What's up in Salem

Technology in education happening in our own community!

Who's got gas?!

I felt a little inspired by a few ideas FLOATING around in my head this week, so I decided to try my hand at lesson planning. This lesson is designed potentially for grades 4-5. 

I would love feed back, ideas, and comments! 

This will also be posted in the What's up in the classroom page for parents and students to reference!

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Floats and Flubs

Gas..some have it, some don’t!

Goal:

For students to understand the following concepts of matter, with emphasis in this lesson on gasses!

• The 3 different states of matter and varying characteristics
• Characteristics of gasses (how do we classify it as a gas?)
• The varying weight of gasses
• The capability or incapability to contain a gas
• Characteristics of specific gasses (O2 and He, others may be plausible as well)

Step 1: Classroom Set up

The opening idea: What draws students in!

Each student will have a balloon on a string on their desk as they enter the classroom. Some balloons will be filled with air, some full of helium and some varying in fullness of helium so that some balloons will float high, some not float at all and others will be in between.

All balloons will be tied to an object of varying weight/design (a feather, a rock, a pencil, a person, a desk, a post-it...etc)

Students will write 3-5 facts (or a paragraph, depending on level of class) of observations in their journals about THEIR balloon.

Step 2: A little “POP” culture (<---pop! I’m so whity ;-))

Show a short clip from the movie UP, with he house floating high above the world below. Ask students to vote silently in their journals if they think this is somehow possible, or if it could ever POSSIBLY work.

Step 3: Unify observations through discussion!

Make a large class list of observations of the different balloons. Ask questions like :

• “What is this balloon doing?”...Floating? Why?
• Why is this one not floating?
• What is making each one act that way?
• Is there something inside the balloons?
• Are all balloons filled with the same things?
• What will happen if I untie this floating balloon from this rock?
• Why is this feather not holding down this balloon like the rock?
• What will happen if I push this pin into this balloon?
• POP! What happened to what was inside the balloon?
• ...and so on!!

Step 3: How do we catch a gas?

After students have come to a few conclusions about the gasses inside of the balloons ask them to find (at home or around the classroom) a container. Encourage them all to be different. Practice filling the various containers with air from our lungs, or helium from a tank. Discuss (<--aka ASK QUESTONS) about the varying outcomes and resonsons some catainers hold gasses and oters don’t, and why some containers float and some don’t!

Step 4:Keep it! Retain it! Learn it!

Have students pop or deflate their balloon and tape in inside if their journal as a visual and tangible reminder of the lesson. Have them write about the observations they discovered today. If they need prompts you can write a few questions on the board for them to answer. What do we know about the weight of air vs the weight of helium? Are all gasses the same weight? How do we classify something as a gas(this one may have varying answers, and that’s OK) Can we contain a gas? (etc.)

Have them vote again on the movie question, is it possible with a really really BIG balloon? (a blimp? a hot air balloon)

"Knowing is not enough, we must apply. Willing is not enough, we much do."

(Goethe)

-Mrs. K

G(o the possibilities)ogle

Google it!

Google has now become both a noun and a verb in the English language. Doing a research project on blue wales? Searching for concert venues in your area? Looking for a place to grab a bite to eat or ways to get connected in your community? Well..GOOGLE IT!

There is no doubt Google has opened the doors for endless possibilities of knowledge and placed it all in palms of our hands! And it just keeps getting better!

Google has certainly earned it’s rightful place in the classroom, encompassing all of the needs for  textbooks, chalkboards, overheads, DVDS, notebooks, homework folders, word programs, and pretty much anything else you can think of as a tool for education, except for the teacher, of course! 

(However in some cases we find ourselves pondering if even the teacher really is necessary..)

Google offers so many options that are vital in the progress of education, it is impossible to talk about them all in one post! So Today I will focus on Google Docs.

Google Docs is a program EVERYONE should be completely comfortable using and utilizing to the fullest of it’s capabilities! It is a time saver, a space saver, an energy saver....and it can do everything those fancy, EXPENSIVE office programs can do (and better) for FREE!

To really get an understanding of Google Docs, just like anything else, you need HANDS ON experience! Go... TRY IT OUT! (create a GMail account and get started!) Click away, make documents, manage spreadsheets...make mistakes (that's why there is that ever so gracious undo button!)

So how do we USE IT in the CLASSROOM?!

