Merry Christmas! Last season, we went global by researching the Christmas and holiday traditions of various countries and cultures around the world. It was such a hit that we are planning to visit other countries this year. Also, this is a fun and meaningful way to incorporate various technology tools including Google Earth,Google Docs and Glogster into your teaching and learning. In this Age of Technology, the world is at our fingertips making it possible to experience the wonders of many places. This project is a great way to teach children about other cultures and to embrace our diversity.
Choose a country of interest and research the Christmas and/or holiday traditions. Use the Google Docs handout to take notes and record your information.
Using Google Earth, locate your country and explore the region.
On what continent is your country located?
Are there any large bodies of water nearby?
Are there any interesting geological features?
Create a digital poster using Glogster highlighting the information you found important or just plain cool! Make sure to include the following in your final project:
Christmas and/or Holiday Greetings
Holiday songs
Traditions
Food
Images and/or videos
**I have included the final projects completed by our children last year. Enjoy!**
Happy Earth Day! To celebrate, I pledged (via @teachpaperless) to go paper-free in our homeschooling today. Honestly, it was wonderful! I wanted to share our day with you and hopefully inspire ideas for your homeschooling or classroom teaching. For me, I am constantly inspired by the wonderful teaching suggestions and ideas shared through my PLN. So, take a peek inside a day at the St. Francis Homeschool.
We begin our day with prayer followed by a morning devotional. Today, we combined history and our religion. We are currently studying The Hundred Year's War in world history and Joan of Arc. Today, we looked more closely at her life and explored her path to sainthood using resources at Catholic Online as well as the BBC History Resources. Using Dabbleboard, we outlined the key facts from her life.
Our children were able to collaborate on this project and we plan to revisit and add to our page at a later date.
For our language arts block today we used Time4Learning, Spelling City and StoryBird. Weekly spelling lists are added every Monday. Today, our children were eager to take their weekly tests. After testing online, they each emailed the pdf of their test to me using gmail. After this success, I have decided to transition to this method of record keeping each week. Less paper and the kids loved it! Earlier in the week, each child used activities on Spelling City to write sentences and paragraphs online using their weekly spelling lists. Again, results were emailed to me and we made corrections through Google Docs. Totally cool! Finally, Luc, our second grader, felt inspired to write a story about the importance of recycling. Using Storybird, he was able to publish his masterpiece. Check it out!
For science, we wrapped up our unit on the periodic table. For the past few weeks, our children have been looking closely at the first 18 elements. I'm always looking for alternative ways to assess understanding. Today, Abby and Ellie showcased their favorite elements on a digital poster created using Glogster.
In addition, Abby, our 4th grader, was emailed a handout to complete reviewing atomic symbols and other important information. Going with the paperless theme, she completed the handout and emailed her responses back to me.
Finally, we ended our day creating wordles suggesting ways we can be better stewards of our world and the environment this Earth Day and every day. Again, the mind of a child is amazing. Even our three year old had great ideas. Take a look at their creations and see their solutions to global issues affecting us all.
Today was a great day! I enjoyed watching our children engaged in their projects and collaborating with each other. We were techie! We were paperless! We did our part today to make this a better world!
The following is a reflection on our fall semester regarding ways we have successfully used technology to add diversity to our curriculum as well as enhance our children's learning. I have a passion for creating and developing interactive unit studies and lessons that integrate technology in meaningful and exciting ways. I have been inspired by many classroom teachers through my PLN and value the varied discussions that have evolved over the last few months. Even though I know many people are familiar with the different programs and sites mentioned here, I still find value in sharing what has worked for us. Hopefully, you can find some ideas that will prove useful to you.
*************************************************************************************** Language Arts
Wordle:A great site devoted to creating word clouds and making learning fun. It is very user-friendly and so much fun. We have been integrating wordles in a variety of ways to enhance our learning. Even our three year old has been given wordles to explore the alphabet. Wow! Cyber-preschool! Check out the list below to see what we have done. Click on the links to see examples.
Spell With Flickr: Create a visual masterpiece of your weekly spelling words! Check out one activity I used with our 1st and 2nd grader.
