Monthly Archives: October 2013

Using ActivInspire to Create a Cross-Curricular Lesson

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Lesson Background

In class we read the story Boots for Beth about a pig named Beth. At the beginning of the story Beth can’t get her boots on because they are too small. Throughout the story Beth’s animal friends offer their boots, but none of them are right for Beth. At the end of the story the friends surprise Beth with a new pair boots. Our focus reading comprehension skill for the week was retelling. I knew I wanted to work this skill into the project if possible.

In math we have been working a lot with ten-frames. I thought it would be fun for students to drag boots onto the ten-frame instead of boring counters. I decided to use ActivInspire to create this presentation.

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Oh the Places You’ll Go- Hot Air Balloon Glyphs

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I love hanging things from my ceiling; it really brings a classroom to life! As you know, I have a Dr. Seuss theme in my classroom. At the beginning of the year I read my students the story Oh the Places You’ll Go. Then we made hot air balloon glyphs to get to know each student better!
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Quiet Critters are a Teacher’s Bestfriend!

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Quiet Critters

I got the idea for these Quiet Critters from The Teaching Chick blog via Pinterest.  They are a dream come true for bus dismissal time!  I pass them out at the end of the day, and students bring me their Quiet Critters as their bus is called.  If they are quiet during bus dismissal I give them a stamp or a sticker.  Works like a charm!  I found a Foamies brand kit that included the pom poms, googly eyes, feet and hats.  I put them together using a hot glue gun, and I they have held up great!  I highly recommend using these in your classroom!

Mind Mapping with Popplet

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Popplet Image
Project Background

This week we read an informational text titled All That Corn in our Harcourt Trophies reading books. On Day 2 of the Harcourt Trophies plan it recommends that the teacher help students create a concept map about farms. I have been eager to use a new, web-based, mind mapping tool with my students and I saw this as the perfect opportunity. When I did my action research during my graduate studies with my PreK students, I used Kidspiration software for mind mapping. Kidspiration is a good software package, but for the purposes of this blog I want to make sure that I am showcasing applications that are free and accessible to everyone. Plus, I know there are many mind mapping tools that have come out in the past few years, so I wanted to familiarize myself with the new tools out there. The world of educational technology is ever-changing, so it is important to stay up to date!
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Creating an Interactive Virtual Photo Cube

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Lesson Background

This particular week we read the story, Todd’s Box, about a boy who takes a walk with his mother. Along the way he collects artifacts from nature, and he saves them in a box. At the end of the story he surprises his mom with the box. In math we were still working on subtraction, which was the focus of our Jack and Rick Subtraction stories the previous week. Incorporating science was a logical choice based on the reading selection for the week. For this project I decided to have students go on a nature walk and take digital photos of what they found. Then students created their own virtual box to showcase the artifacts they found on their nature walk.
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Using iMovie to Turn you Students into Music Video Stars!

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Project Background

We read a nonfiction story titled Ants in reading. An exciting addition to our classroom was an ant farm this week. On Day 4 in the Harcourt Trophies lesson plan students sing “The Ants Go Marching”, and are engaged in some phonemic awareness activities using words from the song including identifying rhyming words. I thought this song was the perfect opportunity to tie in music, art, math and literature.2013-09-20 13.20.10
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Using PowerPoint to Act Out Mathematical Story Problems

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Jack and Rick Cover

Lesson Background

This particular week students read the story Jack and Rick. A charming story about two lovable characters, Jack, a rabbit and Rick, a bear who find themselves on opposite sides of a river. The pair have to problem solve to get on the same side of the river, so they can play together. In math students have been working on subtraction with an emphasis on story problems. For my cross-curricular project I had students work in groups to create their own taking away story problem. I thought using PowerPoint would be the perfect tool for this project, because students can deepen their understanding of subtraction by using animation to demonstrate taking away.
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Virtual Tour of the Niña

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Background
A few years back a replica of the Niña, one of Christopher Columbus’s ships, visited Pittsburgh.
Check out the Official Website

I was able to take photos of the ship, and at the time I put them into a PowerPoint presentation that I shared with my students for several years in honor of Columbus Day. Then I learned about Mapwing. This is a great Web 2.0 tool that allows you to make your own virtual field trips!
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