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.