Each year, Grant Wood AEA's Media Library team works with area teacher librarians to use the various apps provided for free by the agency. Cedar Rapids Community School District teacher librarian Robyn Davis shares her reflections on these useful resources.
"This year after attending our Teacher Librarian meeting in October, it seemed like Power Knowledge would be a resource my students would really enjoy - especially since they had been so taken with PebbleGo last year. I loved that it was broken down into three different levels of science so it could appeal to even more kids! I spent the next three weeks teaching and promoting Power Knowledge to the 3rd, 4th, and 5th grade classes at all three of my schools.
Students were challenged to “stump the teacher/librarian.” Students were given a sticky note and were challenged to find at least one new fact — in ANY of the articles they thought either I or their teacher did not know. They shared the fact to see if we knew it (something like “sharks have hundreds of teeth”). If we knew the fact then the student was challenged to find another fact. My favorite fact - Farmers in the midwestern United States call hail the “white plague.”
When asking the students what they liked about Power Knowledge, there was a common theme related to the interactive games. Aubrey, (4th grade) enjoyed learning about parts of the body while Aizen (4th grade) liked habitats. Jace (3rd grade) used it for animal research and I learned that no one really knows where Dalmatians came from.” and Maya (3rd grade) liked learning about all kinds of different animals including dinosaurs and endangered animals."
- Want more reflections on Grant Wood AEA's digital resources? Be sure to check out the recent episode of On the Road with John Speer, which includes an interview with Mid-Prairie teacher librarian Kaitlyn Dodds.
- We also recommend registering for a upcoming Power Knowledge and Core Concepts Science Suite webinars happening in January! Both sessions will be recorded, so participants can receive the recording by registering even if they can't make it to the webinar live.