Teaching Beyond Our Classroom Walls - Article on edSurge

Thank you for all the connections in 2014. I look forward to expanding them and collaborating with more classrooms and experts in 2015. Here is a link to a recent article I wrote about the experiences on edSurge 52 Stories from Educators. Knowing there are many amazing teachers in Kansas, I am extremely humbled to be asked to write an article to represent Kansas. Thank you to edSurge for the opportunity and my superintendent and good friend, Dr. Doug Sumner, who helped me truly reflect on the article.
https://www.edsurge.com/n/2014-12-11-how-you-can-actually-teach-beyond-your-classroom-s-walls

Genius Hour Presentations

The students have been working on genius hour throughout the quarter. This is a time when students can research anything they want, focusing on something they are passionate about for one hour. This week, some of those students presented and did a great job. We all really learned a lot.

Lincoln presenting on the history of football

Nick presenting on T-Rex and explaining what life would be like if he existed today

Rachel's presentation on fashion design

Luke & Wil's presentation on Minecraft and the importance of being safe on the Internet

Blake and Preston's presentation on the Keoningsegg One

Alaina presented on the importance of puppies.

 

Peyton presented on France

 

 

Merry Christmas Mom and Dad!

The students wanted to say thank you for the winter party and wish their mom and dad a Merry Christmas.

Congratulations Class Spelling Bee Winners, Corbin & Kenzie

Congratulations to Corbin (class winner) and Kenzie (runner-up) for our class spelling bee. They will represent our class in the school spelling bee in January.

Seven Wonders of Sassafras Springs

Students read The Seven Wonders of Sassafras Springs by Betty G. Birney. Afterwards, they went around the school and searched for their wonders, took photos and made a video of it.

Video Game Design on Sploder

The students designed their own video game on Sploder. They created a game with at least three levels, then they went on Schoology and summarized their game and listed all their problem solving strategies. They also had to say what was the best things about their game and what they would do differently next time. Next, the students played another student's game. They had to rate the game 1-5 and cite evidence (at least three examples) of why they rated it the way they did and whether they would purchase it in the store. They also had to list one positive thing about the game and one suggestion.

Blake P. :  Escape
Olivia: The Fun Fun Game
Alaina: Mission
Hannah: Enemies Game
Bella: Powerful
Kenzie: The Key
Alli: Alli's Death Zone
Kate: Kate's Miner
Luke: Ninja Apocalypse
Rachel: Rachel's Crystal World
Caroline: The Real Awesome Game
Reagan: Rockstar Madness
Corbin: Impossible
Preston: Survivor
Sydney: The Impossible
Emma: The Crystal Mine
Nick: Jailbreak
Andrew: Underground Liar
Peyton: Peyton's Horror Land
Will: Ground Liar
Blake N.: The Viper of Doom
Lincoln: The Death Valley

Play Dough Maps using Movie Maker

As part of our geography unit, students had to create a map. It had to include a title, symbols, legend, compass rose, cardinal directions, grid system, measurement/scale.  Students made the maps out of play dough, came up with a name for it and created a story to go with it. Students used Movie Maker to share their map movies.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Flip Flop Girl by Katherine Paterson - New Ending

This group read Flip Flop Girl by Katherine Paterson. They did not like the way the book ended so they created a new ending.

Merry Christmas from the Cheery Centre Students in Kenya

Students from the Cheery Centre in Kenya wanted to wish our students Merry Christmas. This took place on their last day of school before their winter break, where they are off for a month.

Team Leggett Created Multiplication Website

To learn and practice multiplication facts, our class created our own website. Students made video games, songs, videos and Power Points to learn facts. Here is a link to their site.
http://leggettmultiplication.weebly.com/

Catcher with a Glass Arm Interview

This group read Catcher with a Glass Arm by Matt Christopher. For their book project, they created an interview with characters from the novel.

This group included Blake P., Blake N., Andrew, Corbin and Lincoln.

 

Andrew Clements Extra Credit Movie Commercial

We have been reading different novels in class. Each group finished their novels before Thanksgiving Break. Students in this group created a television commercial on their book, Extra Credit by Andrew Clements using our webcam.

Creative Writing using Fodey

The students used Fodey to make newspaper articles about their roller coaster experience. They had to use their senses and act as if they were riding the roller coaster they created in class. Here is an example of one.

Mystery Skype with Mrs. Gali Lev Ari's Class in Kiryat, Israel

On Wednesday, we had a Mystery Skype with Mrs. Gali Lev Ari's class in Kiryat, Israel. Besides the Mystery Skype being a wonderful challenge for the students, we learned so much about their culture. The kids walked away with so much from this Skype and completely different perspective on things. Very enjoyable!

Mystery Skype with Mrs. McCandless's Class in Centennial, Colorado

On Tuesday, we had a Mystery Skype with Mrs. McCandless's class at Franklin Elementary School in Denver, Colorado. The students had a lot of fun with this one since our football team, the KC Chiefs had just played the Denver Broncos.

