Last week, the boys and girls each made a podcast of their iLearn paragraph. This is a paragraph the second graders wrote on their first day of SAGE to tell about a topic in which they love to learn.
They did a great job on their very first podcast! Besides the fun of sharing their writing in a personal recording, this experience will also help them learn to speak with inflection, at an appropriate pace and volume, when they are orally presenting their learning, online or in person.
I used Audioboo.fm to embed their podcasts here. I hope you enjoy hearing them as much as the students enjoyed recording them.
When you have a chance to learn something new, what topics interest you?
Tuesday, September 18, 2012
Wednesday, September 12, 2012
Dots Around the World Project- A Celebration of the book, The Dot
Week two, and our returning students are getting back in our routine. Week two, and our new students are looking less anxious and fearful. We are pleased to see that!
In the morning, I gave a more detailed tour of our blog with the help of our Smart Board. We discussed our Blogging Guidelines and the importance of staying safe in our Internet interactions.
I focused mainly on:
Mrs. Yollis' video, How to Compose a Quality Comment
Next, the boys and girls completed writing the final draft of their paragraph on something about which they love to learn. They did a nice job on it.
In the afternoon, the students learned about International Dot Day and we read the book, The Dot. International Dot Day is a time to celebrate creativity in our children. More than a half a millions teachers and students are participating in the global project. Each child is asked to create their own dot image. The students came up with a diverse gallery of dots. Check out their creativity below!
For anyone who has been afraid to express themselves - from a child in art class to an adult whose fear has shut down a dream, Peter H. Reynolds' book The Dot (Candlewick Press) is there to remind us all to "Make your mark, and see where it takes you."
Today, my surprise was revealed to the students. We have a new podcasting booth in our room.
In the morning, I gave a more detailed tour of our blog with the help of our Smart Board. We discussed our Blogging Guidelines and the importance of staying safe in our Internet interactions.
I focused mainly on:
- Always having parent permission when exploring the Internet at home
- Never sharing personal information about yourself or others when on a blog or website
- Always sign blog posts or comments with only a first name
- Rules, responsibility and expectations come with the privilege of participating in our class blog
- This is an academic blog rather than a purely social blog and our interactions, posts and comments should reflect our learning. (The learning being shared does not have to be exclusively "school learning." It can be something learned in an activity with friends or family, a trip or even a new skill learned outside of school.)
Mrs. Yollis' video, How to Compose a Quality Comment
Next, the boys and girls completed writing the final draft of their paragraph on something about which they love to learn. They did a nice job on it.
In the afternoon, the students learned about International Dot Day and we read the book, The Dot. International Dot Day is a time to celebrate creativity in our children. More than a half a millions teachers and students are participating in the global project. Each child is asked to create their own dot image. The students came up with a diverse gallery of dots. Check out their creativity below!
Today, my surprise was revealed to the students. We have a new podcasting booth in our room.
The students also made an audio podcast of their "iLearn" paragraph, but that project will have to come in a later post when I have more time to upload them...
Just a reminder:
Primary SAGE Parent Informational Meeting
Thursday, September 13, 2012
Briarcliff Media Center
6:00-7:00 pm
This is an opportunity for you to learn more about the characteristics of gifted children, the SAGE Program, our curriculum and our blog. This meeting is intended for parents new to the program and those with questions about our curriculum this year.
We hope you can attend!
Have a wonderful week!
Just a reminder:
Primary SAGE Parent Informational Meeting
Thursday, September 13, 2012
Briarcliff Media Center
6:00-7:00 pm
This is an opportunity for you to learn more about the characteristics of gifted children, the SAGE Program, our curriculum and our blog. This meeting is intended for parents new to the program and those with questions about our curriculum this year.
We hope you can attend!
Have a wonderful week!
Wednesday, September 5, 2012
A Fabulous First Day!
The boys and girls from Rotation A are enthusiastic, friendly and outgoing. Mrs. Giacomo & I were eager to meet and get to know our A Day class and were impressed by their kindness and willingness to make new friends. I was happy to see my returning students, but wondered what our class would be like with the addition of new students and a new mix of personalities? Let me assure you, we couldn't be happier! A few of the kids seemed to be a little anxious and there was an occasional "deer in the headlights" look that crossed a face or two, but they worked very well together and by afternoon, everyone was more relaxed and seemed to be enjoying their day.
The students began their morning by writing a paragraph about something in which they love to study. Next week, we will try to finish these to share and display our interests and passions.
The students were introduced to TOPS Math and learned how we structure this individualized, problem solving program.
Several students even found time for a crazy puzzle. --There are 250 possible combinations to these puzzles, but there are only 2 correct ways to solve them. While most of the students explored one or more of the 248 incorrect possibilities, three students impressively discovered a correct combination! Kudos to them!
During our lab time, the boys and girls learned to log in to our computers with their new user name and password. They also practiced accessing our class blog.
In the afternoon, the students had a chance to get better acquainted with a classmate they did not know. To do this, they took turns interviewing their partner and recording a few facts about him/her.
Each student introduced his or her new friend and told us a little bit about them. Some introductions were silly, some were very creative and a few were even animated (Great character voices Caleb! I wish I had an audio file to share.) Every single student seemed genuinely interested in their new SAGE friend. They did a wonderful job on their introductions!
