Monday, January 26, 2009

100th Day of School


JUST IN... from TeacherFirst.com
Visit website link for more ideas
TeachersFirst 100th Day Activities:
50+ Ideas for the 100th Day of School

"There are lots of ways to note the 100th day of school. Here are fifty of our favorites. Many of these activities will challenge both lower and upper elementary students as they build better number sense for "100." Enjoy!

1. Jump rope 100 times.
2. Build the tallest house of cards you can using 100 cards.
3. Flip a coin 100 times. Make a graph showing the number of heads and tails.
4. Roll a pair of dice 100 times. Create a chart showing how many times each number came up. Make a graph based on the chart.
5. Find someone who is at least 100 years old. Ask them what life was like when they were your age.
6. Find out which weighs more - 100 nickels or 100 quarters
7. Have everyone in your class try to throw a tennis ball 100 yards. Measure each throw. Calculate the average throw.
8. Count by 100s to 10,000
9. Recite multiplication facts up to 100 (10 x 10) with your eyes closed!
10. Guess how much 100 jelly beans weigh. Then weigh them and give a prize to the closest guess. Don't eat the jellybeans!
11. Separate 100 jellybeans by color. What percentage of the total is the most common color? What percentage of the total is the least common color? Don't eat the jellybeans!
12. Without using a calculator, figure out how many jellybeans each student would get if you divided 100 jellybeans equally among all the students. Don't eat the jellybeans.
13. Blindfold a student and have him/her pass out the proper number of jellybeans. What is the probability that the first jellybean handed out will be the most common color? (Think about this one!) EAT THE JELLYBEANS!!
14. Measure the height of your classroom ceiling. How many classrooms that size could you fit into a structure that was 100 feet tall?
15. Measure the space required for a student's desk and the aisle around it. How big would your classroom need to be to hold 100 desks with the same spacing?
16. Weigh the classroom dictionary. If postage costs $3.50 a pound, how much would it cost to mail 100 dictionaries?
17. Count backwards from 100 to 0 by sevens. See who can do it most quickly.
18. Count from 0 to 100 by fours. See who can do it most quickly.
19. Make a list of 100 words that end in "-ly"
20. Name 100 birds.
21. List 100 boys' names.
22. Name 100 American cities.
23. Name 100 cities NOT in America.
24. Estimate the length of a row of 100 nickels. Measure a row of 100 nickels to check your estimate.
25. Have everyone in the class close their eyes. Start a stopwatch and ask students to say "now" when they think 100 seconds has passed. Prizes to the winner!!
26. See if you can hold your breath for 100 seconds!
27. Figure out what a 100 second Super Bowl commercial would cost if broadcast time sells for $2.3 million per minute.
28. List 100 things that had not been invented 100 years ago.
29. See which student can walk the greatest distance (laps around the gym??) backwards in 100 seconds.
30. Try to do 100 sit-ups or push-ups!
31. Separate students into pairs standing 15' apart. See how many can toss a tennis ball back and forth 100 times without dropping it.
32. Collect 100 cans of food for a local food bank.
33. Write a story that is 100 words long.
34. Build a structure using 100 toothpicks or popsicle sticks.
35. Figure out the date that is 100 days after your birthday.
36. Use 100 seconds to make as many equations as possible that equal 100.
37. Bring in a recipe from home. Adjust the quantities to feed 100 people.
38. Write a story about what you would do with $100.
39. Write a story about what your community will be like in 100 years.
40. See if you can bounce a tennis ball on a tennis racquet 100 times.
41. Learn to say 100 in as many languages as possible.
42. Find a town or city that is 100 miles away.
43. Find the height of a stack of 100 pennies in centimeters.
44. Estimate how far 100 students would reach lying head-to-toe on the floor.
45. Figure out about how many days there are in 100 hours.
46. Estimate how much popcorn 100 kernels would make. Pop them to see whose estimate is closest.
47. Build a project using 100 Lego blocks.
48. Figure out how many of each denomination of bill would be required to total $100.
49. Estimate the cost of 100 gallons of root beer, bought in 2-liter bottles that cost $1.10 each.
50. Figure out about how big a patio you could make with 100 paving stones that are 2 feet by 3 feet."


