Wednesday, May 9, 2012

Bridge Building

Mackinac Bridge
Bridges assist humans with transportation needs, and humans have been building them for thousands of years.  Of course, there are some basic types of bridges, but with technology bridges have advanced and continue to become stronger and longer.  Here are various types of bridges found at Bridges 101, which was created for a sixth grade project.  Two more valuable site created for the PBS website on bridge basics and The Society of Women Engineers.  Also, check out How Bridge Work, which goes over three of the following bridges.
  1. Arch Bridge (Video on Arch Bridge)
  2. Beam Bridge
  3. Suspension Bridge
  4. Cantilever 
There are three forces that act on bridges.  They are compression, tension, and torsion.  

Here is a video listing some of the problems that present themselves when a bridge is needed for transportation.  This is a National Geographic video and includes a few examples of bridges.




Bridge Building Game.
The purpose of the game is to construct a bridge that will allow the lemming like pink dinosaurs to cross safely across a chasm.  Here are links to similar games:

I will leave you with a video of Galloping Gertie.  This was the nickname of the Tacoma Narrows Bridge after it collapsed in 1940.  I definitely would not want to be anywhere near this bridge when it failed.

Tuesday, May 8, 2012

Towers and Structures

During our Inventions Unit, we will be learning about structures, bridges, gears, and other man made inventions. This post was created to provide additional resources on towers.  Are you ready?  Here we go...

Here are some experiment videos from Zoom:
  1. Columns: Finding the Strongest Shape 
  2. Columns: Experimenting with Cups

Tower Basics

In order to stay up, towers have to compete with a couple different forces.  Here is what PBS says about the forces working against towers:  "Gravity and the dead load of the tower push down, the ground pushes back up, and small air movements push from the side. A foundation distributes the load into the surrounding ground material and can help balance the sideways wind force. The size of the foundation depends on the strength of the supporting ground. A foundation placed in rock can be smaller than a foundation placed in sand or mud."  So, we are working against the wind, the tower's weight, and the tower's foundation.

Tower Videos

Watch following video on constructing various towers and tall structures. The first two videos are on the Eiffel Tower from the History Channel. 



 

The next video is on the Statue of Liberty and the information on the structure.



This is a video on the Twin Towers from the History Channel.



Tower Task

  1. Learn about towers and structures
  2. Design your tower with partners
    • Why are you building this way?
    • What do you have to consider when building the tower?
    • How can you build a tall but sturdy tower?
  3. Collect the materials:
    • Cup, Marshmellows, Toothpicks, and Plate
  4. Build you tower
  5. Test your towers design
    • Make changes to make your tower better as you find weak areas

Friday, May 4, 2012

National Poetry Month



I wanted to create a post to describe what the students did in April for poetry month.  In addition, I wanted to share my Scoop.it account for Poetry Month.  At this link, you can find several resources that can be used to write poetry.

First of all, let me say that I don't just teach poetry in the month of April, but this is when it receives the most attention.  I like to encourage reading and writing poetry throughout the year, which would be completed during their free choice reading and/or writer's workshop time.  I can usually hook a standoffish reader/writer with poetry because of the shorter nature of the reading/writing.

My daughter's birth stopped me from promoting the use of tech for the students' projects, but I wanted students to construct a poetry project using various ineractive websites.  I was thinking of creating blog posts, Glog O' Poems, poem podcasts (using Audioboo, Voicethread, Photo Story 3, or Audacity), Little Bird Tales with multiple poems, or create a Prezi for your poems.  Here is a teacher's requirements for a poetry Glogster.  I still recommend and encourage students start to interact with some of these web tools.  If anyone creates something using these web-tools, I might have to reward the students in some way. 

Student books were created in the classroom and required that each student complete the following requirements:
  • Write/publish at least 10 creative for the poetry book
  • Organize your book's content with a table of contents
  • Provide a book title, name, and illustrated cover
  • Write a summary or provide reviews on the back cover of your book
  • Create illustrations for each poem
  • Include poetry techniques learned in class (i.e. similes, metaphors, alliteration, hyperbole, repetiton, onomatopoeia, etc.)
  • Include several higher-level vocabulary words (aka "Wow Words")
The following picture is an example of a interesting type of poem called a Book Binding Poem, which uses the titles found on book bindings to write a poem.  Here is my example:

With the book titles, I was attempting to write...

Funny boy
Chronicles
21st Century Skills 
Into the Wild

So, even I am a poet and I hardly even know it.  Again, I wanted to share our project for National Poetry month.