In our 5th grad class here at Innovative Elementary we use google docs daily! Each student has a journal  saved in Mrs. Kirkland's documents. This takes the term “free write” to a whole new level! Students post links, videos, pictures, charts.... anything!!! There journals now include not just literacy practice, but web-research skills, technology skills, creativity, and so much more. It is as wonderful a tool as you can make it to be in your classroom.

We also submit all of our homework on google docs (we are tree loving paper savers!), both students and parents are highly encouraged (dare we say it...required) to have a GMail account so Mrs. Kirkland can monitor who is making what changes to a research project (for example). This works great in group assignments too! Mrs. Kirkland can truly evaluate just how much each student contributed, using Google’s shared document ability you can see which user does what to every document!

How it all fits together...

Classroom Blogging

How can blogging really be effective in the classroom?

Nourish LITERACY!

Have students comment on a blog post about a current reading assignment. The comment could include things such as a short summary of the chapter(s), plot analysis, character analysis, themes, and links to articles relating to these topics. Encouraging students to develop research skills and think critically!

Promote Awareness!

Post articles on current world and national events weekly. require students to comment on each post with their opinions and reflections on the issue at hand. Discuss these ideas in class!

Assign each student a week throughout the school year to be responsible for researching and  posting a current event article, and have other students post comments and let the discussion roll!

Encourage student led learning!

Have students start their own blogs or start a group blog as a classroom journal. Students can write an entry every two weeks or so on various topics and classmates can give grammatical feedback, check spelling, comment on word usage and so on! This can also be great for group research projects, math projects, and more!

Inspire CREATIVITY!

Let students get creative! They can start their own blogs on topics that interest them, or manage a classroom group blog (that can be managed by the teacher). Let them post videos, songs, free writes, poetry, art, photography and whatever else they can think of! This is not only a great way to let your students explore the endless possibilities of technology, but also a great way to get to know your students!

These are a few ideas, but I'm sure YOU can brainstorm even MORE!

"If we do not plant knowledge when young, it will give us no shade when we are old"

(Chesterfield)

-Mrs. K

Mrs. K's 5th grade class

Blogging can be a fantastic tool in the classroom!

Students can get connected, and stay up dated on issues both in the classroom on around the world. Blogs are a great way to encourage reading too. Teachers can post articles and homework assignments. It also incorporates technology into the curriculum.

It's a great tool to get them interested early on in the usefulness of technology!

Teachers can post links, videos and online projects for students to participate in (even simple things such as commenting on a blog post)! 

You can also encourage literacy, let students post and share work, read each others posts and provide feedback!

I have decided to use this blog as an experiment, to play around with all of the useful ways to use a blog in a classroom. My made up 5th grade class has access to current events, links, discussion boards and more. 

Parents can also stay connected (The parent Connection column on the left)!  I will be updating my blog often as I discover more innovative features and creative ways to utilize this tool. This is just a rough draft....so comments are welcomed!

"You are never too old to set another goal or dream a new dream"

(C.S. Lewis)

-Mrs. K

The Intro Blog

             

I am many things right now in life. First and foremost, I am a mother and a wife. I love my family, and I love my life. I believe happiness is a daily choice, but not always an easy one. I  love Jesus, but not religion. I am a teacher and just as equally a student. I love learning, and exploring new places and ideas. I believe in all of us lives a youthful soul that never wants to stop the journey of exploration and the discovery behind learning.

I like to laugh, and take life with a grain of salt. Mistakes are a part of life, and without them our path would be straight and boring.

When people ask me “so, what do you want to teach” I like to answer simply “kids”. That's why I am here....to teach kids. In a school that’s right for me, at an age that’s right for me. When the right job comes along, then I can answer that with a little more clarity. Right now I’m pursuing gardes 4-8(ish) ← and that's a big ish.

This is my inspiration, my daily encouragement and my passion. 

What better reason to pursue teaching this this? 

I believe every parent should be active in their child’s education! If we stop caring for, and fighting for our own children, then we have lost everything and just succumb to the greyness of the world and it’s bleak problems we all complain about. If I could inspire my kids (students and family)  to do one thing it would be to never stop asking questions and thinking for themselves. By thinking for our selves we push boundaries, and  inspire change!

Listen to your dreams, 

Go with your gut,

Be bold, Inspire change

and ask LOTS of QUESTIONS!

"Today you are you, this is truer than true. There is no one alive more youer than you"

(Seuss)

- Mrs. K