Off to Costco to get that Jug of Jelly Bellies

Wednesday, January 21, 2009

Flash Jeopardy

Today's new tool was sent to me by Cindy Brock part of my local PLN. Her simply said, Create your very own Flash Jeopardy review game to use on your SMART board! AMAZING SITE... Thanks you, Cindy! I have already shared this with other teachers in my building!

Flash Jeopardy was designed by a teacher for use in the classroom as a SmartBoard review game. This site has all of the tools needed to create a Jeopardy review game, download your game for free, and play jeopardy in your classroom. You can also play Flash Jeopardy online.
Directions given:
  1. First you should download the Flash Jeopardy template.
  2. It is completely free and there is a version for both PC and Mac. It is a Flash executable file that should run on just about any computer. It is also small and can be conveniently saved to a USB drive.
Too Cool! You can find lots of templates for games already made. I saw one made by a garden club. That gives me another idea. Gotta go! My mind is spinning again!



Monday, January 19, 2009

Megan's Pledge

Continuing with the theme of Anti-Bullying.....
Let me remind you of time when good has come out of a bad thing. A thirteen year old Megan Meier♥(R.I.P) committed suicide over a MySpace relationship that she had online with a "teenage boy" when, in fact, it was a neighborhood mom!
On her show, Tyra Banks discussed this dangerous phenomenon with a teen-only audience. The bullies explain why they torment through text messages and MySpace anonymously. Then, watch several brave girls fight back and confront their bullies. Plus, the case that brought so much attention to cyber bullying. Megan Meier's mother Tina opens up about her teen daughter's suicide and how cyber bullying from other teens and even an adult caused a deep depression that had deadly consequences. Finally, Tyra and her audience take the Megan Pledge and vow to stop cyber bullying.



Great Resources for the Megan's Pledge Campaign....From Jeffrey Johnston's page

"There are three parts of The Megan Pledge, a signed individual pledge, a group banner and black and white polka-dot ribbons to wear and share.

The pledge itself contains both statements and a set of promises. It is signed and witnessed and given to WiredSafety’s Megan Pledge volunteer team. The first name and last initial of the person taking the pledge, as well as their town and state are added to the roster. The pledge commits the person, individually, to take a stand against cyberbullying, to offer support to those being cyberbullied and to report it whenever they find it. They also commit to understanding that suicide is never an option, empowering them to be part of the solution, instead of the problem. They take the pledge for themselves. They take it for Megan. They take it for all others who have experienced the pain of cruel words and actions in cyberspace, on cell phones and through gaming devices.

The Megan Pledge is more than a pledge. It’s more than a banner. It’s more than a polka-dot ribbon. It is a movement. Empowering children, tweens and teens to be part of the cyberbullying solution instead of the problem, The Megan Pledge gives them concrete steps to take to address the rising cyberbullying epidemic. The Pledge gives them the chance to say “Enough!” when faced with cyberbullying by providing conflict resolution methods, anger management skills and support for the target. At the same time, it teaches students how to avoid becoming a cyberbully themselves, by either acting out or responding to an attack."....

The pledge can also be signed online at My Yearbook.

THE very respected as Cyberberbullying expert is Parry Aftab a security, privacy and cyberspace lawyer, as well as an author and child advocate. Visit her resources posted at Stopcyberbullying.org This is a deep topic, and I have a very heavy heart about it.

Sunday, January 18, 2009

The Wounded Spirit

Following up on my post about Anti-bulling....
At a previous school EVERY teacher was given the audiobiography by Frank Peretti The Wounded Spirit (updated as No More Bullies: For Those Who Wound or Are Wounded) for summer reading. Then during August inservice we were shown a very powerful, moving movie narrated by Peretti. That school started a big anti-bullying campaign. BULLYING WAS NOT TOLLERATED. I admire the administration taking a stand. Students were shown the movie and relationships improved quickly. Focus on the Family's website tells the part of the story. Yet I recommend that book for everyone who works with children, and young people. More folks need to be aware of this issue... pass the word.


American Girl: Anti-Bullying Campaign

Thanks to Wesley Fryer and his daughter for sending us to the “Pledge to take a stand” campaign against bullying on the 2009 American Girl of the Year website.

