Wednesday, June 4, 2008
Sunday, May 18, 2008
A Day in the Library -- Grades K28 -- Part 14
Wednesday May 14, 2008
Gr. 7 and 8
Check out the eighth grade’s video on Youtube!
Stay tuned for the 7th graders video.
Gr. 6:
We shot “Scorpions” for our Cultural Connections New Program. . . . another knock out segment.
Gr. 5
Check out Bremen Town Musicians Part 1 of 3 on YouTube! We shoot part 2 of 3 next week.
Gr. 4:
This week a girl chose Horton Hatches an Egg, by Dr. Seuss. I had never read this book. We all loved it.
Gr. 3:
This week a girl chose Oh, the Places You’ll Go!, by Dr. Seuss.
Gr. 2:
We read the final chapter of The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe. We celebrated by eating Turkish delight!
Gr. 1:
We also read Oh, the Places You’ll Go!, by Dr. Seuss.
Gr. K:
We read Arrow to the Sun, by Gerald McDermott. This is an Indian folk tale that came out in the 70s -- Caldecott winner 1978 . Although this book is pretty abstract, the kids really love it.
Gr. 7 and 8
Check out the eighth grade’s video on Youtube!
Stay tuned for the 7th graders video.
Gr. 6:
We shot “Scorpions” for our Cultural Connections New Program. . . . another knock out segment.
Gr. 5
Check out Bremen Town Musicians Part 1 of 3 on YouTube! We shoot part 2 of 3 next week.
Gr. 4:
This week a girl chose Horton Hatches an Egg, by Dr. Seuss. I had never read this book. We all loved it.
Gr. 3:
This week a girl chose Oh, the Places You’ll Go!, by Dr. Seuss.
Gr. 2:
We read the final chapter of The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe. We celebrated by eating Turkish delight!
Gr. 1:
We also read Oh, the Places You’ll Go!, by Dr. Seuss.
Gr. K:
We read Arrow to the Sun, by Gerald McDermott. This is an Indian folk tale that came out in the 70s -- Caldecott winner 1978 . Although this book is pretty abstract, the kids really love it.
Monday, May 12, 2008
A Day in the Library -- Grades K28 -- Part 13
Wednesday May 7, 2008
Gr. 7 and 8
The shooting of the claymation project couldn’t have gone more smoothly. Next week we will post the two videos.
Gr. 6:
We planned for the next segment: Scorpions. This one is going to be another fantastic addition to our series of news programs. We shoot next week.
Gr. 5
Check out Bremen Town Musicians Part 1 of 3 on YouTube!
Gr. 4:
This week a girl chose Now & Ben: The Modern Inventions of Benjamin Franklin, by Gene Barretta. I had read this book to the third graders earlier this year and they didn't like it -- but the fourth graders loved it.
Gr. 3:
This week a girl chose Rumpelstiltskin. She chose a modern adaptation with great illustrations but the ending was a little weak -- it ended with Rumpelstiltskin getting angry and flying out the window never to be seen from again. A few of the children knew the original version of Grimm’s fairy tale’s Rumpelstiltskin so I read that ending to the class -- Grimm’s version ends with Rumpelstiltskin stamping his right foot into the ground up to his knee and then grabbing his left foot and pulling himself in two. A great fairy tale ending!
Gr. 2:
We read The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe. One more chapter to go!
Gr. 1:
We read the Caps for Sale, illustrated by Esphyr Slobodkina. “You monkeys you!” We loved it.
Gr. K:
We read the Caps for Sale, illustrated by Esphyr Slobodkina. They also liked it.
Gr. 7 and 8
The shooting of the claymation project couldn’t have gone more smoothly. Next week we will post the two videos.
Gr. 6:
We planned for the next segment: Scorpions. This one is going to be another fantastic addition to our series of news programs. We shoot next week.
Gr. 5
Check out Bremen Town Musicians Part 1 of 3 on YouTube!
Gr. 4:
This week a girl chose Now & Ben: The Modern Inventions of Benjamin Franklin, by Gene Barretta. I had read this book to the third graders earlier this year and they didn't like it -- but the fourth graders loved it.
Gr. 3:
This week a girl chose Rumpelstiltskin. She chose a modern adaptation with great illustrations but the ending was a little weak -- it ended with Rumpelstiltskin getting angry and flying out the window never to be seen from again. A few of the children knew the original version of Grimm’s fairy tale’s Rumpelstiltskin so I read that ending to the class -- Grimm’s version ends with Rumpelstiltskin stamping his right foot into the ground up to his knee and then grabbing his left foot and pulling himself in two. A great fairy tale ending!
Gr. 2:
We read The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe. One more chapter to go!
Gr. 1:
We read the Caps for Sale, illustrated by Esphyr Slobodkina. “You monkeys you!” We loved it.
Gr. K:
We read the Caps for Sale, illustrated by Esphyr Slobodkina. They also liked it.
Thursday, April 24, 2008
A Day in the Library -- Grades K28 -- Part 12
Wednesday April 23, 2008
Gr. 7 and 8
I used ‘give them what they want’ as a guiding principal when I was trying to think of a Media Lab Project that the 7th and 8th grade would like to do. So, we will be doing claymation so the projects can be posted on Youtube. The 7th and 8th grades will work seperately on the same project and there will be some competition between the two grades. There will be two seperate cameras rigged up at the same time. Each class will be given a pack of playdough. They have to film it all in one class period. Each class picks the music for their project. My only requirement is that it has to be based on, or inspired by, the book Oh, the Places You’ll Go! by Dr. Suess which I read to them today. We will shoot in two weeks -- we have next week off.
Gr. 6:
Gr. 7 and 8
I used ‘give them what they want’ as a guiding principal when I was trying to think of a Media Lab Project that the 7th and 8th grade would like to do. So, we will be doing claymation so the projects can be posted on Youtube. The 7th and 8th grades will work seperately on the same project and there will be some competition between the two grades. There will be two seperate cameras rigged up at the same time. Each class will be given a pack of playdough. They have to film it all in one class period. Each class picks the music for their project. My only requirement is that it has to be based on, or inspired by, the book Oh, the Places You’ll Go! by Dr. Suess which I read to them today. We will shoot in two weeks -- we have next week off.
