[MOSAIC] Using Palm Pilots

[Shauna Covell]

Hi Heather.  I used a class set of palm pilots while teaching a biography/civil rights unit to a fourth grade class.  There is a program called “Sketchy” for palm pilots that aligns with the visualization strategy in Harvey and Goudvis’ Strategies that Work.  Sketchy is kind of like a mini animated movie.  They draw each picture and then press play and it illustrates the scene.  I began by explicitly explaining the purpose and use of visualizations, and then I had my students visualize a scene from the book they were reading (they were allowed to choose to read a biography about Rosa Parks, MLK Jr., and Jackie Robinson).  After they had a clear visualization in their mind, I handed out the palm pilots.  Talk about an anticipatory set!  They were thrilled to use the palms and already knew how to use the Sketchy software.  Once they finished their mini-movie (as I called them) they could send their visualization to each other and view others’ mini-movies.  It was a big hit and a great way to teach the visualization strategy on a palm pilot.  

I hope this helps!
Shauna