12 Days of Christmas: A Video Scavenger Hunt

The 12 Days of Christmas from Sara Barraclough on Vimeo.

OoPs! We forgot to add this group's video!

Group SHE 9 from Sara Barraclough on Vimeo.

The staff of Spring Hill Elementary School made their way to The Resort at Glade Springs for a weekend of Retreat and Team Building exercises. This video demonstrates one of these activities; our 12 Days of Christmas video scaventure. Thanks to the staff and guests of Glade Springs for participating in our shenanigans!

The Naked Turkey

"I am NOT a Turkey!"

Just before Thanksgiving break, second and third grade students at Spring Hill Elementary participated in The Naked Turkey video conference project; partnering with classrooms across the US. After sharing The Plump and Perky Turkey by Teresa Bateman, students worked at home with their parents to camouflage their turkey so that it would not be on the table for Thanksgiving dinner. The students did a fantastic job creatively disguising the turkeys and writing convincing arguments to share with the partner classes.

The First Thanksgiving

During the month of November, students at Spring Hill Elementary will be studying Pilgrims, Native Americans, and The First Thanksgiving.  Scholastic.com has many resources designed for your classroom, and among these are The First Thanksgiving Student Activities.  Here, you can take your students on a virtual Voyage on the Mayflower and Tour the Ship, take a virtual field trip through the Plimouth Plantation, explore the menu from The Thanksgiving Feast, download printables, and much more!

Deadline:  November 17  Sign up to participate in the live video Webcast from Plimoth Plantation and to receive classroom letters from a Pilgrim girl on the Mayflower* and a Native American boy*. Give your class a glimpse of history.  For more information or for project support, contact sbarracl@access.k12.wv.us.

Other Native American/ First Thanksgiving Resources

BrainPop Spotlight:  American Indians
National Geographic Kids:  First Thanksgiving
The Earliest Americans:  Grade 4 (MS PowerPoint)
America's First Nations:  Long Houses (Grades 4-5 Video)
The History Channel:  Thanksgiving (Video Series)
Investigating the First Thanksgiving:  A WebQuest

Spring Hill Goes Green!

Even though the leaves on the trees are turning shades of red, orange, and yellow, at Spring Hill Elementary we have been doing things a little greener.  At a recent principal's meeting, SHE received kudos from Cabell County's Energy Manager for making significant energy-saving growth.  Please continue to properly shutdown computers and projection equipment and turn off lights when leaving a classroom.  Below are some other ways that Spring Hill Elementary can help to make the world a little greener.

Paper Recycling

Be sure to place all of your discarded paper products in the large blue containers located throughout the school.  Goodwill Paper Recycling helps to keep discarded office paper out of the waste stream.  Did you know that every ton of office paper recycled is the equivalent of 24 trees?  You may wish to keep a box in your room labeled PAPER ONLY to collect your paper between visits to the blue recycling bins.  Ask your student helpers to participate in the action!

Printing

If you replace your print cartridge, be sure to send the discarded cartridge to the Parent Room for recycling!  Office Depot and Ink in a Blink have been very generous to Spring Hill Elementary in support of our ink cartridge recycling program!

Think before you print!  Sometimes, it is too easy for us to press the Print button on our computers and copy machines.  Much paper is wasted by printing out single line papers or unnecessary copies of documents.  According to a recent article released by the World Wildlife Federation, the golden rule for saving paper is:

Think twice if you really need to print-- 

if it is necessary to print make sure you print on both sides.

Check your Email daily!  As more staff begin to effectively communicate electronically, we will be able to further reduce our paper consumption at SHE.  

Student Resources for Going Green

Green Planet for Kids  There's an app for that!

Act Green:  Scholastic

Classroom Paper Lesson Plan for Grades 3-5
BrainPOP Resources for Going Green

BrainPOP & BrainPOP Jr.

BrainPOP and BrainPOP Jr.  provide a library of videos that are an excellent resource for enriching your classroom curriculum!  Did you know that today is World Habitat Day?  Celebrate with a quick video titled, Freshwater Habitats for K-3 or Ecosystems for 3-5.  Other videos during the month of October feature Hispanic Heritage Month, Columbus Day, John Adams, Halloween, and many more! 

BrainPOP also provides activities for building vocabulary, utilizing graphic organizers, and games like Food Chain and Hibernation which allow students to sequence events in a series.  Search for lesson plans in BrainPOP Educators.  By joining this community (FREE), you can subscribe to the monthly newsletter and will have access to 800+ resources!

Consider integrating BrainPOP in your current classroom curriculum as whole-group activities or in the computer lab for enrichment.  If you have any questions or would like to request a demonstration in your classroom, please contact sbarracl@access.k12.wv.us.  For login information, please revisit your Email.