Gr. 6:
We watched the newest video in our Cultural Connections News Series -- The Vikings. Fantastic job! To see the movie click on the link below. **The ID is our school's town (lowercase) and the password is our school principal (lowercase) -- you are going to have to type it twice when you click on link.
Cultural Connections: The Vikings
Gr. 5
We shot the 1st segment for the Bremin Town Musicians. Everyone worked together and we shot everything we need for the 1st segment. It will be ready for class and posted on YouTube in two weeks.
Gr. 4:
This week a boy chose So You Want to Be President? by Judith St. George. They loved it.
Gr. 3:
This week a boy chose to read the 1st chapter of Dirt Bike Runaway by Matt Christopher. I had never read one of Matt Christopher’s (very boy and always about sports) books -- I have bought many for our library -- and I was surprised how fast moving and how many plot twists their were . . . and that was only in the 1st chapter!
Gr. 2:
We read The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe. Another fantastic chapter. Two more to go!
Gr. 1:
We read The Amazing Bone by William Steig. They loved it and it was checked out.
Gr. K:
We read Jumanji by Chris Van Allsburg. When I read this book I am always amazed that the pictures don’t give away the excitement of the story. For example you can see the monkeys are in the kitchen before you read about them -- but the kids don't react to the pictures until after have I read that peice of the story. This is a wonderful read aloud.
Gr. 5
We shot the 1st segment for the Bremin Town Musicians. Everyone worked together and we shot everything we need for the 1st segment. It will be ready for class and posted on YouTube in two weeks.
Gr. 4:
This week a boy chose So You Want to Be President? by Judith St. George. They loved it.
Gr. 3:
This week a boy chose to read the 1st chapter of Dirt Bike Runaway by Matt Christopher. I had never read one of Matt Christopher’s (very boy and always about sports) books -- I have bought many for our library -- and I was surprised how fast moving and how many plot twists their were . . . and that was only in the 1st chapter!
Gr. 2:
We read The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe. Another fantastic chapter. Two more to go!
Gr. 1:
We read The Amazing Bone by William Steig. They loved it and it was checked out.
Gr. K:
We read Jumanji by Chris Van Allsburg. When I read this book I am always amazed that the pictures don’t give away the excitement of the story. For example you can see the monkeys are in the kitchen before you read about them -- but the kids don't react to the pictures until after have I read that peice of the story. This is a wonderful read aloud.
A Day in the Library -- Grades K28 -- Part 11
Wednesday April 16, 2008
I am a full week late posting this entry . . . we have had many days -- bright sunny days -- off.
Gr. 7 and 8
Scraped Media Lab project due to lack of interest. Students didn’t want to be on film and wanted something to put on YouTube. Stay tuned for next Media Lab project.
Gr. 6:
We filmed the Viking segment. This one is great! It will be posted next week.
Gr. 5
Several students forgot their star clay figures at home so we had to cancel filming . . . next week we will shoot the 1st segment for the Bremin Town Musicians.
Gr. 4:
This week a girl chose a Goosebumps book again.
Gr. 3:
This week a girl chose to read a book about St. Francis of Assisi. A great story for animal lovers.
Gr. 2:
We read The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe. The chapters at the end of the book are action packed and leave the children begging to read another chapter.
Gr. 1:
We read So You Want to Be President? by Judith St. George. Although it is not a great book for 1st graders (subject matter makes the book seem too long for them) many of them loved it and it was checked out.
Gr. K:
We read Crow Boy by Taro Yashima. I love to read this unusual book and make all the crow sounds. They loved it and it was checked out.
I am a full week late posting this entry . . . we have had many days -- bright sunny days -- off.
Gr. 7 and 8
Scraped Media Lab project due to lack of interest. Students didn’t want to be on film and wanted something to put on YouTube. Stay tuned for next Media Lab project.
Gr. 6:
We filmed the Viking segment. This one is great! It will be posted next week.
Gr. 5
Several students forgot their star clay figures at home so we had to cancel filming . . . next week we will shoot the 1st segment for the Bremin Town Musicians.
Gr. 4:
This week a girl chose a Goosebumps book again.
Gr. 3:
This week a girl chose to read a book about St. Francis of Assisi. A great story for animal lovers.
Gr. 2:
We read The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe. The chapters at the end of the book are action packed and leave the children begging to read another chapter.
Gr. 1:
We read So You Want to Be President? by Judith St. George. Although it is not a great book for 1st graders (subject matter makes the book seem too long for them) many of them loved it and it was checked out.
Gr. K:
We read Crow Boy by Taro Yashima. I love to read this unusual book and make all the crow sounds. They loved it and it was checked out.
Wednesday, April 9, 2008
A Day in the Library -- Grades K28 -- Part 10
Wednesday April 9, 2008
Gr. 7 and 8
We started work on a new media lab project. Grade 8 will be working on a “Words of Wisdom” video. The video will share "Words of Wisdom" with the lower grades and each students will talk about their favorite childhood book. The 7th grade will be working on a similar video. They will also share their favorite childhood book along with some random thoughts they have about life.
We also checked in with our Wikipedia entry and were surprised to find someone added a brief passage about our school closing. This upset a few students -- they wanted to find out who made the changes so that they could put some graffiti on their entries in Wikipedia. We discussed that “our” entry on Wikipedia is open to other people working to update entries and unlike a regular web site things can be added or changed by “outsiders”. Who are these people? They wanted to know. The info was correct -- directly lifted from a online news article. That’s plagiarism! They cried. Well . . . yes but not the kind that people really generally get upset about. It was a great discussion.
Gr. 6:
We watched the newest video in our Cultural Connections News Series -- the Titanic. Fantastic job! To see the movie click on the link below. **The ID is our school's town (lowercase) and the password is our school principal (lowercase) -- you are going to have to type it twice when you click on link.
