Leaping into the Global Read Aloud

Next week marks the beginning of a world-wide read aloud initiative known as the Global Read Aloud.  Between October 6 and November 14, participating teachers from all over the world will choose from one of four books to read aloud to their students.  During the six designated weeks, classrooms from all over the world will collaborate with one another through various electronic means to discuss their chosen books and share their excitement for reading.

This year Mrs. Pritchard's 5th grade students will be participating in the project.  Each week we will Skype with a partner school to talk about our chosen book, The Fourteenth Goldfish by Jennifer L. Holm.  

 

Today, Mrs. Pritchard's students had a chance to meet students from our partner school through a Mystery Skype.  During the Mystery Skype, students took turns asking yes/no questions to narrow down the location of the partner school with the goal of figuring out exactly where in the world they are located.  To make the questioning and guessing easier, students used Google Maps to zoom in on and pinpoint specific locations.

While it was a challenge guessing the specific city where our partners live, with a little hint from them, we were able to figure out that our partners are from Duxbury, MA!  

We were so excited to meet them, but we are even more excited to begin collaborating with them beginning next week to discuss our reactions to The Fourteenth Goldfish.  We look forward to our next Skype with Mrs. Burns' class of 5th graders.

Digital footprints: how does what you post today affect your future?

What is a digital footprint?  Why is it important?  How can my digital footprint affect me in the future?  These are all important questions that students in Integrated Technology have been exploring this past week.  After watching several videos and reading several articles explaining the idea of a digital footprint, students formed production companies and had to make a decision about which host to hire for a new TV show in development. Students had to make this decision solely after reading the online profiles found for the two candidates being considered for the job.  The profiles were found through an online search of social networking sites, newspaper articles, and blog posts.

Within their production companies, students carefully scanned the candidates' profiles for any information that suggested that he or she would not be an ideal hire.  For example, they looked for discrepancies in information, analyzed uploaded photos, and made judgments about what type of worker the candidates might be based on how they presented themselves online.

After carefully reviewing the profiles, students had to make a decision as a team about which candidate they should hire and why.  This decision was a tough one and created great debate among team members.  One candidate appeared to come across as more favorable than the other, but questions such as "Is it fair to judge someone for something that happened years ago?" and "What if this person has changed?" created great -and very real-world- conversations.

Finally, each production company had to make a presentation to the entire class about which candidate would make the best hire and why.  Once again, debate followed as the entire class shared their different thoughts about what they discovered.

Ultimately, the class agreed that NEITHER candidate would make a good hire.  While one candidate appeared to present herself more favorably online, both included information and photos that made us question their credibility.  Was it fair to judge someone based on what they posted online?  Some students didn't think that it was since they argued people change, and they should not be judged based on their past mistakes.  Most students, though, thought that is was fair and believed that a person's digital footprint could help employers learn more about a person than what can be gleaned from an interview. 

This full lesson entitled "Trillion Dollar Footprint" is one of Common Sense Media's fantastic lessons.  This lesson gives students the opportunity to not only work in teams and understand the process of hiring someone in the 21st century, but students also really learn how important it is to carefully consider how they present themselves online.  Our digital footprints stay with us forever, and they can have a huge impact on how others view us. 

Getting to know one another AND students from our partner school in Kansas

Students in Integrated Technology have been busy, busy, busy.  We are ready to begin our first digital partnership with Mr. Kessler's 5th graders at Morse Elementary in Overland Park, Kansas.  During this quarter, we will be using Edmodo to converse about ourselves, our digital lives, and what we are learning in the core curriculum.  In addition, IT students will have the opportunity to practice what they are learning about digital citizenship in our face-to-face class sessions by talking virtually with a remote group of students.

To get our collaboration started, and learn new things about one another, IT students used the iPads and the app Adobe Voice to create a video about themselves.  They were able to add images, text, and record their voices by using this app.  Students posted their videos to Edmodo to help students in New London and Overland Park get to know them a little better.  Check out some of our highlights.

New year, new students, new LIBRARY!

Welcome back!  We have had an extremely busy first two weeks.  It has been exciting to get to know the new 5th graders. This past week I have been giving all 5th grade classes a library orientation to help familiarize them with where materials and located and the digital resources available to them.  During orientation, students used the iPads to complete a QR code scavenger hunt.  Working in teams, they had to use Destiny, library materials, and search the library stacks to locate different items.  It was awesome to see the teamwork they displayed and their excitement over using a technology that is new to most of them.

