Useful Information In and Out of the Classroom 3/30/18

Here are some interesting sites that I’ve found this week, thanks to my PLN. As a teacher, I feel we have to keep up to date concerning research in our field and current issues in the education system. I hope some of these inspire you, inform you, and even have you asking questions. Thank you for coming by and visiting!

Note: Each resource is labeled with a level and subject area to make it easier to use.

Levels:  E: Elementary; M: Middle; H: High; G: General, all levels; SN: Special Needs; T: Teachers

Subject Areas: LA: Language Arts, English, Reading, Writing; M: Math; S: Science; Health; SS: Social Studies, Current Events; FA: Fine Arts; Music, Art, Drama; FL: Foreign Language; PE: Physical Ed; C: Career; A: All

Puppet Master – “PuppetMaster is an animation app for kids, where you can bring to life any image, just by acting things out in front of the camera or touching the screen. Your voice is recorded as well. The result is your own animated video!” (L:E; SA:A)

How inventions change history (for better and for worse) – a TED-ed lesson; “Invented in 1793, the cotton gin changed history for good and bad. By allowing one field hand to do the work of 10, it powered a new industry that brought wealth and power to the American South -- but, tragically, it also multiplied and prolonged the use of slave labor. Kenneth C. Davis lauds innovation, while warning us of unintended consequences.” (L:H; SA:SS)

Cup Stacking Game – “Cup Stack Keyboarding is a fun game for children to practice typing quickly. Stack and un-stack the cups by typing the keyboard characters on them. Children should try to use the home row ASDF JKL; while playing.” (L:E; SA:A)

Quote Integration – video for students using quotes in their writing (L:H; SA:LA)

Free Shots – “tons of free photos” (L:G; SA:A)

Original photo by Pat Hensley

The Blue Wall Passage

Yesterday 30 of us hiked the Blue Wall Passage on the Palmetto Trail.

According to the Nature Conservancy site:

“The Nature Conservancy acquired the Blue Wall Preserve in 1997. The Preserve is located in northeast Greenville County and is part of a mosaic of protected parcels that cover approximately 20,000 acres within the Blue Ridge Escarpment of the Southern Appalachians. The Preserve was designated as an Important Bird Area by the Audubon Society; 114 different bird species have been observed on the Preserve. There is a variety of natural plant communities, including: hardwood uplands, Virginia pine succession forest stands, saturated southerm shrublands and open-water lakes. There is also a majestic waterfall along the trails. 

The Cherokee called the Blue Ridge Mountains the “Blue Wall.” Standing at The Nature Conservancy’s Blue Wall Preserve, looking 1400 feet up the Southern Blue Ridge Escarpment to views of Hogback Mountain and surrounding peaks, one can see why. This 575-acre preserve, named for this view, is part of a larger collection of 22,000 acres of conserved land that provide clean drinking water, quiet recreation and protection of ecological diversity in the Southern Blue Ridge Mountains. The Southern Blue Ridge Escarpment with its abrupt rise in elevation and abundant rainfall is one of the most ecologically important areas in the eastern US if not the world. The preserve hosts a variety of natural plant communities, including: hardwood uplands, Virginia pine successional forest stands, saturated southern shrublands, cold water streams, majestic waterfalls and open-water ponds. The Preserve was designated as an Important Bird Area by the Audubon Society.”

Here is a video of our hike:

Back of the Book Blurb #97B Challenge

From Sioux's Page, Sioux offers this challenge.

She posts a picture and you need to imagine it as a graphic for a book. You choose the genre and book title, and then write a blurb that might appear on the back of the book.

The blurb should be 150 words or less (not including the title). The genre is wide-open.

Each blogger should include their blurb on their own blog, and link back to this post. Have fun with it. Go to the other posts and comment on the other blurbs.  You can do fancy techy things with the photo.

(Join in if you dare...! It sounds like fun! I think this would be a lot of fun to do with students especially since they would be expected to write 150 words or less!)

A Doll’s Life

Endora was tired of Darren treating Samantha like a voiceless doll. Whenever she gave an opinion, Darren just patted Samantha on her head as if she was stupid. He just didn’t realize the power that witches had and he was playing with fire. Even though Samantha loved Darren, she would reach the end of her limits sometimes and complain to her mother. Endora would try to get Samantha to take action but she wouldn’t. Samantha would always have an excuse why her human would act the silly way he did. So, Endora was going to take action for her daughter!  Endora folded her arms, said an incantation and turned Darren into a doll. When Samantha gave away a box of dolls to Goodwill, she had no idea that her husband was in that box. Imagine her horror when she found out later that Endora had bewitched Darren! (147 words)