WV Seeks to Reward Classroom Innovation

The WVDE is challenging teachers to share how they have incorporated 21^st Century Learning into their classrooms through a statewide contest. The department is offering 10 $2,000 awards to teachers who submit lesson plans that incorporate 21^st Century Tools and Techniques. The contest is being funded with a $20,000 grant from the Verizon Foundation.

Each entry must incorporate at least one of Verizon’s Thinkfinitity partner-created resources, which can be found at http://www.thinkfinity.org. This resource does not need to be the highlight of the project. Submissions are due by noon on Thursday, Dec. 16, 2010. Prizes are to be awarded in early 2011. All entries will be shared with teachers across West Virginia.

"West Virginia’s teachers are some of the most experienced, dedicated and creative professionals in the country and crucial in the quest to prepare our students for success in the 21st century,” said state Superintendent of Schools Steven Paine. “I look forward to learning about the different 21^st lesson plans they develop to challenge students.”

Learn more about the contest at http://wvde.state.wv.us/technology/resources/thinkfinity/contest.php.

Touch Typing and Keyboarding

K-2  When students are first introduced to the keyboard, it is important that they can find the letter that they are looking for and to become acquainted with the keyboard.  Marcelino's Letters available on the UpToTen site is a great start for these beginning keyboarders!

When you can do it well, touch typing is the fastest way to write. Many people can soon learn to touch type faster than they can write with a pen or a pencil. Dance Mat Typing is an introduction to touch typing for children aged 7 - 11 years.  You will need headphones to enjoy the song and dance in each game.  This site also has printables available for each stage that can be used offline with any keyboard device.

Additional typing games are available at Learning Games for Kids.  For grades 3-5, www.techsteps.com also has typing activities available for the students.  If you would like more information about keyboarding in the classroom, please contact sbarracl@access.k12.wv.us.

Constitution Day September 17

Looking for some activities to recognize Constitution Day in your classroom?  Visit the National Endowment for the Humanities/ EDSITEment for lesson ideas at each grade level.

• K-2 The President's Roles and Responsibilities:  Understanding the President's Job

• 3-5 The Preamble to the Constitution:  How Do You Make a More Perfect Union?

You might also want to see what lessons and printables Scholastic has available.  Find cool resources like the U.S. Constitution Fact Sheet to support your topic of study.

Enter the 2010 Constitution Day Poster Design Contest!  All entries must be postmarked before October 10.


Quick Fix:  BrainPOP Video U.S. Constitution

Destination Math/ Reading

You can now log in to your teacher account and begin to assign activities for your students.  Remember that Destination is now available on the web.  You can preview activities, monitor student activity, and make assignments from anywhere that you have Internet access.  To access Destination online, please use the following address:  http://riverdeep.cabe.k12.wv.us/lms   

If you need assistance with your username and password or if there is a student missing from your class list, please contact sbarracl@access.k12.wv.us.

How can I integrate Destination in my classroom?

Destination Math and Reading is correlated to your Harcourt textbooks as well as the West Virginia’s 21st Century CSOs.  These activities may be used for individual, small group, and whole class instruction.  Students log in to work at their own pace on activities that have been assigned by their teacher.  Additionally, Destination Math and Reading provide excellent lessons that can be manipulated by using an Interactive Whiteboard.  Please note:  Destination uses Flash programming, therefore it is not compatible for use on iPad or iTouch devices.

Because Destination is available on the web, you may wish to provide parents with information to access activities outside of school.

Click to download the Teacher Reference Card

techSteps

At Spring Hill Elementary, one of our goals to meet the standards for 21st Century Skills and Technology is to complete the six projects outlined in techSteps. I would like to work together with you to achieve this goal. In planning your lessons these next few weeks, please find time to schedule your first techSteps project.

Although it is one option, remember that we are not limited to your scheduled computer lab time. We now have wireless, mobile laptop labs that can be utilized in your classroom whenever it is most convenient for you and your students.

I have created an online schedule for you to edit at your leisure. There is no need to create an account or login; simply click on the page and start typing!  Please keep in mind that it cannot be edited on an iPhone, iTouch, or iPad.  I think that it would be great if we could complete our first project before the end of September. This weekly calendar will also be used for scheduling other technology-related projects and activities throughout the school year.  Follow this link to access the calendar:

Schedule Your Technology Integration Specialist

Welcome Back!

Welcome, teachers to the 2010- 11 school year!  This blog has been created to provide you with links and information regarding the integration of technology into your classroom instruction.  If you have any questions regarding this resource, contact Sara Barraclough at the following address:  sbarracl@access.k12.wv.us  

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