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Thursday, February 28, 2013

Glogster - Integrating Technology

Ever heard of Glogster?  Yeah, me either... until I went to a district PD.  This was way back in the fall, but I knew I wanted to try some things out that I had earned on how to integrate technology into the classroom and into the units I was already planning on teaching.

Glogster is basically an online poster board.  Students can choose from various backgrounds, graphics, images, everything.  Or they can choose a pre-made template.  They can add text boxes and change the font, color, size, etc.  I used Glogster for our States of Matter unit.  I put my students in groups of three and four.  Our tech coach created accounts for each of our groups and gave them a little intro.  Then the kids went to town!  I did create a checklist for them so they would include the necessities for showing me what they learned about the states of matter; it included things like: create a background, create a tile, include 3-6 graphics, included three text boxes, etc.

And voila!


The projects took a little longer than anticipated, but isn't that how it always happens?!  These are two of the five projects my students created.  I was really impressed.  You can click the play buttons to hear the students talking.  I also got a lot of great feedback from parents saying they were impressed as well.

Here are a few other pieces of technology that I've been trying out this year.  These are free!

Wallwisher/Padlet

Popplet

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Monday, February 4, 2013

Monday Made It - Valentine's Day Goodies!

I am linking up with Tara from 4th Grade Frolics for Monday Made It!  I haven't linked up since November.  Sigh.  OK, so I saw this cute idea {here} on Pinterest... of course.  I've always liked the idea of homemade play dough and thought it would be a perfect little Valentine's Day goody for my second graders.  To holiday-it-up a little, I used a cookie cutter to shape the play dough into hearts.  How cute, right?!

What?  It's so cute, you want to make it too?  OK, here's the recipe:

Ingredients:
(makes 5-7 "servings")
1 packet of Kool-Aid
1 cup of flour
1/2 cup of salt
2 tablespoons of cream of tartar
1 tablespoon of vegetable oil
1 cup of boiling water

Directions:
1. Mix your Kool-Aid, flour, salt, and cream of tartar in a mixing bowl

2. Add the boiling water and vegetable oil; stir well until it becomes firm

3. Grab a handful of dough and sprinkle with a little flour (I had some flour on wax paper)

4. Flatten out your dough, use a cookie cutter to cut out your shape

And voila!  Cutest thing ever.

I put the play dough in small round tupperware I found at the Dollar Store... 5 for $1.00.  Then I made a label for my kiddos and they were done!  I can't wait to give them to my students!


Another Pinterest idea... Paint chip bookmarks!  So easy.  I "borrowed" some pink and red paint chips from Walmart, hole-punched them, and put some ribbon through them!  Just a little Valentine's Day goody to have on my students' desks when they come in on Valentine's Day morning!



Be sure to check out all the crafts at 4th Grade Frolics!


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Friday, February 1, 2013

Cheerios & Jell-O = Matter

My little second graders have been learning about Matter!  We have done a lot of fun things so far but I want to share some of my students' favorites.  I saw this idea on Pinterest and liked it so much, we made them in my class!  We watched a BrainPop Jr video on solids, liquids, and gases and talked about the atoms in each state of matter.  The following day, we made these posters with Cheerios!  I tell you... they LOVE any activity that involves food!


Another fun thing we did after learning about changing states of matter was make Jell-O!  First we talked about how to read and follow a recipe.  Then I split students into groups and gave them a numbered card 1-4.  Each number/student had a different job so they could all pitch in.

#1 poured the jell-o mix into the bowl

#2 poured the cup of water into the jell-o bowl

#3 stirred the jell-o and water

#4 poured the jell-o into cups (with my help)

We ate the jell-o for snack the next day!

Next??  We are braving a Glogster project to show what we've learned about the states of matter!

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