The following is a guest blog by Teacher Librarian Tyllie Corbin. Read on to see how Tyllie uses Buncee in collaboration with classroom educators.
Last year my, district had the opportunity to use Buncee for Schools and Districts, and I found several beneficial ways to use it with my students. Buncee has a wide variety of media features, so my students can experiment with using a combination of text, video, audio, and images to demonstrate their learning. It’s also quick and easy for me to make materials on Buncee that I can share with my students. Below are six projects and activities that I have done with my students that could be easily incorporated into your classroom.
1. Animal Research Projects
My second graders kicked off the year with a research project about eagles. We read the information about them on PebbleGo, took notes, and then created a Buncee to show what we learned. My students could easily include their notes, and add images to supplement their text.
Click here to see an example.
2.Language Learning Flashcards
Besides being the Teacher Librarian for my school, I am also the ELL teacher, so I used Buncee to make flashcards. My students like the pictures, and they are quick and easy to make. On each page of my Buncee I can add boxes and include either a picture or word inside. I can then print out these pages, cut out the boxes, and glue them together to create these flashcards.
Click here for an example.
3.Interest Surveys
This year, we reviewed how to use Buncee by having the students each create a Buncee about their own interests. After students created their Buncee, they talked to me about them, and I realized that we could open these up later in the year when they were struggling for ideas about what to read next. For example, I never knew that one of my students loved to draw, so I now have some ideas of books to suggest to him when he needs some new titles.
This is an example of a student’s Buncee in progress.
4.Visualizing Onomatopoeia
My 4th graders made Buncees to show that they understood onomatopoeia, and they were a lot of fun! The students used different colored text to highlight an example of an onomatopoeia in a sentence. Then, they chose a background, stickers, and animations to illustrate their onomatopoeia example.
Click here for an example.
5.Illustrating and Verbalizing Rhymes
My students enjoyed making rhymes with Buncee because they could add in animations. Students also used the record audio function to add themselves reading their rhymes aloud. The student enjoyed putting a personal touch and adding their own voices to their Buncees, and it helps student recognize the rhyming sounds as they record, and as the audio is played back. This was the first project we did that we shared with parents, and it was fun to get their feedback on the students’ creations.
Click here to see an example.
6.Sight Words Practice
The first grade teachers were looking for a way to get students to independently practice their sight words, so I created a Buncee where students can hear the words and then record themselves reading the words. It was easy to record my own audio, and then share with the students. The students could then copy my Buncee, listen to my audio recording, then edit and add their own audio recording on the next page.
Click here to see the sight words.
If you’re thinking about exploring Buncee in your classroom, my advice is: give it a try! Don’t be scared if you don’t know how to do everything, because your students will be able to figure it out and teach others, and if your students are like mine they will request to “play” with Buncee during their free time!
About Tyllie Corbin
Tyllie is in her 23rd year of teaching and ninth as the Teacher Librarian at Denver Community Schools. Prior to becoming a TL, Tyllie was a Spanish and ELL teacher. Tyllie has taught in four districts: Denver (IA), Oelwein (IA), Bowling Green (KY), and Killeen (TX). Tyllie graduated with a BA from the University of Northern Iowa in 1999 with a TESOL major and Spanish minor and a MA in School Library Studies in 2015. Her favorite part about being a teacher is making a connection with students through books and/or technology. In her free time, she enjoys spending time with her family, reading, traveling, and cheering on the UNI Panthers.
