Extending States and Capitals

Our third graders learned their states and capitals in Social Studies and I wanted to build upon this in the computer lab.  To help get the students excited about geography, they typed friendly letters to a particular state requesting maps, brochures, and postcards.  (What an easy way to blend Social Studies, Language Arts, and keyboarding!)

Their efforts have paid off and we are starting to receive informational packets back from many states.  Students use the maps, brochures, and postcards to give a short oral presentation about their state.

So far we've received mail from:

Alabama

Arkansas

Colorado

Idaho

Illinois

Mississippi

Montana

North Dakota

Oklahoma

South Carolina

Utah

Vermont

Wyoming

Makey Makey Manners

Second graders spend many weeks learning about good manners in Social Studies class.  They cover such areas as classroom manners, telephone etiquette, manners at a friend's house, etc.  At the end of their manners unit, students and parents attend the annual Manners Banquet held at a local restaurant.  This gives the students time to showcase their new manners.

We created interactive manner review boards using Makey Makeys.  Students recorded three good manners to use when in a particular situation.  Then they created display boards using pizza box lids and Makey Makeys.

This project was a great way to directly incorporate a Social Studies unit and coding.

Presidential Chatterpix

Fourth graders had so much fun creating a class video on the presidents.

Each student researched two consecutive presidents.  Besides the basic information such as years in office, party affiliation, vice president, students also found 'weird but true' facts.  This made the project very entertaining for the students.

Students used their research and created a chatterpix video featuring each of their presidents.

Once students exported and airdropped their video, I put all videos together into one iMovie.

Students had the best project results when they spoke loudly and slowly.  Be sure to separate the students so background noise is not recorded by accident.

Seasons iMovies

Our first graders created iMovies about the four seasons. 

Students watched a short BrainPop video about each season.  Then they illustrated each season using KidPix. 

Objectives of this long term iMovie project:
-learn how to import jpegs
-turn off Ken Burns effect
-add backgrounds with titles
-add transitions
-add music and trim end to match length of movie
-fade out music at end of movie

This project took several weeks.  (Students meet once per week for 55 minutes.)

Students loved watching each other's movies!

Foldify App

If you haven't used Foldify you are missing out on creative fun!

Our third graders researched different state symbols and then created three dimensional visual representations.  After completing a short research worksheet students used the ipads to find pictures of their state symbols.  (FREE research worksheet can be found here.)

Foldify makes creating three dimensional shapes easy.  Students choose a shape, drag and drop pictures, and print.  I printed on cardstock, but regular paper would be fine.

Earth Day

Earth Day is fast approaching and second grade created these wonderful posters for our hallway.  We used KidPix for the writing.  Students practiced writing "I can" and "I will" statements.

The students loved creating their handprint Earths.  After painting our planets the second grade teacher had the great idea of adding a little glitter to their projects.  She said, "Everything is better with glitter."  Although I disagree, she was correct in this case. 😀 

Animal Robots

We just completed our longterm robotics and coding project.  First, the students were introduced to various components (servo motors, LEDs, duo controllers, etc).  We learned how to code each component individually.

Students were asked to build an animal that incorporated movement, sound, and light into their project.  They used GarageBand to record facts about their animals and Snap! for coding.

Talking Devices

After reading Out of My Mind and Rules (both books feature non-verbal characters), the fourth graders were inspired to create their own talking devices.  Students used Makey-Makeys and Scratch to code and construct their communicators. 

Here are some students using their devices to answer questions.  

Students testing their coding

Makey Makeys and Scratch were used for coding and construction.

Students connecting to Scratch.

Pandas, Panda, Everywhere

Our first graders were very fortunate to travel to the National Zoo and visit Bei Bei.  Throughout the year, they have been studying pandas and learning some facts along the way.

Firstie wrote and illustrated a panda book during computer class, and it was presented to the National Zoo during their field trip.  Also, they created beautiful panda masterpieces in Art class.

We combined the two projects into a panda movie.  During this project, students learned how to voice over their images.

Check out their informational movie.

PreK Students Write a Book

Our PreK students are slowly learning their first sight words.  I try to incorporate these sight words into typing activities in the computer lab.

This week we reviewed the sight words "I", "can", "see" and also reviewed numbers 1-20.

We assigned each PreK student a specific number 1-20.  Then, students each typed "I can see ## _______." After typing the beginning of their sentence, they practiced dragging/dropping pictures into their page.  Because we have less than 20 PreK students, the early finishers we able to type a second page.

We printed each child's page and combined them to make one class numbers book.  Now the students have their own book to peruse in their classroom reading loft.

Bot Building

The third graders had their first experience with building bots today.  This opened up great conversations about circuits, insulators/conductors, vibration, and friction.

We cut the head off toothbrushes, added batteries and vibrating motors, and off they went.  Spontaneously, the students created tracks from old cardboard.  They also used the chalk ledge to help give the bots direction.  We tried to have our bots vibrate through paint, but we concluded the paint was too thick.  Next time we will water down the paint and create bot masterpieces.

What a fun day!