Anti-Bullying Campaign: American Girl of the Year 2009 website

This would really appeal to the elementary school girls! I also noted that there is a Poster Contest and resources for Parents and Teachers. May 1st will be declared "Stop the Bullying Day." More resources will be ready on this site March 2nd.

Also Wesley noted the video "Hero in the Hallway" Here is one of his previous posts. This is an excellent one to show to all students to make them aware of bullying and what they can do about it. My mind is moving fast with ideas. Aha! Could my students do a similar video to address some school problems?



Saturday, January 17, 2009

Social Networks Grow: Friending Mom and Dad


On January 14, 2009 Pew Internet & American Life Project released a new report on Adults and Social Network Websites. My younger daughter and I had been watch for a new report for the research statistics for her senior project at UT-Knoxville. It stated, "The share of adult internet users who have a profile on an online social network site has more than quadrupled in the past four years -- from 8% in 2005 to 35% now..."

While media coverage and policy attention focus heavily on how children and young adults use social network sites, adults still make up the bulk of the users of these websites. Adults make up a larger portion of the US population than teens, which is why the 35% number represents a larger number of users than the 65% of online teens who also use online social networks.

Still, younger online adults are much more likely than their older counterparts to use social networks, with 75% of adults 18-24 using these networks, compared to just 7% of adults 65 and older. At its core, use of online social networks is still a phenomenon of the young.

Overall, personal use of social networks seems to be more prevalent than professional use of networks, both in the orientation of the networks that adults choose to use as well as the reasons they give for using the applications. Most adults, like teens, are using online social networks to connect with people they already know.

When users do use social networks for professional and personal reasons, they will often maintain multiple profiles, generally on different sites.

Most, but not all adult social network users are privacy conscious; 60% of adult social network users restrict access to their profiles so that only their friends can see it, and 58% of adult social network users restrict access to certain content within their profile. Source

Full Report Available

A personal note: My daughters both have Facebook accounts. They told me that I am a "Cool" mom, but I CANNOT have a Facebook page. They think it is weird to be friends with other kids' moms. They said I don't need to know everything they do and read the "feed" of their friends. But they approved me Tweeting on Twitter! They said I "needed" that for my job! Love it! I am a "cool" mom! But sorry, you won't be seeing me on Facebook!

Weather on Google Calendar

From Richard Byrne's post at Free Technology for TeacherMy 4th Grade Science Project Comes to Google Calendar When I was in the fourth grade in 1988 my teacher (I'm sorry, I don't remember your name anymore) had us write down the weather report on index cards for a couple of weeks. At the end of those two weeks, we looked at the almanac from the previous year and made predictions for the next week based on our index card data and almanac data. Twenty one years later students don't have to use index cards to record each day's weather data, they can use Google Calendar to do it. The video below, from Tekzilla, shows you how to get the weather in Google Calendar.

Applications for Education
In 1988 my classmates and I were limited to using local weather data for our forecasting project. Today, students can find data from anywhere in the world and make forecasts for any place in the world. To bring my 1988 project further into the 21st century teachers may want to try to connect their classroom with one in another part of the world and have students compare forecasts and climates.

How Google Is Making Us Smarter

How Google Is Making Us Smarter

Posted using ShareThis

The Internet will double in size every 5.32 years

From a feed I found out that www.physorg.com posted the headline.
Internet Growth Follows Moore's Law Too

The Internet will double in size every 5.32 year! I remember studying Moore's Law in my Master's studies. This is a thougt provoking opinion.Think on that...How will that change the world of information?? I always like to see students what students write on the 100th day of school on the theme "What will it be like to live 100 years from now?" Think back to 1909. Wow! The world has changed. Think ahead 5 1/2 years... how will our world change? Below is a snippet of the article
...

Internet map as of 16th January. Image: Internet Mapping Project, Bell Labs/Lumeta Corporation
(PhysOrg.com) -- Originally, Moore’s Law described the number of transistors that can fit on an integrated circuit, which doubles approximately every 18 months. Now, a team of researchers from China has discovered that Moore’s Law can also describe the growth of the Internet. In a recent study, the researchers have predicted that the Internet will double in size every 5.32 years.