Spelling City: A tried and true site by many parents and teachers, spellingcity.com provides an alternative to the usual "drill and kill" method of learning spelling words. Through online games and activities, children can explore not only the spelling of a word, but also its meaning. If you are one who still clings to handouts, printables are available for most activities. You can even take weekly tests online and record student progress.
Glogster:Interactive learning at its best! This has been a big hit with our children and a great way to revitalize our novel studies. Our oldest daughter routinely creates digital posters as final projects for the novels she has read, special unit studies, and even as an outlet for displaying writing assignments. As a fourth grader, she taught herself how to include videos, wordles, images, summaries, and many other treats to make this task truly a multi-sensory experience. In addition, her enthusiasm inspired her younger brother and sister, who are in 1st and 2nd grades. Don't forget to take a chance on the younger students, you just might be surprised how much they can accomplish! Check out some of their posters:
StoryBird: These are short, visual stories that students (and teachers) create online. It is intended to be a collaboration of ideas. We have found it to be a way to spark enthusiasm into our creative writing. Again, this site is user-friendly and free. Not only can you create your own story-bird, you can read others creations. Check out the one I made for our three year old called Chasing Butterflies. Around Halloween, everyone wanted to write their own "Trick or Treat" stories. Check out their creations!
ToonDoo: This is a simple, creative, online comic book creator that makes writing fun for our second grader. After journaling about a superhero this morning, he was inspired to create a comic strip version of his story. Once your account is created, you are able to choose from existing backgrounds, characters and props or you can create or upload your own. It is a great way to bring out the artistic side of a reluctant writer.
Grammar Ninja: We just checked this out today. This is an interactive game with three levels of play: beginner, skilled, and master ninja. Throughout the game, you are asked to identify various parts of speech by choosing the correct word(s) from the given sentences. It moves quickly and is a great alternative to handouts. There is also a Grammar Ninja Sentence Creator available for download.
Writing Fix: This site provides a wealth of resources to enhance any writing curriculum. Centered around the 6+1 Traits method, writing fix provides many writing prompt generators, lesson plans, and strategies for improving writing instruction. We have used the right-brain writing prompt generator this week to kick-start our daily journaling. The kids have really enjoyed writing and are actually excited to see what tomorrow might bring (for journaling, that is).
Google Docs: This is another way I have tried to make writing fun! I created gmail accounts for each child and showed them how to access the word processor. Basically, we have established a writer-editor relationship. As a paper is created, they share it with me. Then, I am able to make critiques and/or suggestions and send it back to them. Eco-friendly and fun!
Bubble.us: This is a fun, interactive mind mapping tool. Use this for brainstorming, organizing research, and stimulating the writing process. Check out our Going Batty With Web 2.0 to view an example of how to use this resource.
Animoto: This is a great slideshow tool. Educators have the added benefit of requesting a free account. Definitely worth checking out! We used this as a way to highlight the different species of bats after completing a unit study. Like everything presented on this sight, it was created by our children. Amazing what children are able to accomplish!
Visuwords: Take dictionary skills into the 21st-century! This is an amazing online graphical dictionary and is a great vocabulary development tool.
Science
We are studying physical science this semester and are having so much fun. It does help that their daddy is a physicist. As a result, we have a wealth of resources available at our fingertips. Using the ESET curriculum developed by San Diego State University, our students have been focusing on energy this week. To supplement our discussion, we have used the following resources:
BrainPOP: I can't say enough about BrainPOP. We love it! There are many free movies available, but it id definitely worth the monthly fee to make the full repertoire available to you. Each topic is complete with vocabulary explorations, graphic organizers, activities, and suggestions for further exploration. Everyone loves when we learn with Moby and Tim.
Wordles: If you haven't figured this out by now, this is one of my favorite tools! In science, wordles can be used to create a study guide or to highlight key concepts. For example, our 4th grader created a wordle to highlight the different ways bats are helpful.
Motion Sensors: We have also used motion sensors and corresponding software to create speed-time graphs. Being a math person, this has been really fun. I am so excited to be able to provide opportunities for our children to lay a foundation in interpreting graphs and understanding relationships between data. Modeling is essential in science and math.
