Blogging FOR the Classroom

Creating a blog for a "pretend" classroom has been an interesting experience.  Originally I thought it would be extremely difficult to imagine that students would be reading this on a daily basis and using it to enhance their learning.  However, I then thought about it being like creating lesson plans for imaginary students in the Teacher Education program and how these are not meant to be perfect, but a way to experience what it would be like in the real world and learn from it.  That's what I did with this blog.

http://pedagogy.cwrl.utexas.edu/

Keeping a blog for students is very useful because children of extremely young ages are using technology to learn and experience their world.  If I can bring "their world" into my classroom, then their learning can only improve and become more engaging because it is more meaningful.

Differentiated Instruction is something I've heard a lot about this year, and maintaining a classroom blog can reach students of various learning styles.  Adding a variety of videos and audio clips is one way to engage your visual and auditory learners, and to add in interactive websites where students can drag-and-drop objects or type in text boxes is a way to engage kinaesthetic learners.  Even better, these things will benefit all students - which provides further evidence that a Universal Design for Learning is effective and very attainable.

A classroom blog can be a convenient way to combine various curricular subjects.  Websites such as BitStrips and SlideRocket can combine Language, Visual Arts, and Technology all into one performance-based task.  Webquests or Scavenger Hunts can allow students to explore an endless variety of educational websites while recording their findings on a website like Popplet, which could aid them in creating a piece of writing that is research-based.

Finally, updating a classroom blog can keep students and their families up-to-date on current classroom and school events, which eliminates having to e-mail parents or send out paper newsletters - it's eco-friendly!

I can't wait to be able to create a blog for a real life classroom one day!

Photo Fill-Ins

Good afternoon, Families!

Lately in our classroom, the Grade 4s have been working on their writing practices.  To do so, I have done several minilessons with them on wordy study topics (such as the spelling of vocabulary from our Word Wall Words), proper sentence structure, the use of the past and future tense, as well as punctuation. We recently did a little lesson on the use of quotation marks to indicate that someone is speaking in a variety of texts, and so I have given them a website (under the Miss E.'s Students section of this blog) to practice writing spoken phrases.  The lessons we have been working on are in line with the Ontario's Ministry of Education curriculum guidelines, and the following is a list of the expectations we have been focusing on recently.

http://www.edu.gov.on.ca/

Writing:
By the end of Grade 4 students will,

• 2.4 use sentences of different lengths and structures (e.g., complex sentences incorporating conjunctions such as because, so, if)
• 3.1 spell familiar words correctly (e.g., words from their oral vocabulary, anchor charts,
• and shared-, guided-, and independent reading texts; words used regularly in instruction across the curriculum)
• 3.4 use punctuation appropriately to help communicate their intended meaning, with a focus on the use of: the apostrophe to indicate possession, and quotation marks to indicate direct speech
• 3.5 use parts of speech appropriately to communicate their meaning clearly, with a focus on the use of: common and proper nouns; verbs in the simple present, past, and future tenses; adjectives and adverbs; subject/verb agreement; prepositions; and conjunctions

Here is the link to a PDF document containing all of the Language curriculum expectations:

http://www.edu.gov.on.ca/eng/curriculum/elementary/language18currb.pdf

If you have any questions or concerns, please feel free to e-mail me.  Also, those Photo Fill-Ins can be quite a hoot, so have your son or daughter show you them and work on them together!  Guaranteed to make you laugh.

- Miss Eakins

We're a Tribes Community

Our classroom is a Tribes community!  We follow four agreements:

1. Mutual respect
2. Attentive listening
3. Appreciations and no put-downs (and apologies!)
4. Right to pass

http://tribes.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/08/185.jpg

Students:  How do you feel about these agreements?  Do you feel that we are practicing them in our own classroom?

Parents:  Please feel free to talk to your child about what Tribes means to them.  We try to uphold these beliefs all of the time so that we can build a safe, fun, and community-based environment where we all can grow to our fullest potential!

For more information about Tribes, check out its website: http://tribes.com/

Welcome families!

Thank-you for stopping by! This will be the space I use to keep you updated on what's going on in your child's classroom and school. I will make sure to post information about any school events that are taking place, the learning that is going on in our classroom, and how you can help your child succeed in their grade 4 year. I will let you know how we are achieving the Ontario Curriculum expectations through our classroom projects as often as possible. If you have a Google account, you may "Subscribe" to this blog so that you receive a notification if something has been posted here. If you have any further questions or comments, feel free to e-mail me at misseakins@anyschool.com.

Make your own funny photos!

Hello my Fun 4's,


Check out this website to create your own funny photos of animals doing crazy things!


http://kids.nationalgeographic.com/kids/activities/photofillins/


If the speech bubble was not in the picture, how could you let your audience know that the character is speaking?


Type in what you think the animal is thinking or saying.  Then, print or save your funny photo and bring it into class to share with your friends.


Have fun!
- Miss E.


P.S.  Look at the one I made :)  What do you think?

Everyone has a talent!

Hello Grade 4s! 

This video is very, very cool. Check out how this girl creates art out of sand! I hope this inspires you to "think outside the box" and pursue your dream, whatever that may be. Find what makes you YOU! Everyone has a talent or something special about them, you just have to search for it and take risks :) 

- Miss E.

Welcome back!

Happy back-to-school!

http://gatheringofgamers.blogspot.com/2011/08/back-to-school.html

I hope everyone had a fantastic summer and has lots of stories to share.  My name is Miss Eakins, and I will be spending lots of time with you this year as your Grade 4 teacher!  I am very excited to learn and grow with you, as well as have tons of fun along the way.

If you ever have any questions about what's going on in our classroom, check out this blog.  I will update it as often as possible and you can always leave a comment if you are unsure of something!


Please let your families know that they have a very special page just for them so that they can see what we're up to.


See you soon!
- Miss E.