Gr. 7 and 8
We started work on a new media lab project. Grade 8 will be working on a “Words of Wisdom” video. The video will share "Words of Wisdom" with the lower grades and each students will talk about their favorite childhood book. The 7th grade will be working on a similar video. They will also share their favorite childhood book along with some random thoughts they have about life.
We also checked in with our Wikipedia entry and were surprised to find someone added a brief passage about our school closing. This upset a few students -- they wanted to find out who made the changes so that they could put some graffiti on their entries in Wikipedia. We discussed that “our” entry on Wikipedia is open to other people working to update entries and unlike a regular web site things can be added or changed by “outsiders”. Who are these people? They wanted to know. The info was correct -- directly lifted from a online news article. That’s plagiarism! They cried. Well . . . yes but not the kind that people really generally get upset about. It was a great discussion.
Gr. 6:
We watched the newest video in our Cultural Connections News Series -- the Titanic. Fantastic job! To see the movie click on the link below. **The ID is our school's town (lowercase) and the password is our school principal (lowercase) -- you are going to have to type it twice when you click on link.
ICS News Cultural Connections -- Titanic
We planned for our next segment -- Vikings. This one will be very exciting. We will film it next week.
Gr. 5
The students created a background for the Bremin Town Musicians and worked on creating the characters. We will film the first episode next week.
Gr. 4:
This week a girl chose a Goosebumps book. It was a "choose your own story" Goosebumps about a wax museum. I had never read a Goosebumps book and since we were all very much into the story -- we read the whole book!
Gr. 3:
This week a girl chose to go back and read the third chapter of Frindle. A very funny book.
Gr. 2:
We read The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe. This week’s chapter was Deep Magic from the Dawn of Time. Very exciting. One of the best chapters in the whole book . . . Aslan roars and the Witch fairly runs for her life.
Gr. 1 and K:
We had to combine the two classes this week because of scheduling. I read The True Story of the Three Little Pigs. Very funny with great pictures -- it was promptly checked out.
We planned for our next segment -- Vikings. This one will be very exciting. We will film it next week.
Gr. 5
The students created a background for the Bremin Town Musicians and worked on creating the characters. We will film the first episode next week.
Gr. 4:
This week a girl chose a Goosebumps book. It was a "choose your own story" Goosebumps about a wax museum. I had never read a Goosebumps book and since we were all very much into the story -- we read the whole book!
Gr. 3:
This week a girl chose to go back and read the third chapter of Frindle. A very funny book.
Gr. 2:
We read The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe. This week’s chapter was Deep Magic from the Dawn of Time. Very exciting. One of the best chapters in the whole book . . . Aslan roars and the Witch fairly runs for her life.
Gr. 1 and K:
We had to combine the two classes this week because of scheduling. I read The True Story of the Three Little Pigs. Very funny with great pictures -- it was promptly checked out.
Saturday, April 5, 2008
A Day in the Library -- Grades K28 -- Part 9
Wednesday April 2, 2008
Last week we were on vacation. This week was ITBS (Iowa Tests of Basic Skills) testing for the entire school. 6th, 7th, and 8th grade missed library this week because of testing. Next week we will post the 6th grade “Titanic” segment. The kids haven’t seen it yet . . . they can’t wait -- it is fantastic!
Gr. 5:
We looked at our scores on Book Adventure and since one of the students scored over 500 she got to pick out a candy bar. We talked about the Bremin Town Musicians and decided to break it up into 3 segments -- so now we have more time to plan. Next week we will work on scenery and figures for the 1st segment.
Gr. 4:
This week a boy chose D’aulaires Book of Greek Myths for the second week in a row. We read about Io.
Gr. 3:
This week a boy chose to read So You Want to Be President? by Judith St. George (Caldecott Medal 2001) This was a great choice! None of us had read it before and we all liked it. It has lots of interesting tidbits about our presidents and the pictures are great.
Gr. 2:
We read The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe. This week’s chapter was Peter’s First Battle. Very exciting. No one was talking, moving, or tapping during this chapter -- everyone was on the edge of their carpet squares!
Gr. 1:
We read Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day by Judith Viorst. This is not one of my favorites but the kids love it.
Gr. K:
Last week we were on vacation. This week was ITBS (Iowa Tests of Basic Skills) testing for the entire school. 6th, 7th, and 8th grade missed library this week because of testing. Next week we will post the 6th grade “Titanic” segment. The kids haven’t seen it yet . . . they can’t wait -- it is fantastic!
Gr. 5:
We looked at our scores on Book Adventure and since one of the students scored over 500 she got to pick out a candy bar. We talked about the Bremin Town Musicians and decided to break it up into 3 segments -- so now we have more time to plan. Next week we will work on scenery and figures for the 1st segment.
Gr. 4:
This week a boy chose D’aulaires Book of Greek Myths for the second week in a row. We read about Io.
Gr. 3:
This week a boy chose to read So You Want to Be President? by Judith St. George (Caldecott Medal 2001) This was a great choice! None of us had read it before and we all liked it. It has lots of interesting tidbits about our presidents and the pictures are great.
Gr. 2:
We read The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe. This week’s chapter was Peter’s First Battle. Very exciting. No one was talking, moving, or tapping during this chapter -- everyone was on the edge of their carpet squares!
Gr. 1:
We read Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day by Judith Viorst. This is not one of my favorites but the kids love it.
Gr. K:
We read Where the Wild Things Are by Maurice Sendak. Everyone loved it but they thought it was too short. In the future I will read this one in the beginning of the year.
Saturday, March 15, 2008
A Day in the Library -- Grades K28 -- Part 8
Wednesday, March 12, 2008
Unfortunately last week our school closed. We will finish out the year together and then we all move on to other things. I am sad to leave this very smart, very sweet, group of students. Small groups of students may not be a good thing if you are thinking about the financial side of running a school, but if you are thinking about the connections between students and teachers and parents, being small enables us to know each other better. Everyone here will move on to the next thing knowing that good people are all around you, if you take the time to get to know them. With that said, we move on with peace and determination to be good to ourselves, and to other people.