Adjectives with Mrs. Rodrigues's Class in France

We worked on using adjectives and being descriptive with a class at Ecole Condorcet. Students read the clues and used them to figure out who was in the photo. Thank you, Mrs. Rodrigues's class for partnering with us to do that. Here are links to how they described themselves so we would know who they are.

http://LearningApps.org/watch?v=p3zh6xe1501 

http://LearningApps.org/watch?v=pjvav7sd501

http://LearningApps.org/watch?v=pf0d28g8j01

http://LearningApps.org/watch?v=pbf1c15at01

 

 

Pay it Forward Thanksgiving Crafts and Cards for Nursing Home Residents

As part of our year long Pay it Forward project, the students made Thanksgiving Day crafts and cards for residents at the Medicalodge Nursing Home of Gardner. This act of kindness was really impactful for the residents.

Geography Postcard Exchange

We completed out postcards for our two postcard exchanges we are participating in to learn more about different communities and learn geography.

 

Video from Mrs. Munoz's Class in France

Mrs. Celine Munoz's class in France made a video for our students to introduce themselves to their pen pals in our class and to show us where some of the Leggett Flat Stanleys have traveled in France.

We have been studying about force and interactions for the past four weeks. Students participated in 23 different hands-on investigations for 11 days before building their culminating roller coaster amusement park.

Here is a video of the experience.

Leggett Class Stanleys in Le bourg, France

Our Leggett Class Stanleys have arrived in Le bourg, France. These are two photos of Mrs. Celine Munoz's class holding up Stanleys of each person in our class. We are excited to see them travel.

Halloween Candy Drive and Letters for the Troops

Our class collected Halloween candy and wrote cards for the troops. We filled over 50 bags of candy and sent them to Operation Gratitude, who is going to disperse them to our troops.

Mystery Skypes with Arizona & Ohio Classes

Yesterday, we had two Mystery Skypes today. One was with Mrs. Rollin's Class at Four Peaks Elementary in Apache Junction, Arizona.

We also had the opportunity to Skype with Mrs. Pickarski's class in Columbus, Ohio.

Mystery Skype with Mrs. Brightman's Class in Athens, Alabama

We had a Mystery Skype with Mrs. Brightman's Class in Athens, Alabama on Wednesday. The students learned many facts about Alabama and had a chance to hear different dialect in the United States.

More Force and Interaction Discoveries

As part of the force and interactions unit, students went through twelve stations (three a day) focusing on different concepts. They were able to use the investigations to make discoveries about force and interactions.

Using an impact car to test Newton's Law, for every action, there is an opposite or equal reaction

Trying to bounce a bouncy ball in a cup to learn the differences in force needed on an object

Learning about inertia through the checker stack

Trying to throw a tennis ball into a cup to learn more about different forces needed on an object



Learning about magnetism using magnets

Trying to throw disks on different sections on the floor to learn about force and angles

 

Learning about electromagnetism by using a battery, wire and a nail

 

Skype with Roller Coaster Engineer, Anya Lehrner

Great Coasters International Engineer, Anya Lehrner, took the time to Skype with us about roller coaster design. As part of our force and interactions unit, the students will be designing and building their own roller coaster amusement park. Anya gave them advice and let them know how force plays a role in roller coasters. She also let students know how they design, build and test roller coasters to make they are safe. Thank you, Anya!

Mystery Skype Nov. 7 with Mrs. Riccardi's Class in Moretown, Vermont

One of our Mystery Skypes on Friday was with Mrs. Patti Riccardi's class at Moretown School in Moretown, Vermont. We were able to learn more about rural communities.

Mystery Skype & Weather Talk with Sister Monica's Class in Hawaii

We had a Mystery Skype with Sister Monica's third grade class at Saint Theresa School in Kauai, Hawaii on November 7. We learned about Hawaii and what they do to prepare for tsunamis.

City of Shawnee Community Movie Presentation

On November 7, students presented their Shawnee movies to 26 Shawnee city leaders, including the fire chief, the city manager, city council members, Shawnee Town, traffic leaders and museum leaders. The students were experts on Shawnee, talking about what the city was doing well and how it could be improved. This culminated their study of the history of their community, where they worked to answer, "Why do you people live in our community?" "What drives population shifts to our community?" "What does it mean to be a responsible citizen in our community?" Thank you to Shawnee City Manager, Carol Gonzales, who helped organize the event.

Action 41 News Meteorologist, Gary Lezak, Announces Natural Disaster Weather Forecast Winners

Earlier in the school year, students learned about natural disasters. To culminate their learning, students created a weather forecast showing everything they learned. Meteorologists at Action 41 news were kind enough to be the judges. They used a rubric to assess the criteria the students needed to have in their forecasts. Meteorologist Gary Lezak came on Nov. 5 to surprise the students as he recognized each student and announced the winning group. Thank you, Gary!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OZ1llITBYEY
Class on the news