Last week, our third graders learned about why people digitally alter photos and videos. They were able to observe how some are altered to persuade people into believing things and that some photos are easier to tell if they have been altered than others. The students took a look at different magazine covers, advertising print ads, and videos. We discussed why this was done and what we need to ask ourselves when we see a photo or a video that is too unbelievable. To extend this discussion at home, click the link here or read the article below. docs.google.com/presentation/d/1yldihO3NSv3h1FGoQ0Sjrh1RVlKiY7cSjWnHOnR0ye4/edit#slide=id.g3d07a721d2_1_47
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Recently our first through third graders were introduced to a website called 99Math. This a newer website that aims to get students excited about math and practicing their skills. What I love about 99Math is that they can practice more than their fact fluency. The students can also practice the concepts they are working on in class. The students are able to use the website independently or in class as a large group, working to see who can get the most correct as well as who improves the most, while also trying to complete as many problems as possible. I hope your student has express how excited they are to be using 99Math.
January was a busy month as we jumped back into school after the new year. Our kindergarteners started off spending some time working on sight words. First, they practiced identifying words by listening to a recording and matching it with the correct word. The next week it was their turn to read the words and circle any words they did not know. We have been working on reading and writing color words recently. We worked on six colors to begin with and will continue learning more about colors during February.
Ms. Tetens's first-grade class got a head start on one of their Open House projects. After reading the book Snowmen at Night by Caralyn Buehner. The students used the app Tayasui Sketches School to draw what they thought their snowman would do at night. Later, the students their descriptions in Seesaw. QR codes were displayed in the hallway during Open House for the parents to use to listen to their student's story.
Our second graders created a brand new project. The classroom teachers read the book The Best Part of Me by Wendy Ewald and worked with the students to write about what each student thought the best part of them was and wrote a paragraph about it. The students then worked in pairs to help each other take pictures. The students learned how to crop their photos and apply filters to turn their photo black and white. These photos were imported into Seesaw where the students were able to record their voices reading their paragraphs.
Finally, our third graders had just completed a book report where they created cereal boxes for their book. After completing the book report, the students created commercials to sell their cereal. The students came into the tech office to film their commercial in front of the green screen. The students were then given instructions on how to find their background image. Once all the students had completed the initial filming and finding their backgrounds, they learned how to combine the two using iMovie. Their final videos were then uploaded in Seesaw to share with the families.
A few of our classes has some time to create some Thanksgiving projects. Both first grade classes listened to the story, Balloons Over Broadway about how the balloons in the Macy's Thanksgiving Parade came to be. They used a new app, Tayasui Sketches School, to draw their own balloon. The students then uploaded their drawings to Seesaw where they could record why their balloon should be in the parade.
The third graders created acrostic poems using PicCollage EDU. They searched for images to spell out the word Thankful and then completed their poems. The students were also able to choose a background and images to complete their project.
I hope that everyone has a fantastic Thanksgiving. We all have so much to be thankful for.
Over the last week, our first through third-grade students began their first digital citizenship lesson for the year. We follow a curriculum from Common Sense Education that teaches topics of media balance & well-being, privacy & security, digital footprint & identity, relationships & communication, cyberbullying & hate speech, and news & media literacy. This curriculum is taught several times a year all the way through eighth grade. Our first graders learned about their digital trail and how everything that they do online can leave behind a trail for others to find. We discussed the difference between personal information (hobbies, first name, interests, favorite things) and private information (full name, address, phone number, age, birthday, school/team name) and how personal information is ok to share but private information is never ok to share. For some tips about digital footprints and identity, see the pdf below.
Our second graders focused on communication and creating norms for being online. The students discussed how people should act while they are online and what to do if they found that people weren't following these norms. In Seesaw, the students had to write one norm that they would follow online. We then opened up the Seesaw blog, talked about the norms for using the blog and then allowed the students to practice the norms they came up with. For some tips to guide your student, see the pdf below.
Finally, our third graders focused on being responsible digital citizens and how what they do in life, both in person and online, can affect themselves, their community, and the world. While practicing using the zoom feature in Seesaw, the student completed an activity where they had to determine how their actions could affect the world around them. The students did a great job with this and some of the questions were not easy to figure out. You can find some tips as well as an activity you can do with your family in the pdf below. |
AuthorMs. Sowa is the technology coach for Pre-School through Third Grade Archives
February 2024
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