Arlene Anderson : Weblog

4th Grade Global Project

aanderson — Fri, 27 Apr 2012 01:47:49 GMT

This year my students and I discovered a charity that is raising funds to rebuild the schools that were ruined in the Haiti earthquake of 2010. Concern USA has been working with other charities like Unicef to get teachers trained, housing built and children who might not even gone to school into schools and educated. This is the video of the project as it wound down this year. I was surprised how 9 year olds were so interested in what was happening to children in another part of the world and how important this became to the class as a fund raiser.

http://youtu.be/fTi-XztU2n4

First month of School

aanderson — Sat, 11 Sep 2010 14:57:03 GMT

We've been back to school about a month now and I thought I'd write a little post about being back and the classroom. And for me that's not just any classroom, but a 4th grade SWATTEC classroom with 1:1 netbooks.

First thought here is that after 5 years out of the classroom working mostly with teachers, it does take some adjustment with a room full of mostly 9 year olds. They are wide-eyed and eager to use the netbooks almost to the exclusion of any other learning going on in the classroom, so I've had to real them in some and make sure at this point their use is relatively focused. Needless to say they would much rather play games all day.

What has been very interesting is that when I got them blogging the second week of class, they have really amazed me with their comments. This group is generous and thoughtful with compliments to each other on blog posts. They even comment back with a “thank you” for a compliment. For many when they are given some free time to use the netbooks they ask, 'can I write a blog?'. They have plenty to say, even when it's not a requested post. Once student is on a vacation and has been posting a journal of his trip. Nice addition to and Independent Study.

I am finding that I am not using my Airliner as much as I thought I would. With Social Studies and Math as online resources, we watch the lesson videos and discuss them in class. I'm sure as the year progresses I'll use it more. Part of my problem is where my computer is situated in relation to where I teach. My computer, hooked up to the projector, is at the back of the room, rather than closer to my teaching area for easy access. Wish I had some input on that. I was going to turn my room around, but that didn't work with the placement of the projector. So I'm pretty much stuck walking to the back of the classroom if I want to bring up an online resource to show the students.

One of the things the students have come to enjoy is our morning workout. A while back I purchased a program called Smart Moves from Peter Reynolds' company Fablevision. http://www.fablevision.com/smartmoves/ They refer to it as body puzzles for the mind. I refer to it as a Tai Chi for just the brain and arms. The students stand behind their chairs and for about 5 minutes every morning we do one of the “exercises” in preparation for the day. At first there was a lot of giggling going on, but as they exercises have gotten progressively more difficult, the room is quiet and everyone is concentrating. We do the same exercise for an entire week before moving on. There are 42 exercises in the program. A few students have asked were they can get the program.

This last 4 weeks has definitely had it's challenges for both myself and the students. They are struggling with 10 more students in the same sized room as they had last year and they all want one on one attention. I'm struggling with a crowded classroom (please understand that when I say crowded it has more to do with the size of the room, not the number of students) and getting back into the curriculum I love. It's not like I have a lesson plan book from last year to refer to. Every week is new. So at this point, the adjustment period is pretty much over, but then, is it really every over?

Science Resouces

aanderson — Wed, 19 May 2010 15:21:19 GMT

As always I like to share some of the best resources that I find online. While this one is set up for Tennessee, it still breaks down the areas of science that we all study in grades K-8. I hope this will be helpful for you.

http://classroom.jc-schools.net/sci-units/

Online art creation resources for students

aanderson — Wed, 14 Apr 2010 15:36:36 GMT

I happened to come across this site through a Twitter feed that I follow. In the blog there are 45 website for students to create original art works. I've seen some before and they are fun for students. Some can be saved as a screen shot or as a jpeg and put on the Student Community blog.

The link has been corrected so that it works. Enjoy!

http://mrssmoke.onsugar.com/45-Websites-Students-Create-Original-Artwork-Online-3442983?title=45%20Websites%20For%20Students%20To%20Create%20Original%20Artwork%20Online

Another new resource

aanderson — Sat, 06 Feb 2010 03:16:23 GMT

Not real satisfied with Wordle? Try WordItOut. Gives you more options ad can be saved.

You can find it at

http://www.worditout.com

More resources

aanderson — Tue, 02 Feb 2010 17:09:52 GMT

Once more I've found more resources for teachers. Interesting how I find these. Picked these up from someone I follow on Twitter! Love those connections.

http://teachers.teach-nology.com/index.html

http://twitter4teachers.pbworks.com/Math-Teachers

Great fun video site

aanderson — Mon, 01 Feb 2010 19:18:57 GMT

One of the programs on our Student Community links is Animoto. I was trying it out this morning and all I needed were some pictures, a choice of their music (you can upload your own - including recorded audio), and waiting for the program to process the video (that takes the longest).

Lots of fun. Here's an example. I know it's Christmas, but I didn't have any music on my computer for this.

If you want you students to have their own Animoto, you will need to apply for an education account.

Go here: www.animoto.com/education

They will send you the information to get started.

Create your own video slideshow at animoto.com.

Another great website

aanderson — Fri, 29 Jan 2010 04:01:25 GMT

You can't do better than access a math gaming site that is set up by grade level and California standard. Here's another one to check out.

http://www.ixl.com/math/standards/california

Websites Worth a Second Look...More

aanderson — Fri, 08 Jan 2010 21:49:34 GMT

I'm sure quite a few people may know about this, but it is worth mentioning again. When you are looking for a math website to supplement your curriculum, this one is great. Sorted by great levels and types of math.

If you find one "game" that you think your students should play, just copy the URL of that game into a blog in the Student Community and they can all get the link from there. Much easier than having them type it in.

Enjoy!

http://nlvm.usu.edu/en/nav/vlibrary.html

Websites worth a look - The Giving Tree

aanderson — Mon, 14 Dec 2009 18:13:52 GMT

TeachersFirst is a great website with lots of input from teachers as a website in general. On of the best things is that you can sign up (for free) and get monthly ideas for some great integrated lessons. Here's one that is multi-age - great for buddy activities- that is based on The Giving Tree by Shel Silverstein.

http://www.teachersfirst.com/lessons/givingtree.cfm

Arlene