“Now this is not the end. It is not even the beginning of the end. But it is, perhaps, the end of the beginning.” -- Winston Churchill
Gr. 7/8:
Eighth grade was testing so we looked at a link site with a top ten sites for kids. We explored some of the links and we particularly liked the link to the History Channel. If you have a high speed connection you can watch segments on a variety of things. We watched the St. Patrick segment. Very interesting.
I don’t think the History Channel is a 2.0 site but it is very good and so it is the site of the week.
Next week we will resolve what to do with our Wikipedia entry in light of the school closing. We will also vote on a book for the book club.
Gr. 6:
Media Lab: We shot the Titanic segment for our Cultural Connections News Program. It’s going to be fantastic. I will post it before the next library which will be April 2nd. Great work sixth grade!
Gr. 5:
Media Lab: We assigned roles and discussed how we will solve the "too many episodes" problem. Next library we will build our set and we will build our characters and will review the script. We will start shooting The Bremin Town Musicians on April 9th.
Gr. 4:
This week a boy chose D’aulaires Book of Greek Myths. He chose to read about Hermes. I had not read that one so we were all laughing when Hermes says to Apollo that he couldn’t possibly have stolen his cows because he was only a newborn babe! and didn’t even know what a cow was! A great choice and of course the book was promptly checked out.
Gr. 3:
This week a the girl chose to read Shrek by William Steig. We had read this together last year but no one complained about reading it again. We all laughed at this very off beat book.
Gr. 2:
We read The Country Bunny and the Little Golden Shoes. The images in this book stay with you forever.
Gr. 1:
We read The Country Bunny and the Little Golden Shoes. I read this one to them last year and they loved hearing it again.
Gr. K:
Unfortunately last week our school closed. We will finish out the year together and then we all move on to other things. I am sad to leave this very smart, very sweet, group of students. Small groups of students may not be a good thing if you are thinking about the financial side of running a school, but if you are thinking about the connections between students and teachers and parents, being small enables us to know each other better. Everyone here will move on to the next thing knowing that good people are all around you, if you take the time to get to know them. With that said, we move on with peace and determination to be good to ourselves, and to other people.
“Now this is not the end. It is not even the beginning of the end. But it is, perhaps, the end of the beginning.” -- Winston Churchill
Gr. 7/8:
Eighth grade was testing so we looked at a link site with a top ten sites for kids. We explored some of the links and we particularly liked the link to the History Channel. If you have a high speed connection you can watch segments on a variety of things. We watched the St. Patrick segment. Very interesting.
I don’t think the History Channel is a 2.0 site but it is very good and so it is the site of the week.
Next week we will resolve what to do with our Wikipedia entry in light of the school closing. We will also vote on a book for the book club.
Gr. 6:
Media Lab: We shot the Titanic segment for our Cultural Connections News Program. It’s going to be fantastic. I will post it before the next library which will be April 2nd. Great work sixth grade!
Gr. 5:
Media Lab: We assigned roles and discussed how we will solve the "too many episodes" problem. Next library we will build our set and we will build our characters and will review the script. We will start shooting The Bremin Town Musicians on April 9th.
Gr. 4:
This week a boy chose D’aulaires Book of Greek Myths. He chose to read about Hermes. I had not read that one so we were all laughing when Hermes says to Apollo that he couldn’t possibly have stolen his cows because he was only a newborn babe! and didn’t even know what a cow was! A great choice and of course the book was promptly checked out.
Gr. 3:
This week a the girl chose to read Shrek by William Steig. We had read this together last year but no one complained about reading it again. We all laughed at this very off beat book.
Gr. 2:
We read The Country Bunny and the Little Golden Shoes. The images in this book stay with you forever.
Gr. 1:
We read The Country Bunny and the Little Golden Shoes. I read this one to them last year and they loved hearing it again.
Gr. K:
We read The Country Bunny and the Little Golden Shoes -- they loved it.
Friday, March 7, 2008
Viewing Grade 6 News Program on line
***The ID is our school's town (lowercase) and the password is our school principal (lowercase) -- you are going to have to type it twice when you click on link. Resolution is not great . . . at the end of the year everyone will get a DVD with all media projects on it in high rez.
A Day in the Library -- Grades K28 -- Part 7
Wednesday March 5, 2008
Gr. 7/8:
Media Lab: We took a break from working on the Wikipedia entry to look at the 5th and 6th grade media projects.
We also looked at our web 2.0 site of the week. This week we looked at Youtube. We looked at how user created content changes how we get information and entertainment. A minor comedian gets 6.9 million views on Youtube. A religious group posts a hip hop video. When the 5th grade did claymation we picked up tips by watching Youtube videos. The 5th grade posted a video onto Youtube. Would you have seen any of these things in the main stream media?
Gr. 6:
Media Lab: We watched the fantastic Cultural Connections News Program. The students did a great job! They were great actors and we learned alot about the Tasmanian Devil. Yeah! So what if we can’t post it on Youtube. I distributed DVDs to each student in class and I will post the program on a website with a password. CLICK HERE TO SEE IT! The ID is the town our school is in and the password is the last name of our principal.
Gr. 5:
Media Lab: We watched the Claymation Video on Youtube and in IMovie. Click here to see it. We also watched the 6th graders news movie about the Tasmanian Devil. We talked about the next steps toward filming the Bremin Town Musicians. We read the original version of the Bremin Town Musicians and tried to break the story up into “Episodes”. The problem is we came up with 7 episodes which is too many. Next week we will assign roles and discuss how we will solve the episode problem.
Gr. 4:
This week a girl chose a book on the supernatural. One boy did not want to read about anything too scary. I read the section that talks about the ghost of Abraham Lincoln in the White House. Winston Churchill and many other very prominent people including former presidents and first ladies have claimed that they have seen or heard the ghost of Abraham Lincoln in the White House. It was very interesting to read more about this popular legend.
