TITLE OF ACTIVITY: Spelling
REFERENCE SECTION: SpellingCity. (2009). Retrieved October 3, 2009, from http://www.spellingcity.com/
GRADE LEVEL: 8
SUBJECT: Language Arts
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF ACTIVITY: Students will go to a website and complete a spelling test online. I have registered as a teacher and pre-entered the exact words that are being worked on in the class. Students go to http://www.spellingcity.com/ and click on the “Find a List” link. They search for the name “Anna VanderHeide” under the teacher search. After clicking on my name they can select the correct list, in this case, Lesson 1. Then they select “Test”. After completing the test they select “Print a Report” and bring the printed report to school as an assessment.
GENERAL LEARNER OUTCOME:
Students will listen, speak, read, write, view and represent to enhance the clarity and artistry of communication.
SPECIFIC LEARNER OUTCOME:
Students will develop a systematic and effective approach to studying and remembering the correct spelling of key words encountered in a variety of print and other media texts
ICT OUTCOMES:
C.1.3.3 access and operate multimedia applications and technologies from stand-alone and online sources
C.5.3.1 access, retrieve and share information from electronic sources, such as common files
F.6.3.4 demonstrate the ability to control devices electronically
P.5.3.2 demonstrate proficient use of various information retrieval technologies
RATIONALE FOR COMPUTER INTEGRATION: Practicing the spelling words at home in the student’s own space and at their own pace takes away the pressure of the classic ‘spelling test’. Furthermore, the website is very interactive between the students and the teacher, allowing the teacher to test the exact words being used in the daily lessons and provides an element of fun and accomplishment by being able to print a certificate of achievement, as well as an assessment tool in handing in the completed report.
Hi Anna!
ReplyDeleteFirst of all, I really enjoy your whole blog but this post in particular was very informative! I agree that having a spelling test online is a fantastic way to motivate students and bring technology into the classroom. This is something I would definitely like to use as a teacher.
One thing I wonder about is whether students are able to use the internet to search for the spelling of words during the test. This may cause problems with evaluation because a teacher will not have a clear idea of the students level.
Great blog!
-Meneka
Meneka,
ReplyDeleteThat is a really valid point and I'm a little embarrassed that I didn't think about it. *blush* Oh well, lesson learned. I imagine that this is one of those 'paper and pencil' things Maurice said we shouldn't try to do with computer technology. I just loved the website I found, I thought it was fun! Thanks so much for your feedback!
Anna