Second Graders Talk Books: In the style of Reading Rainbow

A second grade teacher and I were talking curriculum and one of those unplanned, but perfect, opportunities for collaboration arose. Her students had been writing opinion pieces about a piece of literature as part of the Lucy Calkins curriculum. The teacher was using a Reading Rainbow style format for the students. I immediately thought about a few different tools that we could use to move this project beyond the classroom.  We decided upon Tellagami.

I arrived in their classroom this morning with five iPads. After a quick demonstration of how to use the Tellagami app, the students went off in pairs to practice their scripts and ensure they could keep their presentation under 30 seconds.  As they were ready to record, the students (in their pairs) found quiet places in the hallways to go off and record. Working in pairs with the iPad apps allows for a natural scaffolding and reinforcement of how to use the tool.

We managed to get all twenty-one students finished in a fairly timely manner.  They're great. I hope you'll have a listen.