Gr. 3:
This week the girl whose turn it was to pick a book to read was sick so we read the St. Patrick’s Day book Jamie O'Rourke and the Big Potato.
Gr. 2:
The second grade did research for their “50 State” project. Each student was assigned a different state by their teacher. I let each of them take a volume of the encyclopedia to their classroom and I also took out lots of state books from the Public library for the students to use.
Gr. 1:
We read the St. Patrick’s Day book Jamie O'Rourke and the Big Potato.
Gr. K:
We read the St. Patrick’s Day book Jamie O'Rourke and the Big Potato.
Gr. 7/8:
Media Lab: We took a break from working on the Wikipedia entry to look at the 5th and 6th grade media projects.
We also looked at our web 2.0 site of the week. This week we looked at Youtube. We looked at how user created content changes how we get information and entertainment. A minor comedian gets 6.9 million views on Youtube. A religious group posts a hip hop video. When the 5th grade did claymation we picked up tips by watching Youtube videos. The 5th grade posted a video onto Youtube. Would you have seen any of these things in the main stream media?
Gr. 6:
Media Lab: We watched the fantastic Cultural Connections News Program. The students did a great job! They were great actors and we learned alot about the Tasmanian Devil. Yeah! So what if we can’t post it on Youtube. I distributed DVDs to each student in class and I will post the program on a website with a password. CLICK HERE TO SEE IT! The ID is the town our school is in and the password is the last name of our principal.
Gr. 5:
Media Lab: We watched the Claymation Video on Youtube and in IMovie. Click here to see it. We also watched the 6th graders news movie about the Tasmanian Devil. We talked about the next steps toward filming the Bremin Town Musicians. We read the original version of the Bremin Town Musicians and tried to break the story up into “Episodes”. The problem is we came up with 7 episodes which is too many. Next week we will assign roles and discuss how we will solve the episode problem.
Gr. 4:
This week a girl chose a book on the supernatural. One boy did not want to read about anything too scary. I read the section that talks about the ghost of Abraham Lincoln in the White House. Winston Churchill and many other very prominent people including former presidents and first ladies have claimed that they have seen or heard the ghost of Abraham Lincoln in the White House. It was very interesting to read more about this popular legend.
Gr. 3:
This week the girl whose turn it was to pick a book to read was sick so we read the St. Patrick’s Day book Jamie O'Rourke and the Big Potato.
Gr. 2:
The second grade did research for their “50 State” project. Each student was assigned a different state by their teacher. I let each of them take a volume of the encyclopedia to their classroom and I also took out lots of state books from the Public library for the students to use.
Gr. 1:
We read the St. Patrick’s Day book Jamie O'Rourke and the Big Potato.
Gr. K:
We read the St. Patrick’s Day book Jamie O'Rourke and the Big Potato.
Thursday, February 28, 2008
A Day in the Library -- Grades K28 -- Part 7
Wednesday February 27, 2008
Gr. 7/8:
Media Lab: Students took turns adding information to the Wikipedia entry. We liked a boxed feature on another school page so we looked in the HTML code for that page and copied the section that made up the box and pasted it into the HTML code of our page. We then changed the boxed information to be about our school. Next week we will try to put in a picture and add more information.
We are also looking at one web 2.0 site each week. This week we looked at Babbel. Learn a foreign language online! www.Babbel.com
Gr. 6:
Media Lab: We shot the first news segment the acting was great and we were able to film everything for the segment in 25 minutes -- but there is a big flaw. We could put the movie together and make it look great but we couldn’t post it online and even if we didn’t post it online someone else could post it online and we don’t want that to happen for privacy’s sake. So . . . Next week we will come up with a plan to create movies we can post. Stay tuned.
Gr. 5:
Media Lab: We worked on putting together Rooster Claymation -- part 2 in class. It took awhile to put all of our 187 pictures into iMovie and edit each frame. At one point one of the students said, “I think it’s really interesting watching you put the movie together but couldn’t you just put it together quickly and post it on Youtube by tonight?” So that’s what I did. A student who was absent and missed out on building the flower got to choose the music -- an excellent choice. Here is the video:
Gr. 4:
This week a boy chose Chapter 1 of Charlotte’s Web.
Gr. 3:
This week a girl chose to read Chapter 2 of Frindle.
Gr. 2:
Happily read Chapter 11 of The Lion the Witch and the Wardrobe.
Gr. 1:
Happily read the second book of My Father’s Dragon.
Gr. K:
I read Madeline. There were groans from the boys and I told them it wasn’t just a girls book. They all loved it!
Gr. 7/8:
Media Lab: Students took turns adding information to the Wikipedia entry. We liked a boxed feature on another school page so we looked in the HTML code for that page and copied the section that made up the box and pasted it into the HTML code of our page. We then changed the boxed information to be about our school. Next week we will try to put in a picture and add more information.
We are also looking at one web 2.0 site each week. This week we looked at Babbel. Learn a foreign language online! www.Babbel.com
Gr. 6:
Media Lab: We shot the first news segment the acting was great and we were able to film everything for the segment in 25 minutes -- but there is a big flaw. We could put the movie together and make it look great but we couldn’t post it online and even if we didn’t post it online someone else could post it online and we don’t want that to happen for privacy’s sake. So . . . Next week we will come up with a plan to create movies we can post. Stay tuned.
Gr. 5:
Media Lab: We worked on putting together Rooster Claymation -- part 2 in class. It took awhile to put all of our 187 pictures into iMovie and edit each frame. At one point one of the students said, “I think it’s really interesting watching you put the movie together but couldn’t you just put it together quickly and post it on Youtube by tonight?” So that’s what I did. A student who was absent and missed out on building the flower got to choose the music -- an excellent choice. Here is the video:
Gr. 4:
This week a boy chose Chapter 1 of Charlotte’s Web.
Gr. 3:
This week a girl chose to read Chapter 2 of Frindle.
