Have you tried Jamboard with your students? Jamboard is the application Google created for its interactive whiteboard. I wanted to share why Jamboard has become one of my favorite tools to use with students and why creating Jamboard templates for you has become my newest obsession.
Pin for Later
Why Use Jamboard Templates?
I love Jamboard because it gives the students the ability to write and manipulate objects on their devices. These same features can be used with apps like Seesaw and Explain Everything, but Jamboard is built right into students' Google account. So it makes using Jamboard super easy, plus it's FREE.
Jamboard has some templates already built into the application. For example, students can add a graph, line, and dot paper. There are also colored backgrounds available. However, the thing I love is the ability to upload Jamboard templates. The scene is then locked, and you can layer things such as images, post-it notes, and other manipulatives on top of the template.
Other Great Jamboard Features
While this may sound a little bit like my interactive notebooks made with Google Slides, I've been leaning more and more towards making Jamboards because of the writing feature available to students.
I also love that students can collaborate on a project in Jamboard. Like other Google apps, students can work on a Jam in real-time as a group. This ability takes getting used to AND practice sessions with feedback from the teacher, but having the ability to work together is always a plus in my book.
Here are just a few ideas of how I use Jamboard templates and how you can, too:
Formative Assessments
Using formative assessment to evaluate students frequently helps you understand how well students understand the content. Jamboard templates make it easy to give feedback and adjust instruction on the fly.
One of my favorite Jamboard templates is just a simple exit ticket.
Complete the form below to grab your freebie if you'd like to try these Jamboard template formative assessments. If you'd like the growing bundle at its lowest price, click here because I'm adding to it all of the time.
Jamboard Templates for Phonics
I love using manipulatives with students because it hits so many learning styles! Whether it be at their desk or on their device, it doesn't matter to me. However, I do like the ease of using technology because:
- There is no mess
- No time wasted passing out materials
- Students can work on the activities anywhere, anytime
The lesson idea above comes from my high-frequency word phonics center Jamboard templates. As with most of my units, I provide both printable and virtual versions of the tasks. However, I think you can see kids would love to build high-frequency words in this way.
RAN Strategy
The RAN Strategy is one of my favorite formative assessments to use during science and literacy units. The RAN Strategy is a lot like a KWL chart. I like it because it tells me what students know about a topic of study before the unit begins, and I can see how students are progressing.
While I love using anchor charts in my room, I also like the ability to cast the Jamboard on my TV and on student devices to allow students to manipulate their thoughts simultaneously.
Jamboard Templates for Coding
One of my favorite ways to build reading comprehension is through storytelling. I use the app Scratch, Jr. all the time to allow students to retell or create their own stories or retell books they've already read.
However, I've found over the years that not everyone has access to iPad or Scratch, Jr. Of course, kids could always use the web version, Scratch, but I find it can be a bit more difficult for younger students.
For these reasons, I've been playing around with using Jamboard for grid projects. While it doesn't necessarily have all of Scratch's bells and whistles, I see its potential for creating algorithms. I'm even playing around with the idea of telling stories across pages.
Digital Escape Rooms
If you haven't jumped on the escape room bandwagon, you should! Just a quick side note about how much students love escape rooms, we used an escape room last year to teach point of view to a class of 5th-graders. They were having so much fun with it that when it was time to go outside for recess, they requested to stay in to solve the puzzles! Now that's saying something!
Finding resources that teach to the standards AND keep our kiddos engaged can be tricky. So I'd consider using escape rooms with students. In this example, students match the correct plural noun to gather the clues.
Having the ability to drag and drop objects in Jamboard is another reason why I love this application! And who doesn't love a good digital sticky note?
Design Journal (Fun Friday)
In this example, I use Jamboard to create a design journal for my fun Friday projects. I can see creating templates for:
- Reading response journals
- Writing paper
- STEM projects
- Science experiments
- Honestly, the sky is the limit.
Great for Screencasting Lessons
Another idea is to use Jamboard with your screencasting lessons. I know what you are thinking, I'm back doing in-person learning, and I plan never to do another video lesson again. However, I would encourage you to continue the practice of creating lessons every once in a while.
It can be a helpful tool for absent students in centers or when you have a substitute teacher.
Are you not convinced? That's ok. I've been creating a few for you. In this lesson from my opinion writing unit, I used Jamboard templates to help students understand facts and opinions. You can check out the unit here.
As you can see, there are so many wonderful options for using Jamboard templates in the classroom. The sky is the limit. This app is not only versatile, but it provides you with the tools you need to reach even your most struggling learners.
Leave a Reply