21st Century 3rd Grade
Creek View Elementary
BBC Schools
Dance Mat Typing!
What does smashing plates have to do with typing? Find out!
"School should be a reflection of the future."
K. Shields
Dear Parents and students:
I am looking forward to an exciting year. I know we will learn a lot from one another. We have an rich curriculum and opportunities to engage in many meaningful activities. I attended a two week outdoor science workshop at Oxford College this summer and hope to incorporate some investigations using our outdoor classroom.
In 3rd grade students are doing less learning to read and more reading to learn. This is an important divergence from previous years. Reading comprehension and critical thinking play a central role in helping students become successful across the curriculum. I attended the Junior Great Books workshop. The workshop emphasized asking interpretive questions allowing students the chance to form their ideas based upon evidence in the stories.
My kindergarten classroom was part of the Georgia 21st Century Model Classroom grant. The Promethean board was a centerpiece of this model. Although I will not have an interactive whiteboard this year but will have access to one in the science lab as well as access to an LCD projector. I have 10 Neos by Alphasmart which will be an important part of the Language Arts small group rotation. Students will become involved in posting their typed journal entries onto a classroom blog. The keyboards allow the students to learn keyboarding and to develop editing skills.
Web-based programs such as Riverdeep and some desktop programs are available to extend and enrich student learning. Our classroom will incorporate lots of speaking and writing which will be captured in the form of audio podcasts and a classroom wiki (a collaborative writing tool). Parents are encouraged to subscribe to the small voices podcast as well as the classroom website and blog.
Kindergarten 07-08 Class Links
* The Adventures of Milk Dud
*The Adventures of Ben10 the Bear
* Kindergarten Grade Level
* Creek View Elementary
* Kids in Charge Blog
* Kids in Charge Home
XO Laptop Connecting through Education
On September 19 at 9:30 am several groups of students demonstrated educational applications for the OLPC-XO Laptops. Guests observed the students in action and were able to ask questions about the OLPC program. Some video tape of the event will be available soon so CVES families can view it on our website.
Initially I became involved because I thought we could select the recipients of the donations. I made friends with Martin Sebuliba Victor the chairman of a school/orphanage for displaced Ugandan children through Global Gateway. His organization Springs Alive serves nearly 100 children. They have limited supplies, inadequate housing and difficulty paying teachers to stay on. This is just the type of situation addressed by OLPC but apparently on a much larger scale. They must negotiate with governments. It is a difficult existence and not a day goes by that I don't think about how I can bring them hope. I think my role is to let people know they are there and that they need some new friends.
I am a big proponent of Nicholas Negroponte's OLPC initiative otherwise known as One Laptop Per Child. Rolling out like a tsunami this spring, 100's of thousands of students in 3rd world countries will be receiving their own personal link to the world. I am very pleased to announce that Creek View has become a partner in this program by participating in the Give One Get One plan! Thanks to numerous heartfelt donations from students and several parents and a corporate sponsor, our Media Specialist Diane Briggs placed the order to give 10 and get 10 laptops which we finally received at the end of July!
Welcome Visitors
It is nice to know there are so many of you exploring our classroom web pages! I have created a blogger.com blog for your comments.
'Tis the Season
Creek View Elementary
Our motto, coined by the Principal Trussell is, "Only at Creek View." It reflects a community of families and educators who are committed to going above and beyond for children. I'm proud to be part of this dynamic team!
GA DOE Provides a Guide
Click here to view and print a copy of the CRCT Study Guide for grade 3.
Animate Your Own Story
Our site of the week is a visual storyteller's dream. The movie feature allows users to layer the actions including, text, sound, animation and transitions. kerpoof is a simple sequencing tool.
National Geographic
Pretend you work for National Geographic editing the amazing animal footage. You can add sounds, captions and organize the clips in your own short movie!
Becker & Shields are book buddies this year.
We will be collaborating on an international folktale project. I introduced the students to Anansi the Spider a character with origins in West Africa and a known trickster. Who compensates for his diminutive size using his strong wit.
Her name is Cucumber!
I used my science camp mini grant to purchase a giant millipede for the classroom and the gentile giant arrived on Wednesday! We have observed it both inside its' habitat and on a tray. It curled up like a shell. Students were eager to touch the shell. Soon we will give it a name.
Sparkle is looking for a place to spend her holidays . . .
Sparkle's reputation as a sweet lovable bunny makes her the ideal holiday guest. She comes equipped with a travel cage, food and requires very little maintenance. If you would like the pleasure of her company over Thanksgiving or the long winter break please speak now to reserve her companionship for your child, her adoring fan.
Give a Pig a Pancake...
The Wild Horse Group, aka The Cookers of Creek View with the help of Grant's mom made and dcorated pancakes on Wednesday, September19. First the student in charge of the dry ingredients measured and mixed their ingredients. Next, the wet ingredients were added and the mixture became batter. Mrs. Robertson assisted by pouring the batter on the griddle. She produced 7 perfectly round golden pancakes. The students used some chocolate chips and a large marshmallow to make faces on the pancakes. Ella created a pig by placing two chips on top of the marshmallow! Each student was given a little puddle of syrup for dipping. Now we know that if you give a student a pancake they'll probably ask for more!
1st CVES Cooking Show
The Killer Whale Reading group, Killer Whale Chefs chose to make pizza after reading Hold the Anchovies!: A Book About Pizza (Hardcover)
by Shelley Rotner (Author), Julia Pemberton Hellums (Author) and
Curious George and the Pizza (Curious George) (Paperback)
by Margret Rey (Author), Alan J. Shalleck (Editor)