Are you a fan of GIFs? I can spend my day going through funny GIFs on IG and sharing them with my friends. In this post, I am going to share with you how you can have your students create a Name GIF to help you get to know them & their technology background!
This is one of my FAVORITE back-to-school activities that will be sure to engage your students in Google Slides while giving you a chance to get to know them!
Naturally, I will be integrating tech into this activity because I don’t want you to be afraid of using it with your kiddies, so let’s get into it, shall we?
What is a Name GIF?
One of my favorite things to do with my students is to have them do create a name GIF! I use Google Slides to do this and it makes sharing ideas & facts fun! I have had students create a GIF for anything and everything, but this is the first one I have them do. It helps me get to know them and is really simple!
How do you make a Name GIF?
First, have students create a new Google Slide deck. You can have them do it through a template you create on Google Classroom, or have them make it from scratch and share it with you.
Each slide is a frame in the GIF, this is where you can talk about breaking things down step by step. Each letter of their name is a step they are going to take.
This is a great link to coding because that’s exactly what coding is – taking a big problem and breaking it down into small steps. Check out why you should integrate coding into your classroom here.
In the first frame, I have them type the first letter of their name. They can use their favorite colors and a cute font! Enrich your kiddoes by having them write 2-3 positive words that begin with that letter, too!
In each consecutive frame, students write each letter of their name. Again, they’ll decorate it how they want. Let students get creative with the shapes tool and insert images that represent them.
Click here for my Student Guide to Using Google Slides to make them independent when creating!
On the last slide, you can have students put a fun picture of themselves! Let them be silly and have their personalities shine. Not only will this give students a chance to express themselves, but it will allow you to really see which students might need a confidence boost and which students are more outgoing!
Once students are done creating the bones of the GIF, you can have them turn it into a GIF and share it with you, or you can convert them to a GIF for them, all depending on the age level. My recommendation is for 2nd-3rd grade, create the GIF for them, and for 4th-6th grade, show them how to do it, and let them try it!
In the freebie, there is a video showing how to turn the Google Slide into a GIF, so drop your email below and you’ll get it sent straight to your inbox! Included in the freebie are a rubric, example, and quick video tutorial!
I can’t wait to see what you do with this activity! Be sure to tag me on IG with the GIFs your kids make! @techaboutmath
TL;DR
Have your students create a Name GIF to help you get to know them this school year. It is a great way for you to get to know their interests and their tech skills at the same time!
You can snag a freebie of this activity by clicking here! The freebie walks you through step-by-step how to make a GIF with Google Slides. It includes a rubric, how-to video, and student directions with success criteria.
Happy GIF-ing!
alexandra
