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Author Archives: Mrs. Cranford
Spell S-U-M-M-E-R
You will see a new widget on the left sidebar of our blog called KidsSpell. I really think this is going to be a great site for our students to be able to put in their own spelling words (or for the teacher or parent to enter the spelling words) and practice for weekly spelling tests. It could also be used for Math or Science Vocabulary building. If you don’t have time to check it out right now, come back later. It will be buzzing around here for quite some time.
Computer Lab Favorites
Computer lab teachers all over Texas are already thinking about how they will engage 25+ students simultaneously once school begins again in August. I came across this site of Computer Lab Favorites by Scholastic and thought it might be of use to some of us. As stated in the subtitle, this site provides 50 one-stop learning activities that last 15-30 minutes each.
Enjoy the remainder of your summer!
Challenge2011 #8
A MEME YOU SAY?
This week in Challenge2011 #8, Miss W has started off a challenge that involves a meme. This is an idea that travels around the world from one tag to another. We have been tagged by Miss T’s classroom blog. We have to write about one thing that makes us glow with pride, and then we tag others hoping that they will continue the meme.
The one thing that “MAKES ME GLOW WITH PRIDE” is the role that our small class played in establishing school blogs at the White Oak Intermediate and the way the movement has spread with such success. Our class was the first to begin blogging in February 2009 after I returned from the TCEA conference. Our involvement in the student blog challenge taught (and continues to teach) us much about blogging. From a few small red dots on a map in February, to more than 24,000 visitors to our blog, we continue to be amazed at the flatness of the world in the 21st century.
Our decision to begin a class blog has resulted in every single classroom having a blog on the Primary campus as well as the Intermediate campus. Six classrooms have also established individual student blogs. In addition, this year we added the White Oak Elementary blog that helps to keep the community informed of school agendas. Blogging has forever changed the lives of these students and the face of this small town.
WILL YOU CONTINUE THIS MEME AND WRITE ABOUT SOMETHING THAT MAKES YOU GLOW WITH PRIDE?
We tag Alley of O’Malley, Mrs. Yollis’ classroom, Room 8@ Melville (with whom we exchanged Easter Peeps a couple of years ago), and Mrs. Wingo’s Rockin Rebels. Please continue this meme.
June Activities
If you do not check out our Holiday Heyday page each month, then you are missing a great opportunity to teach some invaluable math skills. The calendar of June and June activities have been linked by Mrs. Odom, and you are encouraged to visit it for a day full of fun and learning. This page is located across the top of our blog, but you may click on the link above to be redirected to the activities for June.
iPads in Education
Region ESC 7 iPad in Education
View more presentations from Pam Cranford
Challenge2011 #7
One of the activities in Challenge2011 #7 was to write about how we commemorate those who fight for our freedoms. Well this could not have come at a better time. We have a fifth grade student whose father is serving in the Navy in Afghanistan. The fifth grade language arts teacher, Mrs. Ganong, arranged to Skype between this student’s father and the entire fifth grade level. Students gathered questions and made the plan. Newspapers were called and local reporters came to document the event. Our superintendent, Mr. Gilbert, also attended the Skyping session. He made the statement:
“It was great to see our students using technology to solve real world problems. Having a parent on the other side of the world is very difficult for our military children. Mrs. Ganong changed a problem into an educational opportunity for the fifth grade students at White Oak Intermediate. Not only did a family get to connect via Skype but our students received lessons on geography, time zones, military life, climate and the list goes on. All of this took place in 45 minutes! Thank you to the Boudreauxs’ for sharing this moment with the fifth graders at WOISD.”
We recorded it all on our Flip video camera and edited it in iMovie. Please watch the entire clip as his wife is the final person to whom he speaks. It was a moving experience for everyone involved.
Challenge2011 #5 – Zoom Out
From the Challenge2011 #5 and Miss Wyatt’s post we read:
Checking out many of the posts from last week, I noticed that quite a few students are starting to include images in their posts. Images certainly make posts more interesting to read especially when the image relates to the information in the post.
Can you use any images that are on the internet? The answer is definitely NO!!
But can’t I just go to Google search and use images from there? The answer is definitely NO!!
Sue Waters has an excellent post that provides direction and information regarding COPYRIGHT. She has also posted the image below that explains the Creative Commons variations.
Image provided by Sue Waters