Mr. Gibson
(AKA Hoosier Teacher)

P.S.  We won't have a Discovery Quest or April Book Report project due this month.

Monday, April 2, 2012

Spring Break is Here

Let the blogging commence!  Many students are already making posts and comments on their blogs.  I love how the students are engaging in experiential... Well, I don't know if I want to say the L-word because they might stop.  To log into the website this next link allows students to access the website on its login pageStudents, here is your suggested extended school activity: 

What can you post over the break?  Remember how we used to write Quick Write Nights?  Well, you can write your daily or nightly thoughts here.  We can call them Quick Blog Logs.   Then, you can keep track of everything you are doing over the break.  These could be mini-personal narratives.  Details you can include in your writing:
  • The 5-W's (who, what, when, where, why)
  • 5-senses (Showing Sentences)
  • Numbers
  • Names
  • Descriptions
  • Definitions
  • Feelings
  • Comparisons (Metaphors or Similes)
  • Proof, evidence, or support
  • Real examples
Try to include pictures.  Whenever you create a blog post, there is an option to upload/insert images, video, audio, and files.  However, you can't upload too many pictures.  This blog site only has so much memory.  The blog will eventually become overloaded and we won't be able to post.  So, try to limit the number of pictures you post.

Read other students posts and make comments on their writing.  Maybe you will be part of their writing.   Overall, try to create an awesome blog that everyone wants to read.  The best posts will probably get the most comments.

Mr. Gibson

Hink Pinks

I'm sorry if you were looking forward to receive a Friday Letter today, but there was a fire drill during writing. So, we discussed rhyming and how to write a hink pink joke. Say what?



The directions above explain how to write one.  The students wrote and illustrated a page for a classroom hink pink book.  Pictures are displayed below. 

Friday, March 30, 2012

Little Bird Tales in the Classroom

After our Traditional Literature unit, the students were asked to write their own version of a common fairy tale.  The students and I read several fractured fairy tales, fable, tall tales, nursery rhymes, and porquoi tales.  Then, they started to write their own versions of common fairy tales.  Goldilocks was an overused tale, but there were several different versions to make them more unique. 

Check out some of the student tales below.



Tuesday, March 27, 2012

Green Tree Python

Since we read Verdi by Janell Cannon, I wanted to share a brief video with you from the Discovery Channel on the subject of tree pythons.

Sunday, March 18, 2012

Ecosystem and Biome Content

What is the difference between an Ecosystem and a Biome?

Go to the following link to learn more about biomes and ecosystems. Then, complete the biomes brochure in the computer lab.

Friday, March 16, 2012

Student Blogs


To promote writing, publishing, reading, and digital literacies skills, I wanted to create an online blog where students can publish their favorite writings.  Also, students could post their Discovery Quests, respond to questions, and complete other projects online.  Many students have expressed interest in working with computers, and I would like to encourage and develop literacy skills online.
The website we would use is called Kidblog.  "[This website] meets the need for a safe and simple blogging platform suitable for elementary and middle school students.  Most importantly, Kidblog allows teachers to monitor and control all publishing activity within the classroom blogging community."  (Kidblog, 2012).
Here is a list of Kidblog's features that put safety first:
  • Teachers have adminstrative control over all student blogs and student accounts.
  • You students' blogs are private by default - viewable only by classmates and the teacher.
  • For "semi-public" blogs, guest accounts (i.e. parents) can be activated, which would required a password to view and comment on student pages.  (Students would love this!)
  • Comment privacy settings block unsolicited comments from outside sources. 
  • Kidblog does not collect any personal information from teachers or students.
At the moment, I have a new blog with individual student blogs.  This blog can be found at the following link to my Kidblog website. To log into the website this next link allows students to access the website on its login page.

As a class, we will be reviewing digital etiquette and safety online.  The Kidblog website is safe and password protected.  Please make sure you review the website and write your child’s password down somewhere safe.  Lastly, let me know whether or not you would like your child to participate in this writing project.
Comments or questions please leave one below or call me at school. 

Sunday, March 4, 2012

Trouble with Fractions



Regardless of how many times I review these concepts, every year students have a hard time understanding equivalent fractions, mixed numbers to improper fractions, and comparing/ordering fractions.  This year is no different.  So, I thought I would create a blog post that can assist students at home.  

Here are some review videos I retrieved from the Khan Academy.  This is a great place to find videos demonstrating various academic concepts.  On this website there are explanation for basic math all the way up to complicated calculus.  SAVE THE KHAN ACADEMY WEBSITE TO YOUR BOOKMARKS or FAVORITES!

This first video is just explaining fractions.  To review, I always like to start with what's simple. 



