Buncee Blog

I can’t speak for all students, but I know that for my 3rd graders, technology is the great equalizer. Mention the word laptop and their eyes light up like it’s Christmas Day. It goes without saying that it’s always made sense to me to use technology as a method of engaging my students. When I incorporated Buncee last year into my classroom, it was like Christmas had come early. We used it during one of the more dry units of writing, literary essay. It was like a light bulb went off for the students who had just been compliant, or had barely produced work. Suddenly, their writing was literally coming alive with animation, color, and more. What a gift! Kids begged to get on Buncee, and I wasn’t stopping them. We couldn’t get enough. Needless to say, I knew I was on to something.

Flash forward to this year. When I learned about Buncee Boards, another one of those light bulbs went off. I thought of the opportunities for collaboration that Buncee Boards could bring and I just happened to have the perfect thing for it! I decided to create a mini 2-week unit to help students learn and practice grammar and editing rules collaboratively. And there began our 3rd grade Buncee Boards Love Story…

The first thing I did was pre-assess to isolate the skills I knew the kids were lacking. The results were staggering. About 80% of the class did not punctuate run-on sentences with periods, exclamation points or question marks. My jaw dropped, but it made my decision for where to go first an easy one.

So… that was when the real fun began! Each student was tasked with the job of writing and illustrating a “silly run-on sentence,” one without any punctuation whatsoever. Giggles were heard throughout the classroom. It was adorable. Each student added their individual Buncee silly sentence to the Buncee Board. The next day, I taught a lesson about how to punctuate run-on sentences, (using Buncee, of course). Now, the kids theoretically knew the rules for punctuating run-on sentences. But I had to try by theory…

Then, the absolute best part happened. The students got to use the comment feature on Buncee Boards to fix a partner’s Buncee silly sentence. As a good teacher always does, I went back and examined the data. This was the part where I got a huge ego boost, and where Buncee got a HUGE shout out on Twitter. 96% of the students used correct grammar! They learned!!! And they had fun!!! And we all laughed!!

So, this really is a Buncee love story. Buncee is such a fun and engaging platform for students to learn and collaborate together. It’s clear that 3rd grade and Buncee are a perfect match!

Here are some of the Run On Silly Sentences – and fixes – that Dina’s students created.
Their names have been whited out to protect student privacy.

 

Dina Bolan is a third grade teacher at Alexander Hamilton Elementary School in Glen Rock, New Jersey. Dina attended Teachers College, Columbia University and received her Masters in Elementary Inclusive Education. She enjoys learning about all things Ed Tech, and loves using technology to increase engagement and learning in her classroom! You can connect with Dina on Twitter @mrsbolansclass.