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PowerPoint Ideas for the Classroom Power Point Uses in the Elementary School Classroom Beginning of the school year: Use Power Point to introduce yourself and/or the school day routine and rules to students. Then in the computer lab model and instruct students how to make a Power Point Presentation. Have them make a Power Point introducing themselves to the class. Open House for Parents- Post pictures of students engaged in schoolwork and title the pictures for a slide show and keep it running throughout the Open House. Or, create a Power Point to inform parents about the upcoming 3^rd grade school year. Mathematics: Electronic flashcards- Have students practice their addition, subtraction, multiplication and division facts with Power Point. Students would be instructed on what to put on slides (addition, subtraction, multiplication or division facts). They would make a slide of the problem, and then on the following slide put the answer. Along with the answer, they could explain in words or pictures how they got the answer. For example if the problem were 2X8=16, they would show an array or diagram of 2 rows of smiley faces, with 8 smiley faces in each row to demonstrate how they arrived at the answer. Fact Triangles of Multiplication and Division- For example, students would draw a triangle on the slide and put the numbers 5, 4, and 20. This is their fact triangle. On the next slide, they would write the possible equations for this number (5X4=20, 4X5=20 and then draw an array or diagram to demonstrate how they arrived at their answer. Then, on the next slide they would write the division equations (20/5-4, 20/4=5) and again have a diagram or array to prove their answer. Problem solving Pose a problem of the day with Power Point Explain the steps taken to solve a problem Have students work in groups to solve a problem, and then create a Power Point together explaining the different ways the problem could be solved. Area & Perimeter- Have students create examples of problems to solve area & perimeter. For example, they can create a Dream House on Power Point and find the area & perimeter of each individual rooms and hallways, and then the total area & perimeter. o Students could also make a map of the classroom and find the area and perimeter of the furniture and the classroom itself. Students could use Power Point to make a layout of their design and explain the area and perimeter for each piece of furniture and then of the total classroom. Fractions Model or review equivalent fractions Demonstrate how to add, subtract and multiply fractions Use Power Point when modeling or reviewing parts of a whole compared to fraction sets. For example, for parts of a whole, you would have a circle that is half shaded in, and then would write ½. For parts of a set, you would have 2 circles, and 1 entire circle shaded in, and this would be ½ of your set. Power Point would be great to show students these examples, and then they could create a Power Point of examples of their own. This could be made interactive by showing students 6 circles, and then instructing them to use Power Point to put an “X” on 1/3 of the circles. Geometry Angles- Students can use Power Point to explain acute, obtuse and right angles, and show examples of each. Congruent shapes- Power Point could be used (or Kid Pix) to show students 5 different shapes. Using Power Point, they could sort the congruent shapes and explain why they are congruent. Students could each work in groups of 2 or 3 to make 1 slide of a congruent shape sort. This could be put together as an entire Power Point Slide Show for the class. Polygons- Power Point could be used to introduce what a polygon is. Then students could be provided with a polygon example, and the Power Point could be used to model how to find the number of sides, angles and vertices of the polygon. Students could then work in groups to construct their own polygon and find the number of sides, angles and vertices on it. Each slide could be put together as a Power Point Slide Show for the class. Reading: After reading a book, students can use Power Point to write and illustrate: o Making connections- Text-to-self (relate the book to an experience in your own life to what you have read), Text-to-text (relate what you have just read to another book you have read before), and Text-to-world (relate what you have read to the world around you)- Students would use Power Point to make a connection that is supported with evidence from the text. They would also explain how their connection helps them better understand what they read. They can then insert pictures to enhance their presentation. If this is done on Power Point, it should be done in note format. Students should not be writing a lengthy response on the slides. This would need to be modeled for them. o Making and verifying predictions- Students would make a prediction based on what they have read. They can do this on Power Point and support their prediction using details from the text, and Power Point pictures. After reading, they would go back onto Power Point and insert more slides explaining whether or not their prediction was correct. Information from the text and pictures, graphics and or animations would be used. o Writing a brief summary and using pictures to enhance it o Visualizing- After reading a passage or chapter in a book, or