Second graders at Laburnum Elementary are currently reviewing the American Indian tribes they’ve been studying for the past several weeks (Powhatan, Lakota, and Pueblo). So to help them review, they made websites today using CheckThis. CheckThis is a great way for elementary students to create websites because it doesn’t require a login, and adding new parts is as simple as clicking a button. To get them started brainstorming ideas, each child chose a tribe and pretended that they lived in the tribe. They gave themselves a name and an occupation and thought about what their lives would be like. Then we went to CheckThis and started writing. They wrote about where they lived, what they ate, what the land and climate were like, and any other creative ideas they wanted to add. Next we got a picture to embed. We discussed good search terms that would get the best picture (“lakota indian” would get more results than just typing “indian”). Finally, I showed them how to add a poll question that would help the reader review the American Indians. I posted all the links to a Google Doc that you can see here.
