WHMN Spring 2018

Our spring WHMN News Crew started this week.  We have 12 great broadcasters in our Crew this cycle.

Check out this week's broadcast.

BrainPop

Students and teachers at Fuller Meadow School and Howe Manning School use BrainPop, Jr., BrainPop, ELL and BrainPop to enhance their curriculum and lessons.

What is BrainPop, Jr?

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What is BrainPop?

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What is BrainPop, ELL?

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BrainPOP ELL™ is a comprehensive English language learning program that uses highly engaging animated movies to model conversational English. The movies and related features are leveled, building upon each other to reinforce vocabulary and usage. New concepts are presented within everyday situations, helping to provide context. BrainPOP ELL's structure enables students to master the language in a step-by-step process, giving them the confidence they need to read and speak English. (Source)

Features in BrainPop 

(source)

Storytelling

Forming and Connecting Ideas

Play

Playful Assessments

Educator Support

Using BrainPop in the classroom
Students and staff at Fuller Meadow and Howe Manning love using BrainPop in their classrooms.  The videos and activities allow for curricular topics to be explained and explored in an understandable and FUN way!  Students are constantly engaged in their learning.

Example of a 6th grade lesson on Cells and Cell Functions.

Students watch the video

Students complete activities independently or collaboratively. This is "Make-a-Map".

Students take their learning and exploration to the next level by acting out the functions of a cell.

Certified BrainPop Educator
I have been a Certified BrainPop Educator for two years now.  Each year, BrainPop offers recertification possibilities so that we can continue to help our staff and students as they integrate this program into their curriculum.

Thank you Moby and BrainPop for the fun and engaging lessons that you offer!

Howe Manning EdTech Challenge

Teachers at Howe Manning had the opportunity to participate in the first annual "HM EdTech Challenge."  This is a fun and quick way to dip your toe (or swim) in educational technology.  I created a BINGO board with many activities to expose teachers to different educational technology programs and professionals.

Prizes:
Fill in a row, column, or diagonal for a chance at the First Place Prize.
Fill in the entire board for a chance for the Grand Prize.
There are several different prizes, some are sponsored from professionals in the edtech field and are featured on this board.

On the second page, you’ll find some professionals in the field to add to your PLN - professional learning network.  It’s fun to follow them in your social media.

On the third page, I’m adding video tutorials to help you with some of these programs.  Please feel free to reach out to me if you need any assistance with these challenges.  I’d love to help you!

We had 15 teachers at Howe Manning participate in the HM EdTech Challenge.  It was great helping our teachers learn new programs, expand their professional learning network, and watching them get excited about new programs that they can use with their students.  Because Kids Deserve It!!

Teachers who participated in the HM EdTech Challenge received a prize.  Most of these prizes were donated by educational technology professionals who were very willing to help sponsor this challenge. 

A huge thank you to the following sponsors:
Brian Aspinall
Kasey Bell
BrainPop
Dave Burgess
Diane Carriero
EdTech Team
Flipgrid
Amy Karas
Alice Keeler
Middleton PTO
Matt Miller
Sol Bean Cafe
Paul Solarz
Adam Welcome

Next up...
FM EdTech Challenge

#ReadAcrossAmerica Day Goes Global with Flipgrid

Students at Fuller Meadow School and Howe Manning School celebrated Dr. Seuss's birthday and "Read Across America Day" using a challenge from Flipgrid - "March 2nd is #ReadAcrossAmerica Day and this year we're throwing out a challenge. Let's make this a global party and share our love of reading with the rest of the world!"

"Flipgrid is a website that allows teachers to create "grids" of short discussion-style questions that students respond to through recorded videos."  (Source)

The assignment is -

Read Across the WORLD

March 2 is Read Across America Day. Instead of celebrating in only America, we want to celebrate diverse global readers across the entire world. Our Global Classroom's reach is global, so this week's topic is Read Across the World. Share a #shelfie (selfie with a book), recommend a book for others, why you enjoy it or even read a line or two from the book. Try and keep your response free of spoilers in case others have not read that book just yet!

Read Across America Day

Add to the Flipgrid -

Using Flipgrid for Authentic Learning

In writing classes, students in grades K-4 Middleton Schools are learning about Facts and Opinions.  When they get into 5th and 6th grades, this transitions into persuasive writing.

This year, some 6th grade students got to turn their persuasive writing into something more "global,"

The assignment was to choose a charity, research that charity, then write a report using persuasive writing skills to get us to want to donate to that charity.  They spent a lot of time learning about the charity and finding the "hooks" that make someone want to donate.

Once their research paper was completed, they used the information that they learned to write a brief summary of their charity, then give 3 reasons why you should donate to them.  They used this information to create a video commercial using the program "Flipgrid."

"Flipgrid is a website that allows teachers to create "grids" of short discussion-style questions that students respond to through recorded videos."  (Source)

6th Graders

When the 6th grade students finished their videos, they had the opportunity to VOTE for the best representative for the charity.

