Category Archives: 21st Century Skills

Women’s History Awareness

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To celebrate Women’s History month (March), some of the students participated in an essay contest sponsored by one of our State Senators. The students had to respond to the following:  “Important Women in Connecticut’s History and How Their Contributions to the State and Nation Affect Me”.  The students picked a woman important to Connecticut- some of the women picked were: Suzanne Collins, Helen Keller, Lindsey Jacobellis, Dorothy Hamill, Dr. Pat Bragdon and Mary Burke. Then the students responded to the prompt.

Below are the essays from the winners for our school:  Michelle-first place and Sarah- runner-up.

 

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Michelle

Notable Women of Connecticut Essay

Remember when it seemed like it was impossible for people who needed a hand to get back up on their feet, or to get an extended hand to pull them up. How about when one person asked for help and everybody turned the other cheek. Well, in 1991, I CAN inc was founded by Dr. Pat Bragdon and Mary Burke. Since 1991 till now at 2015, both Dr.Pat Bragdon and Mary Burke are still helping those in Connecticut who need a hand and a shoulder to lie on at Ann’s Place. At Ann’s Place volunteers are giving their hand to those who fell down.

At Ann’s Place Dr. Pat Bragdon and Mary Burke provide professional counseling, support groups, wellness activities and more at no charge. This helps the community in a big way to comfort those who can’t pay, but are getting the support and guidance that they need. With all the help from Ann’s Place, more people are understanding the need to lend a hand to those who need it. Ann’s Place serves over 800 people, both those with cancer as well as their family members, people of all ages, and with all types of cancer from across Connecticut and Hudson Valley New York. Can you imagine how many people Ann’s place have helped?  These are people that live in the area, your neighbors, colleagues and friends, and they become not only part of our community, but when you get to know a person like at Ann’s place, they start to become part of you.

The people of Connecticut are being supported by people and volunteers at Ann’s Place with the determination of helping others. Many people think that winning a race or beating someone at a game is what a winner is. But at the end of the day when you look back and see how many people you’ve lent a hand to, or even made them smile, that makes you a true winner. At Ann’s Place they are doing that everyday and that truly influences me to want to help others more by donating money to charities and fundraisers, volunteering for community work when I have the time, and the greatest of them all, to listen to those who are in need of someone to hear their story so that anyone can see what they are going through. I want to be making the difference of helping and inspiring others so that little by little we can all make the world a better place.

 

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Sarah

Woman’s History Essay

Helen Keller was 19 months old when her world stopped. In 1884 the young infant dropped to the ground and never heard or saw again. What she was diagnosed with scarlet fever, or commonly known back then as brain fever. Imagine, never being able to see your own mother, listening to the waves of the beach, or even looking at your own reflection. Despite this, Helen was a tremendously quick learner and wouldn’t let her disability get in the way of achieving her dream of being a normal girl. As a result, at the age of 7, Helen had a new found understanding of the world around her with help from her teacher Anne Sullivan. Helen was able to learn 30 words in one single evening. Automatically, Anne knew Helen would be someone special one day, disability or no disability. By the time she was a teenager in 1900, Helen became an undergraduate at Radcliffe College and by 1903 the young disabled women had published her first book “The Story Of My Life” and was a true inspiration to disabled men and women around the world.

Helen Keller inspires me on tremendous levels. Her determination, and persistence pushes be to the best I can each day, and the way she choses to use her disability to help others puts me in awe. That is why Helen Keller is an inspiration to me. Keller worked hard each day with Anne Sullivan to learn as much as a little girl possibly could. She had big and what many thought were impossible dreams, Helen experienced many haters and many disbelievers, but the young girl had a goal in mind and she was determined to meet it. Helen no longer wanted to be mute, she wanted to say what was on her mind. She published two books in the course of five years, one specifically on how she feels about the world. But, besides her great accomplishments, besides trying to please herself and do good for herself she still chose to help others. Keller dedicated most of her to being an active supporter on behalf of the disabled. She received many awards for her dedication and care such as the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 1964, she was the first women to receive an honorary Doctorate from Harvard, and named one of the 100 most influential people of the 20th Century by Time Magazine according to cwhf.org. Helen has made history not because of famous parents, or from being a sports superstar, but rather her caring for others even when she might have needed it more herself. Not only that but she defied the odds learning to talk and write while being blind and deaf. She was not only an inspiration to all the disabled in America, but myself as well. She has inspired me to be a scientist with medicines, that will hopefully find a cure to help someone just as Helen Keller did.

