Students had a lot of fun today participating in the Hat Day fundraiser, a spirit day sponsored by the Student Council. For a dollar, students could break dress code and wear a hat all day. The money collected is being donated to ChangeMakers which is using the money to purchase books for the school library.
A couple weeks ago we participated in our first Mystery Skype and the students LOVED IT!
It was such a fabulous learning opportunity, I was eager to get involved in another one as soon as possible!
We set up some guidelines for our Mystery Skypes and students were assigned roles. We had greeters, questioners, answerers and closers and every student was a researcher. To begin the activity, our assigned greeters said hello and welcomed the other Mystery Skype classroom. The purpose of our Mystery Skypes was to figure out what state the other classes were located.
Students took turns asking yes or no questions like, "Does your state border another country? Is your state west of the Mississippi River? Was your state one of the original thirteen colonies?"
Students worked in small groups using portable devices and maps to answer questions about our state and also eliminate the states that based on the clues, couldn't be where our Mystery Skype class was located. As we went along, we got better at answering in complete sentences. "Yes, our state does begin with a vowel. No, our state is not part of New England."
After each class guesses the correct state, the closers take some time and and give the other class some facts about our state, school and class. I couldn't believe the tremendous learning the occurred during each Mystery Skype! Students worked collaboratively, had to communicate effectively, do research, use geography skills, and use deductive reasoning. Throughout both our Mystery Skypes, I saw almost 100% engagement! Watch the video below to see our first Mystery Skype in action!
The class was so excited to make a gift for their mom for
Mother's Day!
Each student got a plate and using permanent markers, carefully added a design. Students were very careful to choose their mom's favorite colors.
I brought the plates home and baked them to set the design. I baked the plates at 350 degrees for 30 minutes.
The finished products are beautiful! Many students were a little dismayed and concerned that the baking faded some of the colors, particularly green and blue.
An early Happy Mother's Day to all the fantastic moms! We created Mother's Day cards, but of course, added a 21st century twist.
First, students wrote a script in Google docs containing the message they wanted to send to their mom. After editing and practicing reading aloud, students were ready for the next step.
Using the Tellagami app, students created an avatar that looked like them. Then they set the avatar somewhere.
What I love about this app is you can take a photo and set the avatar somewhere, real, like the classroom! This adds an element of Augmented Reality, one of my favorite new learning tools.
Next students read their script into the app, attaching their voice to their avatar.
Once they finished, a link to their video was generated. Students took the link and inserted it into a QR Code Generator. Then, they copied the URL of their QR Code and inserted the image of the QR Code into a Google doc, which I printed for them. In order to scan your special message, use any free QR Code reader. I like the i-nigma app, but there are literally hundreds to choose from.
The final step was pasting the QR Code onto their card, adding stickers, decorations and a personalized handwritten message to mom! Everyone enjoyed this project and the Tellegami app (free!) was a big hit! Happy Mother's Day!
We wrapped up our unit about Cinco de Mayo with a fun fiesta on the 5th of May!
We learned about the significance of Ojo de Dios and each student got to create one.
Later we read a short story about pinatas, and then everyone got to create their own paper bag pinata. They were stuffed with candy and sent home to be smashed.
Our final activity of the day was a delicious snack of chips and salsa, which every student really enjoyed!
Earlier this year students created book jackets for a book report assignment. Then we took this activity a step further! Students recorded their book jacket presentation using an iPad. Then, we took a photo of the actual book cover, not the one they created. We uploaded the photo and the video into the Aurasma App. Now, when we use that app and scan the book, the video of the student presenting their book report pops up.
Screenshot From the Aurasma App This is a type of technology called Augmented Reality and it has been a lot of fun to integrate into the classroom this year! At home if you download the Aurasma App (it's free) you can search for my channel. If you scan the book your child read, you may be in for a treat! We created a brief video on this project. Click below to view.