having this read aloud, students would use Power Point or Kid Pix to illustrate what they visualized. They would then explain details from the story is are included in their visualization. If students do not know what visualizing is, then a Power Point can be created by the teacher to explain that visualizing is making a picture in your head while reading. Doing this helps improve your comprehension. A Power Point would be created to explain all of this. o Favorite Scenes- Students would choose a favorite scene from the book they have read. They would then use Power Point to explain their favorite scene from the book and explain why it is their favorite scene. They would use pictures, animations, sounds and graphics to make their scene come “alive” with Power Point. o Create a Power Point on the Author who wrote the book- Students would include the Author’s name, their accomplishments, other books they have written, and more. This can also be created into an Author Study. It can be an interactive scavenger hunt through hyperlinks and incorporating questions for discussion. Poetry- Use Power Point to present poetry to increase students fluency. Fluency rubrics (rubrics that score a students pace, word accuracy and expression) can be used and voices of poetry can be recorded to model good fluency. Students could either record their own voice once they are able to read the poetry fluently, or a teacher’s voice can be record to serve as a model. Literature Circles- A teacher can use Power Point (or just do a lesson on it) to introduce the literature circle roles to the students (Artist, Discussion Director, Vocabulary, Connector, and Summarizer). After these roles are taught, students can create a slide after reading, based on their role. The slides could then be put together into a Power Point Slide Show for the literature circle group. Writing: · Use along with Empowering Writers: o Entertaining Beginnings- Use Power Point to model and introduce an entertaining beginning to students (begins with a sound, action, dialogue, thought or question) Students should be shown examples of each. After they are comfortable writing an entertaining beginning, students can independently write and illustrate their own using Power Point. Pictures, animations and sound can be used to accompany their beginning. o Main Event- A teacher can use a Power Point to model for his/her students how to write a main event. The slide show could be titled “Cooking up a Main Event”. Each slide could explain what a student needs to include in the middle of their story, and examples. o Ending- A teacher can create a Power Point to model how to write an ending to his/her students. Slides should discuss how you can end your story (use a memory, feeling, wish, hope, decision, or defining action). Examples of each should be provided. Graphics, animation, sound, and questions could be added to engage students. Students can then create their own Power Points of endings they have written and include pictures, animation and sound. This can be done in groups or independently. All of the slides can be put together to create a Power Point for the class. · Have students create and illustrate poems of their own using Power Point · Word Families- Students can write sentences, use visuals, or create poetry using word families (an example of a word family is words that have –or or -oar). Science: Rocks & Minerals: o Use Power Point to introduce students to the field tests they will perform on each rock and mineral o Students create a Power Point explaining the field test and presenting their findings after completing each field test (tests on hardness, color, smell, texture, light and magnetism) o Use an interactive scavenger hunt Power Point to teach students about the rock cycle · Ideas & Inventions: o Have students pick an inventor and create a Power Point on the inventor and his/her accomplishments · Human Body o Make a presentation introducing the skeletal system, bones, joints or muscles Social Studies: · Maps & Globes (Focus on this 3^rd grade unit is on Continents and Oceans) o Create an interactive Scavenger Hunt on-line using Power Point to have students learn facts about the 7 Continents and 4 Oceans o Introduce relevant vocabulary: prime meridian, equator, names of the continents and oceans · Kenya & Japan- Teacher can create an interactive Power Point on topics to be learned: Education, Food, Clothing, Shelter, Music, Art, Families, Climate, Geography, Population, Language, Water, and more! Or, topics can be distributed among students, and they can create a couple of slides for each topic learned. This can then be put together in a slide show. Miscellaneous: Biography Reports: · Have students make a Power Point presentation to go along with their biography reports. This should be used to enhance their oral presentation; students will not be allowed to simply read their Power Point- it must be in note format (taking notes should be taught to students prior to this- Power Point can also be used to teach students how to take notes effectively). Research: Use Power Point to model how to complete research in the library and on the computer. Then students can create their own Power Point explaining what they have learned after research. Test Review: Create a Jeopardy Game or Who Wants to Be a Millionaire to review for any test
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