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   I am so proud of these girls’ achievement! 

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A Simple Talk

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The students read IRB’s (Independent Reading Books) throughout the year.  Reading is social, and I am always thinking of ways to incorporate IRB discussion and recommendation into our classroom.  The latest project I assigned is the simple yet powerful book talk.  Students picked a novel to read,, set a goal (filled out calendar for how many pages to read each night) and then picked a date in March that they would present their novel. When finished with the novel, students had to write a summary and recommendation for their novel.  Next, the students had to prepare for their book talk- the expectation, the students would present their novel to the class without reading from their paper.  The students were amazing!  But don’t just take my word-watch some of the presentations!

 

 

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Reaching Out

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As a teacher, I feel it is important to experiment with new approaches to teaching, especially using technology!  Today was one of those days I experimented with technology and loved it!  What technology did we use you may be asking?  It was an application that allowed us inside Mrs. Donofrio’s Sixth and Seventh grade classroom in the Sunshine State.  Did you figure it out yet?  I won’t keep you in suspense.  Today we used Skype to communicate with our blogging buddies at Hey Kids!

The purpose of today’s session was to initiate communication, a chance to get to know a class.  Students in the classes read previous blog posts (Mrs. Donofrio’s class read our blog, and we read Hey Kids) and created questions in order to initiate discussion.  The students in both classes asked  questions and provided answers.  Some of the questions asked were as follows:

  • What sports do you play?
  • How do you fit blogging into your busy life?
  • How did you come up with the idea of book trailers?
  • What are some of your favorite books?
  • What is Genius Hour?
  • What were some of your favorite activities for the year?

Through reading one of the blog posts on the Hey Kids blog, we learned that last year for summer reading, Mrs. Donofrio’s students read the novel A Long Walk to Water by Linda Sue Park (A Long Walk to Water begins as two stories, told in alternating sections, about two eleven-year-olds in Sudan, a girl in 2008 and a boy in 1985. The girl, Nya, is fetching water from a pond that is two hours’ walk from her home: she makes two trips to the pond every day. The boy, Salva, becomes one of the “lost boys” of Sudan, refugees who cover the African continent on foot as they search for their families and for a safe place to stay. Enduring every hardship from loneliness to attack by armed rebels to contact with killer lions and crocodiles, Salva is a survivor, and his story goes on to intersect with Nya’s in an astonishing and moving way.)

This is the required novel for our sixth graders going into seventh grade to read this summer.  Mrs. Donofrio’s class explained how they incorporated the novel into their class.  They took quizzes, engaged in discussions, and raised money for fresh water in the Sudan.  Mrs. Donofrio explained how they incorporated the novel’s message- One Step at a Time- into their learning everyday.  I am excited to have our students read this novel and share their thoughts and connections.

Students in my classes were excited to talk to the students in Mrs. Donofrio’s classes about their blogs and what their student lives are like.  Students were jealous that Mrs. Donofrio’s classes last day of school is tomorrow.  But just because the school year is over does not mean communication has to stop.  We will stay in touch through blogging.  In addition, students in both classes will be able to share their summer time experiences by sending post cards to the schools.  Sharing summer time experiences through post card experiences will be an exciting way to start the new 2014-2015 school year.

Thank you Mrs. Donofrio and your class for taking part in the wonderful experience.  Next year I would love to connect again in order to share our learning.  The possibilities for collaboration are limitless!


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Book Trailers Done-What do with them?????

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The book trailers are completed!  Now, what do I do with them? I do not want the students’ hard work to go waste.  I will post a few here on the blog, but with 60 book trailers created that is a lot to put in a post or page.  So one idea I had was utilizing QR Codes.

What are QR Codes?  Quick Response Codes

Students can be led to information on the web by utilizing their mobile devices.  I thought using a QR Code was a perfect way to connect students to the various book trailers created.  All the students book trailers are going to be converted into a QR Code and housed in a binder in the room, available for students to peruse through when wanting a new book to read.  The students can use a mobile device, take a picture of the code and watch the book trailer.

Screen Shot 2014-04-15 at 9.50.30 AMHopefully, this will cut down on the dreaded words, “I do not know what to read!  Nothing seems interesting.”  I will hand the student the binder and say, “I am sure there is something of interest in here!”