Gr. 2:
Happily read Chapter 11 of The Lion the Witch and the Wardrobe.
Gr. 1:
Happily read the second book of My Father’s Dragon.
Gr. K:
I read Madeline. There were groans from the boys and I told them it wasn’t just a girls book. They all loved it!
Wednesday, February 27, 2008
Wednesday, February 20, 2008
A Day in the Library -- Grades K28 -- Part 6
Wednesday February 20, 2008
Gr. 7/8:
Media Lab: The one sentence that we posted on our Wikipedia page was moved to our town’s web site by a Wikipedia editor or a bot. Our site was redirected to the town web site. We went back into our entry and took out the redirect and added more information about our school. Students took turns adding different categories working on a laptop that was connected to a Smart Board so that we could all see the progress. Next week we will add more information and talk about what pictures we could add.
Gr. 6:
Media Lab: I handed out work sheets to the students that will help guide them in setting up their news segments. We drew lots to see who would shoot on what dates. One student had most of his work done so we will shoot his segment next week. We talked about the idea -- an eating contest where one of the contestants is a Tasmanian devil. The student who wrote the segment gets to be the star and play the part (or parts) they want to play and all other parts are assigned by drawing lots. Next week we start shooting!
Gr. 5:
Media Lab: We shot the stills for Rooster Claymation -- part 2. Next week we will assemble the clip in class and hopefully post it on Youtube at the end of the class. Here is a link to Rooster Claymation -- part 1.
Gr. 4:
I picked names out of a hat and let them choose the book we would read. They can choose from a batch of Caldecott or Newbury winners or choose a good book they have read recently. This week a boy chose Saint George and the Dragon.
Gr. 3:
I picked names out of a hat and let them choose the book we would read. They can choose from a batch of Caldecott or Newbury winners or choose a good book they have read recently. This week a girl chose Frindle -- a very funny book. I read the first chapter. The next person can choose to read the next chapter or pick a new book.
Gr. 2:
Happily read The Lion the Witch and the Wardrobe.
Gr. 1:
Happily read My Father’s Dragon. We finished the first book and will start on the next one next week.
Gr. K:
I read Ira Sleeps Over. They loved it.
Gr. 7/8:
Media Lab: The one sentence that we posted on our Wikipedia page was moved to our town’s web site by a Wikipedia editor or a bot. Our site was redirected to the town web site. We went back into our entry and took out the redirect and added more information about our school. Students took turns adding different categories working on a laptop that was connected to a Smart Board so that we could all see the progress. Next week we will add more information and talk about what pictures we could add.
Gr. 6:
Media Lab: I handed out work sheets to the students that will help guide them in setting up their news segments. We drew lots to see who would shoot on what dates. One student had most of his work done so we will shoot his segment next week. We talked about the idea -- an eating contest where one of the contestants is a Tasmanian devil. The student who wrote the segment gets to be the star and play the part (or parts) they want to play and all other parts are assigned by drawing lots. Next week we start shooting!
Gr. 5:
Media Lab: We shot the stills for Rooster Claymation -- part 2. Next week we will assemble the clip in class and hopefully post it on Youtube at the end of the class. Here is a link to Rooster Claymation -- part 1.
Gr. 4:
I picked names out of a hat and let them choose the book we would read. They can choose from a batch of Caldecott or Newbury winners or choose a good book they have read recently. This week a boy chose Saint George and the Dragon.
Gr. 3:
I picked names out of a hat and let them choose the book we would read. They can choose from a batch of Caldecott or Newbury winners or choose a good book they have read recently. This week a girl chose Frindle -- a very funny book. I read the first chapter. The next person can choose to read the next chapter or pick a new book.
Gr. 2:
Happily read The Lion the Witch and the Wardrobe.
Gr. 1:
Happily read My Father’s Dragon. We finished the first book and will start on the next one next week.
Gr. K:
I read Ira Sleeps Over. They loved it.
Friday, February 15, 2008
A Day in the Library -- Grades K28 -- Part 5
Wednesday February 13, 2008
This weeks library day there was a 2 hour delay due to an ice storm. Kindergarten missed library. We combined Grades 1 and 2 and all the classes were shortened to 20 minutes.
Gr. 7/8:
Media Lab: We did it! We created the Wikipedia entry for the school. Students took turns at the Smart Board. We created a user ID and password and then created our entry. We only had time to write one sentence but it was a great start. Next week students will take turns adding something to the entry.
Gr. 6:
Media Lab: We didn’t have much time so students did more research on their topics during library time. Next week will take turns discussing each student’s topics. I will research one student’s topic on the smart board. I will also ask if they want me to find educational movies about their topics. The goal is to get 3 interesting facts about each topic.
Gr. 5:
Media Lab: Rooster Claymation -- part 1 is on Youtube. We watched the clip in class and looked at the steps it took to make it. We watched videos on Youtube and Brainpop about animation to help us all think about how we want our clips to look. Next week we will shoot Rooster Claymation -- part 2. The following week we will assemble the clip in class and hopefully post it on Youtube at the end of the class.
Gr. 4:
I read Ooh-La-La Max in Love. A very wacky book.
Gr. 3:
I read Ooh-La-La Max in Love.
Gr. 2/1:
I read Ira Sleeps Over. They loved it.
This weeks library day there was a 2 hour delay due to an ice storm. Kindergarten missed library. We combined Grades 1 and 2 and all the classes were shortened to 20 minutes.
Gr. 7/8:
Media Lab: We did it! We created the Wikipedia entry for the school. Students took turns at the Smart Board. We created a user ID and password and then created our entry. We only had time to write one sentence but it was a great start. Next week students will take turns adding something to the entry.
Gr. 6:
Media Lab: We didn’t have much time so students did more research on their topics during library time. Next week will take turns discussing each student’s topics. I will research one student’s topic on the smart board. I will also ask if they want me to find educational movies about their topics. The goal is to get 3 interesting facts about each topic.