I took meticulous notes as each child was introduced so I could share some facts about our friends. Alas, they are on my desk and I am here at home...
However, the wonderful thing about a blog (or web log) is that it is interactive, so boys and girls, I need you to help me out! With your mom or dad's help, please add a comment to our blog post and share one or two facts you learned about your new friend. (Parents, this can be done without creating a Google account.) Remember, we only use first names, so mention your friend by his or her first name and sign your comment with just your first name.
If you have trouble figuring out how to leave a comment, don't worry, you can do it in our class next week and we can help you.
We hope you enjoyed your first week of SAGE. Have a wonderful weekend and we will see you next A day.
The students began their morning by writing a paragraph about something in which they love to study. Next week, we will try to finish these to share and display our interests and passions.
The students were introduced to TOPS Math and learned how we structure this individualized, problem solving program.
Several students even found time for a crazy puzzle. --There are 250 possible combinations to these puzzles, but there are only 2 correct ways to solve them. While most of the students explored one or more of the 248 incorrect possibilities, three students impressively discovered a correct combination! Kudos to them!
During our lab time, the boys and girls learned to log in to our computers with their new user name and password. They also practiced accessing our class blog.
In the afternoon, the students had a chance to get better acquainted with a classmate they did not know. To do this, they took turns interviewing their partner and recording a few facts about him/her.
Each student introduced his or her new friend and told us a little bit about them. Some introductions were silly, some were very creative and a few were even animated (Great character voices Caleb! I wish I had an audio file to share.) Every single student seemed genuinely interested in their new SAGE friend. They did a wonderful job on their introductions!
I took meticulous notes as each child was introduced so I could share some facts about our friends. Alas, they are on my desk and I am here at home...
However, the wonderful thing about a blog (or web log) is that it is interactive, so boys and girls, I need you to help me out! With your mom or dad's help, please add a comment to our blog post and share one or two facts you learned about your new friend. (Parents, this can be done without creating a Google account.) Remember, we only use first names, so mention your friend by his or her first name and sign your comment with just your first name.
If you have trouble figuring out how to leave a comment, don't worry, you can do it in our class next week and we can help you.
We hope you enjoyed your first week of SAGE. Have a wonderful weekend and we will see you next A day.
Sunday, September 2, 2012
Our Quadblogging Friends
This year we will be participating in a global learning collaboration called Quadblogging. The Quadblogging project matches four classrooms from around the world to share their blogs and share their learning.
For more information, go to our Primary Thinkers home page.
For more information, go to our Primary Thinkers home page.
Tuesday, August 28, 2012
Welcome Back to School!
Dear Boys and Girls,
I shared a podcast about my summer on the Primary Thinkers home page.
How was your summer? Did you go anywhere special? What was the best thing about this summer?
I hope a few of you will post a comment about your summer.
I am looking forward to seeing you all soon!
Love,
Mrs. Koch
P.S. Remember, only sign your comments with your first name and never share any specific personal information about yourself, your family or any of your classmates. You should have your parents look over your comment before publishing it. Also, keep in mind your quality commenting skills or watch the video to refresh your memory:
Mrs. Yollis' video, How to Compose a Quality Comment, http://vimeo.com/15695021
I shared a podcast about my summer on the Primary Thinkers home page.
How was your summer? Did you go anywhere special? What was the best thing about this summer?
I hope a few of you will post a comment about your summer.
I am looking forward to seeing you all soon!
Love,
Mrs. Koch
P.S. Remember, only sign your comments with your first name and never share any specific personal information about yourself, your family or any of your classmates. You should have your parents look over your comment before publishing it. Also, keep in mind your quality commenting skills or watch the video to refresh your memory:
Mrs. Yollis' video, How to Compose a Quality Comment, http://vimeo.com/15695021
Monday, March 19, 2012
Welcome Back from Spring Break!
Over the past couple of SAGE days, I have introduced the students to another digital storytelling site, Kerpoof. Today, they were given an account under my teacher account. They know their user login and their password. The A Day student need to remember their Class Account Code: L637. Today, they also learned to add a new scene to their animated movies, add special effects, earn tolkens that can be spent in the Kerpoof store and how to save their projects on their individual account.
The sites and applications to which I am introducing your children are useful, learning tools and applications. Most are literacy based and many could be used for book reports, creative writing stories and possibly even reports. I want to familiarize your child with several Web 2.0 tools. They can continue to explore and refine their use of the features of the applications on their own. Once the class has a general feel for how to use the site/application, we are moving on to new tools. If you or your child have any questions or concerns, feel free to call or email me!
The rest of our day, ebbed & flowed... two students painted the background for their animal research project diorama.
Other students worked on building out the features on their animal mask. A few had time to at least start the final layer of papier-mâché.
Several will be ready to begin painting their mask soon.
Between doing these tasks, the students filled in a table with information about their own research animal and that of eight other classmates' animals. The information for the table included the animal's length, weight, life span etc. Next week, we will use calculators to find common units of measurement. The students will then learn to create a bar graph online, to compare a measurable aspect of the animals.
Several students also had time to work at their Exploratory center tasks.
The students ended their day with Senora Gates' Spanish lesson. Today, they had an opportunity to use some of their vocabulary words to create complex sentences. They also practiced their numbers in a timed "speed" game.
It was good day and they worked hard! Have a great week!
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