This second video is explaining equivalent fractions.  The quality isn't the greatest but it is still a great resource. 



This video is explaining how to change improper to mixed numbers.  I think some students are still unclear with division and not knowing multiplication facts isn't helping either.  So, please review multiplication facts whenever possible (i.e. car rides or waiting rooms)



The last video attempts to explain fractions and comparing/ordering them by value. How much are they worth? Which is the largest and which is smallest? In this video, Mr. Kahn explains how to find a common denominator, which makes it easy to just pay attention to the fraction with the largest numerator.



This last video helps to explain simplest form for students also. I have been discussing simplest form because we were discussing how to also reduce a fraction using division. Watch the following video on comparing fractions and finding a fractions simplest form.



Hopefully, these videos will help to further explain how to conquer these skills. Flex your brain! Learn! Practice! Grow!

Tuesday, February 21, 2012

Decoding Words and Tricky Phrases



When encountering unknown words, several questions and phrases can be used to solve the word. I don't always want students to just be given an answer to a problem; so, I will ask them to attempt the word before appealing for help. 

This image was used in combination with the document camera and the SMART board.  Then, I took a digital snapshot and posted it here on the classroom blog.  What a wonderful digital world?  (Cue Louis Armstrong). 

New Online Tool for Classroom Projects

I am a huge fan of students using websites to create classroom projects. It can be challenging, fun, engaging, and overall an exceptional learning experience. It is beneficial for students to interact with the Internet rather than passively exploring mind-numbing websites. Of course, students need parental guidance and supervision when working online.

A new site that I just encountered was Scratch and ScratchEd. The first link provides users with the program needed to create projects with Scratch.  The ScratchEd link allows users to learn about the Scratch program.  There are many resources for becoming a Scratch programmer.  Check out the following video to gain a better perspective of this web tool.


Intro to Scratch from ScratchEd on Vimeo.

This program is similar to the behind the scenes coding that is used for many websites. It reminds me of using Adobe Flash and working with its Action Script coding. Many online games using this program and its coding. So, students with a love for video gaming could benefit from this engaging online educational tool.

I'm not saying that it will be completely easy.  In fact, programing can be fairly difficult, but students adapt and problem solve surprisingly well when interacting with digital media.   Check out the stories tab to look at ScratchEd Story tab.  Another great resource for getting acquainted with ScractchEd can be found at the ScratchEd Webinar link, which was hosted by Megan Brennan. 

I encourage students to create and interact with a variety of web tools.  By the time your children graduate high school in 2019-2020, I can only imagine what they will experience in the future job market.

Sunday, February 12, 2012

Collaborative Writing Online


During writing, many students have been collaborating on writings. I hate to deter writing with others, but many students need to focus on writing their own drafts. I don't want students to become too reliant on working with others, but I am glad they were working so well together.




To continue this collaboration at home and maybe at school from time to time, I found a few word processing online collaboration tools. These tools provide students with a URL address, which allows students to write at the same time. This would allow students to communicate and add to a story in real-time. The following links will assist students with this online writing process.
These are just some of the online writing collaboration tools, but it will allow student to continue to practice writing and typing at home.

WARNING: Always supervise your child's online adventures. Make sure you approve of what they are doing online.

Typewithme from Jason Bedell on Vimeo.

Valentine's Day

We do not have a Valentine's Day party in fourth grade.  However, we can pass out Valentine Day cards at the end of the day.  There are 26 students in the class.  As for names, just fill in your child's name and leave the "to" section blank. 


Thank you for your support and help.

Tuesday, January 31, 2012

Northwest Indiana Challenger Learning Center

The moon has been a constant source of inspiration for scientists, storytellers, and poets alike.  Our class reviewed the moon's phases last week with a Native American tale, a SMART Board slideshow, and an oreo cookie project.  The students seemed to enjoy the project, and many students organized the phases in a way that made sense to the them.  Here is one of the student projects.



As you can see, the image (taken from my document camera) was manipulated using the SMART Board markers.  The ability to manipulate student images really motivated the students to improve and/or revise their work digitally. 



But, at the Challenger Learning Center of Northwest Indiana, we were able to witness the phases from the point of view of the Earth.  I took a video of what the students saw using the styrofoam ball attached to a stick. 


Untitled from Hoosier Teacher on Vimeo.

This last video is to provide additional information on the moon and displays the styrofoam ball activity in better light.


Moon Phases from Patrice Cocco on Vimeo.