There are so many uses for QR Codes in the classroom for teachers and students.  Here is a link to get started utilizing QR Codes:  QR Code Guide

Happy Exploring!
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Animoto is Here

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I love the new project the students are embarking on:  Book Trailers.  Book trailers are a way for students to express what their independent reading books were about utilizing multimedia.  It also ignites the students’ interest into a variety of books.  If you look at the top of the blog, there is a a page which has some examples of book trailers created by students in previous years.

Students utilize so many skills in the process of creating a book trailer- summarizing and evaluating a book, understanding the mood of the book and the tone the author intended, deciding on images and words to use to express their thoughts, music and background to create atmosphere, citing sources, and of course manipulating the technology.

I love this project because students learn to use Animoto – a web based video making program.  Students can access the application from anywhere- home or school.

Screen Shot 2014-03-08 at 12.43.10 PMEach student received an Animoto account, which I control. I can access the account and check on what the students are creating at any time.  They learned how to manipulate the program yesterday.  I gave them time to explore Animoto to see what it has to offer.

Once students understood the program, we discussed the project- creating a book trailer- .  Students had seen examples of book trailers throughout the year, so they knew what they were going to create.

Before students started the project we discussed the importance of using copyright free images and citing our sources.  We utilize the program NoodleTools for this.  Students learned how to use Google Advanced Search to find copyright free images.

Screen Shot 2014-03-08 at 12.49.45 PMStudents also learned how to save pictures on a Google Chrome book-

Alt and Click on mouse

Save as

Pick Google Drive (picture saves directly in student’s Google drive)

Students learned the skills to successfully navigate Animoto and find/cite images.  Once this was accomplished, students started to plan their book trailer.  Then the bell rang.

I told the students to experiment this weekend with Animoto, and we will revisit this on Monday.

I look forward to sharing their finished products!

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Heritage Day: Success

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Last Monday we celebrated Heritage Day.  The day was all about sharing the unique cultures that create our diverse classroom community. Countries Represented:  Ecuador, Italy, Montenegro, Poland, Ireland, Brazil, Romania, Puerto Rico (territory), Czech Republic, Germany, Guatemala, Peru, India, Netherlands, England,, Lebanon, Dominican Republic, Mexico, Ukraine, Jamaica, Philippines, Bangladesh.

Students had been preparing for this day throughout our Heritage Unit of Study.  The project was created in order to help the students gain a deeper understanding of the essential question for the unit:  How does the role of immigration affect our heritage, defining us individually and as a nation?

Students interviewed a family member in order to learn more about their heritage.  Next, the students researched a country where their ancestors emigrated from.  They found out information about the country’s traditions, customs, food, and fun facts.  They also tried to find out what was going on in the country during the time a family member may have emigrated from that country to the United States.  Finally, the students found personal artifacts that are important to their family (pictures, items, recipes, etc.) in order to understand more about their own family’s personal stories.

The students synthesized and evaluated the information they gained and decided how best to put it together to present to small groups of students in the class.  The students had choice in how to present the information:  poster/tri fold board, binder, scrap book, Prezi, Google Presentation, etc.

Here are some images from the day:

Students brought in artifacts and various dishes of traditional food.

Some of the reflections of the day and the project are as follows:

I enjoyed learning about other classmates cultures. 

I liked asking questions about the cultures and learning about the countries. 

I liked learning about how different and unique my classmates are from me.

I loved interviewing my family member.

My favorite part of the project was gathering the artifacts because it introduced to me why certain things are important to my family.

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Inquiry Learning At Its Best

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Recently, my class was involved in inquiry research.  The students researched authors of their choice in order to find out information about why an author writes, where an author gets his/her information, what influences an author to write, etc.

In process, we discussed primary and secondary sources.  We discussed one of the most powerful primary sources of information is first hand information like an interview.

One student, Brek, and I engaged in a discussion about his author/illustrator, Tony DiTerlizzi, who co-wrote The Spiderwick Chronicles.  He could not find the exact information he wanted to complete his inquiry. Brek came up with a great idea- emailing the author, a perfect way to get first hand information.

Here is his correspondence:

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Subject:  Questions

Hi my name is Brek, and I have a couple of questions for you on “The Spiderwick Chronicles”. Where did you get you ideas from to write the books to the series of “The Spiderwick Chronicles”? Why did you write the books to the series? And last but not least how long did it take you to write the entire series? Please reply  I need this information for a project that I am doing for school.