That finding is one of several results from the study published by Guo-Qing Zhang, et al., in a recent issue of the New Journal of Physics. The researchers investigated the evolution of large-scale Internet topology, or how the Internet is structured and connected. Based on routing data of six-month intervals from December 2001 to December 2006, the researchers predicted not only the Internet’s exponential growth rate which follows Moore’s Law, but also more specifically how the Internet evolves. more

Thursday, January 15, 2009

Big Deal Book

One freebie that I have emailed to me bi-weekly is the Big Deal Book। Timely reminders, fabulous freebies, best sites & more "worth the surf!" It is an easy-to-use, biweekly resource of grants, timely articles of interests, interactive Websites, and free materials all related to the successful integration of technology in today's classrooms and schools. It is created for K-12 technology directors and coordinators, media specialists and tech-savvy teachers. Sign up here.
From Blogger Pictures

Also available is The Big Deal Book for Educators of English Language Learners. Look that the left sidebar for some other treats like Web Wednesdays and EARTHURSDAYS. We all need a pick-me up with this brually cold weather. Enjoy!

TN History

TN History for Kids is an outstanding website for teachers and students looking for interesting facts about Tennessee History and Civics.
"Most public school students in Tennessee have no Tennessee history or civics textbook, even though students in about half of the grades are required to learn parts of the subject every school year. Because of this, it is more important than ever that students have a place to go for information on Tennessee history."

Nashville author Bill Carey for the purpose of improving this situation. Step one was to research, write, and produce this web site. It is a winner! They have stayed up-to-date this week with all the "happenings" in TN state government's excitement.

Currently you can get a free DVD by paying shipping. It has some great movie clips of twelve "video field trips." It is worth the time to persue this website. All TN citizens would enjoy it. Students doing research on TN History or places to visit will find it a treasure trove of interesting information. Thanks, Bill Carey!

Monday, January 12, 2009

Learn, Collaborate and Share!

One member of my PLN is the wonderful Jennifer Wagner. Even though Jen is in California, she loves to connect teachers all over the world using her creative Jenuine Tech projects. I just worked with a third grade class complete her Christmas Card exchange with 24 other classes across the US. The next project will help your class celebrate the anniversary of 200th birthday of President Abraham Lincoln. This project is open to all PreK - 6th Grade classrooms! Project dates are Feb. 1, 2009 to February 20, 2009. Registration is OPEN!
From Blogger Pictures

For Classroom teachers her projects have a great gathering of activties. Some will stretch YOU to learn new technology skills. Just by signing up you will want to learn your way around her NING!
Enjoy!

Thursday, January 8, 2009

Interview with God

I just got an email from my sister-in-law. We do not talk much about our faith, but I know that we are both grounded in our faith. It shows by our daily walk. I have been through several health trials in these past few years. Prayers were answered during my time of trouble. You don't want to wait until you are under a life-threatening situation to have a serious talk with God. This website is precious reminding me of how critical it is to be in constant contact with our Heavenly Father. Sit back and enjoy Interview with God. Please pass it along to a friend to encourage them, as it did it did for me!

If you enter the website, beautiful e-cards are available, too! Great photography of God's world to view during this dreary winter days.

Educational tip: I taught 4th grade students how to do this type of Slideshow in PowerPoint. Each student created one slide with a special Quote or Bible Verse. They chose the movement of the words in/out. Then a small group put the show together. It was a great hit in assembly. The next year the younger grades wanted to know when they were going to have "the chance to do a slideshow like last years' class."

Freedom's Sisters


The National Civil Rights Museum in Memphis will be the third stop on the tour of the exhibit "Freedom Sisters." This exhibit will be available January 24 through April 5, 2009.

Come visit Memphis for a weekend or Spring Break! Enjoy the exhibit and lots of delicious food, especially ribs or BBQ. You could eat at the famous Rendevous or Neely's (from the Food Network fame.) Last night before the University of Memphis game we ate at Pearl's Oyster House. Mmm!
I must be hungry! anyway-back on the subject.

From the website: “Freedom’s Sisters”
– Much of our national memory of the civil rights movement is embodied by male figureheads, whose visibility dominated newspaper and television coverage in the 1950s and 60s. Missing from that picture is a group of extraordinary women who shaped much of the spirit and substance of civil rights in America.

