Cycle 26

Researching Birds and Using x and Y Coordinates

Second Grade--During this cycle the second grade students will use the "Bird Picking Machine" to select the bird that they are going to research.  After selecting their bird the students will use World Book Online to find out the following about their bird:

Description of the bird

What the bird eats

Where the bird lives

Interesting fact about the bird

First Grade--during this cycle the students will be learning to use x & y coordinates.  Using x & y coordinates the students will go on a treasure hunt to find the pirates hidden treasures.  Then using Pixie the students will match items to their coordinate points.

Cycle 25

Researching with World Book Online and Community Helpers

Second Grade--Second grade is learning to do research using World Book Online.  The students access World Book Online by going to the school district web site and clicking on the "For Students" tab.  Then they select World Book Online.  If they are using the site at home, they will need to enter a username and password.  At school they do not need to use the username and password.  The students are learning how search using World Book Kids.  During class the students used World Book Kids to complete a scavenger hunt.

First Grade--the students are learning about community helpers.  The studetns are watching a Community Helper video on Brainpop Jr. and then will complete a booklet in Pixie about community helpers.

Cycle 24

Rain Forest Babies, Continents and Oceans

Second Grade--The second grade students are continuing to work on their books about the rain forest babies.  They will begin to narrate their story and then turn them into movies.  The movies will be posted on Moodle and you will be able to watch them at home.  We continue to spy on the Eagles in Iowa and several classes have been able to see Liberty feed her eaglets. They are growing and become more active each day.   The Falcon in Harrisburg continues to sit on her four eggs and we are eager for them to hatch.  The eggs should hatch some time around April 20.

First Grade--The first graders will continue to study maps.  This cycle we will be taking a tour of the seven continents and four oceans with Google Earth.  The students will be creating their own map of the continents and oceans.

Cycle 23

Rain Forest Babies and Map Skills

Second Grade--The second grade students are continuing to work on their books about the rain forest babies.  They will begin to narrate their story and then turn them into movies.  We continue to spy on the Eagles in Iowa and several classes have been able to see Liberty feed her eaglets.  The Falcon in Harrisburg has laid four eggs and we are eager for them to hatch.  The eggs should hatch some time around April 20.

First Grade--The first grade students will be working on map skills.  We will watch a Brainpop Jr. movie on reading a map and will discuss a compass rose.  Using the compass rose, the students will create a map by following directions to add a variety of items to their map.

Cycle 22

Rain Forest Babies and Digital Cameras

Second Grade--The second grade students are pulling facts from their Storytown book to complete a book about the babies that can be found in the rain forest.  When the students are finished writing their books, they will then turn the book into a movie by narrating their stories.  We are also preparing for the second graders upcoming study of birds.  The students have been watching the following Web Cams to spy on some birds' nests.  Stop by to see  what is happening.

Eagle Cam in Iowa The eggs hatched on March 16 and March 18, 2013.  Watch Justice and Liberty raise their newborns.

Eagle Cam in Southwest Florida  These two eagles were born in January.  They are learning to fly.

PA Falcon Cam The falcon has laid three eggs.  It takes 33 days for a falcon egg to hatch.  The eggs should hatch sometime around April 20, 2013.

First Grade--Last week the students learned how to use the digital cameras in our digital camera kit.  They had fun taking pictures of their friends and then downloading the pictures to their computers.  During this cycle, the students will be creating a poster with their picture, using the Motivator at Bighugelabs. 

Kindergarten--Continuing to work on their reading skills using Reading Eggs.

Cycle 16

Martin Luther King, Jr., Kindness Garden and SMART Table Activities

Second Grade--The second graders will put the finishing touches on their book Martin Luther King, Jr. and Me.  The students will print their book and then will narrate their book so that it can be turned into a movie.

First Grade--This cycle in computer we will be celebrating National No Name Calling Week.  The students will be watching a BrainPop Jr. video on bullying.  We will discuss kindness as a way to end name‐calling and bullying in schools using the following questions:

·        Is name‐calling and bullying mean, or nice?

·         Do you like it when other students are mean to you?

·         Are you mean to other students?

·         What would it look like if everyone were kind to everyone else?

o   Would there still be name‐calling or bullying?

o   How can we make this happen?

The students will then use Pixie to paint flowers for their garden of kindness.  They will insert a text box and then write something kind they have recently done or witnessed, or why they feel it is important to be kind to one another.

Full Day Kindergarten--FDK students will be introduced to the SMART Table during computer class today.  The students will work in small groups to complete interactive activities on the SMART Table.  While students are not at the SMART Table, they will continue to work in Reading Eggs.

Cycle 15

Martin Luther King, Jr. and Snowmen

Second Grade--The second graders will continue to work on their book Martin Luther King, Jr. and Me.  The students are comparing their life to the life of Martin Luther King, Jr.  I can't wait to see what dreams our students have for the world.

First Grade and Full Day Kindergarten--The students will be watching Martin MacGregor's Snowman by Lisa Broadie Cook.  How can a snowman fanatic build a snowman if there's NO snow? Martin MacGregor lives for building snowmen. All year long he sits and he waits and he dreams of deep snowdrifts and blinding blizzards. So what's poor Martin to do when winter comes and there's no snow? Martin finds it hard to be patient, but he develops all sorts of alternate plans for building his snowmen. Unfortunately, his creative genius backfires every time, and he may still be grounded by the time next winter comes around!  Because there isn't any snow outside the students will then use the computer to build and print a snowman.