ABC and 123: A Learning Collaborative: May 2012

Tuesday, May 29, 2012

Show and Tell #103


Babies, Toddlers, and Preschoolers Oh My! used watermelon slices to create some creative characters.

The Educators' Spin On It shares a clever idea for encouraging summer reading for your young pirates.
Interactive Homeschooling put together an interesting Earth Science study on minerals.

It's your turn!
  abc button




If you are new to Show & Tell or need a quick recap, here are the rules:


~Post your favorite lessons, crafts, traditions, kid friendly recipes, field trip recap, learning games, experiments, DIY organizational projects, holiday related activities, or Ah-Ha moments.


~Direct link to your post, not your home page.


~Include a link back to us or include our link button in your post or sidebar.


~Please try to visit and comment on at least three links. This adds to the positive collaboration that makes our learning cooperative a success!


~Each week we will feature three links from the previous week's party.  Some weeks these are chosen at random, sometimes by theme, and other times according to linky tools stats.

Sunday, May 27, 2012

Happy Memorial Day


This holiday weekend as we play and laugh and celebrate the unofficial start of summer...

we remember... 
we respect.... 
we thank...

...each and every man and woman who has served our country to ensure the freedoms we enjoy all year long!

Wednesday, May 23, 2012

Bilingual Wednesdays- Los colores


We are finishing our review for colors and I chose this song to sing with my niece

Red and yellow and pink and green,
purple and orange and blue
I can sing the rainbow, sing a rainbow, too.

After watching the video and singing it in English for a while I invited her to sing the song in Spanish.

Rojo y amarillo y rosa y verde
violeta y naranja y azul
yo puedo cantar el arco iris, cantar el arco iris, tambiƩn.

Then we went on a color hunt at home singing the Spanish version of the song.

Beforehand I printed and laminated these cards for sorting the small objects she found.
Pics are from the English version of the cards, but below you will find the Spanish version of the cards.

We practice the sound of the English and Spanish word for each color. She wanted to sing the song again and to finish the activity she draw and color a wonderful rainbow.


just in case you want to download the English version

Tuesday, May 22, 2012

Show and Tell #102


Play Eat Grow shared a list of their favorite travel activities.

Cooks Chaos mixed up a bowl of cloud dough.

School Time Snippets enhanced their salamander theme by making the salt dough version.


It's your turn!
  abc button




If you are new to Show & Tell or need a quick recap, here are the rules:


~Post your favorite lessons, crafts, traditions, kid friendly recipes, field trip recap, learning games, experiments, DIY organizational projects, holiday related activities, or Ah-Ha moments.


~Direct link to your post, not your home page.


~Include a link back to us or include our link button in your post or sidebar.


~Please try to visit and comment on at least three links. This adds to the positive collaboration that makes our learning cooperative a success!


~Each week we will feature three links from the previous week's party.  Some weeks these are chosen at random, sometimes by theme, and other times according to linky tools stats.

Monday, May 21, 2012

Teaching with Ticia: Writing Centers


A few months ago I wrote a post about the portable writing center I designed, and it was wildly popular.  I realized that I'm not the only Mom or teacher who wants ideas on how to encourage writing.  I started researching and looking into more ideas and wanted to share a few things I figured out from that.

Provide a variety of writing materials

Pink and Green Mama shared her portable center and it had many different pens, markers, crayons, pencils.  I've found that the more things available to write with, the more they will write.

Try different sensory experiences.  Try writing in paint, or my personal favorite shaving cream (it cleans the surface your writing on, I used this all the time while teaching).  Dry erase boards also make a great place to practice.

Set up a permanent space

If you have the ability and wall space (this is great in a classroom, it was my most visited center).

Lessons Learnt Journal shared how she set up her area, along with where she got everything.  I've found in my various experiments less is better, because it forces them to think it through more.


Provide many different things to write on

If you look at my picture up above you see all sorts of different cards in there.  Other great things to leave in there:  note pads with funny pictures, those little pads of paper given away as freebies, old stationary, construction paper, scrapbooking paper you're not going to use.

Fun things to add: stickers, magazines, pre-made books, writing prompts, examples of correct writing form

Writing Ideas board-some more ideas of activities, things to do

Do you have anything to add?  Did you write a post about writing or a writing station?  I'd love to add it to my writing board or come back later and add it to this post.



