Do you have struggling writers? Is it hard for them to come up with their own ideas of what to write about? Or maybe, they just can't seem to find the right words? Or, do they lack the ability to put their words in a structure that creates sentences that hooks the reader? Show them PicLits and see what happens!!
PicLits was created to get learners inspired to creatively write through pictures and words. It is great to use to write a caption, a sentence, a poem, or a short paragraph. PicLits offers a fun way to learn new vocabulary and play with word forms and sentence structure. It has been featured as one of the top free web tools on many educational blog and news sites. Don't believe me? Take a look for yourself: ttp://www.piclits.com/News.aspx
Students start by choosing a picture from a
L-A-R-G-E gallery. They can then decide if they want to design their writing piece by dragging and dropping words from the provided word bank, or they can choose to "free-hand" it which allows them to type their sentences or paragraphs. Students can then choose to either save/download their PicLits to print, or they can can be shared via email, or on a blog, wiki, etc.
Another feature of PicLit that I found very helpful was their Learn It sections. It provides short and easy to read descriptions of writing: Write-it and Rhyme it. It is also here under the LearnIt pages where teachers can find advanced lessons on teaching kids to read and write poetry.. Look under the Master-it section!!
A few classroom application ideas:
L-A-R-G-E gallery. They can then decide if they want to design their writing piece by dragging and dropping words from the provided word bank, or they can choose to "free-hand" it which allows them to type their sentences or paragraphs. Students can then choose to either save/download their PicLits to print, or they can can be shared via email, or on a blog, wiki, etc.
- Use to define vocabulary words and/or literary terms
- Introduce poetry and creative writing
- Teacher led journal writings or blog posts
- Conceptualize a problem and practice math skills.
- Character traits
- Public Service Announcement Posters
- Backdrops for poems
- Descriptive writing (one sentence or short paragraph about image)
- Individual or partner writing
- Compare and contrast (using two different images)
- Create math sentence around pictures ( https://sites.google.com/site/361techcheck/math-piclits)
- Visual and vocabulary support for ESL students
A few visuals...
21st Century Skills:
- Think creatively
- Communicate clearly
- Apply technology effectively
- Create media products
Common Core State Standards (CCSS
Mathematics - Use PicLits real-world images to help conceptualize a problem and practice math skills.
- K.CC Count and Cardinality - Understand the relationship between numbers and quantities; connect counting to cardinality
- K.G Geometry - Identify and describe shapes (squares, circles, triangles, rectangles, hexagons, cubes, cones, cylinders, and spheres).
- 6.G Geometry - Solve real-world and mathematical problems involving area, surface area, and volume.
English Language Arts - Use PicLits real-world images to
inspire and motivate students in developing ELA skills.
Writing Standards:
- W.8.6 Use technology, including the Internet, to produce and publish writing and present the relationships between information and ideas efficiently as well as to interact and collaborate with others.
- L.K.5 Demonstrate understanding of word relationships and nuances in word meanings.
- L.8.5 Demonstrate understanding of figurative language,word relationships, and nuances in word meanings.
