Lockhart Elementary School fourth graders, under the guidance of teacher-librarian Tara Gonzalez, connected through books and technology with students from around the world, and those in their own backyard, when they participated in the 2015 Global Read Aloud.
During their library period, the students joined thousands in developing thoughtful interpretations of Amy Krause Rosenthal’s children’s books. They discussed and shared ideas using Padlet, an online tool that provides a digital canvas where users can create collaborative projects using a host of options, such as dragging in videos, recording interviews, writing their own text posts or uploading documents. As a culminating event, the students took a virtual field trip through “Field Trip Zoom,” provided by Nassau BOCES videoconferencing service with fourth-grade Library classes from Seaford Manor Elementary School and Babylon Memorial Grade School. There, teacher-librarians worked with students on their interpretations on Padlet during library time and created presentations using Google Drive.
The children “loved” having a virtual visit with their neighbors in Seaford and Babylon and shared what they learned through the author study,” Gonzalez said. “The students used a lot of inferencing, comprehension and critical-thinking skills to make connections about the global messages in the books, and they were proud to share their work with students from other schools. They were also intrigued to discover that their interpretations of the books were similar to those of their local neighbors and worldwide.”
