Snowy Days

Hello again-
Last week we had our first snow in Cleveland.  Seems hard to believe that we haven't had any since!  On that day, I had a class coming in to the Learning Lab who really wasn't ready to start a new topic and so we decided to talk about snow!

We started by talking about precipitation in general.  What it is.  The different types.  Then, led into what kind of precipitation we were having today!

YouTube: Precipitation

Afterwards, we did a SmartBoard lesson on weather.  I love the SmartBoard for many reasons:  it's interactive, engaging, can be used with SmartBoard lessons, or it can be used with websites.

SmartBoard: Weather

The students are in grades 7-9 and sat by mesmerized as we watched The Snowy Day on BookFlix.  As you may or may not know. . .BookFlix is generally for students in grade K-5, but can easily be used with upper level students because many of their favorite books from childhood are listed there!

BookFlix: The Snowy Day

Then, we moved into a more sophisticated book about snow called Snowflake Bentley.

Snowflake Bentley was the first man to actually photograph the snowflake through a technique he developed called micro-photography.  He discovered that no two snowflakes are exactly alike and that all are hexagons.  His plaque in Jericho, Vermont reads:

Snowflake Bentley

Jericho's world famous snowflake authority

For fifty years, Wilson A. Bentley, a simple farmer, developed his technique of micro-photography to reveal to the world the grandeur and mystery of the snowflake-its universal hexagonal shape and its infinite number of lovely designs.

Here is the link to the official Snowflake Bentley website:

Snowflake Bentley Official Website

Our class also viewed some YouTube videos of Snowflake Bentley.  The students were amazed at the beauty of the snowflakes. . .

Snowflakes

Snowflake Bentley Trailer

A short movie:

The Snowflake Man

Thanks for reading and Happy Teching!

Maria

Rhyming with Early Elementary Students

So, our school has K-12 students and we are constantly looking for ideas for all ages and academic levels.  One of our teachers who has 2nd-5th graders, came up with this lesson utilizing Bookflix and a website on PBS Kids.

Bookflix is an amazing resource that I have discussed before in this blog.  It has lists of two books grouped together that are related in some way.  There are many topics that focus mainly on the K-5 reader/learner-although I have utilized these books with students in upper grade levels!  Who doesn't like to read The Snowy Day?

Bookflix also has the amazing ability to either read to the student or to have the student read on his/her own.  This really helps our non-readers be able to participate in lessons in which they would otherwise struggle.

When looking at Bookflix, please notice that there are additional activities students can do with the books and links to other sites on the web.

Our teacher, chose to read There Was an Old Lady who Swallowed a Fly.

There Was an Old Lady

There are so many cute titles now that go along with this book.  The students will love to read a variety as a book study or to further explore rhyming words.  Here are a few more options that you can find in hard cover.

Then, the class used the Smart Board to play rhyming games.  The one that we used was Freeze Dance Rhyming.

Freeze Dance Rhyming

There are many awesome games on the PBS Kids website.  Here's a link to the many resources available on their site!

PBS Kids: Rhyming

Share your ideas for lessons on rhyming in our comment section! 

Happy Teching!

Maria

Cells. . .Plants & Animals

Last week, I did a lesson with a group of middle school students on plant cells.  We used some cool resources I'd like to share with you. . .

We started with this video from Brain Pop about cells.  Although we know that the students can do them on their own, we've been using the Smart Board to watch these Brain Pop videos.  Brain Pop can move a little fast at times, so keep yourself ready to pause the video at key places.  After watching the video, we took the quiz.  The students discussed the answers as a class, before choosing their answer.

Here's the link to the video:

Brain Pop: Cells

*Brain Pop does require a subscription, but many times your local library may have or provide you access via the web.  Check out how you can get Brain Pop free in your area!

After watching the video, we completed a Smart Board interactive lesson on cells.  The students really enjoyed labeling the plant cell and discussing/comparing it to the animal cell.

Smart Board: Cells

Then. . .we went to YouTube.  We found some really fun and engaging cell raps.  The first one is by two students.  Think about how awesome this would be to do with your students.  How much they would learn from actually writing the rap about cells, but also about video production, editing, working as a team. . .the list is endless!

Cell Rap


This video from You Tube utilizes animation:

Plant & Animal Cell Rap


If you need more support on cells. . .try this video!  It really introduces the topic to the students.

Plant & Animal Cell Overview: The Basics

TIP for using YouTube:  When you find an educational video that you and your students enjoy, be sure to subscribe to that YouTube user.  Then, when they post additional videos, you will be notified via email.

TIP for posting on YouTube:  When you want to have your students post videos on YouTube, pay close attention to the privacy settings.  You can make videos that are unlisted, private or public.  Refer to the link below under Private Video Sharing:

Private Video Sharing

Hope the ideas we are coming up with for lessons here at Gund are helping you to utilize different technology with your students!

Happy Teching!

Maria

Merry Christmas!

Merry Christmas!

Voice Thread

So, now that VoiceThread is available both on the computer and through iOS5, I wanted to find some ideas of how to use it.  I used it in my second grade classroom and had the children publish their All About books.  Unfortunately, my content was lost when Ning was no longer free. . .so here is another example I found online.

Example of VoiceThread

VoiceThread can be especially useful in our school where students are not allowed to be photographed or videotaped due to privacy concerns.

How have you used VoiceThread, a free application, with your class or school? Share with us!

Happy Teching!
Maria

VoiceThread

Let's Have a Smackdown. . .Tech Style!

As I am a huge fan of Twitter and really enjoy learning from my Twitter friends, here is an idea from Cybraryman.  His website is amazing and you really need to check out the many ideas he shares with us on there.

This is an idea he recently posted about that I would like to implement with our school.  It's called a Smackdown.  A Smackdown, is when we each take two minutes to share our favorite technology tool, trick or integration.

Happy Teching!
Maria

Smackdown!

Welcome!

Welcome to our Gund School Technology Blog!  This is a forum where we can learn together. . .share our ideas, tips and cool things we find for our students.  Let the sharing begin :)

Happy Teching!
Maria