Global Read Aloud ....third year!

We just completed our third year for the Global Read Aloud.  Kindergarten and 1st grade enjoyed learning about Mem Fox and listening to her amazing books.  We did a vote for which book they enjoyed the most and out of seven classes Tough Boris was the overwhelming winner.  

                                      OUR FAVORITE!!!

Students loved learning about how the pirate was transformed by the parrot's death.  

This was our choice book for week 6

Maker Friday in the Media Center/Art rooms

What is Maker Friday...you ask?

With my very demanding schedule this year I was nervous about how I was going to continue to include Makerspaces into my program.  The art room is right beside me so we decided to partner up and offer Makerspaces to students on Wednesdays and Fridays.  These are days that we see some of the students for the second time that week -so we are using that extra time to open up our Makerspaces. Students can go between our rooms and do drawing, sewing, engineering building projects which include Legos, K'nex, wooden blocks, keyboarding, coding, reading, puzzles, etc.  To say students LOVE this time is an understatement.  Whenever they don't get this extra time they are complaining to us about it.  Students need this "play" time to get their creative juices flowing.  Public education has somewhat "pulled" the creativity out of students with all the demands from the state.  Students in all grades need time to explore and discover things that interest them.  That is what our Maker Fridays are all about.  

Student creates her own fidget spinner out of K'nex pieces.  

Students enjoy sewing.

Students working together to create with K'nex pieces.

Students working together to build a Lego design.

More sewing!

What do you kids do in the Media Center?

What STANDARDS do we follow in the Media Center?  Take a look at these ISTE standards.  This guides the amazing things that happen our space.  From Makerspace, Project Lead the Way, literacy activities, Google projects...they are reflected in these standards.  

Preparing 21st Century Students for a Global Society in the Media Center

So much is happening in the Media Center at Summit.  We are building our preparing 21st Century students with skills in the "Six C's"...they are: 

  

• 1.)  critical thinking
• 2nd graders have started their Structure and Function Project Lead the Way lesson.  They are learning about engineers, structures, and functions.  They are learning about a storybook character girl, Angelina, who wants to design a new paintbrush.  Then they are being asked to think about things around them that engineers had to design and sketch various items in the Launch Logs.  
• Kindergarten building structures to keep the hexbug in.  
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• 
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• 2.)  communication
• Students are letting their voices be heard through Google Forms by voting for their favorite storybook character pumpkin, their funniest pumpkin, and their most creative pumpkin.  Take a look at our amazing pumpkins and the results.
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• Most Creative, Funniest, Most to look like the storybook character
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• 3.)  collaboration
• 4th graders have been exploring Interland, program designed by Google, to become better digital citizens.  This week they worked in groups to form a extra-secure password.  Each group then had to present their passwords to the class and they voted with red, green, and yellow lights on how strong the password was.  We discussed things the characteristics of strong passwords:
• *something you can remember, but difficult for others to guess
• *include symbols
• *use a combination of upper and lower case letters
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• 4.)  creativity

• 6th graders are creating videos and flyers to advertise their "mock" Fall Festival.  They had to work in groups to plan their budget, entertainment, amusements, food, etc.  Then they had to use video editing tools such as WeVideo or Animoto to make a promotional video.  Some groups opted to do the flyer, which they could use Google Docs or Canva to create.  

Here are some of the 6th grade videos/flyers.

Video

Slideshow

Finally..I'm Back and look at my new space!

     So I have been behind on sharing what is happening in the Media Center but my new schedule doesn't allow much time for blogging during the day and mommy duties take over in the evening.  So I am going to promise to do better and pray that I can follow through.  First, let me share a post about how AMAZING my new space is.  Yes, the last few years were challenging in here with boxes, concrete floors, water leaking from the ceiling but now it has paid off.  Even though my schedule is the toughest I have ever had, I am truly blessed that I get to work in such an amazing place each day.

Take a look:

 Students choose to work on their Project Based Learning Fall Festival project on the comfy couches...also known as our "Campfire" area.  

 Students are working on their projects at our movable tables.  We can easily flip these up if we need more floor space.

 Our cafe tables.

 On Fridays the art teacher and myself are opening up "Maker Fridays" in order to help students foster their passions.  We have already seen these classes once this week so this also allows us to keep some sanity in our lesson plans.  The students love Maker Friday!  This a snippet of what Maker Fridays look like currently with the primary grades but as soon as students become acquainted to the procedures we will open up more maker activities.  

  

 Our Engineering Center is now open in our new space!

No your not seeing double!  The couches provided a snugly spot for these twins to enjoy their books.   

 

Love thia picture!  This is why I love what I do.  I thought this picture captured the beauty of a child, in all her innocence, loving the world of books.  She was so unaware that I even existed.  She was completely engrossed in her book and book buddy.  It is times like this that I would love to lock the doors and keep these kiddos sheltered from a world that is not so innocent.  

 Our new carpet provides a wonderful spot to collaborate on a puzzle.


 

Books to start the 2017-18 school year!

Books to Begin the School Year

Teachers, including me, spend the summer reading books that will begin great discussions between my students and me about beginning of the year topics. 

Disclaimer:  although I have read all these books I borrowed many of the comments below from an amazing blog I follow of Jennifer Reed.  She is also a librarian and does a great job summarizing these books.  "Why reinvent the wheel"...thanks Ms. Reed.  

Hopes and Dreams

These books are not only fabulous read alouds, they also provided an opportunity to think about and talk about what students looked forward to learning and doing in the school year.

6th grade...A Voyage in the Clouds

3rd grade....Uncorker of Ocean Bottles

Kindergarten...Little Tree

4-5th graders...Beekle

1-2nd graders...This is Sadie

Rules and Routines  

These books led to thinking about the rules that would guide our interactions with each other and routines that would help ensure a safe and productive learning space for all.

They All Saw a Cat

If You Plant a Seed

My Teacher is a Monster

Beekle

Shy

Sixth Mazes coming along!

  

So as part of the Hour of Code our 6th graders created mazes.  The challenge here is to:

1.)  Work in a group to design a maze in Google Drawing
2.)  Build that maze out of cardboard and craft sticks
3.)  Time a hexbug through your maze
4.)  Time a sphero that you are driving through your maze
5.)  Code the sphero to make it through your maze

6.)  Throughout the project we will record times of the hexbugs and spheros so our maze buddies at our partner school, Wilson, can compare their results.  

This project takes a long time when I only see the kids once a week so it will be interesting to reflect on it and see if the amount of time was worthwhile compared to the benefits of the project.  So far kids have been very engaged and excited about their work.

Here is a video of the kids performing trial runs on their mazes.  Listen to the problem solving discussion they are having while they are building.  This is they type of discussion teachers love to hear.  They are learning and having fun at the same time.