Christmas Around the World

My 5th graders do a unit each year entitled Christmas Around the World, where they learn about the different beliefs, traditions and symbols of Christmas in different countries, including Russia, Germany, Italy, Canada, Mexico, etc. This year I would like to up the bar and have them connect with someone from each country that they are studying! This would give them an opportunity to get a first hand description of Christmas in different countries! So what did I do??? I created a Skype in the Classroom, of course! Click below to join my project and connect with my students!

What's that You Say???

Ok, my new love is Voicethread! Voicethread is a collaborative, multimedia slide show that can be used to display images, drawings, document, videos...ANYTHING really! I have known about it for quite awhile, but haven't really had the chance to use it with one of my classes until now I do believe I am addicted...(the first step, they say, is admitting your problem!) The application is suuuuuuuper easy! All you have to do is create an account, which of course, is FREE! You then upload whatever you want to display. I did this with my Cross Categorical class on Thanksgiving senses, so they had already typed up a little poem about what they sense on Thanksgiving in the previous week, so I uploaded those. After that you create an identity for each student. You can use their picture or a clip art image, just as long as it represents them. Once that is done the students open the Voicethread and they can then record what they want to say about their item. For example, we were working on fluency with the Cross Cat class, so they read their Thanksgiving Senses poem. Then they can comment, using voice recording, webcam, or text on other students slides. You can then decide whether you want the Voicethread to remain private or allow others to view and comment on the slides. You, as the creator, can also moderate the comments to make it safe! Very collaborative...Very interactive....VERY FUN! Below is our Thanksgiving Senses Voicethread! I was so proud of the students! I'd love to hear how you would use Voicethread in your classroom! Comment below!

Flipping Over Digital Books!

I am so excited to share this awesome website with you called FlipSnack! Simply upload your students' work and create a really neat looking flip book that you can send out to parents, embed in your website or blog and much more! One of my 3rd grade groups researched all different types of spiders. They each typed their information into a template slide that I created using PowerPoint. Once they were finished, we saved their slides as .pdf files (easy to do with a free PDF creator!). I then uploaded the PDF's to the FlipSnack website and created my book! Instead of the boring PowerPoint slideshow, the kids can now flip the pages of an interactive book, complete with a title page and binding! These are so neat to create and the books are even customizable (yes I made up that word!) to make them look just like you want! Best part of all....it's free to sign up!!! Love it! Click here to sign up and make sure to take a look at our finished spider project below!

Chunks that Gobble!

Make sure to check out my Teachers Pay Teachers store! Kristy and I have uploaded some great new printouts including this Chunky Turkey chunk game. Students have to match the word on each feather to the correct chunk on each turkey. There are 10 different turkeys and each turkey has 4 matching feathers! A great literacy center activity or mini lesson! Only $5.00!!!

http://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Chunky-Turkeys

Tarheel Traveler Teaching Idea

Click here to vote for my lesson daily and help me win a cash grant and iPad for our school! Tarheel Traveler Teaching Idea

Monkeying Around with Math

So I found another great website while browsing one of my favorite blogs, Free Technology for Teachers, and had to re-post! Math Chimp is a great site where you can choose your grade level, 1st-5th, and what common core standards you want your students to focus on, and it provides you with a number of online math games customized to your needs! I think this is a great way to get your kids excited about math, while making sure they are working on the correct skills! Click below to get monkeying around with math!

http://www.mathchimp.com/

Tarheel Traveler Teaching Idea

Hey Everyone! Click here to vote for my lesson using Glogster and Google Earth! The winner receives a cash grant and a prize! Vote EVERYDAY and pass it along to everyone you know! :) Tarheel Traveler Teaching Idea