I hope you all enjoyed our snow-day yesterday. The kids certainly did! They had so many fun stories to tell today about all the exciting winter activities they did yesterday!
Earlier this week, the students finished their first Voicethread and we are sharing it with you (and the rest of the world) today. We are very excited. Voicethread is an online platform that allows the users to share a digital image and comment on it, using text, video or voice. It also allows other users to comment on what the Voicethread is already about. In other words, it is like an online, targeted conversation around a specific topic. We created a Voicethread based upon some books we read in class about how we can all work to make the world a more beautiful and inviting place to live. For example, we read some books by the author Todd Parr and we also read "Miss Rumphius" by Barbara Cooney. The students participated in various reading response activities and were partnered up to think about what they can do to make the world more beautiful, culminating in their own reflections and ideas. We integrated some art as well, as the center image will show in this Voicethread. Each student then recorded his/her ideas. We are now inviting others to share what they can do to make our world more beautiful Our reading buddies in Ms. Davison's class are invited already to comment, and we hope you will as well. If you do not want to create your own account (which, by the way is free, but you do need a password), you can email me your comment and I can get it up for you. Before creating this Voicethread, the students also learned how to upload their own acvatars. They are getting so good at accessing out H drive for pictures and they are getting more and more comfortable manipulating file structures every day! What a group of kids we have!
Well, here is the Voicethread link. Please take the time and listen to what they had to say. They did a great job.
This week, we also started using a computer web-site called gonoodle. Gonoodle is a program that encourages students to make healthy choices in school and at home through various relaxation and movement activities. We signed up for an account here at school and you can too, at home. Gonoodle gives you access to many songs and movement breaks, all very short in length. We take these short breaks throughout our day and "earn" points for our gonoodle "avatar" (or online profile). The more we do on gonoodle, the healthier and stronger our online profile will be. It is so fun and interactive. The students wanted me to share this web-site with you so perhaps your child can gain access to this at home. Click here to visit or sign up. Thank you!
This week, we also participated in "Hour of Code". Hour of Code is a world-wide effort to educate young learners about technology and programming of computers. We visited the computer lab and with the help of Linda Scott, our Technology Integration Specialist, we learned to manipulate Angry Bird though a series of obstacles and puzzles. WOW, this is really amazing and I encourage everyone to explore this at home. Code allows students to problem-solve, develop stamina through difficult and challenging tasks and see immediate results. You can access Hour of Code here. For those kids who want an extra challenge, scroll down on the main page at code.org and try to solve the problems for Anna and Elsa. Let me know how it goes. Our reading buddies from Ms. Davison's class joined us today and here are some pictures. Enjoy.
Maria
No comments:
Post a Comment