Gr. 5:
Media Lab: Rooster Claymation -- part 1 is on Youtube. We watched the clip in class and looked at the steps it took to make it. We watched videos on Youtube and Brainpop about animation to help us all think about how we want our clips to look. Next week we will shoot Rooster Claymation -- part 2. The following week we will assemble the clip in class and hopefully post it on Youtube at the end of the class.
Gr. 4:
I read Ooh-La-La Max in Love. A very wacky book.
Gr. 3:
I read Ooh-La-La Max in Love.
Gr. 2/1:
I read Ira Sleeps Over. They loved it.
Sunday, February 10, 2008
Saturday, February 9, 2008
Thursday, February 7, 2008
Wednesday February 6, 2008
Gr. 7/8:
7/8 missed library again! So next week we dive into creating our Wikipedia page.
Book Club: Selecting a book Feb.13th.
Media Lab: Since the 7/8 graders couldn’t come to library I went to them. I interrupted a class for 5 minutes and gave them a packet to look at before next week. The packet included pages from similar schools on Wikipedia and pages from our web site. They are going to think about how we could recycle some of the content from our web site into text that would be good for the Wikipedia page. Everyone will take turns building the page on the smart board.
Gr. 6:
Book Club: Feb 13th we will select a date for the book club discussion.
Media Lab: We talked about the topics they have researched. Some of the students hadn’t done the research and we did it in the library. One of the students selected the Tasmanian devil. Some surprising facts were that it eats almost anything dead or alive skin hair and all. Also that it has pink ears that turn bright red when it gets mad. Is the Tasmanian devil extinct? . . . more research is being done. Some feedback from a parent was that her son was doing research for the fun of it with out the pressure of a grade and he really was excited about working on his own project. I explained the news program idea to them. They liked the idea but I think they have no idea what they want to do. So next week we will talk more about topics and possible story ideas. The student’s idea for a Tasmanian devil story link was our school was thinking about making the Tasmanian devil the new school mascot. We didn’t discuss studio names yet.
Gr. 5:
Book Club: Feb 13th we will select a date for the book club discussion.
Media Lab: We quickly passed out jobs to get the animation going. We hired a cameraman, supply chief, an assistant director, and a project coordinator. We also assigned each student a body part of the rooster. We started shooting! We got to the head today and will try to finish next time. I will work on animating the pictures that we took.
Gr. 4:
Chaos! They had read the book I wanted to read. I picked someone to choose a book. Chaos and then someone said read The Cat in the Hat so I did. We laughed but it was a failure. They need a project! I’m thinking they could create a book or something . . .
Gr. 3:
We read King Midas and the Golden Touch. Great!
Gr. 2:
Happily read The Lion the Witch and the Wardrobe.
Gr. 1:
Happily read My Father’s Dragon.
K:
Read Sylvester and the Magic Pebble. They loved it.
Gr. 7/8:
7/8 missed library again! So next week we dive into creating our Wikipedia page.
Book Club: Selecting a book Feb.13th.
Media Lab: Since the 7/8 graders couldn’t come to library I went to them. I interrupted a class for 5 minutes and gave them a packet to look at before next week. The packet included pages from similar schools on Wikipedia and pages from our web site. They are going to think about how we could recycle some of the content from our web site into text that would be good for the Wikipedia page. Everyone will take turns building the page on the smart board.
Gr. 6:
Book Club: Feb 13th we will select a date for the book club discussion.
Media Lab: We talked about the topics they have researched. Some of the students hadn’t done the research and we did it in the library. One of the students selected the Tasmanian devil. Some surprising facts were that it eats almost anything dead or alive skin hair and all. Also that it has pink ears that turn bright red when it gets mad. Is the Tasmanian devil extinct? . . . more research is being done. Some feedback from a parent was that her son was doing research for the fun of it with out the pressure of a grade and he really was excited about working on his own project. I explained the news program idea to them. They liked the idea but I think they have no idea what they want to do. So next week we will talk more about topics and possible story ideas. The student’s idea for a Tasmanian devil story link was our school was thinking about making the Tasmanian devil the new school mascot. We didn’t discuss studio names yet.
Gr. 5:
Book Club: Feb 13th we will select a date for the book club discussion.
Media Lab: We quickly passed out jobs to get the animation going. We hired a cameraman, supply chief, an assistant director, and a project coordinator. We also assigned each student a body part of the rooster. We started shooting! We got to the head today and will try to finish next time. I will work on animating the pictures that we took.
Gr. 4:
Chaos! They had read the book I wanted to read. I picked someone to choose a book. Chaos and then someone said read The Cat in the Hat so I did. We laughed but it was a failure. They need a project! I’m thinking they could create a book or something . . .
Gr. 3:
We read King Midas and the Golden Touch. Great!
Gr. 2:
Happily read The Lion the Witch and the Wardrobe.
Gr. 1:
Happily read My Father’s Dragon.
K:
Read Sylvester and the Magic Pebble. They loved it.
Thursday, January 24, 2008
A Day in the Library -- Grades K28 -- Part 3
Gr. 7/8:
Book Club: Grade 8 had testing so only Grade 7 could come to library this Wednesday. So we couldn’t select a book group book -- we will have to wait until Feb.6th.
Media Lab: None of the kids had researched their topics . . . so next time we will do it during the media lab time. I am going to change the model of the media lab. We will now do everything during school time. We will have more computers available in the lab and I will have steps done and will present them.
Tasks on the computer will be:
— working in the sandbox to create type effects.
— finding other schools that we want to model out entry on.
— writing our entry on the smart board.
Gr. 6:
We couldn’t meet this week because of testing.
Book Club: Feb 6 we will select a date for the book club discussion.
Media Lab: We will talk about the different topics they researched. We will look at examples of kids reporting news stories. The kids will start thinking of what their studio name will be.
Gr. 5:
Book Club: Feb 6 we will select a date for the book club discussion.
