Tuesday, May 12th was National Limerick Day. Students in 4th Grade celebrated this by writing limericks about super heroes. First, they had a lesson on what a limerick poem is and the mechanics of writing one.
Students worked diligently on their limericks and drew a picture of their super hero. Then, they used the iPad app "Chatterpix" to make their pictures talk, and used the app "iMovie" to put them all together.
Massachusetts and Common Core Standards for ELA
L.4.5 Demonstrate understanding of figurative language, word relationships, and nuances in word meanings.
S.L.4.5 Add audio recordings and visual displays to presentations when appropriate to enhance the development of main ideas or themes.
How
do you teach the biography genre without it being boring and mundane? You
have students choose someone they are passionate about…someone who has made a
difference…someone that will keep them engaged during their time researching.
You also have them become the person and present themselves to the public.
The Living Biography Museum was created by the fourth grade
students as they developed their research, writing, and presentation
skills. Many classes throughout the school visited the Living Biography Museum, and during the exhibition, students presented the lives of their famous person in the first person.
Click on the image below to check
out this video of our museum:
Students in Mrs. Jones’ science classes have been learning
about SPACE. Everything from the planets
in our solar system and dwarf planets to comets and the Kuiper Belt, these
students sure did become experts. The essential question that was posed to the students is:
What are the physical attributes of planets and comets?
Each student chose a planet to research. At the beginning of the unit, students had a
scavenger hunt around the classroom to learn facts about space. They had fun moving from one area to another
as they recorded their facts.
Scavenger Hunt of facts about space.
Students used laptops to conduct their research. They were given a packet to complete that included each planet in our solar system. Then, they focused on their chosen planet and filled in as much information that they
could find.
Research on planets.
There were two projects that the students made at the end of
their research. One project was to
create a presentation for their classmates. They had a choice of many projects:
creating a brochure, poster board, write a poem, play or short story, make a
model, conduct an interview or be a newscaster, create a wanted poster, write a
song, or create a digital presentation. With so many project options, students were sure to find one
that allows them to utilize their strengths and creativity.This activity builds public speaking skills and allows for the entire
class to learn a bit about all of the planets.
Project presentation
Some
students presented their project to our School Committee and several parents.
Another
project that the students created was to report on an assigned object in space
and make a video using the apps “Green Screen” by Do Ink and iMovie. Check out the
movies below:
Our Math Curriculum Specialist, Mary Pelrine, has been teaching
our students and staff how to use the math program, TenMarks.
“[TenMarks] partners with schools and districts to
drive an integrated model of powerful [math] curriculum and instruction,
supported by technology and 1:1 personalization. [They] accomplish this with a
content-driven technology strategy, focusing on 3 core areas.”
Click here for more information about
TenMarks.
Mrs. Pelrine begins each lesson with a brief description of the
TenMarks program and how to access it on our iPads. Students are given a username and password
and learn how to access their assignment.
There are several features that enhance the program where students have
space to show their work, get hints and/or watch a video if they don’t understand
the type or problem, or just need review.
Students then got busy working on their math. Their excitement grew with each problem and
when they finished, they received their score.
Students are asked to go back and make corrections on the problems that
they missed. They gladly reviewed these problems
to get a better score.
Students
in Mrs. Goldstein’s class were challenged with a (fictitious) situation to
stimulate a conversation, and writing piece, to voice their opinion. “Which Specialist class should NOT be cut
from the curriculum?” Boy, did these
children have the answers! We all have
opinions, but usually they don’t have any real research or evidence behind
them. But not in Mrs. Goldstein’s
class. They worked hard on their
research to find factual information to back up their opinion.
A
lot of preparation went in to this writing process. The teacher used several mentor texts to
teach the writing traits – voice, focus, organization, writing with details, idioms,
and conjunctions.
Students
decided on the Specialist that they were going to “save” and formed groups for
each one. They brainstormed together to
create a persuasive chart.
Persuasive Charts for each Specialist: Library, Art, Music, Gym, and Computers.
