I made my first power pics this week! We have been going over the rules for making plural nouns and I kept wishing I had a power pic for it. I checked second grade PPs, and while I didn't find one to cover the rules, I did find several that I could use throughout the year. I took those, and gave the others to a second grade teacher at my school who has no experience with WBT. She was thrilled to find one to use the very next day.
I made my own for the plural rules, and made up my own motions. They look a little different than the official ones, but my students didn't care.
(You can see them more clearly in my forum post http://www.wholebrainteaching.com/Fifth-Grade/6939-Power-Pix.html#8989)
Last year, I used power pics at the time I introduced the concept. This year, I am using them to front load. For example, (yes, I did the example popper motion as I typed) our measurement units in math are not until the spring. They move incredibly fast, and the kids struggle to do conversions between units. I decided to start introducing a few of the measurement PPs (Quart, cup, pint, etc) now to see if the advanced exposure would help them in a few months. Often, my students are like lab rats- I love to try new techniques on them!
Happy November!