Hour of Code & STREAM Night

This week was a blur as I finished up two graduate courses at the University of Richmond and helped host two events, one at each of my schools. However, the reaction from students and parents made all the planning time well worth it! At both events, Hour of Code and STREAM Night, students participated in learning opportunities that aren't part of their everyday experiences.

Hour of Code
On Tuesday we had approximately 80 of our 300 JGES students stay after school for our second annual Hour of Code. Mrs. Churchill, our librarian, hosted the event in the library and we used resources from code.org. We recommended different activities from the site based on each student's coding experience. Once everyone was checked in and logged into their computers, there was a buzz in the air. Our hour easily could have lasted two as most students were not ready to shut down once parents started arriving. The pictures below speak for themselves as students work together to write their code in a comfortable environment. Check out this video created by Mrs. Churchill for more pictuers.

STREAM Night
Staff members at HCES planned a variety of stations related to a STREAM field to engage students and their families. Each family had an opportunity to pick four of the stations that sounded most interesting to them and then were given a schedule of three stations to visit. The stations ranged from creating paper glider boats to balloon towers to coding. All of the station resources can be found here. Though the cold raining weather kept some families away, a great time was had by all! It was great to see families engage in such a creative and fun way.

Paper Glider Boat

A Pyramid

Constructing a Catapult

Constructing a Catapult

Coding

The First Grade Team Leading the Pyramid Station

Sink and Float

November Happenings, Part 2

Magnets
What does it mean when magnets attract and repel? How are magnets used in our everyday lives? These are some of the questions second grade students searched for and explored as they completed a web quest. Using this ThingLink and guiding questions, students watched videos and read to deepen their understanding of magnets and how they are used.

Watching a video on magnets

Illustrating magnets attracting

Seesaw for Schools
JGES and HCES are both piloting Seesaw for Schools which more easily allows resource teachers and specialists to connect and communicate with families. Over the last couple of weeks I've been busy meeting with teams sharing the features that are now available to them through Seesaw for Schools.

If you are a parent and are not already connected to your child's Seesaw account, please e-mail me at jmullenaux@hcps.us Seesaw allows parents to have a glimpse into what their children are doing at school. It's easy to use and free!

Then & Now
Kindergartners have been learning about the past and present. After reading a short story with me, students in Ms. Wagner's class selected something to illustrate in both the past and present. We discussed how transportation, cooking, houses, schools, and more were different in the past. Below is an example of a student's work showing transportation in the past verses transportation today. Be sure to click on the caption to hear her explanation!

Click here for recording

Passion Projects
Second graders in Ms. Davidson's class are exploring a topic of their choice through passion projects. Each child has picked a subject from erasers to dinosaurs to Texas that he or she wants to learn more about. After developing several questions about their topic, students are now in the research phase of the project. They're using resources from our library as well as a variety of online sources to find their information. Providing students with choice about their topic motivates them to read and write in their research.

Upcoming Events
Next week is Computer Science Education Week. Students at JGES are invited to participate in the Hour of Code after school on Tuesday, December 6th. Students will learn the basics of coding or further their skills if they're experienced coders using resources on code.org If you're child is interested in coding, but can't attend, check out this website!

HCES families are invited to STREAM (Science, Technology, Reading, Engineering, Art, Mathematics) Night on Tuesday, December 6th. Everyone will have the opportunity to rotate between three of ten stations related to one of the STREAM fields. Participants should be prepared to be active and have fun! Stations range from coding to building balloon structures to learning about the aerodynamics of snowflakes.

Please contact me at jmullenaux@hcps.us if you would like to register for either of these events. Stay tuned for photos in my next blog post!

November Happenings

What did you do this weekend? 

Each week kindergarten students in Mrs. Barnes' class have shared their "Weekend News" by drawing a picture of something they did over the weekend and dictating a sentence to an Instructional Assistant. To improve on their verbal communication skills, students have started taking a seat behind our "news desk" to broadcast an event from their weekend. This project is a fun way for students to practice speaking in complete sentences and providing details that allow their audience to better understand an event. Check out this example! 

Behind of scenes of Weekend News

York River Organisms 

Students in Ms. Ferment's 5th grade class have been learning about organisms that live in or along the York River. This research project has been a collaboration between Ms. Ferment and our school librarian Mrs. Churchill. I had the opportunity to join in on the action when students began creating their digital products. Students were given the choice to create a Pic Collage, Shadow Puppet (here's an example), or TV Show to share what they learned through their research. It was great to see students' creativity and I learned a lot by working with them. And not just about the organisms! I picked up a few helpful hints in Pic Collage from a student too!

A student works on his Pic Collage

Mrs. Churchill works with students on their Shadow Puppet creations

It was a beautiful day for recording outside

Pic Collage example

Change is in the Air
Over the last week in our area fall has made its presence known. First graders in Mrs. Cox and Mrs. Dingman's class have been learning about fall. To apply what they've learned in class, students created Pic Collages with signs of fall and sentences about the changes that fall brings.