Thank you,

Brek

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Hi Brek,

Thank you for your note.  It means a lot to know that you are a fan of my work.

I hope you enjoyed the finale of The Spiderwick Chronicles. I certainly enjoyed spinning those tales with Holly. Perhaps someday she and I will tell more tales from the fairy realm, you never know…

The idea for Spiderwick was not new to me; I created a field guide to fantastical creatures when I was twelve, called “Gondawanaland”. I was introduced to goblins and fairies at a very young age through fairy tales read to me by my mom, like those of the Brothers Grimm and Andrew Lang.  When I first started to think about making the field guide into a book, I was not satisfied with my technical ability, so I took a lot of life-drawing classes and frequented the Museum of Natural History where I copied many of the mounted animal specimens. It was here that I began to seriously think about goblins and fairies viewed through the eye of a naturalist as my next big book (Spiderwick).

Never abandon imagination,

Tony

How wonderful it is to hear from an author you respect and to get the information that was requested.  It is important for all students to understand the power of inquiry and that “Yes” they can find the answers to their questions if provided the tools.
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Are You Listening to Me NOW!

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Collaboration and Discussion are hot topics in the classroom.  Students need to be able to work together in order to discuss ideas in order to develop a deeper understanding of the topic.  But do the students Actively Listen to Each Other?

Recently my classes took part in an Active Listening Activity in order to discover what it takes to be an active listener.

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 Students worked in teams of 4.  Each student on a team picked a number 1 through 4.  Once numbers were given, students completed a task given.

Oh Those 1’s

All students who were 1’s needed to think about a topic they knew a lot about.  The other three students on the team were told to not listen- have side conversations, read a book, turn your body away from the speaker.  Student one tried to talk but became frustrated that no one wanted to listen.  How Rude!

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Take Two’s

The 2’s had to think about a topic they knew a lot about.  But this time the other students needed to bombard the speaker with questions- whether on topic or not.  Student two couldn’t even get the topic out because the questions over took the conversation.  FRUSTRATION!

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Third Time a Charm-Maybe

The 3’s- same task, think of a topic.  The other students in the group were to go off on a tangent about the topic.  In other words, talk about how the topic relates to them instead of the speaker.  Student three got to introduce the topic but no air time.  Hey Listen to ME!

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Fabulous Fours

Same procedure-pick a topic.  But this time, all students would actively listen and participate.  The 4’s could actually discuss their topic and get appropriate responses from their audience!  Yay!

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Students realized a lot about what it takes to be an active listener.  First, students noticed how loud the room was during the first three tasks and by the fourth one- the classroom environment was calm and the discussion was at a lower volume.  Secondly, students drew some conclusions.

Some Conclusions Drawn about Active Listening

  • eye contact necessary
  • body language is important- nodding head, smiling
  • staying on topic, asking appropriate questions
  • walk away with learning something new about the topic

We look forward to being Active Listeners throughout the year!

  
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Gone Google

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As you know our school has gone Google for Education.  This means students have an email address and ability to access Google Drive.  In Google Drive, there is Google Docs.  What is Google Docs? It is like any word processing program.  Students can create documents, spreadsheets, forms, and power points.  What is the selling point for Google Apps?  Students can access their work from anywhere and so can I- as long as they share it with me.  Also Google Docs is a way to go paperless and no more lost papers.  Google Docs is web based so students can instantly share their work with me.  Students do not need to remember to save their work- it automatically saves.  NO MORE PROGRAM NOT RESPONDING, and students losing what they have worked on because it didn’t save.  YAY!!!!

I love the fact students can easily share their work with me!  I can comment on their progress and even chat about what needs improvement.  This does not need to happen during the school day.  I am able to virtually conference with the students from home at any time.

Here is an example from a students paper- and one of many comments:

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What you may notice in the picture of the student’s writing is words highlighted in yellow.  Every time something is highlighted in yellow, I have made a comment about the student’s work.  Students can also send me comments about their work. 

One student asked where else she could add dialogue effectively to her piece and if the dialogue she had added is effective.  These are questions that may not be addressed during class, but because we are able to conference after class using Google Docs comments, her specific questions can be answered right away.

Sometimes in a busy day there is not enough time to provide feedback to every student.  This is just another way to provide feedback to students in a timely fashion.

This is just one of the many ways we will be utilizing Google Docs throughout the year!

A note to my students:  Rough draft to Memorable Moment needs to be typed using Google Docs and shared with me!

 
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