I+mast+up+you+email+(using+Yahoo+to+teach)

=I mastup your e-mail by mustake (using Yahoo!/e-mail in the classroom)= Presented by Michelle Patenaude 10/19/06 Posted by Missy Jansen __melissa.jansen@sendit.nodak.edu__

Did you know that using e-mail is a very motivating way for kids to read?? Kids WILL read what gets sent to them in their e-mail. They WANT to know what is written to them. They also think it is fun!! The following activities and ideas are //Authentic// reasons for your students to be reading. After utilizing the activities below, the students you teach will possess a skill that many of their parents do not have, which can be a very powerful motivator. The use of online and e-mail activities increases the sense of joy and connectedness with peers and the culture and many other things, especially for special needs children.

In the school systems Yahoo! is blocked, however the kids do all have access to a [|Sendit] account. This account can be used, unfortunately it means that the extra learning activities that can be provided with Yahoo! are not an option.

Begin Using E-mail to Teach

 * 1) Begin with teaching the students well known, commonly used phrases to use/read on e-mail. Examples: "Hi, how are you?" "How was lunch?" "I am fine." etc.
 * 2) Post the phrases in your classroom and/or have each student make their own book of phrases or lists of words, to help them be independent. You may also want to include or have a seperate book for websites they can use.
 * 3) Help the students set up an address book in their e-mail with each other's e-mail and your e-mail. Also, the e-mail of other teachers they work with at school (P.E. teacher, Music teacher, etc.)
 * 4) Set up a "pen pal" program with other students at a distance. Pair each student up with another student. This can be from other schools (in state/ out of state/ Canada/ etc.), or some teachers have set their students up with "pen pals" from a college.
 * 5) Teach the students the vocabulary of e-mail. Examples: inbox, messages, adddress book, etc.

Other Items of use on the Internet
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 * 1) [|www.edHelper.com] - There is a $20 fee for use of this site, however you may be able to access some activities without a membership. With a membership you can access reading and writing, math, social studies, language, science, foreign languages, and other activities. This site allows you to creat worksheets to teach vocabulary associated with e-mail and/or Yahoo! Additional items include: spelling and vocabulary worksheets (matching, flashcards, multiple choice, flashcards, definitions); crossword and word search puzzles; and writing prompts.
 * 1) [|Yahoo! Movies] - Explore movies online and learn what is of interest to the children you are teaching. Looking at movies online provides practice knowing what their zipcode is in order to look at movie show times, and the show times are great for practicing time. The students will learn about telling time and elapsed time when you use the movie show times.
 * 1) [|Yahooligans!] - Provides many of the items Yahoo! provides, but there are more filters. [|Yahooligan! movies] offers calendar activities that will help your students understand calendar and time concepts. Because of the filters, if you were looking at movies on Yahooligans you would only see those rated g and pg. [|Yahooligan! ecards] will allow students to choose prewritten messages to send to their friends/family/teachers. [|Yahooligan! jokes] are great for learning vocabulary, puns, figurative language, similies, metaphors and more. The kids will automatically think they are funny just because they know jokes are supposed to be funny. This is a good time to ask: "Why is that funny?" Most probably cannot answer, so they need to be taught "why" jokes are funny. The teacher and the students can use [|Google] to find out about the vocabulary, puns, etc. The students can also write their own jokes and practice their writing skills! [|Ask Earl.] is a part of Yahooligans! that allows practice of writing questions. Beware though, you may never see that question answered.
 * 1) [|Yahoo! Music] - This provides students with special needs a connection to the regular culture of middle and high school.
 * 2) [[[|http://maps.yahoo.com/;_ylc=X3oDMTExNmIycG51BF9TAzI3MTYxNDkEc2VjA2ZwLWJ1dHRvbgRzbGsDbGluaw--|Yahoo]! Maps]] - This is an interactive way for students to learn how and why to use a map.
 * 1) Make assignments based on the sites above. They can be used for science, math, etc. There are polls that are on Yahoo! that can be used for learning percent and reading large numbers. The percents often change quite quickly, so they can also be used for learning difference.
 * 2) You can visit [|NetSmartz] for lesson plans for these types of activities. At NetSmartz you will also find information for parents as well ask kids activities.


 * Goals That Can Be Addressed Using Yahoo! or e-mail**
 * Increase the fund of basic reading vocabulary.
 * Acquire wordsand phrases specific to daily living, employment and leisue/recreation interests
 * Develop sustained silent reading skills
 * Develop oral reading skills
 * Write all personal information
 * Expand writing vocabulary as related to daily living, employment and leisue activities
 * Write simply functional phrases, cards and notes

Evaluation Procedures Performance Criteria

 * Performance-based Assessments
 * Quizzes
 * Can they do it?
 * Student Self-assessment
 * The most compelling form of evaluation is to collect student e-mails!
 * Please contact me if you would like to see samples of data sheets to collect performance data. melissa.jansen@sendit.nodak.edu

Internet Safety
Please take time to make sure that your students will be safe on the internet. The following two sites provide lots of information reguarding children's internet safety.

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 * [|www.netsmartz.org]
 * [|www.safekids.com]