12/12/08 7th Grade - Fractions!

Check out these sites:
Visualize a Fraction:

http://www.webmath.com/k8if.html

Identifying Fractions:
http://www.visualfractions.com/EnterCircle.html

Comparing Fractions:
Explanation:
http://www.visualfractions.com/Investigate/Compare/Compareframes.htm

Exercises:
http://www.visualfractions.com/CompCircle.html

http://nlvm.usu.edu/en/nav/frames_asid_105_g_2_t_1.html

Reducing Fractions:
http://www.visualfractions.com/LowestCircle.html

Equivalent Fractions:
http://www.learningplanet.com/sam/ff/index.asp

12/8/08 4th grade Powerpoint

Today, Ms. McKinney let me know that she wanted to show her kids how to use Microsoft PowerPoint to create presentations. Her class is studying animal diversity, and will be making presentations to show what they have learned. We started a new PowerPoint presentation, and went through the steps of making a title slide, adding additional slides, typing information and resizing the text boxes, adding photos from the internet, and saving the presentation. Our sample presentation was about foxes. Each step was displayed on the projector at the front of the room, and students followed along on their computers. They found fox information on a National Geographic site, conducted a web search of public domain photos, and selected a fox photo for their presentation. Students looked for copyright information and cited the photographer who took the picture they chose. It was a good basic introduction to PowerPoint. With some guidance, students should be able to build upon their new skills when they start their presentations next week.

10/23/08 5th grade Tsunamis / Body Systems Quiz

Ms. Gonzalez's 5th grade class was reading about Tsunamis in their science book, so she asked me to present information about how they happen. We explored an interactive website from NOVA that showed a time line and diagram of the December 26, 2004 Tsunami in the Indian ocean. The site showed where and how the tsunami started (it's epicenter), what the effect was in the open ocean, and what happened when the tsunami made landfall. We watched a short national geographic video clip with video of the tsunami making landfall, and a computer simulation of how the tsunami progressed. We looked at satellite photos of the coast of Thailand before and after the Tsunami. We reviewed what we had learned about tsunamis with a Wikipedia article. To reinforce a previous lesson on the circulatory and respiratory systems, and preview the other body systems they would be learning about, the students took a quia quiz on body systems. Their percentage of correct answers had improved from when they learned about the systems and took the quiz, two weeks earlier.


NOVA Tsunami Interactive:
http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/nova/tsunami/anatomy.html
National Geographic Tsunami Video:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j9JDzBTwiig
Singapore Satellite photos:
http://www.crisp.nus.edu.sg/tsunami/Khao_Lak_20041229_20030113/Khao_Lak_20041229_20030113.html
Tsunami wiki intro & characteristics:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tsunami
Quia body systems quiz:
http://www.quia.com/rr/117725.html
Posted by Barrett Redelman at 8:57 AM 0 comments
Labels: 5th Grade, Media Cart, NOVA, Wikipedia, Youtube

10/16/08 7th and 8th Grade: Beginning Microsoft Word

The 7th and 8th grade classes came down to the lab, this morning, and began working with Microsoft Word. We went over opening the program, how to format a paper (name, centered title, date), double spacing, and saving a file. They practiced by writing a short essay. Many of the students were not too familiar with the new version of Word we have at school, but by the end they were more comfortable with how to use the new software.javascript:void(0)

10/16/08 5th grade: Circulatory, Respiratory, Skeletal Systems

Today, Ms. Gonzalez's 5th grade class learned more about three body systems that were introduced in their science class. We used a bellevue public schools website about the body to transition from cells (which they learned about a few weeks prior), to body systems. Students built on what we had learned about cells to talk about groups of cells that worked together (tissues), and bigger groups of cells that worked together to perform a function (organs), and organs that worked together to perform several related functions (body systems). We covered three systems ( the circulatory system, respiratory system, and skeletal system), today, and the website presented a thorough overview in accessible and grade appropriate language. To review what the students had learned about the systems, they took a quiz as a class. We passed the wireless mouse around the classroom, and table groups discussed the question at hand before clicking their response. Students appeared to enjoy the quizzes which were in the style of 'who wants to be a millionaire?'.

Circulatory System:
http://www1.bellevuepublicschools.org/curriculum/k6web/fifthgrade/bodysys/Circulatorysystem.html
Respiratory System:
http://www1.bellevuepublicschools.org/curriculum/k6web/fifthgrade/bodysys/Respiratorysystem.html
Skeletal System:
http://www1.bellevuepublicschools.org/curriculum/k6web/fifthgrade/bodysys/Skeletalsystem.html
Quia Quizzes:
http://www.quia.com/rr/117725.html
http://www.quia.com/rr/269891.html

10/14/08 6th grade Microorganisms

Mrs. Sheffie found a website to work on with her class, today. I turned on the computer, and she was off. The site, biology4kids.com, had a lot of well organized pages about cells and organisms. She showed the site to her students, and talked with them about microorganisms. Her lecture followed the site, and hit the important points about microorganism types and structure, when they were first discovered, and followed up with a quiz on the page.

Microorganisms site: http://www.biology4kids.com/files/micro_main.html

10/10/08 7th grade Carnivale in Italy

The 7th grade continues to learn more about Italy, in order to prepare a presentation and activities for the school. This week, Ms. Boegel found sites and information on Carnevale, the celebration before lent (known as Mardi Gras in the United States). Carnevale in Venice is a huge celebration, and the emblem of their festivities is the Carnevale mask (called maschera). The celebration has had an interesting history, and has gone through some changes over the years. To share the information compiled by Ms. Boegel, I made a short PowerPoint presentation and linked the Youtube videos that she chose. We also chose a couple of sections of Wikipedia's article, including the section on how Carnevale is celebrated in Venice (masquerade), and Ivrea (festival of oranges). The 7th graders seemed to enjoy the presentation, and took notes for their culture of the month presentation to the school. They decided to make Carnevale masks, and talk about the celebration in their presentation.

Resources:
Carnival
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carnival#Italy
Carnevale of Ivrea
http://goitaly.about.com/od/carnevale/a/ivrea_fest.htm
Masks of Venice Carnevale
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q98uD1wNbl0&feature=PlayList&p=87C4963588E38E27&playnext=1&index=1