Sunday, September 4, 2011

Far Away Visitors

Enhance learning by connecting with classrooms all over the United States. Skype is a simple and engaging way for students to learn from one another. A fantastic "getting to know you" activity is a Mystery Skype.


Mrs. Wilson's classes participated in a Mystery Skype with a 5th grade class from Ohio. The purpose of this lesson was to determine the location of the class using clues. Each class took a turn reading clues; for example, "Our state's coastline is on the Gulf of Mexico," "Our state experiences a humid subtropical climate," and "One famous person from our state is Jimmie Davis who resided in Baton Rouge while holding the office of governor. He was also a singer and wrote our state song, You Are My Sunshine." The classes used maps, Google, and Edmodo during discussion. 
After the Skype connection, students created a double bubble map comparing and contrasting Louisiana and Ohio.                                                  
Introductions are complete, and we are now ready to discuss science topics with each other!







4th Chat has a wiki set-up and once registered, you can add your name to the list for Mystery Skypes. This website is not just for 4th grade teachers. 

Saturday, September 3, 2011

Dare to Differentiate

Tools for Differentiation: A Wiki packed with resources on ways to differentiate!

Free Incredible Ideas

Looking for some terrific ideas to use in your classroom? This ebook is a compilation of the forty best ideas that came from the Incredible Ideas contest.


Inside this 21 page ebook you will find:

Ideas for building community in your classroom
Ideas for encouraging creativity
Icebreaker tips and ideas
Ideas for facilitating cooperative learning.



Friday, September 2, 2011

Brain Breaks and Whole Brain Teaching

Click here to view a Physical Activity Idea book for Elementary Classroom Teachers.



Click here for a lesson on Whole Brain Teaching ideas!