hands on PD.

I also want to give you 2 different perspectives. I would love for you to comment on your thoughts.

Reason for Job Cards:

I made job cards because many kids in K-2 were having a difficult time working together to figure out how to get the Bee-Bot to its destination as a team.

My Thoughts:

I am limited on time in reality but if I was in the classroom and had the same kids everyday . . .

I could find the group that was successful.
Have all the kids come to the carpet
Have the kids share how they were successful.
Have them demonstrate.
I could ask other groups why they weren't being successful and see what they say.
Arguing, not taking turns, one person doing all the work, someone is confusing their left for right, someone keeps drawing the arrows wrong (TRUTHS).
We would have a discussion on how we can resolve each one of those things and try again.

However, I have 30 - 45 minutes max and that includes students engaging and connecting to what they did the week prior, connecting to the days activity, lesson, clean-up, reflection and out.

I went home and reflected on the issue and I really have 2 different perspectives on using job cards which leaves me perplexed. I struggle with my own views at times. It is totally off the charts - CRAZY.

Problem:

Not a lot of kids were very successful the past few weeks in their limited time with me.
Some kids weren't sharing.
Some kids were doing ALL the work.
I wanted to speed the Bee-Bot process up because I want them to create their own maps, mazes, program, etc. (maybe time should not be an issue and the more valuable lesson would be what I mentioned above).

Results With Job Cards:

The kids who worked as a team authentically saw the successes of working as a team and that together is better. It turned into a lesson more on teamwork and helping each other to be successful (valuable). Kids also switched jobs (necklaces) with-in the same group until every-one had a turn to do the job.

Very few teams were unsuccessful on the first try and we discussed why. It was always because they weren't working as a team.

Concerns About Using Job Cards:

When I did a design challenge with 4th/5th graders mid-year, they completed a reflection piece. I found that EVERY single group that finished ON-TIME without having to use lunch recess, after school, or extra class time were successful because they delegated tasks (jobs) with-in their group on their own. Unfortunately, if I'm being honest, there were very few. Others who were less successful did not delegate tasks(jobs) and required additional time. My thinking is that kids don't necessarily understand how to identify the tasks (jobs) and how to delegate so they can work as a team. That was an assumption on my part that never crossed my mind to teach.

On a side note, this was true with 5 different 4th/5th classes.

As teachers, we always assign job cards like the ones you can download in this post but are we taking away the opportunity to help students identify tasks (jobs) and how to delegate them? It was a real issue with 4th/5th graders. This was with 5 classes and all 5 had similar results so it wasn't just a single class.

Would job cards be the intro for lower grades (K-1) and modeling how to work together? While other grades identify the tasks (jobs), write them out in a class discussion, then decide in their groups who has what job (2nd). 3rd-5th find and identify the tasks in their group, describe the job then choose which job they want with-in their group?

I basically described a pathway for teaching kids to identify jobs, describe the task and choose their job to work as a team so they can be successful.

Perspective 2:

Makerspace is suppose to be about figuring things out. Forming your own learning through discovery. Did I just take that away by giving them job card necklaces? Am I micro-managing the kids and not letting them figure it out on their own? Does this process need to be taught? Is giving students job cards telling them what and how to do things again so they don't have to think on their own? I found that to be a real issue in a first year Makerspace.

Children of all ages wanted approval for the simplest of things and confirmation they were doing it right. Children specifically wanted me to tell them what to do - HUH? UH - NO. These kids prior to this year had zero experience with a Makerspace.

If I had the same kids everyday, I do believe with these recent revelations, I would teach children how to identify tasks (jobs) so they can delegate or choose jobs on their own. They can make their own job cards and necklaces if it is an ongoing activity for the year.

Do I recommend Bee-Bots

Yes, I recommend Bee-Bots (Not sponsored), my views are my own after using them with many classes and many grades!

If you don't have Bee-Bots they are worth having. You only need 1 or 2 in your classroom for students to use in a center. They cost around $100.00 but they definitely have a low floor, high ceiling. There are so many uses for them and any grade will love them if your kids have yet to be exposed to coding or beginning robotics. They are not hard to use and kids who can read, can read the manual to get some authentic non-fiction technical reading in.

