Wrapping Up Our Research- Let the Projects Begin!

What is it Mark Twain said.... "The reports of my death have been greatly exaggerated"-- or something to that effect.  Anyway, sorry for my blogging silence, I have been busy raising my teenagers.  LOL


The Reader's Digest Condensed version of the past few weeks....

• The students (as of today) have all completed their research packet.  They are happy to have made it over this hurdle.
• In almost every case, the students had some information that conflicted between their sources.  It gave us opportunities for conversations about valid sources and the importance of using current sources.
• They have greatly expanded their vocabulary and understanding of their endangered animal and the threats that impact its survival.
• In Storybird, the students learned to post a comment about stories their peers have published.  We discussed personal responsibility, appropriate form and content.  Commenting on stories is similar to commenting on our blog.  They had no trouble transferring their knowledge and skill to this application.
• The students continue to work on developing their collaboration skills as they write stories with their peers.

The students also selected and began their first project from their animal research.  Some students are creating a papier mache' mask of their animal while others have chosen to make an animal habitat diorama.  Today, the students making a mask completed the first layer of papier mache'.  I have asked the students to avoid wearing good clothes to SAGE over the next few weeks.  I have plenty of aprons, but our projects can be pretty messy.

This morning, the students had a wonderful opportunity to learn about endangered animals first hand.  Staff from the Kansas City Zoo presented their program, Journey to Survival, an interactive program designed to expand each student’s knowledge of endangered animals and what the students can do to aid in the survival of animals around the world. 

From Australia, we were introduced to the blue-tongued skink.  We learned how the natural balance can be disrupted when a non-native species is introduced into a habitat.  This occurred when rabbits were brought over on the settlement ships from England.  Without predators, their population exploded causing a competition for food with other native animals.  To "fix" this man-made problem, man imported foxes from England as they were the main predator for rabbits back in England.  Once there, however, the fox discovered the bilby, a slower moving marsupial that made for an easy lunch.  As the result of this man-made tragedy, the bilby is critically endangered.

Next, the students learned about the struggles of the black rhino on the brink of extinction.  Poachers hunt for and kill rhinos to use their horn in medicines some believe will make them stronger.

From the Amazon Rainforest, we met the double yellowed-headed parrot.  We learned about the destruction of its habitat and the illegal smuggling of these birds for the pet trade.

Finally, from the United States, we learned how even domesticated animals can become endangered.  Ask your child to tell you a little about Bubbles and the other animals they brought to our class.

Today I introduced the students to another digital storytelling site, Kerpoof.  This free site is a Disney created website where students can make pictures, storybooks and even animated videos.  It is very user friendly, engaging and inspires creativity in children as they tell their stories.  Turn your child loose on this site and they will use their imagination and writing skills to create original stories and projects.


They ended their day with our Spanish lesson and by working on their mathematical problem solving skills in the Math Rules program.

Finding the Path... in Shadowlands and in Our Research

We warmed our brains up first thing this morning with a group memory game called Shadowlands.  The students had to discover the path on the grid to move from the dark Shadowlands into the light.  If they had a mis-step and landed in the "dark,"  there turn ended and they moved to the end of the line.  They did get to work as a group to locate and stay on the path.  They did a really good job.  We also discovered that Luke has a really good spatial memory!  We were glad he was on our team!



In the computer lab, the students continued working on their Storybird stories.  We had a good discussion on how you work with others to collaborate on a story.  A few students "vented" about their frustrating experiences when their other collaborator changed or deleted parts of their story.  We discussed appropriate changes, ways to communicate and the importance of compromise in a collaboration.  It was interesting to watch them collaborate on a story from across the room.  There was still a lot of negociating and a bit of bossing as they walked back and forth to give each other instructions.  Little by little, they will learn to adapt to a distance collaboration task.  This is a great place to start!!!

They are very enthusiastic about their stories.  If it is possible-- and they are interested, please encourage your child to work on their story from home or from school if they have spare time.  Our limited time here in SAGE and in the computer lab won't be enough to satisfy their desire to write with this application and soon, we will need our computer lab time to learn other Web 2.0 tools.

After lunch and recess, the students worked on the independent endangered animal research.  Today, they learned to take and organize bulleted notes for specific content.  Most students had time record information on their specific species' description, diet and hunting habits.  A few had time to record info on where in the world their animal is found.  It isn't an easy task.  It can be challenging, tiring and frustrating.  I was proud of them for sticking with it.  Their results were good!  Now that they have the hang of it, I think they will be more independent next week.  For some, the hurdle is just the act of writing out the information.  Continue to praise and encourage your child.  That can really motivate and carry them through the hard parts.

We ended our day with Spanish.  Today the students combined Spanish vocabulary words that have learned to create and then modify complete sentences.

It was a good day!  I hope to see some of you at Hands-On Night tonight!