“Freedom’s Sisters,” a collaboration between SITES and the Cincinnati Museum Center, brings to life 20 African American women who have fought for equality for all Americans. Included in this exhibit are such figures as Harriet Tubman, Mary McLeod Bethune, Fannie Lou Hamer, Dorothy Height, Coretta Scot King, Sonia Sanchez, and Kathleen Cleaver. All fought for equality for all Americans.

I am going to have my student do some projects for Black History Month using this theme. Also there is an essay contest for grades 4-8th. Click a link at the bottom of this page for more info about that.


Tuesday, January 6, 2009

Convert pps to ppt?


Today is a rainy, cold day in West TN. One of those days when you want to pull the overs up over your head. I had a moment when I knew I could do something, but couldn't remember how. Let me share with you my question and answer of the day thanks to my PLN! Simple, but I had never done this...Convert pps to ppt?
Is there any way of converting a pps Slide Show file back to ppt PowerPoint presentation file?
Convert pps to ppt?
Yes, quite simple.
Rather than double clicking on the pps file, go into PowerPoint and then File> Open and then open the file. As long as it has not been protected you should be able to open and edit it.
Yes, quite simple! That is what I learned today. Now, Can I go home?

Monday, January 5, 2009

Picasa for Macs in Beta

One thing I missed about moving from PC's to Macs is Picasa. Your pictures reside both on your computer and as part of a web album. It was announced at MacWorld that Picasa is available for Macs! YEAH!
"Picasa borrowed a lot from Mac's elegance and simplicity, but it was only available for Windows (and emulated in Linux). Mac users can now finally install a native version of Picasa from http://picasa.google.com/mac/ and enjoy one of the most easier to use software for photo management." Here is an introductory video.

Picasa for Mac integrates seamlessly with Picasa Web Albums, Google's free photo-sharing site, which offers features like tagging. It includes:

* A drag-and-drop photo collage tool that gives users control over layout and content
* A retouching brush to wipe out scratches and blemishes - and repair old photos
* A slideshow movie maker that uploads users photo montage videos to YouTube with a click
* Smart auto-cropping that guides users on how to zoom in on their subject
* And, auto red-eye removal.
Note-System Requirements:
  • Mac OS X 10.4+
  • Intel CPU
  • 256MB RAM
  • 100MB available hard disk space
I think you will enjoy all Picasa's sharing attributes!

Sunday, January 4, 2009

Ice Stories

I just viewed a Webcast from Ice Stories: Dispatches from Polar Scientists in Antarctica introduces students to penguin biologists, glaciologists, cosmologists, geologists and marine scientists working in polar regions.Using cameras and blogging tools, they are documenting their adventures so students can follow their research, ask questions and share in their discoveries as they occur. This experiment gives students an up-close-and-personal look at research in extreme environments through the thoughts and experiences of the scientists working there. Their webcasts, photos, videos and blogs are available on this site.

Thursday, January 1, 2009

Tag! I am IT!


Oh My! Jen Wagner, tagged me, so now I have to share 7 boring things you wish you never knew about me… or something like that…
7 things perhaps you did not know about me.
1. I have never smoked cigarettes on anything else.
2. My secret desire is to be on "Day of our Lives." I would love to be Marlena's neighbor.
3. When I was playing with the neighborhood gang as an elementary student, I was ALWAYS Jane when we played Tarzan.
4. At Messick High School, I was a math whiz. I was selected to attend classes at IBM on Poplar Ave. in the late '60's on Saturdays and I loved programing!
5. One of my student's took the 5th grade to visit WHBQ and I had my picture made with Rick Dees. I thought he was dreamy and a big celebrity because he had a top 40 in Memphis at the time.
6. My first grade report card was littered with the phrase, "Gail is a good student, but she talks too much."
7. In second grade I got marched to the principal's office because I talked too much during "rest time" after lunch.
I just had a lot to say!!!! ....still do!

Now, my job is to tag 7 other people to share about themselves as well…..tag you are it!

1. Abigail
2. Mary E. B
3. Matthew G
4. M. Smith
5. A. Asbell
6. Kevin Glass
7. Sue Dollar

Consider yourself tagged!

Happy New Year