Interactive Whiteboard Tips

Scholastic News Edition 1: May/June 2010

• PRINT
• EMAIL

"AMAZING CATERPILLARS!"

• Practice vocabulary throughout the issue using the highlighter tool. Invite students to highlight the bold vocabulary words featured in each word box. Then discuss each word's meaning based on context and picture clues.
  
  
• Use the screen shade or the reveal tool to cover up the stages of the butterfly's life cycle at the bottom of page 3. Encourage your students to make predictions about what stage comes next. Then reveal each stage and check students' predictions.
  

• Use the voice recorder on your whiteboard to practice fluency. First, pair up students to read pages 2 and 3 in the issue. Assign one student to read the “tip” and the other student to read the following paragraph.
  
  
• Allow students time to practice reading their parts. Then ask for volunteers to record their reading. After recording, play it back for students. It is often a powerful experience for students to hear what their reading sounds like. You can provide specific feedback for students about fluency and phrasing at a later time.
  
  
• Do the page 4 activity as a class. Call on students to use the pen on the whiteboard to record responses on the lines.
  

• Use the maps in this issue to teach U.S. geography. For each national park, there is an inset map of its location. Use the zoom tool to focus in on the map. Identify the states in which the parks are found.
  
  
• Do the page 4 activity as a class. While students answer the questions, ask a volunteer to fill in the bubbles on the whiteboard.
  
  
• Extend the activity by challenging students to identify given states. Ask them to use the shape tool to draw a star on your home state and a triangle on a neighboring state.
  

• Use your interactive whiteboard to model written responses for each page in this mini-book.
  
  
• After reading page 2, pause to discuss possible responses. Next have a student volunteer come to the whiteboard to write a response on the lines. Change the written response into type for better readability.
  
  
• Allow students time to think of their own responses. Then have students write their responses independently in their mini-books.
  
  
• Repeat this process for each page