Friday, May 18, 2012

Technology Tool: hearAll Assessment Recorder {Giveaway}


Today I would like to introduce you to the hearAll Assessment Recorder from Learning Resources.  This tool is perfect for setting up authentic assessment activities with small groups of students.  By adding the hearAll Recorder to a small group discussion you, as the teacher, can easily check up on individual participation and skill development.

The hearAll is designed with 4 microphones to capture clear recordings from all sides of the table where students are working.  Since there are directional microphones the background noise is dramatically reduced.





Here are just a few of the practical applications I came up with for using the hearAll Assessment Recorder:

~Set up a math center where students have to work together to solve a problem and discuss their process.  Record the conversation to assess student understanding of the mathematical concepts.

~Capture students' natural speech patterns and interactions

~Hear which students are invovled, participating, or leading the group

~Record a Reader's Theater read through

~Facilitate passive assessments for students who get nervous talking with an adult present

~In a preshcool classroom the hearAll left in the dramatic play station is a glimpse into the social and emotional learning that is going on while children interact.

~Create MP3 files to upload to your classroom website

~Monitor partner reading for accuracy and time on task

~Pre-record instructions for students to listen to {and review as often as necessary} in station activities.




The hearAll Assessment Recorder will hold up to 4 hours of conversation and the files can be converted to MP3 to be saved and shared with specialists and parents.  I found this technology tool to be very easy to use.  The hearAll charges when it is attached to your computer; you do not need to worry about batteries. Young students will be able to figure out the buttons and use the tool effectively.  I appreciate the size of this tool for easy storage and that the hearAll is lightweight. I believe the quality of the voice recording to be true to life, not stuffy nose or robotic sounding.

This is a fantastic tool for a busy teacher who wants to authentically assess student interaction and group work.


GIVEAWAY:
Learning Resourcesa leading manufacturer of innovative, hands-on educational materials for classrooms worldwide and learning toys, has offered our readers the chance to win a hearAll Assessment Recorder (retail value $99)! We are really looking forward to getting this great technology tool in the hands of one of our teaching and learning families here on ABC & 123!
Entry Details:
Add your entries in the Rafflecopter widget.  This giveaway will close on Thursday, May 24th at 12:00 EST.  A winner will be chosen by Rafflecopter immediately and posted on ABC &123 as soon as possible. The winner's hearAll Assessment Recorder will be sent directly from Learning Resources.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Disclaimer:  Learning Resources sent us the hearAll Assessment Recorder in exchange for sharing about it here.  They are also providing the giveaway product.  If you would like to learn more about Learning Resources you can do so by checking out Learning Resources on FacebookTwitter,Pinterest, and YouTube.

Thursday, May 17, 2012

Teaching with Ticia: Louisiana


Louisiana is a fun place to study.  There is a lot of history, culture, and art to look at there.  It's also a fun place to visit, which I discovered last spring when I spent a day or so driving through there.


What's on here:
My plan to save the levies- One of the things we talked about is the devastation Katrina had on New Orleans, and how we can work to prevent that.  We talked through it, but since it was mostly talking I don't have any picture to go for that activity.

Down in Louisiana- I discovered a great Louisiana author who has several books set in various parts of Louisiana, this first one is "Down in Louisiana," a twist on a traditional song.  The book is made in collage style and I encourage the kids to create a collage of different animals mentioned.  They didn't always go with my plans and instead opted to draw their creations.

Chef Creole- This is an imaginative book using food from Creole culture to create a person.  Again this book was done in collage style, and many of the kids opted to make collages, however this child did not.  So, if you want to see other examples go to the full post.

The Blues music- I found a fun retelling of Bremen Town Musicians as the "Ol' Boogie-Woogie Blues Bayou," and my kids thoroughly enjoyed it.  When paired with a blues song from Fantasia 2000, it led to a fun experiment in art.  I have to say, any time I get to pull Gershwin music into school work is a win for me.

Other things not included in the lapbook because they were lost or misplaced:

Mardi Gras masks, a great excuse to make costumes.  Little Wonder Days also has some fun Mardi Gras posts with a mask idea and a yummy looking cookie.

State symbol book- I had fun pulling some ideas from the state symbols with Louisiana.

Crawfish- I always love to compare what is real in a fiction book with what isn't.

Jean Laffitte and the Big Ol' Whale- This was a fun opportunity to throw in some art projects.  There's apparently several tall tales about this pirate, and he also participated in........

The Battle for New Orleans- which features Andrew Jackson from Tennessee.  If I was writing this post a week later, I'd have a better post to link to about that battle, but we just finished doing our War of 1812 activity Friday.

