Engaging ELA Activities With Google DocsLocation: W194b |
Explore and create : BYOD
Tuesday, June 26, 2:45–3:45 pm
Location: W194b
Eric Curts
Looking for ways to techify your language arts activities? Explore engaging hands-on literacy activities with Google Docs, including "Black Out" activities for comprehension and writing, interactive "Choose Your Own Adventure" stories, summarization skills with the word count tool, and fun ways to use emojis for reading and writing.
Skill level: | Beginner |
Attendee devices: | Devices required |
Attendee device specification: | Laptop: Chromebook, Mac, PC |
Participant accounts, software and other materials: | Attendees would benefit by having a Google Apps for Education account or personal Google account, and a Windows laptop, Mac laptop, or Chromebook, to fully participate in the session. |
Focus: | Digital age teaching & learning |
Topic: | Creativity and productivity tools |
Grade level: | PK-12 |
Subject area: | Language arts, World languages |
ISTE Standards: | For Students: Creative Communicator
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The purpose of this session is to show how Google Docs can be used in language arts for creative student learning activities. Each activity uses tools already included in Google Docs, so no additional extensions or add-ons are needed. The activities focus on ways to help students improve their reading comprehension, summarization skills, writing skills, creativity, and expression beyond just text.
The activities explored will include:
1) Google Doc "Black Out"
Description: In this activity we use the highlighter tool to black out any text that is not critical, leaving behind just the main ideas, to improve reading comprehension. We also explore using this process to create "Black Out" poetry from existing content.
2) Emoji Learning Activities
Description: In this activity we use special characters to insert emojis to summarize stories, write creatively, and explore character emotions.
3) Have Students Write Better by Writing Less
Description: In this activity we use the word count tool to write within a character limit or word limit, to develop summarization skills.
4) Choose Your Own Adventure Stories
Description: In this activity we use headings and hyperlinks to create interactive stories in Google Docs, for creative, non-linear storytelling.
Participants will:
Learn how to use a variety of tools and features already built into the Google Docs program.
Explore a variety of practical activities their students can do in Google Docs to improve their reading and writing skills.
Explore how content created in Google Docs can be shared and published with others.
This session will be entirely hands-on as participants engage in each of the Google Docs activities. The time will be divided as follows:
1) Google Docs overview - 5 minutes
2) Google Doc "Black Out" - 15 minutes
3) Emoji Learning Activities - 15 minutes
4) Have Students Write Better by Writing Less - 10 minutes
5) Choose Your Own Adventure Stories - 15 minutes
Details and resources for each of these activities can be accessed at: http://www.controlaltachieve.com/2017/01/docs-literacy-activities.html
The benefits of using technology to engage students in literacy activities are well supported by research. The website Reading Rockets includes an article (at http://www.readingrockets.org/article/literacy-instruction-digital-and-media-technologies) addressing many of these benefits with cited research and practical examples. Example effects include improvements in comprehension, motivation, writing competency, and critical thinking.
Additionally the website TeachThought includes an article (at https://www.teachthought.com/literacy/use-text-reduction-strategy-improve-reading-comprehension/) that explores the benefits of text-reduction strategy to improve reading comprehension and summariztion skills. This article was the motivation for the "Black Out" activities I developed with Google Docs.
Eric has been in education for 26 years, and currently serves as a Technology Integration Specialist for SPARCC in Canton, Ohio where he oversees Google Apps for Education implementation, training, and support, as well as elearning and other technology integration initiatives. Eric is an authorized Google Education Trainer and Innovator, and provides Google Apps training to schools, organizations, and conferences throughout Ohio and across the country. He is a co-leader of the Ohio Google Educator Group at bit.ly/gegohio and runs the award-winning blog www.ControlAltAchieve.com where all of his Google Apps and edtech resources can be found.
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