Check out all of the videos:

Mrs. Butler's Homeroom

Mrs. Harris's Homeroom

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Mrs. Thomson's Homeroom

Here are the top 14 charities that were chosen to be in the running for the all Middleton vote.

Students in grades 2-5 were given the opportunity to VOTE for the most persuasive Charity video.  They watched each Flipgrid video, then cast their vote on a ballot sheet.  After the vote, students are able to create a Flipgrid video reply to different videos stating their opinion for why they like this charity.  Full Circle!

Vote for the charity that you think should win a $100 donation.  Pick only 1.

_____ ALS

_____ Boys and Girls Club

_____ Children’s Cancer Research

_____ Disabled American Veterans

_____ Jimmy Fund

_____ Juvenile Diabetes Foundation

_____ Make-a-Wish

_____ Ronald McDonald House

_____ Save the Children

_____ Shriner’s Hospital for Children

_____ St. Jude’s Children’s Hospital

_____ Special Olympics

_____ UNICEF

_____ Water for Sudan

1st Place Winner for $100 donation is...

St. Jude's Children's Hospital by Liam S.

I'd like to thank everyone who participated in making this project such a successful, authentic experience for our students!  

Thank you to Flipgrid for your amazing program!  We have Flipgrid Fever!

Massachusetts 6^th Grade ENGLISH LANGUAGE ARTS AND LITERACY Standards

W.6. 1. Write arguments to support claims with clear reasons and relevant evidence.

W.6. 4. Produce clear and coherent writing in which the development, organization, and style are appropriate to task, purpose, and audience.

W.6. 9. Draw evidence from literary or informational texts to support analysis, reflection, and research.

L.6. 1. Demonstrate command of the conventions of standard English grammar and usage when writing or speaking.

L.6. 3. Use knowledge of language and its conventions when writing, speaking, reading, or listening.

RI.6. 7. Integrate information presented in different media or formats (e.g., visually, quantitatively) as well as in words to develop a coherent understanding of a topic or issue.

SL. 6. 2. Interpret information presented in diverse media and formats (e.g., visually, quantitatively, orally) and explain how it contributes to a topic, text, or issue under study.

SL. 6. 5. Include multimedia components (e.g., graphics, images, music, sound) and visual displays in presentations to clarify information.

Using the Green Screen to be in a Wampanoag Village

Students in 3rd grade learned about the Wampanoag people.

Essential Questions

Who were the Wampanoag people?

How did the Wampanoag use natural resources?

What were the traditions and customs of the Wampanoag?

Who were the Wampanoag leaders?

 In this unit of study, teachers taught the content through a Google slideshow.  See below:

Students created a Wampanoag story book, a poem, pictures, and answered questions to help them understand the life of the Wampanoag people.

Students worked collaboratively in groups to create murals and three-dimensional projects for Wampanoag villages during each season.

Students "fell" into their mural projects using Green Screen by Do Ink and iMovie.  They wrote their scripts, practiced their lines, and acted in their video.  Check out their videos below.


Mrs. Goldstein's homeroom video:



Mrs. Magner's homeroom video:



Ms. Nardone's homeroom video:

3^rd Grade Massachusetts Social Studies Standards

3.2 Identify the Wampanoags and their leaders at the time the Pilgrims arrived, and

describe their way of life. (H, G)

3.2.2 Observe visual sources such as historic paintings, photographs, or illustrations that

accompany historical narratives, and describe details such as clothing, setting, or

action. (H)

3.2.3. Observe and describe local or regional historic artifacts and sites and generate questions

about their function, construction, and significance. (H)

Technology Standards: W 6, W 10, SL 1 Use digital tools for communication and collaboration.   

Greek Myths in 4th Grade

Students in Mrs. Deeley's ELA classes learned about Greek mythology in a fun and digital way.

All aboard with Mrs. Deeley

Check out the opening message for this adventure:

Welcome to your Greek Myth adventure! Over the next few weeks you will go on an epic journey - an odyssey- to learn about Greek mythology.

 Just as Hercules had to complete 12 labors, so must you. You will be working alone and with your team to complete each task (labor). Each labor must be completed before moving on to the next. 

Are you ready? Put on your thinking helmets, and arm yourself with a positive learning attitude….. SET SAIL!

Students found the tasks for their journey in a Google Slideshow. They worked on it independently, stopping along the way to work collaboratively with their classmates.  

Each day, Mrs. Deeley had a mini-lesson for them to teach them about Greek myths.  

Mini-lessons

The Greeks turned to the gods and goddesses for help and advice. The students were asked, "Who will guide you?" They took a quiz to find out which god/goddess they were and designed their ship’s sail to represent the god/goddess. They conducted research the gods/goddesses throughout the unit and used this information for their final project.

Research

There were several "Myth Mysteries" that the students had to solve during their journey.

Mini-Mysteries

In the end, students had the opportunity to choose their final project.