Teaching with Technology » Projects

Blogging 2nd Graders!

Tina Coffey — Mon, 23 Nov 2009 23:23:56 +0000

Yes, it’s true! Mrs. Allen’s and Mrs. Wiggington’s second graders at Oak Grove are blogging on their very own blogs! They would love to recieve comments, so be sure to check them out periodically. Soon they will be writing about things they are studying in their curriculum!

Here are their blogs:

Mrs. Allen
Mrs. Wiggington

I’ll keep them linked to this blog (on the right) in case you want to check back on them later in the year!

(P.S. — Keep an eye out for one more blogging class of 2nd graders coming soon!)

Mission 00 Rain (A Skype Project)

Tina Coffey — Mon, 23 Nov 2009 22:49:56 +0000

A few weeks ago, students from Oak Grove, Glenvar, and Clearbrook Participated in a global project called Mission 00 Rain organized by Mrs. Henriquez-Santiago. After reading the book Cloudy With A Chance Of Meatballs by Jodi Barrett, students imagined that in addition to the town of Chewandsawallow the rest of the world has also been plagued by the unexplained appearance of giant food falling from the sky. They pretended that they were secret agents presented with the task of saving the world by writing clues and solving riddles about this curious type of “rain”. Students wrote and presented riddles about a food item that fell past “their ” classroom window using Skype (a free video conferencing tool). By solving the riddles, the classes saved the world!

Here’s some pictures from the event! (you can see even more on the Mission 00 Rain Wiki)

Mrs. Hushour’s and Mrs. DiNicola’s Classes

Mrs. Allen’s and Mrs. David’s Classes

Mrs. Chamberlands’s and Mrs. Olivera’s Classes

Mission 00 Rain (Glenvar) on PhotoPeach

VA Regions Song

Tina Coffey — Wed, 11 Nov 2009 04:07:27 +0000

Fourth Graders at Clearbrook Elementary are participating in a cross-state Virginia Regions project on the Regions of VA Wiki. While Mrs. Schlosser’s Social Studies classes are participating in some of the projects on the wiki as a group, a few students decided to participate in the podcast project on their own. During their free time, they created a song about the Regions of Virginia. After practicing it, it’s been recorded and posted on the wiki. I’m so impressed that these kids worked on this song on their own, and think they did a great job! It’s a familiar tune…but after I listen to it, I walk around with their song in my head for hours. In case you’d like to listen, here it is:

Regions of VA from Tina Coffey on Vimeo.

You can also find it on the Regions of VA Wiki under podcasts. Nice job, ladies!

If you live in Virginia, there’s still time for your class to jump in an participate in SOME or ALL of the projects on the wiki. Please join us!!

Fourth Graders Skype with Kansas Students

Tina Coffey — Mon, 09 Nov 2009 13:25:40 +0000

The best way to learn about a different place is to visit it, but often field trips aren’t possible. The second best way to learn about a place is to talk to an expert–someone who lives there. Fourth graders in Mrs. Barger’s Class at Glenvar Elementary had the opportunity to do just that as they read the book, Sarah Plain and Tall by Patricia MacLachlin.

To learn more about the setting of the book (a prairie), they talked with other students in Kansas who live near the Tallgrass Prairie National Preserve in the United States. They used a program called Skype, a free video conferencing tool, and were able to see and talk with students at Turning Point Learning Center in Emporia, Kansas. Students prepared questions to ask the students ahead of time, and were able to ask those questions virtually. They were able to see the class in Kansas, and showed pictures and artifacts from our mountainous area. Students from Kansas shared pictures of the prairie they took for the class on a recent field trip. Students had a blast, and learned all sorts of facts about Kansas.

If this kind of project sparks your interest, let me know. We can skype about all sorts of topics!

Sending Oliver K. (Geobug) on his way

Tina Coffey — Sat, 07 Nov 2009 16:02:40 +0000

Our 2nd grade students ihave been reading the book, The Journey of Oliver K. Woodman by Darcy Pattison. It’s a story about a wooden man, Oliver K. Woodman, that is sent from an Uncle in Rock Hill, SC to his niece in Redcrest, CA. Oliver moves from place to place in the book through the kindness of strangers who pick him and and help him travel all the way across the United States.

After reading the book, following his travels on google earth, and learning about communities we decided it would be fun for the students to send their own Oliver on a journey. Since students have also been learning about geocaching, we decided to tie the two things together and create a traveling Oliver K. Woodman geobug. We planted him at a local tourist spot, and hope to map him as he makes his way across the United States to Redcrest, CA. Just like in the book, we are counting on the kindness of strangers to move him from one geocache to another. If you run across him, please help us by moving him along. The students would also love to see pictures of his travels!

As he moves, the classes will use their mapping skills to follow him, and hopefully learn a little of geography. We’ll also be interested in what types of communities he move through (urban, suburban, or rural).

You can learn more about this project on our wiki: http://oliverkwoodman.wikispaces.com.