Students capture a bit of frost lingering in the mulch

Leaves and acorns are beginning to cover the playground

Time to write about fall 

A student's work

A student's work

An ITRT Does What?

So what exactly does an ITRT in Hanover County do? Well in addition to collaborating with teachers on awesome projects like these, there are a lot of "behind the scenes" projects I've been working on the last two weeks. 

On November 1st the ITRT team had our second "Tech Take-Out" at our district's central office. During this day employees could request help with their technology use. Requests ranged from how do I create a district benchmark to how do I correctly share Google Docs and much more. I'm excited that JGES will be having the first school version of "Tech Take-Out" on December 9th. Teachers will have the opportunity request support on their own use of technology tools or lesson collaboration. 

As you may have noticed I, and teachers at both of the schools I work at, LOVE Seesaw. We've been looking for ways to have our resource teachers use the app to increase communication with families and Seesaw for Schools may just be the answer. Each school is piloting the program for four months. In order to get us up and running each student's ID number had to be tied to their accounts so that no matter what class work is uploaded in, parents will have access. I'm excited that this tedious work is now behind me and we (students, teachers, families, and administrators) can take full advantage of the perks Seesaw for Schools has to offer. 

HCES's STREAM Night will be held on December 6th. Families will join us for an evening of hands-on activities that involve Science, Technology, Reading, Engineering, Art, and Mathematics. We had a productive planning meeting last week and a flyer will be going home to families on Wednesday with more information including how to RSVP. 

What should a kindergartner in HCPS be able to do in regards to technology? How about a fifth grader? The elementary ITRT team has been working on developing a set of Technology Competencies for students. This project is in the infancy stage of development and there will be much more information to come. 

Fall is in the Air

Summarizing

Third graders have been working hard on developing summaries of their reading. While retelling a story is sometimes a simple task, determining which events are most important to include in a summary can be challenging. The examples shared below involved students recording their summaries verbally in order to improve their verbal communication skills and to not be limited by the physical process of writing. 

One class of third graders created hand-drawn storyboards of the four most important events of the story "The Most Magnificent Thing" (a book they read on Epic! about persistence). Once their boards were complete, they took pictures of each frame, uploaded them to Shadow Puppet, and then recorded a summary of the book focusing on those four events. 

A Completed Storyboard

Recording the Summary in Shadow Puppet

A second class of third graders worked on retelling the story "Nate the Great San Francisco Detective" after a sequencing activity. The sequencing activity had many events that happened during the story, but students had to use their analytical skills to determine which ones were essential to the plot of the story. These students recorded their retellings in Seesaw. 

Recording a Summary

From Problem Solvers to Problem Makers

First graders have been working on solving part-part-whole story problems. This week several classes took their learning to a new level by creating story problems of their own. Students were given a part-part-whole template that they took a picture of in Seesaw. They then illustrated their story problem, wrote the parts and whole in the corresponding boxes, and then recorded their problem so that viewers would best understand their illustration. 

An Example of the Template and Beginning of an Illustration

Illustrating a Story Problem

Recording a Story Problem

Pumpkins
Kindergartners have been studying the changes pumpkins go through during the various stages of their lives. Recently they went on a field trip to a local pumpkin patch to learn more about pumpkins and see them in the various stages of growth. As a way for them to demonstrate their learning, students sequenced a series of six pictures of pumpkins in Pic Collage and then imported their collage into Seesaw where they recorded their knowledge. This activity was a great assessment of their knowledge of pumpkin growth, but also helped students with their verbal communication skills as they worked to describe what a pumpkin looks like at each of the different stages.

A Student Listens to Her Work

Explorers

In Social Studies, third grade students have been learning about explorers. After completing research to determine who sponsored a specific explorer, his contributions, and his exploration goal. Students created a recording in ChatterPix to share their own discoveries. The projects were uploaded to Seesaw so that students could learn from one another by viewing each other's work and share with their families. Click on the link below to view an example!

Juan Ponce de Leon

Eek! A Spider!

In the spirit of the season, first graders have been learning about spiders. Using their knowledge (and some impressive new vocabulary like arachnid), students created circle poems. I joined in on the fun by having students photograph their poems and record themselves reading them. This activity allowed students to practice their reading fluency. By creating it in Seesaw, students will be able to revisit their work later in the year and see how they've progressed! As they finished their recordings, students then used the note tool to write sentences about their new knowledge. 

A Student Photographs his Spider

A Student Practices Writing Skills Using the Note Tool

Welcome to Our School

On Thursday, October 13th our school welcomed many special visitors including our superintendent, assistant superintendents, school board members, and more. During their visit we had an opportunity to showcase the wonderful things, such as PTA involvement, Tiger Cub Enrichment, Watch DOGS, and innovative learning, happening in our building.

Visitors watch a short video about our school's Morning Meetings

I was fortunate enough to participate in the presentation and, with our librarian, share how our teachers and students are using Seesaw to enhance their learning and improve home-school communication. We recruited several student "ambassadors" that helped our guests learn how to use the app and tour different parts of our school.