Bee-Bots aren't just for Makerspaces. I really want to say this because my goal as the Makerspace facilitator is to help teachers understand how the things we use in a Makerspace can be used in the classroom. I don't necessarily feel that a Makerspace should be an isolated classroom that kids visit once a week for 30-45 minutes. My goal is to find ways for teachers to integrate a Maker Mindset into their everyday instruction and activities so it doesn't become one of those added extra things where we all say, "and when am I suppose to do that?!!!!"

Please leave any thought or comments about the job cards below. Thanks for reading!

FEBRUARY 2023 UPDATE:

Super excited to share this robotics WINTER STEM resource! Super Simple and low prep with high impact and phenomenal learning! VIDEO and PREVIEW HERE or click on the images.

More Unplugged Coding If you are looking for more unplugged coding and you are just getting started, you may like one of the resources below. They will help you and your kids understand the basic concepts of unplugged coding before moving into robotics that require coding. Lesson plans are included! Click on the pictures to learn more about the resource.

Enjoy!

Tonya Leslie

I honestly thought I was on my A game in the classroom and I always received amazing teacher evaluations.

I was always reflecting, improving, reflecting, researching, and improving to meet my students needs. I thought I was doing everything or at least trying to do everything with regard to student success but then I took a new position this last year.

I could write a book or two on the first year. It's one of those things where you don't know what you don't know. This summer I plan to write a series of blog articles to help teachers get started with a Makerspace in their own classroom and integrate technologies so students are producers and not consumers. I thought it might be helpful coming from someone who has been through it and who was also a classroom teacher for the past 14 years.

I wanted to make this post short and sweet so let me get to it.

When I started my new position I realized there was a whole new world different then I was use to when it came to teaching. Even though I worked very hard at trying to be 21st century teacher and making learning relevant for students in the traditional classroom, I found myself at the bottom of a mountain looking way up at all the new learning that was ahead of me in this new space and position. Not because I needed to teach students how to be creative, innovative, and makers, but because as the year progressed I realized how I limited my students in the past to my own knowledge. I realized that in this new space it was difficult to see academic discrepancies. As the year progressed, I found out that many times the lower academic students in this space and the students with behavior issues had no issues in the space and excelled. They were often the leaders. They were inspired, motivated, engaged, on task and LEARNING. I haven't blogged a lot about it but I have posts on my Instagram feed. I love the post where you can hear a little girl saying, "I'm so proud!" after figuring out how to hook a Makey-Makey and coding to her "cardboard coffee machine." Actually, here is the short video.

This is the same student with a second iteration. She added music so her "customers" wouldn't get bored while waiting. Watch out Starbucks! This is a 5th grader who added this in (2) 45 minute labs with NO prior experience. I also had never heard of a Makey-Makey prior to this year.

I began to see learning in a different light as I learned beside my students. I began to see how I would change my teaching if I were back in the traditional classroom. If you want to learn more and track my journey, subscribe to this blog. I hope to help teachers get stated in integrating electronics and technology in the classroom and I don't mean using I-pads, QR Codes, and Google - although those are great tools. If you need help with those, leave me a comment as well.

Know that at the beginning of my year, I wanted to melt the legos and I had NO clue about coding, micro-controllers. LED's, Making with Cardboard, Little-Bits, squishy circuits, Arduino, Makey-Makey and so forth. Even though I have a masters degree, engineering, electronics, and robotics were something smart people do. That misconception came from not ever being exposed to it. I don't want my students to think the same thing. Now I am loving it!

Don't forget to subscribe to this blog to learn how I did it and you can too. I will give you easy steps to get you started - PROMISE! and I didn't melt the legos.

I ran across a very informative website that will give you an idea about what I am talking about. You can start with this link HERE. It will help you be mindful when having students use electronics for activities or projects for a start. No affiliation. I could read the site for hours upon hours.

I am not an expert but I am willing to research, learn, try it out and share. What do you want to know/learn about it? Leave a comment.

I know that when it comes to end of the year assessments, it can be a struggle. At times it can feel like you are up against a wall with the pressure of time. You are out of time and the testing has to get done. Sometimes kids must stay in centers a little longer than usual so you can finish up that last 3-4 minutes of assessments with a student. From experience and from listening to other kinder and 1st grade teachers, behavior can take a nose dive as you devote time to assessing while students must manage themselves.