We also changed the entire look of the library.  We are excited that we were able to use profits from last year's book fair to purchase new sofas and loveseats!  Your book fair purchases have really helped us modernize the look and feel of the library.  In addition, we extended the computer lab and added a "genius bar" or charging station.  Bring in your devices and plug them in during the day.

We look forward to seeing you in the library often this year.  We are just getting started, but so many exciting things are already happening.

Reading Across the Continents

Earlier in the year, my 5th hour, Day 1 Integrated Technology students began a collaboration with Constantia Waldorf School in in Cape Town, South Africa.  Due to timezone differences, we were unable to Skype with one another.  Still we felt that a connection between our students would be so powerful and meaningful.  We decided instead to exchange videos of our students reading aloud a favorite title and then sharing a little bit about our respective schools.  

In small groups, our New London students had to make a few important decisions: What books would they read and what aspects of our school and community did they want to share with other students across an entire ocean?  Once these decisions were made, each group went to work reading a favorite children's book and deciding how they wanted to share more about New London.  To give you an idea of our exchange, here is one group's video.

 

Unfortunately, time moved too quickly, and our friends in South Africa were not able to get their videos to us in time. Today, though, they did send us a fun surprise- a few pictures of the class with hand-made thank yous for sharing our videos.  We were so excited to see the faces of the students for whom we created our videos.

Regardless of geographic and timezone differences, collaboration with students from different parts of the world is possible through creative uses of technology.  We can't wait to come back to school this fall to finally see the videos that our Cape Town partners have created. 

Jump Start your Battle of the Books Reading

The official 2014-15 Battle of the Books list has been published.  Battle of the Books is a statewide reading competition sponsored by WEMTA.  Students form teams of 2-4 students and read all of the books on the list.  In February, teams compete in the statewide competition where they will answer questions about the books.  Get a jump start on this competition by beginning to read this summer.  Below are the lists for both the elementary division and the middle division.  The elementary division is open to all students in grade 5.  Happy summer reading!

Elementary Division List

11 Birthdays by Wendy Mass

Amelia Lost by Candace Fleming

Big Nate Flips Out by Lincoln Peirce

The Dark by Lemony Snicket

The Day the Crayons Quit by Drew Daywalt

Diary of a Wimpy Kid: Hard Luck by Jeff Kinney

Flora & Ulysses by Kate DiCamillo

How to Train Your Dragon by Cressida Cowell

Killer Species: Out for Blood by Michael P. Spradlin

The Lightning Thief by Rick Riordan

Long Walk to Water by Linda Sue Park

Loser by Jerry Spinelli

My Side of the Mountain by Jean Craighead George

The Nazi Invasion, 1944 (I Survived series #9) by Lauren Tarshis

Number the Stars by Lois Lowry

Oh, No! by Candace Fleming

Pete the Cat and His Magic Sunglasses by James Dean

Sarah Plain and Tall by Patricia MacLachlan

That Is Not a Good Idea! by Mo Willems

Walk Two Moons by Sharon Creech

 Middle Division List

Artemis Fowl by Eoin Colfer

The Bully Book by Eric Kahn Gale

Divergent by Veronica Roth

Doll Bones by Holly Black

The False Prince by Jennifer Nielsen

Harris and Me by Gary Paulsen

Jinx by Sage Blackwood

The Lightning Thief by Rick Riordan

March. Book One by John Lewis

Marley: A Dog Like No Other by John Grogan

The Midwife’s Apprentice by Karen Cushman

One for the Murphys by Linda Mullaly Hunt

Princess Academy by Shannon Hale

Prisoner B-3087 by Alan Gratz

Roll of Thunder, Hear My Cry by Mildred Taylor

Rush for the Gold: Mystery at the Olympics by John Feinstein

Serafina’s Promise by Anne Burg

Truce by Jim Murphy

Tunnels by Roderick Gordon

When Zachary Beaver Came to Town by Kimberly Willis Holt

 

100 Nights of Reading End-of-the-Year Celebration

This year we decided to try a new challenge with our students.  We challenged them to read 100 nights this school year.  Students kept reading logs to document that they read at least 20 minutes per night.  After completing 25 nights of reading, students were able to choose a prize from the prize box.  Upon completion of 100 nights, they received an invitation to our end-of-the-year celebration that included a build-your-own ice cream sundae station.

Congratulations to all students who participated this year and successfully met the challenge!