Appy Holidays from Amy and Jolie! This week we visited classrooms to spread holiday cheer and teach students how to use an iPad app. In kindergarten and first grade, students wrote letters of appreciation. They used the template below to compose the letter. Next, students chose two holiday props and had their picture taken in front of a festive background. Students put their photo into the Screen Chomp app, then recorded themselves reading their letter of appreciation. Screen Chomp creates a URL to videos made in the app, so we shared the link with parents so they could watch their child's video. Here are some examples from kindergarten:
Second and third grade became comic book authors with the Strip Designer app. We read the beginning of the book Penguins by Liz Pichon, where a girl drops her camera into the penguin enclosure at the zoo. Students had to write their own ending to the story to tell what happened to the girl and her camera. Here are some alternate endings: We're looking forward to an Appy New Year in 2014!
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Third grade is currently working on identifying the features of nonfiction texts, and asked for our help with this skill. First, we reviewed the features of fiction and nonfiction with a Venn diagram. Each student got one sticky note and placed it on the diagram. As a whole class, we discussed where the various text features went and why. Next, it was time to hunt down some nonfiction text features. Students were given this organizer through eBackpack to complete on their iPads. Students were given the definition of a nonfiction text feature, then they had to fill in the correct term and take a picture of it in a nonfiction book. They used the Notability app to complete the activity. Here is an example: You can download the complete file here:
For the next few days, students will begin researching a country and the Christmas or holiday celebrations that take place in that country. Then, they will create a newsletter with the nonfiction text features they have learned about. We will post some examples of the newsletters soon!
The CCE computer lab is in the process of total transformation! What used to be the computer lab, with rows of desktop computers, is becoming a space for projects, meetings, and learning in a new way! First, the desktop computers were taken out the room, and will be replaced with a laptop cart. We are trying out some new furniture, like the Hokki stool, Node chairs, and other types of furniture. A parent even donated two couches for us to use! Soon the room will have a variety of seating options that can be arranged in many different ways. We have one problem- what do we call this room? We need to think of an exciting name for this new room, and we need your help! Click here to enter your idea for a name. There are also QR codes posted around the school that you can scan to enter your idea.
We will keep you updated on our progress! Mr. Stoops' 7th grade Texas History classes came over from Hill Country Middle School to share the books they created on Texas missions. Students chose to make print or digital books that contained a poem or song and were told from the perspective of someone living at the mission. Texas history is also part of the 4th grade social studies curriculum, and CCE 4th graders learned a ton from their HCMS teachers! |
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