Google Docs: This has been an invaluable tool! I plan to introduce spreadsheets as a means to further explore the relationships between data through graphical representations. This can be so much fun and yummy too! Here's one idea: Take a bag of Skittles and chart the amount of each color or what about a blind taste-test between who prefers milk or dark chocolate? Oh the possibilities!
Web Search: I have really pushed our oldest daughter this semester. One of her favorite activities focused on kinetic energy calculations. Using her background knowledge of order of operations, exponents, multiplication and division, I asked her to investigate which animal would release more kinetic energy: a cheetah or an elephant. In doing this activity, she had to use the internet to research the average mass and velocity of each animal and then take this information to compute the amount of kinetic energy released. Check out the activity if you're interested.
Glogster: Yes, you can use glogster in science class! All three students collaborated on this magnetism project.
History
We are studying the Middle Ages throughout this school year using The Story of the World as well as History Odyssey Level 2. We are so lucky to be living in the age of technology! Here are a few things we have been doing to make history come alive.
Scratch: This is a computer programming language developed by the Lifelong Kindergarten program at MIT. All I can say is, it's amazing! After being assigned a writing project on William the Conqueror, our 4th grader blew me away by creating an interactive report in Scratch.
Google Forms: I have been using this to create self-grading quizzes. This serves as a review and a way to stimulate discussion.
Wordles: These word clouds are a great way to highlight central themes and review historical events for a particular region or time period. Here are some of our examples:
Dipity: This is an interactive timeline where students can upload links, videos, and images to highlight each individual entry. Check out our timeline of medieval history.
Google Earth: Develop your map skills and explore the earth in 21st century style! Besides the obvious explorations you can do with a globe, I enjoy creating virtual field trips. Two of our favorites have been:
Columbus Day Adventures: Click on the thumbnail to download a file that allows you to relive Columbus' maiden voyage to the New World. This link includes suggestions for activities and lesson extensions.
Walk Through Time: This is an interactive history site created by the BBC for 7-9 year olds. Lots of fun!
Glogster: Again, digital posters are a great way to summarize information and encourage research and develop organization skills. We have created glogs showcasing various topics:
History for Kids: This is another wonderful site created by the BBC with a wealth of information and activities.
Eyeplorer: This is a great research tool where you search the web by topic and a wealth of information becomes available to you at a click of a button.
Computer Programming
We use Scratch to introduce our children to computer programming. As mentioned earlier, this is an amazing program developed by MIT to encourage students to imagine, program, and share. As a graphical programming language, students are able to explore the world of computer programming without getting bogged down in syntax. I am amazed at the possibilities. Our oldest daughter, uses her Bamboo drawing tablet to create her own animations in Scratch. They have created basic video games, as well as, tutorials. Last year, Abby made a interactive tutorial about poetry. After selecting a type of poetry, you would be directed to a page with a definition, example, and an original creation. Wow! She proceeded to tell me this was more fun than simply writing it on paper. This year she continues to find new and exciting ways to use Scratch. Here are my favorite examples:
This is just a glimpse into some of the things we have done over the fall semester. Everyday is an adventure and I am thankful to be able to let our children have such wonderful opportunities. It's funny! I slowly find myself letting go of the rigors of traditional learning and embracing new ways of thinking about teaching and education. I am amazed at the mind of a child and what it can accomplish if simply given the chance to imagine, discover and grow. I wish everyone a blessed new year!
Merry Christmas! This season we are going global by researching the Christmas and holiday traditions of various countries and cultures around the world. In this Age of Technology, the world is at our fingertips and I find it is possible to expereince the wonders of many places. To assist in our research, we have used many tools including Google Earth,Google Docs and Glogster. We hope to finish a slideshow next week using Animoto. I'll update this post when that holiday project is finished. As both a mom and educator, I am striving to raise our children to appreciate other cultures and to embrace our diversity. Hopefully, this project accomplished those goals.
Choose a country of interest and research the Christmas and/or holiday traditions. Use Google Docs form to take notes and record your information.
Using Google Earth, locate your country and explore the region.
On what continent is your country located?
Are there any large bodies of water nearby?
Are there any interesting geological features?