Bicycle Safety

Our firsties created bicycle safety posters to hang throughout all hallways.  They've been learning the "rules of the road" during PE class.  Later this week the first graders will participate in the annual Bike Rodeo.  They will put their knowledge to the test as they navigate a variety of obstacles on their bicycles.

Grandparents' Day

We were so fortunate to spend the morning with our grandparents and special visitors.  We had a full agenda and quickly started our program with speeches about famous historical figures.  Abraham Lincoln, Marie Curie, Harry Houdini, and Elizabeth Blackwell just to name a few.

We then surprised our grandparents will a quiz on our iPads about our speeches.  Can you believe some of our grandparents had never used an iPad before?  Since we are fourth grade tech experts we were able to lend them a helping hand.  

After that, we went head-to-head against our grandparents on a math speed drill.  How long does it take you to answer fifty multiplication or division facts?  Some of our guests were very fast and even beat us!  Way to go!

We are so fortunate our grandparents and guests spent the morning with us.  We are already looking forward to seeing them again.

Challenge Yourself

Like most schools, we have regularly scheduled faculty meetings.  And like most schools, we use this time for "housekeeping"- discuss upcoming special events, field trips, changes in our curriculum, etc.
A few days ago we had our faculty meeting and were asked to challenge ourselves.

Try something new.  Create a new lesson.  Read a new book.  Explore a new piece of technology.  Go outside your comfort zone and reach beyond.

Do. Not. Settle.

This discussion made me reflect on the school year thus far.  My professional goal this year was, and continues to be, to share my passions with my students and look beyond the curriculum.  We've learned to make soap and use a sewing machine.  I've already read more books aloud to my students than previous years.  We've connected internationally by participating in the Global Read Aloud and numerous Mystery Skypes lessons.   We are currently writing eBooks on our national parks.  We will soon start exploring digital photography.  The arts, reading, writing, and technology are all passions of mine. 

I firmly believe these "extra projects" have brought my students together as a class so nicely.   Their communication skills have improved, and they show one another more respect and compassion. 

Keep reaching.  Keeping challenging.  Keep growing.

Maker Day

"Wow"...

"Look what we made"...

"Can we do this again"...

"We figured it out"...

Maker Day- a day to celebrate innovation and creativity by emphasizing STEAM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts, Math). 

 

All students in grades Pre-K through 12 spent the day problem solving, building, brainstorming, calculating, and collaborating.  Whether constructing greenhouses in our Upper School,  building wooden benches in Middle School, or making small boats in Lower School, the students worked together.  

Our fourth graders rotated through five different STEAM projects.  They made marble mazes, musical instruments using recycled materials, floating boats, electric circuits and contributed to a large art mural made with bottle caps.

Students were quite creative when they were presented with LEDs, battery pack, insulating playdough, and conductive playdough.  

Car with Working Headlights

Airplane with Lights

Octopus

Maryland Blue Crab

Days like this prove that you don't need textbooks and pencils to learn. 

Mystery Skype

Want an interactive, engaging, and exciting way to brush up on geography?  What about participating in a Mystery Skype session?

That's exactly what our fourth grade class did today. We connected with another fourth grade class on Skype and took turns with them asking yes/no questions to help determine each other's location.  Not only did we use our mapping skills but also deductive reasoning. 

Everyone in our class was assigned specific responsibilities during the Mystery Skype, and we took these duties seriously.  Some of our jobs were photographers, recorders, tweeters, question leader, mappers, welcomer, and closer. 

During the Mystery Skype two students recorded all the questions we asked and the questions that the other class asked us.  The recorders wrote these questions on the whiteboards so they were visible to everyone in our classroom.  This helped prevent us from repeating questions by accident. 

Questions the Other Class Asked Us

 

 

 

Questions We Asked the Other Class

Students were highly engaged during our Skype session and worked well together.  The students were able to determine the other school was in Iowa.  The Mystery Skype session lasted approximately 25 minutes.

We are already looking forward to our next Mystery Skype.

Mrs. Lynch

Book Tasting

The book fair visited our school this week, and books are definitely my weak spot.  I just can't say no and walked away with over thirty new books for our classroom library.  Parents and students also generously donated new books to our classroom.

Now I had a nice problem- how was I going to let the students preview all the books before adding them to the classroom library shelves?  An idea was born....a book tasting.  Students would have a chance to sample three of the new books for each of the courses (appetizer, entree, and dessert).

Front of Menu

Inside of Menu

While the students were in Art class, the classroom was quickly transformed into a restaurant for our book tasting.  Desks were covered with tablecloths. Flower centerpieces and small votive candles were an added touch.  Books were placed on pizza pans on each of the tables.

The students loved getting to 'taste' several new books.  Students wrote a short prediction/evaluation of the book based on reading a few pages and/or the back cover. They were actively engaged and had spontaneous group discussions at the tables about the books they sampled.  Interest and excitement were generated.  At the end of the book tasting the students quickly asked when we would do it again.  

It is always a nice feeling to hear students chattering about a day's lesson or project.  

Mrs. Lynch