Research
began to find factual details for their opinion. Mrs. Goldstein and Miss Fawson found some
great websites that included facts that would support keeping our Specialists
in the curriculum. Students investigated
the websites and found great facts to support their opinion.
Students
gathered three facts off of the websites to support their opinion. The teachers also had hard copies of each website just in case students wanted to use them.
They recorded their work on a graphic
organizer and then wrote a letter to the principal to support their Specialist.
I
used the app “Green Screen” by Do Ink to create a video for the traits of
writing – Factual Information, Explicit Topic Sentence, and
Voice. Check out the video below.
Check
out our Twitter tweet for “Voice”. We
were re-tweeted by Green Screen by Do Ink for using their app. We were also chosen as a ‘favorite’ for a couple
of people.
Massachusetts and Common Core Standards for ELA
W.3.1.
Write opinion pieces on topics or texts, supporting a point of view with
reasons. Write
arguments to support claims in an analysis of substantive topics or texts,
using valid reasoning and relevant and sufficient evidence.
W.3.4. Produce clear and coherent
writing in which the development, organization, and style are appropriate to
task, purpose, and audience.
W.3.8.
Recall information from experiences or gather information from print and
digital sources; take brief notes on sources and sort evidence into provided
categories.
Essential Question: How do physical and behavioral traits help animals survive?
The students in Mrs.
Kennedy's 2nd grade class had a blast with their animal adaptations unit! The
students loved being able to look at pictures, watch videos, and learn facts
about real animals that they are interested in. They integrated technology into
this lesson to make the lessons come to life.
Using the website, "National Geographic for Kids,"
students found information on their chosen animal. Click below to access
the website.
To make accessing the
website easier, students learned how to scan a QR Code that links to the
website. Students uses the app, "QRafter" to scan the QR Codes. To practice scanning the codes, we used an activity created by "QR Queens" on Teachers Pay Teachers. Each QR Code linked to a video or song about the adaptations that penguins have.
Click here for the activity.
Penguin Fun with QR Codes
Students used their iPad to scan the QR Code for their animal research.This code connected to the “National Geographic for Kids” website.
Research
for this Animal Adaptations project was done on the iPad. Students found their
animal and used a brainstorming sheet to record information for the following –
Description, Habitat, Diet, and Adaptations.
Recorded information
Digital Learning Day, March 13, 2015
Our project was recorded with the program "Digital Learning Day" on March 13. Here is a tweet that we posted on Twitter to announce our project.
Massachusetts
Standards for Science
2.6. Adaptations of Living Things: Give examples of how inherited
characteristics may change over time as adaptations to changes in the
environment that enable organisms to survive, e.g., shape of beak or feet, placement
of eyes on head, length of neck, shape of teeth, color.
Essential Question: How
can I use technology as a tool to show what I've learned?
The students in 6th
grade math had a chance to practice some Common Core Math questions using the “Snapshot”
feature in Edmodo. Snapshot allows
teachers to quickly create quizzes aligned to Common Core Standards and gauge
where students are.
In these lessons, students worked on the standards for "Expressions and Equations". The teacher made the Snapshot on her Edmodo account and assigned it to her students. To introduce the assignment, the teacher projected the questions on her board. The students answered the questions, showing their work, on white boards. Then, students took turns in front of the class to share their answers and explain their mathematical reasoning.
Students can access the
Snapshot from their teacher on their Edmodo account. They can work on the questions any time they
are on the computer. Once they finish,
their teacher will receive their score and be able to assist them with the
content that they need help with.
To learn more about
Snapshot from Edmodo, click on the picture below:
Massachusetts
and Common Core Standards for Math
6.EE.A.1Write and evaluate numerical expressions involving
whole-number exponents.
6.EE.A.2.1
Write, read, and
evaluate expressions in which letters stand for numbers. Write expressions that record operations with
numbers and with letters standing for numbers. For example, express the
calculation “Subtract y from 5” as 5 – y.
6.EE.A.3 Apply and extend previous understandings of
arithmetic to algebraic expressions.
