“That’s Me!” Using Technology to Increase Literacy Presented by: Julie Quast, M.S.E. National Board Certified Teacher

Goal: Motivate students to love reading by inspiring you to create meaningful texts.

“An infant’s brain thrives on words: feed her as many as you can.” (Phillips 1997) “Babies as young as 4 to 6 months old can benefit from looking at books with parents or caregivers.” (Lenski, Nierstheimer 2004)

Students Learn: Reading is important. Words are “talk” written down. Words in a story are the same each time. (called print stability) “Book Talk” (ex. The End) Concepts of Print: top to bottom, left to right, spacing, punctuation Expression, fluency, confidence, motivation to read and ENJOYMENT! Benefits of Reading

Allows you to create your own texts that are personal, have meaning and motivate students. Easy! Once you know how! Professional Saves time Benefits of Using Technology

~Digital camera ~Word Processor (ex. Word or Notes) ~Printer (color is nice, but not necessary) ~Card Stock ~Packing tape or something to bind books (examples: yarn, rings, comb binder, etc.) ~Laminator (nice, but not necessary) What You Need

Who took the cookie.docx Example:

teacher made book name name who do you see.docx Example: Text innovation from Brown Bear, Brown Bear by Bill Martin Jr.

Examples of book ideas with pictures from your environment.rtf Examples of book ideas with pictures from your environment.rtf Use alliteration: Julie likes juice. Example: What do you like?

Decide which book you are creating. Take pictures of students. Upload photos to computer. SAVE photos where you can find them! Open word processor. Type text and insert photos. Print and bind! READ, READ, READ!!! How To

Two Options: 1. Connect camera to computer using USB cord. 2. Insert Scan Disc memory card in computer. How To Upload Photos

Select “Import” Select destination for pictures. VERY important! Save photos. Not necessary to rename each picture, but could be helpful. How To Upload Photos Continued

Pictures are inserted individually. Select “Insert” then “Picture” find file, select picture, click “Insert” How To Insert Photos

Click on the picture. Boxes will be around picture when it is selected. Use the boxes to resize the picture. Select format to crop picture. Cropping allows you to remove part of the picture. Example: How To Edit Pictures

Make margins small (0.3 top, left, right, and bottom) Make your font big! (around 42 depending on the amount of text and size of picture.) Use repetitive text for easy reading. Students should be able to pseudo-read (pretend read) the book. Limit amount of text and objects on each page. Make your books reader friendly! TIPS

Copy and paste pages to save time. Use clipart from online or your computer to create pages in your books. To move photos select picture when you see the “four arrows” then drag to new position. TIPS continued…

Don’t limit yourself to BOOKS! Try these other ITEMS: puzzles, name match, memory, “I spy” somebody’s name or picture Makes great gifts! Excellent Public Relations opportunity for Websites, Brochures, etc. (always make sure you have permission to use photos) Personalize with Pictures

teach.com/minibooks/index.htm teach.com/minibooks/index.htm lots of free printable minibooks, some you can customize Resource for You Reference: Lenski, Susan, Nierstheimer, Susan. (2004). Becoming a Teacher of Reading: A Developmental Approach. OH: Pearson.

Please feel free to contact me or share new ideas: Checkout my wikispace for information from today’s session: Make Learning Personal, fun, and enjoyable! Questions or Comments