I have never considered the benefits of using wikis in a first grade classroom until last week. The whole idea of allowing students to add, edit, and delete information on a wiki would be perfect for group projects. I like the idea of a wiki space being an ongoing project and not just a place to add information once. The simplified structure of a wiki is appealing for younger students.
I love using blogs to get inspiration for my classroom. So not knowing how to implement wikis into my classroom I turned to blogs. I found a first grade classroom that uses a wiki to help with writing skills. The first graders are working on a story and the wiki allows all the students to participate. The students can add more to the story, delete and change parts, and edit.
I also like how we are using a wiki in grad school to define vocabulary words we have learned. I could see this being useful in my first grade classroom. We could have a wiki for each science and social studies unit. The students could place pictures, examples, and words for each vocabulary term.
Does anyone know of a good website that give examples of younger students using wikis in the classroom?
I like your ideas. I don't think you need any references to look at. Go with your gut, I bet your kids are going to produce some really cool stuff. Maybe if you did a science unit and gave each group a page on the wiki like we have for our collaborative-paired up-FACTS wiki. Then they can look at others and "borrow" or compare which one is better at the end. You could even show them how to link later on and have them go back add links to the others.
ReplyDeleteGreat ideas! Even at that young age, understanding must improve when students put their thoughts and ideas into words.
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