Create a digital display highlighting the information you found important or just plain cool! Make sure to include the following in your final project:
Our children have been having so much fun trying to sing carols in French and German and have drooled over the various Christmas desserts. In addition to all of the fun, we have sharpened our geography skills and learned more about other cultures. Hopefully, this has been a fun lesson in cultural diversity and we will all be blessed with peace on earth.
In this webquest, we will explore the wild world of bats while incorporating several of the web 2.0 techie tools. Throughout the lesson you will be using: Wallwisher, Bubble.us, Wordle, Glogster, Animoto, Flickr and SchoolTube. Get comfy and enjoy because you are in for a real treat!
Introduction: You will use the famous book, Stellaluna, as an introduction to our unit on bats. Stellaluna got lost from her mother and finds herself "odd bat out" in a family of birds. She never had the chance to discover who she was and from where she came. Join us in this adventure as we help Stellaluna discover her "inner bat" and help her get reunited with her long, lost family. Along the way, we will enter the nocturnal world of bats and explore these fascinating creatures.
Task: After readingthe book, Stellaluna , you will begin an investigation of bats. You need to find out the following things:
the difference between megabats and microbats
unique characteristics of bats
how mothers care for their babies
echolocation
the importance of bats to the world
Throughout this quest, you will post "stickies" on our virtual wall highlighting the important information about bats you have discovered. Check out our Wallwisher to get started!
Process:
1. Bats can be classified into two main categories: megabats and microbats. Use the links below to research the differences between these two categories of bats.
Upon completing your research, construct a Venn diagram highlighting the similarities and differences between the two types of bats.
2. Stellaluna's mother loved her very much. How does a mother bat care for her baby? Read the information from the link below and create a bubble map in which you address the following questions. Oh, you are not limited to just this link. Use this as a starting point for your research.
How many babies are usually born to a mother each year?
How do mothers care for their babies?
What other animals care for their young in a similar fashion?
Check out our Bubble Map!
3. Stellaluna relies on her eyesight to "see" food. Other bats navigate and find food using echolocation. It's like their superpower! Read the story of Echo the Bat on join him on his adventure to find his winter home. Along the way, explore remote sensing and use false-color satellite images to locate Echo. Don't forget to post "stickies" on our virtual wall highlighting what you discover!
4. Bats are extremly helpful to humans in many ways. Using the link below, investigate ways they benefit people and the world in general. Display your findings on a bubble map or make a wordle including fun facts about bats.
5. Throughout this exploration, you have discovered many exciting facts about bats. In addition, you have probably come to realize there are close to 1000 species of bats in the world today. With the guidance of your teacher or parent, select your favorite species and create an animoto movie showcasing them in their natural habitats. You could begin by searching Flickr for usable images. Upon completion, you will upload your video to schooltube and will use this later in your final project.
6. Now that you are a bat expert, you will create a digital poster to showcase your work. To get started, collect your "stickies," bubble maps, wordles, movies and anything else you might want to include. Login to Glogster and have fun! The sky's the limit!
Evaluation: I have not assigned a point value to any part of this project. I feel that can be left up to each teacher or homeschooling parent.
Conclusion: If you still have the thirst for more or for extension activities, check out these other interesting sites. These resources are a great way to bridge to other disciplines or take the skill level higher for more advanced students.
K-8 Aeronautics Internet Textbook: Bats (Awesome curriculum bridges!)
Additional Reading: For additional literature selctions, check out Ye Olde Bat Book Shoppe for a list of resources.
Hopefully this has been a fun learning adventure! I can't wait to post our kids final projects! In the process of making this webquest, I have been inspired to develop other activities. There is so much information available if you take the time to explore. Go batty and never lose the desire to learn!
Friday, December 10, 2010 at 9:40AM 
Merry Christmas! Last season, we went global by researching the Christmas and holiday traditions of various countries and cultures around the world. It was such a hit that we are planning to visit other countries this year. Also, this is a fun and meaningful way to incorporate various technology tools including Google Earth, Google Docs and Glogster into your teaching and learning. In this Age of Technology, the world is at our fingertips making it possible to experience the wonders of many places. This project is a great way to teach children about other cultures and to embrace our diversity. 
Created by Luc (2nd grade)
, you will begin an investigation of bats. You need to find out the following things:
