Earth's Orbit and Google Maps

Siri and Google maps have become one of my new best friends when I'm driving anywhere! Well last night I found another reason to love Google maps! As I was checking out a location I accidentally zoomed clear out of the map. I noticed what looked like the sun shining on part of the Earth... As I continued to zoom out, I realized I was correct! The map of the Earth showed the exact time of day according to the Earth's orbit!! How cool!! 

This intrigued me and I began to think of some excuse to share this with my students, but first I wanted to make sure it was accurate. So throughout the day I checked the Google map app... And this is what I found...

8:15 am

 4:15 pm

9:15 pm

I have explained the Earth's orbit to my students before, shown videos, made earth and sun hats to act out the Earth orbiting, and so on. But THIS I think will finally get through to them. Seeing the real Earth, not just a video someone made, makes it so much more meaningful and makes the concept come to life. What I have posted are screenshots of Google Maps. Feel free to use the pictures if you'd like. I would suggest though , if you have access to an iPad or IWB in your classroom, using Google maps with students so that they can move the Earth themselves and better explore the orbit. Keep in mind this is a great way to introduce and teach time zones as well! Check out Math is Fun for more time zone and orbit models.

Marzano and Technology

Education researcher Dr. Robert Marzano is widely known among educators for his nine research--based  instructional practices. Dr. Marzano is the author of many books relating to different aspects of the art of teaching and learning. His first book which outlined the nine instructional practices is entitled Classroom Instruction That Works. Recently, Howard Pitler, Elizabeth R. Hubbell, Matt Kuhn, and Kim Malenoski authored the book Using Technology with Classroom Instruction That Works. In this book, the authors provide examples and technology methods to use that correlate with each Marzano instructional practice. I highly recommend using this book as a resource as you integrate technology into your classroom. In relation to TPACK, technology should be used to serve an instructional purpose, not only skill and drill. If Marzano practices are being used in your school, aligning technology to these practices will ensure that you are using technology for a purpose. In addition to the book  Using Technology with Classroom Instruction That Works, bookmark the wiki Technology That Works as a resource for planning technology integration. This wiki has very basic, yet insightful resources in aligning technology with Marzano's instructional practices. The wiki is updated frequently as readers are asked collaborate by adding their own technology integration ideas and experiences to the wiki.

Reading Rewards and Student Reflections

I recently learned of a very simple and free online reading program called Reading Rewards. Reading Rewards is an online reading log and reading incentive program for students of all ages. Students log in to their personal account from home or school and simply enter in the book name and amount of time they spent reading each day. As the amount of time they spend reading grows, students earn miles that can be spent to purchase real, customized rewards created by the teacher. In addition to logging reading time and earning points for incentives, students also engage in comprehension by blogging and discussing about the books they are reading. For a more complete overview of Reading Rewards, watch the video below for more detailed overview of Reading Rewards.



5 Steps to Great Student Reflections 

1. Model, Model, Model: For students that are new to blogging - model, model, model. No matter the age level, conduct several mini-lessons in which you are modeling how to write a detailed book review and response that will engage the reader and lead them to want to read the same book.

2. Discuss appropriate and inappropriate responses to other's reviews. For example, appropriate responses may include thought provoking questions that lead to a deeper understanding of the book, or comparisons between two books. Inappropriate responses may include "I want to read that book", or "That is a cool book". You may consider allowing students free reign in the blog without instruction for a few days. Then, print out a portion of the transcript and ask students to highlight appropriate and inappropriate responses in different colors.

3. Lead the Students by posting a discussion or reflection type question every so often. The wonderful part of blogging is that we can encourage students to be self-directed learners as they express themselves through reflections. However, we all need a starting place at times. For example, post a discussion statement such as "Imagine you were the main character in the story and you had a superpower. What would your superpower be and why?"

4. Connect Discussions to Standards: Ask students to create reviews that correlate to the comprehension standards being taught in class. These reflections could be used as an informal assessment of student's knowledge of the text and how to interact with it.

5. Encourage Student Writing by being ever-present within the blog. Although the discussion is primarily between student peers, the teacher's presence within the blog will hold students accountable to writing appropriate and thoughtful responses, as well as provide validation for students in their writing. Point out well written responses and insightful statements.

Student blogging through Reading Rewards holds the potential for your students to use 21st century skills of creating, collaborating, thinking critically, and communicating with each other. By guiding students through this process, they will be better prepared to interact appropriately and educationally online.

Fire Safety

October is Fire Safety month and there are so many fabulous resources available to teach this important topic. My students have enjoyed reading and analyzing non-fiction text about firefighters and fire safety. If you have not downloaded or used Storia by Scholastic on your class' iPad, computers, or IWB, stop what you doing... and download it now! These interactive ebooks have made non-fiction come alive to my students! It has also helped me stay current with new books without having to wait for the books to be shipped to me. When reading Storia books on the IWB, my class is able to write on the book adding character's thoughts, circling pictures that help us understand vocabulary, and so much more! In addition to fire safety books available in the Storia store, Scholastic is highlighting several awesome resources for grades K-12 regarding Fire Safety. Click on the screenshot below to check it out.

 

Has your class met Sparky??? Sparky is the mascot for the National Fire Protection Association. The NFPA has a website created just for kids to explore fire safety with Sparky. YouTube is flooded with fire safety videos for kids of all ages. Touch the image below to view some of my favorites.

 

 

  

Click here to download the free Sparky app from the Apple App Store.

 

Sparky the Firedog is not just for young children! If you teach 3 - 5 grade, visit Sparky's Schoolhouse to download a free eBook and free science and math interactive whiteboard lessons.

 

 

And of course we cannot forget about Brainpopjr during Fire Safety month!

 

 

Feel free to comment with other fire safety resources you love to use! :)

 

Loving QR Codes!!!

My first graders are now trained in using iPads! What a learning experience for them... and ME! We made it through and we are all super excited to use these incredible devices to take our learning to the highest level possible! I have wanted to try a QR code hunt for so long, and we took our first one this past week! My students LOVED going on an acorn hunt in search of codes to scan. Through the hunt they were able to practice the mental math skill of counting on to solve addition problems. The codes I created were differentiated by either black codes (sums to 10) or brown codes (sums to 20). Partners were given a certain color to begin with, and were allowed to try the other codes if finished early. Every student was incredibly engaged and had meaningful practice!

Here's a few shots of our hunt...



Why not give this a try in your class? You will love it... I promise!

 

Simply print out the acorns, post around the classroom, and scan codes!

Author Interviews

By making books come alive, children are more likely to fall in love with reading. My students have always loved Jan Brett and Eric Carle books, but when I show them videos of the real live author speaking about their books, there is a sense of connection they begin to feel with the books. Reading Rockets has a library over 100 interviews with well-known authors about their lives and books they have written. This would be a great addition to any book study. Besides enjoying listening to the author's interview, think of ways to use the video to encourage higher level thinking in your classroom! Such as, before watching the interview brainstorm questions that you would like to ask the author. Maybe these questions will be a part of the interview, maybe not - you'll have to watch to find out! Or, after researching the author through watching the interview and reading their bio on Reading Rockets or other websites, set up and video mock interviews with the "author" (aka. one of your students). Ask students to create questions that may not have been in the interview, but was learned through their research. I'm getting excited. :) Hopefully by April my first graders will be ready for such an activity!

Mastery Connect

I just completed a project for my Integrating and Implementing Technology class about Mastery Connect. This formative assessment and collaborative tool is absolutely outstanding! Besides creating two of the best Common Core apps for teachers, Mastery Connect is redefining the way in which teachers collaborate and assess standards. The following video is the main part of my project in which I guide you through the free options of using Mastery Connect. If you would like a simple instructional guide to begin using Mastery Connect click here.

 

Visit Mastery Connect to create your own free account, or view pricing and plans for your school and district. For the school districts using Mastery Connect, there are added questions that correlate with NEWA MAP test items, benchmarking tools, and so much more!  

 

Besides collaboration between educators, the goal of using Mastery Connect is provide a way for teachers to formatively assess students, provide immediate feedback, and plan for immediate intervention or corrective activities. This is known as Mastery Learning, originally developed by Benjamin Bloom in the 1970's. The diagram below shows the process of using formative assessments to improve student learning. Please click here to read a short article about Mastery Learning and Bloom's process.