And finally, I found this post amongst my pins and bookmarks about Louisiana, All Things Beautiful is working her way through the states and has a different take than I do on it, she does more cooking, and you have to try some of her recipes.

Books Read:




Wednesday, May 16, 2012

Calendar Time





I've blogged about my calendar time on What the Teacher Wants, but I wanted to share it with my friends here at ABC and 123!


 months of the year and the calendar
Days of the week





Weather
Money and Time


Days of School


I got the calendar from Scholastic
Piggy Bank is from Scholastic
Judy Clock is from Carson Dellosa
Weather cards are from DJ Inkers
Place Value Straws are from ????



If you want to know about my calendar routine and use my freebie printables, 
just download them {here}!




Here are some of the items included:







When a student loses a tooth, I give them a toothbrush and they can take home the "Dear Tooth Fairy" writing stationary! :)




Clipart and/or fonts used with permission from DJ Inkers and Scrappin' Doodles









For more math ideas, check out my "It All Adds Up" posts {here}.


Tuesday, May 15, 2012

Show and Tell #101

Love and Lollipops got creative and colorful by building a Seussical village using bottle tops.


The Nature of Grace added a toothpaste factory activity to a week of dental activities.  My little ones are busy with wiggly and newly pulled teeth this week, so this would be a timely experiment in our house!

living worldsapart put together a tot time quiet bag with many interesting materials for exploring a childhood favorite, Goodnight Moon.

It's your turn!




abc button




If you are new to Show & Tell or need a quick recap, here are the rules:


~Post your favorite lessons, crafts, traditions, kid friendly recipes, field trip recap, learning games, experiments, DIY organizational projects, holiday related activities, or Ah-Ha moments.


~Direct link to your post, not your home page.


~Include a link back to us or include our link button in your post or sidebar.


~Please try to visit and comment on at least three links. This adds to the positive collaboration that makes our learning cooperative a success!


~Each week we will feature three links from the previous week's party.  Some weeks these are chosen at random, sometimes by theme, and other times according to linky tools stats.

Thursday, May 10, 2012

National Nurse Week & Nurse Appreciation


In almost every classroom we celebrate nurses as we talk about community helpers.  Nurses are top on our list of those who are willing to help others in the places where we live, work, and play.  
Have you thanked a nurse this week?  
Have you done something with your students that is out of the ordinary to show your appreciation for those who are trained to care for the sick and hurting?  
Well, if you would like to there is still time and here are some ideas to get you thinking.
The TomKat Studio has designed a printable set of cupcake toppers you might want to use when delivering a sweet treat to your favorite nursing staff.

Spell Outload shared a few ideas for adding some hospital related flair to your learning stations.
Nurses are Angels has a collection of poems about nurses that would be thematic to use for reading practice or to put inside a special card.
Danielle's Place provides the printables for making a paper nurse outfit for a stuffed animal.
Search Kids InfoBits or eLibrary Elementar for interesting facts, written for kids, about some famous care givers such as: Florence Nightingale and May Seacole!
Preschool is Fun has compiled a list of nursing related activities for many different subject area.  Check it out for some interesting lesson plan ideas. 

Tuesday, May 8, 2012

Show and Tell #100


#100!  Wow!  It seems like this should be a special event or something.  One hundred = 2 years of our clever friends and readers sharing their amazing ideas during our weekly celebration of learning.  I love it!


SunnyDayToDayMama made a unique bunting out of re-purposed pages from damaged children's books.


The Unlikely Homeschool shared their favorite "go-to" review game idea.



Relentlessly Fun, Deceptively Educational used Lego miniatures to practice spelling words.  Who wouldn't want to play along?

In case you may have missed some of our earlier posts in May, we have a couple great giveaways going on right now: Easi-Speak USB RecorderElemenosqueeze (Alphabet Blocks).  There is still time to enter.


It's your turn!


abc button




If you are new to Show & Tell or need a quick recap, here are the rules:


~Post your favorite lessons, crafts, traditions, kid friendly recipes, field trip recap, learning games, experiments, DIY organizational projects, holiday related activities, or Ah-Ha moments.


~Direct link to your post, not your home page.


~Include a link back to us or include our link button in your post or sidebar.


~Please try to visit and comment on at least three links. This adds to the positive collaboration that makes our learning cooperative a success!


~Each week we will feature three links from the previous week's party.  Some weeks these are chosen at random, sometimes by theme, and other times according to linky tools stats.