Twitter was our first connection.
Always being ready for a challenge, especially a creative one, I quickly agreed. Mrs. Griffith & I had a Skype conference and made plans for a Virtual Store. The collaboration part began.
Now the really fun part for me the teacher...creativity! Elementary teachers know playing "store" gets kids excited. Mrs. Griffith & I decided that our virtual store would need to be a 2 day activity. On the first day, my students would play the role of "cashiers", and her students would take the role of "shoppers". The next day we met, our classes planned to switch roles.
I created a SMART Notebook file using the clip art from the gallery to design a slide with different snack foods and prices. Our virtual store was named, "Mrs. Griffin's Sweet Treats". Easy enough.
The next slide held a cash drawer with bills & coins that had been infinitely cloned so it operated like a real cash register. I found this cash drawer at the SMART Exchange, a treasure of a site for teachers who have SMART Boards.
Each teacher divided the class so that both "shoppers" & "cashiers" worked in groups of 2 or 3. We wanted them to have partners so they could discuss strategies and answers. The "shoppers" had $2.00 to spend.
While each group was working at the SMART Board making selections in our store, the other students were armed with slates & play money to calculate the total cost of the items chosen.When the total cost was agreed upon by both classes, the "cashiers" began figuring out the change from $2.00. Both classes used different strategies for counting change. The whole class was engaged.
The next day we switched roles. Mrs. Griffith's class presented their virtual store, "Peculiar Pet Place", which the students themselves had created. I thought this was a great idea! We were the "shoppers" and Mrs. Griffith's students were the "cashiers". Mrs. Griffith blogged about our experience at SECONDSin2nd . It was a great activity and one we plan to do again together next year! Mrs. Griffith created this slide show using PhotoPeach.
Now the really fun part for me the teacher...creativity! Elementary teachers know playing "store" gets kids excited. Mrs. Griffith & I decided that our virtual store would need to be a 2 day activity. On the first day, my students would play the role of "cashiers", and her students would take the role of "shoppers". The next day we met, our classes planned to switch roles.
I created a SMART Notebook file using the clip art from the gallery to design a slide with different snack foods and prices. Our virtual store was named, "Mrs. Griffin's Sweet Treats". Easy enough.
The next slide held a cash drawer with bills & coins that had been infinitely cloned so it operated like a real cash register. I found this cash drawer at the SMART Exchange, a treasure of a site for teachers who have SMART Boards.
Each teacher divided the class so that both "shoppers" & "cashiers" worked in groups of 2 or 3. We wanted them to have partners so they could discuss strategies and answers. The "shoppers" had $2.00 to spend.
While each group was working at the SMART Board making selections in our store, the other students were armed with slates & play money to calculate the total cost of the items chosen.When the total cost was agreed upon by both classes, the "cashiers" began figuring out the change from $2.00. Both classes used different strategies for counting change. The whole class was engaged.
The next day we switched roles. Mrs. Griffith's class presented their virtual store, "Peculiar Pet Place", which the students themselves had created. I thought this was a great idea! We were the "shoppers" and Mrs. Griffith's students were the "cashiers". Mrs. Griffith blogged about our experience at SECONDSin2nd . It was a great activity and one we plan to do again together next year! Mrs. Griffith created this slide show using PhotoPeach.
Even with a successful activity, teachers know that reflection is necessary. I asked my students to write with me their thoughts about the activity. Mrs. Griffith & I exchanged ideas via Skype as well. Our collaboration produced a wealth of wonderful improvements!
My students wanted more choices. No surprise there! They were naturally differentiating. Several told me they finished quickly & wanted to make it harder by calculating change from a larger amount. Others said they wanted to create their own problem by choosing more items from the store. They all agreed that they should have a cash register to check their work a.k.a. calculator. A cash register is a must when playing store, right? Interesting stuff...
Mrs. Griffith suggested giving the students a calculation sheet. I thought this idea would be a great place to incorporate differentiation for my students as well as a way to assess the learning & identify errors.
What did I learn?
Well, as much as I learned throughout the actual activity, my biggest growth came from a tweet. While Mrs. Griffith & I both were tweeting about this learning experience, we were asked who was blogging about this?
My sad reply was "I should be..."
This was a such an amazing experience, but it only impacts two classrooms if the ideas aren't shared beyond a tweet.
I hope you find this useful in your classroom as I begin my new blog and share with the world.
My students wanted more choices. No surprise there! They were naturally differentiating. Several told me they finished quickly & wanted to make it harder by calculating change from a larger amount. Others said they wanted to create their own problem by choosing more items from the store. They all agreed that they should have a cash register to check their work a.k.a. calculator. A cash register is a must when playing store, right? Interesting stuff...
Mrs. Griffith suggested giving the students a calculation sheet. I thought this idea would be a great place to incorporate differentiation for my students as well as a way to assess the learning & identify errors.
What did I learn?
Well, as much as I learned throughout the actual activity, my biggest growth came from a tweet. While Mrs. Griffith & I both were tweeting about this learning experience, we were asked who was blogging about this?
My sad reply was "I should be..."
This was a such an amazing experience, but it only impacts two classrooms if the ideas aren't shared beyond a tweet.
I hope you find this useful in your classroom as I begin my new blog and share with the world.
Connecting, collaborating, and creating with technology in education.
So glad you blogged about it! Your willingness to share makes us ALL better teachers. Kudos to you!
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