Lines Project Complete

Last week students finished up the project, What do lines and angles have to do with the real world? I must say that I was a bit disappointed in their lack of critical thinking when it came to composing the paragraphs to answer the question, "What are the importance of lines and angles in the real world?" While reflecting on this project, I came to the conclusion that if we do this next year I will guide the students through the hallway on a guided tour of the lines and angles used in our school building and the purpose they serve. 

Below I have included some pictures of the students on the scavenger hunt, working at the computer, and the rubric for the project. I have also included a snapshot of the edmodo screen of a student's completed and uploaded pictures and paragraph. 

Update on class project

As stated in the previous blog my class has been busy on a digital scavenger hunt for lines, rays, etc. So far all the students have found all of their items (sample list below) and they have uploaded them to picnik. I must say that I was very impressed with the creativity of some of my students. They saw lines and angles that I didn't even see! The students have truly enjoyed editing the photos and shown their creativity even more

. I have included some sample photos of student work below. Next, the students will upload their edited photos onto edmodo and complete the assignment. When the entire assignment is complete and I receive more photo permission slips I will post more samples.

New Student Project

Integrating technology with everyday learning is essential in the 21st century classroom. My 5th grade students will be exploring angles, lines, and shapes next week. I want them to think outside the box with our geometry unit. For this study, the students will get digital cameras to go out into the school and capture real life lines, angles, and shapes. They will then upload these pictures onto the picnik site (yes it's closing in April, but head's up, everyone gets free premiere status until then) and experiment with different editing tools. The students will then upload their pictures onto edmodo and answer specific questions assigned by me. I will post blogs this week as the unit progresses. I only meet with each class 30 minutes a day so it will take us an entire week to complete the project. Stay tuned!

Edmodo

Today my students began blogging using Edmodo. My son has used this all year in middle school and really seemed to enjoy it. So, I decided to check it out from a teacher's point-of-view. It was super easy to set up! When I finished setting up my teacher account I created a group titled, "5th grade" and was able to assign a project. What's really cool is the ease of differentiation. You, as a teacher, can create as many groups as needed and assign each group a different project/assignment! 

If you're looking for an easy-to-use class blog then check out Edmodo!

Johnnie's Math Page

This site is the one stop shop for almost any math or logic game for elementary level! I am thrilled to have this as one of my many resources. After discovering this site, I have shared it with many of my fellow teachers. It is definitely a resource I wouldn't want to do without. I love the logic games just as much as the math. These games are designed to develop critical-thinking skills, which most of our students are in need of.  All of the activities are interactive and most don't require a keyboard so they can be used on your interactive board.
Add this site to your favorites because I'm sure it will soon become one of them!

Awesome Tech on the Web

Recently I was directed to an awesome blog that that is constantly updated with the latest Web technology. The blog is http://www.freetech4teachers.com . The blog is written by Richard Byrne and filled with thousands of FREE resources for teachers. I seriously don't even know how he sleeps! He teaches on top of providing daily blogs on the coolest and newest web technology available. The best part for teachers is the work is already done for you. This is like a one stop shop for technology, ideas, and links. Don't take my word for it though, the blog has one several awards in the past two years. Go check it out today! You can follow them or subscribe to their feed to keep technology up to date in your classroom!