Monday, December 6, 2010

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!

Friday, December 3, 2010

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.

Monday, November 1, 2010

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

Friday, October 15, 2010

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!

Monday, October 4, 2010

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.

Wednesday, September 22, 2010

WV Seeks to Reward Classroom Innovation

The WVDE is challenging teachers to share how they have incorporated 21st 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 21st 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 21st lesson plans they develop to challenge students.”

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

Monday, September 20, 2010

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.