Category: information

The Official Tools We Use #GLRead12

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The thing that I have always loved the most about the GRA is that every person makes this project into whatever they want it to be.  That also means that you choose what ever tools and methods of sharing that you feel most adventurous or most comfortable with.  In the spirit of this, here is what is officially available for participants.
We will have:
A central wiki – this will have time lines, helpful tools, but no teacher contact info.  This will be be the main showcase piece for people to share what their students have been doing.  http://globalreadaloud.wikispaces.com/
Edmodo for teachers to connect.  Both groups have been set up already.  These are where you can set up contacts with others such as for skyping, quad blogging, book discussions, whatever you choose.  This is also another great venue to share any tools or resources you may be using.  These groups are only adults, no students/kids allowed.  You will need to join Edmodo to connect to the groups.
  • Charlotte’s teacher group code is 93pop0
  • Ivan’s teacher group code is njco4k
Edmodo groups for students and yes, these will be much smaller, there will definitely not be one large group for students.  I encourage you to start reaching out to others and make those connections, put “want ads” up on our Edmodo teacher group and get those connections going before October 1st.  As much as I would love to facilitate all of these connections it is not going to happen with this many people involved.  These student groups have therefore not been set up yet and can be set up by you.
Google groups – these are solely for behind the scenes communication because not everybody is signed up to receive these emails.  I finally got the planning group sign ups to work and have been approving members as the requests come in.  Soon, I will be using that more to speak specifically to groups and this big group will be for once in a while updates or discussions.  These can be joined by signing up your email on the right side of this blog
Our Blog – http://www.globalreadaloud.com – this is used for posts on the project both from students and teachers, like a front window for the project.  If you would like to write a post for the project please do so and send it to me, I would love to hear whatever you have to say about why you are doing this, your hopes, oyur past experience, etc.  The same goes for during the project and after, I particularly love hearing from the students and their thoughts.

Twitter – the hashtag is #glread12 – use this to share ideas and to reach out to others as well.  Follow me on Twitter @pernilleripp and I will gladly help get you connected.

Anything else you choose.  People in the past have used all sorts of various tools and places to connect; Twitter, Facebook, Teachmeet, classroom websites etc.  This is all up to you.

So I Joined, Now What?

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First of all, thank you!  This project started with a simple idea 3 years ago now and has blossomed into something much bigger or better than I could ever imagine.  So while we wait until the project actually starts here are just a couple of details to get you started with the Global Read Aloud 2012.

The dates have been set with the project starting October 1st and going until October 26th, while you can start sooner or later than these dates please do not give away any information about the happenings of the book except for in the designated weeks.

Choose your book, Charlotte’s Web or The One and Only Ivan.  I love reading the book before the project so I can think about what we will discuss, you may want to order your own copy and decide whether you want each student to have a copy as well.

Decide if you want to work behind the scenes on either book.  If you really want to have  say or just connect even more with people join the Google Groups set up for planning.  Both can be found on the right side of the Global Read Aloud blog.

Join the Edmodo groups for teachers to connect.  Last year these were used to set up Skype connections, ask for ideas or support and just general sharing.  This is for teachers only, smaller Edmodo groups will be set up for students closer to the start date.  Log in to Edmodo and enter in the code for the group you wish to join.  If you are not sure how to do this please reach out.

  • Charlotte’s teacher group code is 93pop0
  • Ivan’s teacher group code is njco4k

Check out the wiki, right now it is filled with info from last year but it will soon be updated.  Browse through what happened last year to give you an idea of what you can do with the book.

Follow the hashtag on Twitter #glread12 and follow me on Twitter to stay updated @pernilleripp

And other than that, just relax, this project is what you make it out to be.  The bottomline is connecting with others through a book, you decide how much time you want to dedicate to it and what you feel most comfortable with.

What is the Global Read Aloud?

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The project was created in 2010 with a simple goal in mind; one book to connect the world.  Now with two years under our belt and more than 2,000 connections made, we realize we are on to something larger than us so we look forward to continuing the global connections.


The premise is simple; we pick a book to read aloud to our students during a set 4-week period and during that time we try to make as many global connections as possible.  Each teacher decides how much time they would like to dedicate and how involved they would like to be.  Some people choose to connect with just one class, while others go for as many as possible.  The scope and depth of the project is up to you.  In the past we have used Twitter, Skype, Edmodo, our wiki, email, regular mail, Kidblog, and any other tools we can think of to make these connections.  Teachers get a community of other educators to do a global project with, hopefully inspiring them to continue these connections through the year.  

So sign up if you would like more information or if you think this project is for you.  This has proven to be a wonderful way for teachers to introduce technology as well as to make global connections.  Welcome!

A Change to Flat Stanley

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After looking further at the two Flat Stanley books, we realized that it would be difficult to finish both of them within the four weeks. Here is what we plan on doing now then:
We’re going to just work with Flat Stanley. The reading requirements for each week are,
Week 1 – Predictions, Chapters 1 and 2

Week 2 – Chapters 3 and 4

Week 3 – Creating A New Chapter and Chapter 5

Week 4 – Wrap-Up; Final Reflections
Just before reading Chapter 5, we’d like each of the classes to create their own additional chapter for the book where they discuss a different Flat Stanley adventure. The class can write this together as a shared writing activity, students can work individually or in partners to write their own, and/or the students can use a variety of recording options (e.g., AudioBook, VoiceThread, Vocaroo, or Audacity) to record a chapter in the “oral tradition.” These chapters can be shared via blogs, Edmodo, or even the Wikispace. Other classes can then comment on the different chapters too. This is a way for students to read their own writing and the writing of others as well!
Through Weeks 3 and 4, students can also work on creating Flat Stanleys to mail to other classes involved in this project. They can write letters or stories to accompany their Flat Stanleys. Classes can either send one or two Stanleys per class or each student can send out individual Stanleys as almost a pen pal activity. It’s up to you! There’s a link on the Wikispace where you can sign-up to be involved in these exchanges too.
Please remember that throughout this read aloud project, students can discuss the themes and events in the book through Edmodo, blog posts, VoiceThread, Skpye, the Wikispace, and any other tools that you wish to use. The possibilities are endless!
Since there are many classes interested in continuing this connection for Stanley in Space, we thought that we would do this book after Flat Stanley is complete. For those people that want to participate, they can continue to use Edmodo, blog posts, VoiceThread, and Skype to reflect after reading the different chapters in this book. Here is our chapter breakdown for this book too:

Week 1- Ch. 1, 2, and 3 – this includes the call from the president, meeting the president to discuss going into space, and then actually boarding the spaceship and heading off (Ch. 1 and 3 are quite short).

Week 2 – Ch. 4, 5, and 6 – this includes the Stanley’s adventures in the spaceship, landing and meeting the Tyrrans, and touring the village (including the run in with Captain Ik).

Week 3 – Ch. 7, 8, and 9 – this includes President Ot discussing the problem with Super-Gro, Stanley coming up with an idea of how to save the Tyrtans, and the Tyrrans getting weighed to see if they can all fit in the spaceship on their way back to earth.

Week 4 – Ch. 10 and 11 – this includes having the Tyrrans board the spaceship to head back home with Stanley and his family, and the President welcoming the Tyrrans to TyrraVille 2 (on the tennis court) until the Tyrrans can head back to TyrraVille.