This means you need engaging activities that students can complete on their own so they do not interrupt you. I have found that these "End of the Year" summer linking cube pictures do just that.

Here are 3 Reasons you'll love this activity:

Your kids will stay engaged for 30-45 minutes or more at a time giving you more time to assess.

You will be guilt FREE because your kids are kids are engaged in counting, spacial reasoning, fine motor, symmetry, patterns, critical thinking and creativity while they re-create the pictures in 3D.

These require little to NO prep depending if you project the pictures or print and laminate.

Resource Link

more pictures are included but not shown

Resource Link

Another way to use these is to pair the pictures with stories. Students work on the pictures that go with the story for that day. So, if you need to,

Pair different linking cube picture mats with different stories. This will enable you to get 30 minutes or more of testing in a day for at least 2 weeks!
Read a story a day and project the linking cube picture mat to eliminate prep.
Read a story and place 1-3 linking cube picture mats in a center.

$Build-It-Math$

Resource Link

What Kids Do

Some students lay the cubes flat.
Others build the picture and stand up.
Students must use critical thinking skills to turn the cubes so the entire unit stays together.

What Kids Are Working On
Kids love these. Kids spend a long time creating the pictures. Kids can spend an entire week building these. But . . . kids are also working on:

counting
estimating
fine motor
spacial reasoning
patterning
even and odd numbers

If you don't believe me, try it out for yourself. Click on the picture to download 3 of the Summer Build It Linking Cube Picture Mats below.

$FREE End of the Year Activities$

Resource Link

If you find you really like them you may want the BUNDLE to use throughout the year or to go with your themes. I'm adding more to it and you'll be able to download all the extra build it units for FREE (Now includes 8 Units). You can take a look at it by clicking on the picture below.

Resource Link

If you are looking for more end of the year resources check out this FREE Reading Seed Poem to send home with your kids at the end of the year. It is super cute and can be sent home as a gift.

If you are looking for more low or NO prep activities that are great for the end of the year, try this FREE spinning top STEM activity that uses linking cubes and comes with lesson plans and teaching tips!

Happy end of the year and have a wonderful SUMMER!

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Tonya Leslie

Explore

featured Slider

3 Ways to Use QR Codes in the Classroom

Read Part 2: How you can use QR codes to teach mini-lessons and reach more students.

QR codes have helped me,

reach more students

cut down on interruptions

ensure students are learning and not just copying

teach vocabulary

teach numbers

front-load

offer scaffolding support

and more

This isn't just for young kids. QR codes can help you teach at any grade level.

Subscribe below if:

A St. Patrick's Day Activity

Give yourself some grace and let go

How are they used?

How are teachers and librarians using Counting Cube Pictures?

If you absolutely have to be over the top

FREE Surprise Picture you can pair with any St. Patrick's Day Book!

Save Money and Time with This

FREE Job Cards for Unplugged Coding with Bee-Bots

Does Coding and Electronic Integration Scare You?

End of the Year Assessment: Find more time with when you use this 1 RESOURCE

About Me

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Tonya Leslie

Explore

featured Slider

3 Ways to Use QR Codes in the Classroom

Read Part 2: How you can use QR codes to teach mini-lessons and reach more students.

QR codes have helped me,

reach more students cut down on interruptions ensure students are learning and not just copying teach vocabulary teach numbers front-load offer scaffolding support and more This isn't just for young kids. QR codes can help you teach at any grade level.

Subscribe below if:

Glad you're here! Subscribe below!

A St. Patrick's Day Activity

Give yourself some grace and let go

How are they used?

How are teachers and librarians using Counting Cube Pictures?

If you absolutely have to be over the top

FREE Surprise Picture you can pair with any St. Patrick's Day Book!

Save Money and Time with This

FREE Job Cards for Unplugged Coding with Bee-Bots

Does Coding and Electronic Integration Scare You?

End of the Year Assessment: Find more time with when you use this 1 RESOURCE

About Me

Search This Blog

Resources in STORE

Labels

Popular Posts

Hey There! Lets Keep in Touch!

reach more students

cut down on interruptions

ensure students are learning and not just copying

teach vocabulary

teach numbers

front-load

offer scaffolding support

and more

This isn't just for young kids. QR codes can help you teach at any grade level.