There were many other "bits of information" we picked up from the Challenger Learning Center (CLC), but this was only one of the engaging hands-on activities provided by the CLC.  Another activity involved using models to put the planets in order, while gaining a camparable persepective of each planet's size.  Here is a picture of the 8 planets and Pluto.  (The sun was too large to put in the picture.)


By the way, if you are interested in some family fun, the CLC is open to the public frequently. The facility provides families with the opportunity to watch laser-light-shows and other miscellenous activities.  Overall, I think many of the students had an enjoyable time.  I would like to thank Mrs. Manis, of the Challenger Center, and Astronomer Karen for providing us with such rich content.  Also, thank you to the parents for supporting the trip. 

Last, I just wanted to post two pictures from the CLC.  The first is a murial of Jerry Ross and the second is a patch honoring NASA's fallen heros. 


Monday, January 30, 2012

Parent Involvement

I would like to extend the offer to participate in the teaching and learning process.
  • Do you have an idea for teaching science or social studies?  
  • Would you like to read you favorite kids book to the students?
    • It can be the whole book or just part of the story.  
  • Would you like to teach Junior Achievement to our class?  
    • This would be completed with 4-5 (40 minute sessions)
    • Materials are provided by Junior Achievement
    • Economic lessons for students. 
    • Email me and Denise Wright <wrightd@jachicago.org>
  • Would you like to come in and cook for the students? 
    • (Then, I can turn the experience into a writing prompt.) 
  • Would you like to come in to demonstrate a trade/skill?  
  • Would like to provide the students with a math review game
    • multiplication or division
  • Would you like to create your own idea and link it to a state standard?
  • With Digital Learning Day on Wednesday, is there something related to the telecommunication technology field we could share with the students?
    • Even if not on February 1st.
Regardless of what you want to share, let's try to keep it a secret from the students, but please tell me.  If your idea is manageable, I would like to surprise the students with you, as a guest teacher, for a brief period of time.  Through these experiences, we can introduce students to new vocabulary, life-long learning skills, and many other benefits to experiential learning.

Before you come into the classroom, you need to have the correct paperwork filed through the office. 

Overall, I would like to see more students motivated to learn from these experiences.  Please feel free to respond in the comment section below. 

Sunday, January 29, 2012

Missing Assignments

Several students are not turning in their assignments, which is affecting their grades.  Please keep up with PowerSchool and check that grades are not zeros.  If there is a zero for an assignment, your child did not complete that assignment. 

When hunting down assignments, two excuses I get immediately are: 
  • "I turned that in!" and
  • "I never got that I was absent, remember?"
After asking the student to check his or her desk or the pile of assignments, the first excuse is usually proven incorrect.  

When absent, students receive their assignments in a pile on their desks.  It is the students responsibility to complete the assignments.  Also, if you child is absent, have them lookup the their homework on my website.  I am usually good about list the assignments on this site.  For you, as a parent, never except the phrase, "It's finished and I already turned it into Mr. Gibson."  This is false.  If it's homework, then it is to go home with the student.  I don't except homework turned in early.  If I notice it turned in early, I talk to that student. 

Lastly, if your child is missing an assignment, they can pick up another from my red folder entitled Extra Worksheets.  Some students need to start taking more responsiblity for their assignments, and I cannot keep them in for recess to finish the assignment.  So, for students that repeatedly forget to turn assignments in on-time, I will be issuing Friday school detentions. 

Monday, January 16, 2012

Martin Luther King Jr.

Martin Luther King Jr. was the chief spokesman for nonviolent activism in the civil rights movement, which successfully protested racial discrimination in federal and state law.  He is a great example of one person making a difference in the world.  Sadly though, he was assassinated in April 1968.

What can you discover about Martin Luther King Jr?  If you find any interesting knowledge, please share the information with the class this week.   Here are some online resources to find more information on MLK Jr.
Click the following link to watch more on Martin Luther King, Jr.  

MLK JR. Video

Monday, January 9, 2012

Hoosier Essay Contest

Indiana has a writing contest for all you aspiring authors.  This year's essay contest encourages you to recognize and share all the ways Indiana's agriculture plays a positive role in your life–as well as in the lives of those around you.  Here are some links to learn about agriculture:
  1. Indiana State's Department of Agriculture
  2. United State's Department of Agriculture (USDA)
  3. Farm Service Agency Kids
  4. Agriculture in the Classroom 
Here is the topic:
What is the World Food Prize? Profile either of the two Indiana winners and describe why their work is important. (View this resource list to find out who the Indiana winners are.) Teachers: View the state standards tied to this exercise.

Click the picture's caption below to link with the essay contest's source.

pricture from Indiana Humanities