New Nation publications

Our 5th grade team at Graden came up with a creative way to teach the New Nation standards! We dressed up as zombies and made a video that challenged our students to defend the Constitution and Bill of Rights. Students were able to choose the platform in which they wanted to create their publication. My favorites were student created newscasts, Mad Magz, and Haiku Deck. Our students have taken their learning to the next level! So proud of our Hornets!

Skype in the Classroom

Several times this year we have used Skype in the classroom.  Our favorite Skype session was with the Virginia Historical Society.  We did this Skype prior to reading The Double Life of Pocahontas. 

https://education.skype.com/

Screencast on your iPad

After our last FLiP meeting, when Tiffany Ridge shared their Flipped Math lessons, I found myself uber-excited by the idea of getting some extra teaching time in while the kids were at home. I wondered if there was an app that I could use on my iPad, instead of going to the trouble of buying another tablet.  I found the Doceri app to be just what I needed. Doceri can sync up to your computer, or you can just use it on your iPad (which is what I've been doing so far).  You draw/write on as many pages as you need, and then record your voice to create a screencast.

Here's an example of one I created for a previous math lesson:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1YeMwaZ05-0

You're welcome to check out my YouTube channel to see more examples of flipped lessons.  Doceri makes it very easy to upload to YouTube, Google Drive, or any number of websites/apps.  You can check out lots of tutorial videos and other examples on www.doceri.com

Happy screencasting!

D2L Links

D2L has enhanced my students' ability to consistently use the links to websites that fit with our current topics of study. For example, our new writing unit has a link on D2L that takes my students directly to the Reading and Writing Project website. I used to have to send multiple emails to my kids, but now I can put everything in one place! What a time saver for all of us busy teachers!

Mission US -- For Crown or Colony?

In our upcoming American Revolution unit I am going to use Mission US as a supplemental resource for learning about the conflict between the colonists and the British.  The kids will work through five modules as a colonial boy.  The website also offers teacher resources.  During our reading and writing block I am going to use some of the provided point of view lessons.