What is Geography?

This year, we are spending some time studying geography.  In order to see what our kids know or don't know, I had them brainstorm ideas, concepts, or phrases they associated with geography.  They created a wordle to showcase their thoughts.

Afterwards, we "Set the Record Straight" by reading a novella on National Geographic Education.  The kids were amazed to learn that geography not only involves the study of the physical features of a region, but the cultural, economic and biological features as well.  The short answer questions following the novella were used to initiate a Socratic discussion related to geography and we discussed the recommended vocabulary.  I am excited about this year, but more importantly, so are the kids! 

Frindle Fun with Web 2.0

Andrew Clements' novel, Frindle, is a childhood favorite among many and one that is taught in many schools.  I thought it would be fun to create a lesson that combined the old with the new and show how a classic can be updated using Web 2.0 tools.  Have fun!

Activity #1: In the same spirit of the novel, choose a common object and rename it.  Explain why you chose the new name.  Then, create a dictionary entry for your word.  As a class, compile your entries and publish using Google Docs. 

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Luc's Example (our second grader):

New Word: gulpy= cup

Reason: When you take a drink, you swallow the liquid or gulp.  So, a new name for a cup should be "gulpy."

Dictionary entry:

gulpy- /gul-pee/ n. an object from which you take a drink

synonym- cup

The boy drank his lemonade from a red gulpy.

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Take it a step further and create a visual dictionary using images from Flickr, online drawings from Tux Paint, or include your own scanned creations.  To add to the fun, continue using the new words around the house, with your family and friends, and in your writing over the next few weeks.  See if any of the new words start a trend!

Activity #2:  This should get your creative juices flowing!  Using Tux Paint or Pencil, create an advertisement suitable for the newspaper or a magazine.  Include a catchy jingle to captivate your audience and promote the use of your new word.  For those who are really up to the challenge, bring in the big guns- Flip cameras!  Why not create your own commercial to promote your new word?  Use Kids' Vid to aide in storyboarding and editing your commercial.  You can export your finished products to Schooltube or import them to share on your school/class web page.

Activity #3:  I love wordles!  So, take a break from traditional study guides and create a wordle to highlight the key events and people from the novel.  Use this as a means to give an oral book report or stimulate discussion about the novel. 

There are so many varied and amazing options available to teachers today.  Take advantage of all the great free web 2.0 tools when planning and creating your lessons.  It's a great way to breathe new life into old ideas as well as foster creativity and critical thinking among your students.

 Check out Thirsty Thursday for other fun ideas and great information!

Exploring History with Web 2.0

The history of our world is absolutely amazing and extremely exciting.  The way we teach it can be equally engaging.  From wordles to glogs, there are so many web 2.0 tools that can be incorporated in your curriculum to make history come alive for students.  I would like to share how we have used these savvy tools to get the creative juices flowing while studying the history of our world.

This year we are combining two history curriculums in order to accommodate the various levels in our homeschooling.  For first and second grade, we are using The Story of the World Vol. 2 and we are using History Odyssey Level 2 for our fourth grader.  We have been studying the First Kings of Great Britain with a focus on The Battle of Hastings and William the Conqueror.  I have to say that I am completely blown away that our children even know who Harold the Unfortunate and Guthorm the Viking even are.  Amazing what children are able to learn if only given the chance!  As always, I am looking for ways to effectively integrate technology in their learning.  I love all of the Web 2.0 tools and find myself using many of them on a regular basis.  I want to share some of the ways we have either used these tools or plan to use them during this unit.

After reading from The Kingfisher History Encyclopedia and The Story of the World text, we recorded key events on our interactive timeline created using dipity.  Check out our flip book!

Medieval History on Dipity.

To review events leading up to the Battle of Hastings, Abby, our fourth grader, created a wordle highlighting the important events and people.

This was a great tool!  After she completed her review, she used the wordle as a way to quiz her younger brother and sister.  You have to love teamwork!

Throughout History Odyssey Level 2, literature plays a key role in the curriculum.  I read Macbeth from Tales of Shakespeare written by Charles and Mary Lamb to our children.  I was excited to find Google Books has a full preview available to all. 

We reviewed the key events and talked about the definition of a tragedy.  There are lots of resources at The Folger Shakespeare Library that we will work through.  The kids have informed me they want to create their own version of Macbeth.  I thought I could record the play with our Flip camera and create a movie of their masterpiece!  I also could envision Luc, our second grader, creating a Lego version of Macbeth using stop-motion animation.  Maybe we'll do both! 

In addition to reading Macbeth, we read and discussed the Rudyard Kipling poem, Norman and Saxon. I set the stage for this activity by reminding them that William the Conqueror had just defeated Harold the Unfortunate and Britain was now under Norman rule.  I wanted to stop and reflect on what Kipling had to say about the differences between these two cultures and how this can be applied to our lives now.  I created a wordle of the entire poem omitting frequently used words.

We used this wordle to look at several things:

• the mood of the poem
• common themes
• key ideas and facts
• important beliefs to both the Normans and Saxons

These ideas led us to a discussion about differences between conquerors and those whom have been conquered.  For a complete look at this lesson, please stop by our school's Time Travel portal.

Our final web 2.0 project involves a research project our fourth grader will do on William the Conqueror.  She is going to use eyePlorer to gather information.  This is an amazing tool that literally puts a wealth of information at your fingertips while allowing the user to easily manipulate and organize topics.  Check out the early stages of her research on William the I.  Upon finishing her research, she will type her paper in Google Docs.  From here, I think she is planning to incorporate her report in a digital poster using Glogster.  I'll happily share when all of this is finished!

Today, I have simply highlighted how we used technology to enhance our learning.  All of these ideas can easily be adapted to various topics.  Hopefully, this will be a source of inspiration!  From history to math and all places in between, I feel technology can play a vital role in the education of our students (in my case, our children).  One of my goals for this blog is to show, hopefully, how to incorporate technology in such a way that promotes learning and encourages critical thinking.  I welcome feedback and love to bounce ideas around with people. 

Note: There are lots of other great ideas to quench your thirst at Thirsty Thursday!

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!**