Christmas Around the World

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.

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Assignment:

1. Choose a country of interest and research the Christmas and/or holiday traditions.  Use Google Docs form to take notes and record your information. 
2. 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?
3. Create a digital display 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

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Christmas in Australia

Created by Abby (4th grade)

Christmas in Germany

Created by Luc (2nd grade)

Christmas in France

Created by Ellie (1st Grade)

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.

Happy Holidays!

Favorite Tech Tools This Week

October is here and fall is in the air.  Time for nature walks and leaf rubbings.  Time to break out the jeans and long-sleeved t-shirts.  Yeah right!  Who am I kidding?  We live in Southeast Louisiana and our highs have been close to ninety degrees all week and apparently we are in the middle of monsoon season.  Due to the fact we cannot explore outside, we have been doing lots of great exploring inside.  In fact, we even explored the New World with Christopher Columbus.  I wanted to share some of our favorite tech tools this week and how we used them to enhance our learning.

Columbus Day Adventures 

(Details of the Adventures)

Google Earth: Using a tour I created on Google Earth, we retraced the maiden voyage of Christopher Columbus.  Along the way, we measured distances between cities, countries, and continents.  It was a great way to relive the voyage across the Atlantic and think about what it may have been like for these early explorers.  Click on the map below to download the .kmz file to upload into Google Earth.

Google Docs: We explored Columbus' travel logs using Google Docs.  Using the spreadsheet utility , we created line graphs.  I used this as an exploration in interpreting graphs and understanding data.  In addition, the kids learned how to share files with Google Docs!  

Webquests: As a final activity, I found two great webquests to round out our Columbus Day Adventures.

1st and 2nd grade webquest:  Ahoy! Columbus

4th grade webqest: Christopher Columbus

Wordles

These fantastic word clouds have been a favorite from the beginning.  For that reason, I am constantly seeking ways I can integrate them in a meaningful way.  Check out what we did this week!

• History:  We created a wordle to highlight the era of the Carolingians from 751-843 A.D.  I used the word cloud as a way to review key people, place and historical events.  

• Religion:  Our Bible verse for the week was Ecclesiastes 4:9-12.  We were continuing our discussion of the Golden Rule and focusing specifically on friendship.  The kids brainstormed what it means to be a friend and created a wordle.

• Science: After our lab on magnetism, I had the kids create a wordle of key ideas.  The next day I pulled up the wordle on the computer and had them use it to answer review questions.

Digital Posters

Like wordle, Glogster rules the day!  The kids created an amazing digital poster on magnetism.  It was a type of final project highlighting what they had learned this week.  Everyone contributed and it was a team effort!

Math Mysteries

Being a math teacher, I am always looking for ways to develop conceptual understanding, make connections, and to enrich our children's mathematics instruction.  This week, I created an exploration into area and perimeter using Legos.  I figured there would be instant excitement because it involves a family favorite toy.  

• Lego Math- Explorations in Area and Perimeter

I developed this lesson with our second-grader in mind, however, I feel it is appropriate for grades 2-4.  A few people have suggested it would be a good segue into community design.  With this in mind, I am exploring the possibilities of using Lego Digital Designer to create virtual models.  I'll keep you posted!

All in all, it has been a productive week!  There are so many more "techy tools" I want to explore and I am excited about the possibilities.  It amazes me that our 9 year old daughter has started a blog and that our 6 year old is learning how to program in Scratch.  I am blown away at the resources available to educators and students at the mere click of a button.  I have such a passion for teaching and finding new ways to help our children develop critical thinking and conceptual understanding.  Hopefully, I am modeling how to effectively integrate technology in a meaningful and productive way so that they can have a positive learning experience.

**For other great ideas, check out Thirsty Thursday.  Happy Learning!**

Happy Columbus Day!

Check out our adventures back in time to celebrate one of the great explorers.  We're using technology and we're having fun! 

• Google Earth Tour of Columbus' maiden voyage
• From this tour, we're measuring distances between towns, countries, and continents.
• Exploring Columbus' travel logs using spreadsheets on Google Docs.  I'm using this as an exercise in interpreting graphs and understanding data.
• We are going on scavenger hunts to explore the facts surrounding Columbus' travels

Join us on our adventure and step back in time! Ahoy!

Columbus Day Adventures

Exploring History Using Google Earth

As teachers, we are always searching for ways to make our classrooms "come alive."  Google Earth has done this for us.  Inspired by Kelly Tenkely's recent flight adventures using Google Earth, I decided to begin looking for ways to incorporate the idea of a virtual flight into our learning adventures.  To give a little background, we are studying the Middle Ages this school year and are currently focusing on the Diaspora of the Jews after the destruction of the Temple by the Romans around 70 AD. 

It happened rather suddenly and completely unplanned today.  When it came time for history this morning, I sat down at our computer to pull up lessons and remembered about Google Earth.  I quickly mentioned it to our daughter and she was immediately on board.  She tried to convince me that geography was related to history and we should use this opportunity to explore the regions we had been discussing in history.  Who can argue with a well thought out argument like that?  So, the next thing I know, we are making discussing a flight plan and setting course!

Dispora of the Jews

• Main Focus: The plight of the Jews during the Dispora of the Middle Ages.

• Purpose: To illustrate to our children, how devasting this must have been to be uprooted from all you have ever known and scattered to foreign lands.

• Flight Plan: 

• Stage 1: Leave New Orleans, LA and travel to New York.  (Check out the Statue of Liberty while we are there and talk about the role of this famous city throughout history as it has welcomed immigrants.)
• Stage 2: Leave New York and travel to the Western Wall in Jerusalem.  While there, we will visit famous landmarks and point out things related to what we have been studying.  I have also included a few websites to discuss with our children.
• Stage 3: Leave Jerusalem and travel to London, England. Again, I have included information to discuss related to the role of England during this time.
• Stage 4: From there, we will go to Berlin, Germany and on to Paris, France.  Along the way, I have included information from the Jewish Virtual Library to share (when appropriate).
• Stage 5: We leave France and head to Madrid, Spain.  Here, I plan to discuss why this was considered by many Jews to be the Golden Age.
• Stage 6: Leave Spain and travel to Vatican City in Italy.

This lesson was such a huge success.  The wheels are turning as I see new ways to integrate Google Earth into our homeschooling.  I love the idea Kelly uses of issuing passports to students and stamping them as you visit new countries.  This is so much more than our regular mapping activities.  This truly lets you experience the world and breathe life into your lessons.  The kids were absoultely amazed!  So much fun!  I am already thinking of a lesson integrating the novel Flat Stanley.  To be continued....