Media Lab: I read Rumpelstiltskin. We discussed animation and I will give them packets with scrap of a rooster so that they can start to think about what he will look like. We didn’t assign “jobs” yet -- it was too early in the process to do that. Feb 6 I will bring in clay and wire and we will start working on the rooster maybe even film it’s creation. I will also give them their own flip books to experiment with.
Gr. 4:
I read Aesop’s Fables and let them guess the moral. Fun!
Gr. 3:
More Greek Myths.
Gr. 2:
Happily read The Lion the Witch and the Wardrobe.
Gr. 1:
Happily read My Father’s Dragon.
K:
Read Mike Mulligan and the Steam Shovel. They loved it. They worked on Brain Pop Jr. rhyming.
Book Club: Grade 8 had testing so only Grade 7 could come to library this Wednesday. So we couldn’t select a book group book -- we will have to wait until Feb.6th.
Media Lab: None of the kids had researched their topics . . . so next time we will do it during the media lab time. I am going to change the model of the media lab. We will now do everything during school time. We will have more computers available in the lab and I will have steps done and will present them.
Tasks on the computer will be:
— working in the sandbox to create type effects.
— finding other schools that we want to model out entry on.
— writing our entry on the smart board.
Gr. 6:
We couldn’t meet this week because of testing.
Book Club: Feb 6 we will select a date for the book club discussion.
Media Lab: We will talk about the different topics they researched. We will look at examples of kids reporting news stories. The kids will start thinking of what their studio name will be.
Gr. 5:
Book Club: Feb 6 we will select a date for the book club discussion.
Media Lab: I read Rumpelstiltskin. We discussed animation and I will give them packets with scrap of a rooster so that they can start to think about what he will look like. We didn’t assign “jobs” yet -- it was too early in the process to do that. Feb 6 I will bring in clay and wire and we will start working on the rooster maybe even film it’s creation. I will also give them their own flip books to experiment with.
Gr. 4:
I read Aesop’s Fables and let them guess the moral. Fun!
Gr. 3:
More Greek Myths.
Gr. 2:
Happily read The Lion the Witch and the Wardrobe.
Gr. 1:
Happily read My Father’s Dragon.
K:
Read Mike Mulligan and the Steam Shovel. They loved it. They worked on Brain Pop Jr. rhyming.
Monday, January 21, 2008
Link of the Week.
Check out Brain Pop and Brain Pop Jr. It is a subscription site ($60 per year) that has lots of content kids are interested in. Free featured clips on each site.
Wednesday, January 16, 2008
A day in the Library -- Grades K28 -- Part 2
Gr. 7/8:
Book Club: Grade 8 had testing so only Grade 7 could come to library this Wednesday. So we couldn't select a book group book -- next week.
Media Lab: We talked about Wikis and about the controversy surrounding Wikipedia. This week's assignment is to take a topic and look it up on Wikipedia and then look it up in an Encyclopedia and tell us what the difference is between the two. Is one easier to read? Are there conflicting facts? Which do you think has more information . . . etc.
Gr. 6:
Book Club: selected Crispin as the book club book. I'm looking forward to reading this one myself.
Media Lab: We selected 3 cultural reference topics per student. The students will research each topic and decide which one they want to use for their segment. Topics included: Magna Carta, Alcatraz, Sitting Bull, Tasmanian Devil, Vikings and many more. They have to list why the topic is interesting and 3 unusual facts about it.
Gr. 5:
Book Club: selected The Landry News.
Media Lab: I read the original version of The Bremen Town Musicians and then we watched a modern version on the web and compared the two. Very interesting! We will be working toward doing our own version of Bremen Town Musicians in clay form. Next week we will assign jobs and read another Grimm's Fairy Tale.
Gr. 4:
Stopped reading Tuck Everlasting. They all wanted shorter stories and more picture books. So I read them the original Grimm's Rumpelstiltskin. They loved it!
Gr. 3:
Stopped reading James and the Giant Peach. They wanted more Greek Myths. So I read more. They loved it.
Gr. 2:
Happily read the Lion the Witch and the Wardrobe.
Gr. 1:
Happily read My Father's Dragon.
K:
Read Miss Rumphius. At first they moaned (book was too long and about a girl) but was liked by all in the end.
Gr. 3-7 saw web safety video and worked with the smart board to check out links.
Monday, January 14, 2008
Link of the week.
This website stopped posting in 2001 -- too bad. Very wacky. This is one of my favorite stories:
Wednesday, January 9, 2008
A Day in the Library -- Grades K28 -- Part I
G7/8
Book Group: book to be selected next week.
Project: Create a Wikipedia entry for our school.
Next week: we will discuss the sandbox, the controversy, sites that are out there, other info the students have collected and the next steps.
G6:
Book Group: book to be selected next week.
Project: Create Cultural Connections News program, each student writes a segment that includes a popular cultural reference.
Next week: we will pick topics and talk about where it's all going.
G5:
Book Group: to be selected next week.
Project: Modernize lesser Grimm's Fairy Tale and create book.
Next Week: we will discuss what Grimm's Fairy Tales we have found and I will read an example of an original Grimm's Fairy Tale and a modernized one.
G4:
read Ch. 1 of Tuck Everlasting
G3:
read Ch. 1 of James and the Giant Peach -- may read Greek myths again next week -- I thought the students didn't like the crazy Greek myths and now they are upset to stop reading them and want more . . . may alternate between myths and peach.
G2:
Read Ch. 6 of The Lion, The Witch, and The Wardrobe. Great book.
G1:
read Ch. 5 of My Father's Dragon. Lots of laughter. very wacky.
K:
read Peter Rabbit. Students didn't want to read it at first and then everyone loved it. Immediately checked out -- a good sign.
Sunday, January 6, 2008
K28 Librarian Begins
K28 Librarian is on the lookout for the best library lists, sites, and projects for grades K through 8. K28Librarian will blog every Wednesday A Day in the Library -- Grades K28. See what the K28 Librarian is reading to each grade and check out the library projects that are in the works.
check out
created by Sylvan learning system. excellent book search. great self testing for kids. easy to use.
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