Today we had another successful Skype call with Patti Harju's 2nd graders in Grand Rapids, MI. This was the 3rd time we have Skyped with her students. Today St. Isidore of Seville, the patron Saint of the Internet, must have been smiling down at us because it was a near perfect call. The sound and pictures were just fine. We didn't have a choppy picture or sound. We did lose connection toward the end of the call, but we reconnected quickly.??
I believe I have figured what makes a great Skype session. The most important item is to have a topic. Today's topic was poetry. I believe poetry is best enjoyed read or recited out loud. Last Wednesday, we celebrated Poem In Our Pocket day.??
Each student had to memorize a poem and recite it in front of their classmates. Presentation is listed as one of the 6 Traits Plus 1 which we use at our school. They only had to memorize a 4 line poem but I told them that they are not limited to 4 lines. We had everything from The Purple Cow to Shel Silverstein to Emily Dickinson. I loved how many parents helped their children find a poem and how many shared their favorite poem with their child.??
So, today, we called Mrs. Harju's class. I had 12 volunteers and her class had 5 poems. They read their poems in small groups in a choral reading style. Their poems were all so cute and funny. They commented that our poems were memorized so that gave her students an idea of what to expect in 3rd grade. I was so proud that my students all remembered their poems!??
Our call lasted about 20 minutes and I find that to be the perfect amount of time. I'm looking forward to Skyping next year with my new class of students!??
I love the idea of sharing poems via Skype. My students are in the process of memorizing poems for a Primary Poetry Festival at our school, and I think that Skype would be a great way for them to practice their poems in front of an audience. Thanks for the idea! Like you, I agree that 20 minutes is the perfect length of time for a Skype call, and having a good plan helps too. I have also tried small group Skype calls lately, and I think that they work really well also: they offer more time for the students to interact with each other. Thanks for giving me some new ideas to try out now in my classroom as well!
Thanks for commenting! Two weeks ago we Skyped together and shared jokes. That was a great way to get use to sharing on Skype and be more comfortable when it was time to share poems.