Teachers will always ask students to read books and share what they have learned. But, how students share that knowledge and achiever higher levels of thinking by synthesizing and making personal connections can be achieved by going beyond text on paper. The current generation will do a quick search on YouTube to troubleshoot a hard [...]
Continue reading about Boost student reading with Book Trailers
My grade 2 team asked me to help find interesting sites & activities to augment their Goods & Services instruction in the classroom. Video on Goods and Services BrainPopJr’s Goods & Services Producers Consumers BrainPop’s Supply & Demand Online Reading Should kids get pocket money? (from CBBC) with comments Top Tips for kids on saving [...]
Today is Earth Day. As my wife and I explained it to our daughter last night — we referred to it as Earth’s birthday or celebration of all its beauties. It’s also a time to discover things about our planet. My son’s PreK3 teacher, Maliha Iqbal, has run an amazing compost program all year and [...]
Symmetry is something found in everyone’s curriculum, but here is a quick way to not just access it but allow your students to show their creative side. In our lesson, we asked the grade 1 students to create a design showing one line of symmetry – using all the sames found at the java site [...]
Here are two 30 minute lessons that I’ve developed for 3rd grade students on the benefits and pitfalls of the World (Wild) Web. For good reason, parents and teachers are concerned when children begin browsing, so I wanted to compile an informative and memorable lesson. Words in italics are what I’d say with the group. [...]
Continue reading about Information Literacy for lower elementary students
Nutrition is a key study at any grade, but my current grade 3s are studying it in detail. I’ve always found BrainPopJr and BrainPop to be great clever and age-appropriate places to begin. Ask your teacher about your school account and password. BrainPopJr Movie Food Pyramid – A good introduction to food and effects of [...]
Here is a nifty plant simulation for the effects of various colors of light on the development of a plant. Your first screen at www.iknowthat.com may require you to press ‘Maybe Later’ (it is worth registering, it’s a good collection of stuff). Then near the top, you’ll see a tab saying “Grow a Plant” – [...]
Without a doubt, one of the most talked about parts of the Early Childhood program has been its slick new Primary Playground for the 3-5 year olds at our Pudong campus. At least in my household, as I have two children who are in this age range at the school. So naturally, I gave the [...]
One of the best blog entries I have read was Jeff Utecht’s How to prepare yourself for technology interview questions at your next Job Fair. I think it’s his #1 viewed article, too. But, the reciprocal question to ask is – What should schools be providing in their classrooms to ensure teachers can use modern [...]
Imagine if students from each city created informational movies of their home cities to be shared with other children from all over the world. Impressive. You bet. I was stoked when the elementary librarian, Tara Etheridge, shared this idea with me. We quickly found a fellow enthusiast in Jeanine Merrill and her fourth grade students. [...]
Continue reading about Teaching Shanghai – by students for students