Visiting an innovative classroom and taking photos of the learning

The relationships that formed between our visitors and ambassadors in just a short period were priceless. Some of the work I've shared below that they completed together on Seesaw attests to this!

Enjoy each other's company and reflecting on the visit

What did they like about Seesaw?

Let's Get Started!

After getting classroom routines established, one group of first graders has been working on integrating technology into their reading and math centers. While coding is fun, it also works to improve students' sequencing, directional, and problem solving skills. These students were introduced to coding through the app Kodable. Students work to move the "fuzzy ball" through increasingly difficult mazes. As they progress through the program they begin using conditions and loops. One of the things I really love about coding is that some students who are searching for their niche in academics excel at coding.

An example of a maze from level 1

Creating the code sequence

In order to become better readers, students must read! These students learned how to access a plethora of eBooks using Epic! Students let the program know their interests and based on their selections books are recommended to them. Beginning readers can pick from books that read aloud to expose them to new vocabulary and model reading fluency. The program is entirely free for educators and parents can access the vast library of books from home for $4.99 a month. A price well worth it considering the quality and quantity of books available on Epic!

Reading about hockey

These students wanted to learn more about sharks

Second graders have started using manipulatives to represent story problems. They are working with part-part-whole method to solve addition and subtraction problems. After modeling the story problem with counters, students took a photo and wrote the corresponding number sentence in the app Seesaw. This is a challenging skill! Students are typically able to identify a fact from the fact family associated with the problem, but struggle to identify the fact that represents the problem.

Taking a photo of the representation

Writing the corresponding number sentence

Developing Communication Skills

Across the grade levels, developing communication skills was a common theme in the lessons that I supported teachers with over the last two weeks. Students have been working to improve their written and verbal communication not only in reading and writing, but also social studies, math, and science. 

Most classroom teachers are using the app Seesaw as a way for students to create as well as a communication tool between school and home. It's amazing to see how much even our youngest students can do when we give them the opportunity! 

American Symbols

First graders are learning about American symbols including the Statue of Liberty and bald eagle. To share what they've learned and become familiar with the app Seesaw, students drew a picture of their favorite symbol and then recorded themselves sharing their new knowledge.

Did you know using a plastic container can help block out background noise and amply a student's voice when recording?

The Statue of Liberty

Where in the World?
Third graders should now be able to locate the seven continents. As an informal assessment, students took a picture of a world map and then created short videos showing where each continent is located. This was a great review of content while teaching students how to use Seesaw. Afterwards, the classroom teacher could use the recordings to guide future instruction.

Labeling the Continents

Going on a Sound Hunt

Kindergartners are learning about letters and the sounds that they make. To help reinforce this skill, students went on a beginning sound hunt around the classroom. They took pictures of different objects that started with a specific sound and either recorded themselves sharing what they had learned about the letter and its sound, or created a Pic Collage of several pictures of objects beginning with the same sound. 

Books starts with "B"!

Recording a Finding for the "T" Sound

Students Creating Pic Collages of Objects that Start with the Same Sound

Fact Families
Second grade students reviewed their knowledge of fact families by rolling a die twice and then using unifix cubes to create a number "train" with those numbers. Afterwards they used Seesaw to take a photo of their train and then write down the four facts associated with their family. For example, if they rolled a four and seven their facts were 4+7=11, 7+4=11, 11-7=4, and 11-4=7.

A Student Writes Facts on His Photo

I Wonder... 
Have you ever wondering how big the largest piece of hail was? Or maybe where the biggest hurricane was located? As an introduction to a unit on weather, fifth graders brainstormed questions they have about the topic. They then used the app Shadow Puppet to create a short video of their "wonders". Work was then shared with families and classmates via Seesaw. As they dive deeper into their study of weather they'll hopefully be able to answer their questions.

The Weather was Great, so We Worked Outside

Students Used Library Books in the Creation of Their Projects

Writing with Google
Our district "went Google" last year giving students access to the Google Apps for Education suite. This week fourth graders logged into their accounts for the first time and learned the basics of word processing. They learned about features unique to Google apps, like not having to save your work and the revision history, as well as traditional features like how to indent a paragraph and center your title. As the year progresses, students will share their work with others and receive constructive feedback on their Docs.

Behind the Scenes

Writers at Work

A Gingerbread Man on a Pirate Ship...

Second grade students worked on identifying a character and setting through creative story telling this week. They selected a character and setting from a stack of cards and then developed a short story which include a problem. While writing can be cumbersome for some students, this activity allowed them to voice record their stories so that they could focus on the elements of the story. Students developed some unique stories that they'll be able to share with their families and classmates through Seesaw. 

Recording a Creative Story

Good Citizens 

What makes a good citizen? First graders considered this question as they were introduced to Seesaw. After completing a sentence about what they can do to be a good citizen, they photographed their work and then recorded themselves sharing their thought. Students worked on their writing and verbal communication skills while considering how they could contribute to their classroom and school. 

Photographing Work