Flocabulary (Hip Hop Videos for the Classroom)

Have you heard of Flocabulary? It’s a website that does hip hop songs to help students remember certain facts. It started with SAT vocab, but has expanded to all levels and subjects. To have access to all the videos/songs you need to pay a fee, but a few are free…including the one for Egypt, which you can watch here.

Note the lyrics below the song (they are clickable) and the resources to go with it on the right hand side of the page. I will warn you…you will be singing the chorus to this in your head all day after you hear it, or at least I did! :)

There are other free videos too worth checking out on the site, including Confessions of a Planet (Space), On Trial! (Test Taking Vocabulary), Let Freedom Ring (Civil Rights), This Ain’t Working (American Revolution), Place Value, Scientific Method of Madness, and more!  There is a vocabulary section broken down by grade level and tons of other great videos in the paid version. You can also download songs in iTunes (for $.99 each).  Take a look (and listen).  I think you will love these!

 

Third Graders Participate in a Global Penpal Project

Have you noticed Third Grade’s bulletin board in the upstairs hallway at G.W. Carver? If so, you might have noticed all the colorful cards, letters, and brochures from schools all around the globe! The students in Mrs. Naves, Ms. Pillis’, Mrs. Hughes, and Mrs. Travitz’s classes have been participating in a global penpal project called, “From Me to You 2008” organized by Jennifer Wagner on the Technospud Project Website. Teachers from all over the world participated, from California to Maine, Canada to Hawaii, and even Australia! Each Third Grade class sent cards to 23 other classes (and to a Ronald McDonald House) and included a brochure (created by seven very creative third graders) that told the classes all about G.W. Carver and Salem, Virginia. In return, they are receiving cards from other classes, and learning all about places all over the United States and beyond. Students will even have a chance to view the location of all the classes on Google Earth (and learn how to use the ruler in Google Earth to measure distance)! If you haven’t had a chance to take a look at some of the things they have received, take a walk by Third Grade. If you want to learn more about this particular project, you can check out the project homepage here.

Also, if you think you might be interested in doing a global project, I highly recommend looking at some of the other ones on the Technospud Project Website. It looks like an exciting project for K-3 is about to start in March for St. Patrick’s Day (involving Lucky Charms and lots of Math) , one later in the Spring for grades 4-6 based on Prince Caspian (the 2nd book in the Narnia Series), and more! If you choose to do one, please let me know. I’d love to help!!