Digital Coaches' Corner
Issue 5 10/20/15
Use Google Drawings to create Mind Maps
This video explains how to create a mind map in Google Drawings. The mind map can be made with just boxes or students could start with an image and identify parts using Drawings. They can even add hyperlinks to their map.
Kids Wordsmyth
This is a visual dictionary for students. Students can hear the definition and see various illustrations. I really like the World tab on the site. Students select from city or nature and explore. This would be great for units of study in biomes or cities. K-2 students will benefit the most from this site.
Edulastic
Thank you Jan Witt for finding this great site. Edulastic
This is a formative assessment site aligned to Common Core. The best part is the ELA and math look a lot like the PARCC exam. The questions are provided by Engage NY and students/teachers get immediate feedback. The site keeps track of what standards you have covered and reports on mastery for each student. The Next Gen Science standards are even available on these assessments.
Classrooms of the Week
Mrs. Fessler's Twitter Mathematicians
Mrs. Fessler's class created their own Twitter account (@2ndgradesmartie). They are communicating with other second grade classes around the World. One class they are working with is in Australia. This is a great real geography lesson for these students. Below is their post from last week. The class works together to solve math problems and then they post their favorite methods. Other classes, even commented on their post.
Mr. Crnokrak's World History Classes
Mr. Nick Crnokrak's World History classes recently participated in a zombie apocalypse. Students were studying the ancient Middle East and Egypt. As part of their learning experience, students were grouped together in different class systems and geographic areas and challenged to survive the apocalypse. Students used QR codes that were placed around the high school to get the information needed for each day's events. While participating in the activity, students learned about the terrain of the area, climate, class systems, weapons available, food sources, landmarks, maps skills and team work. Students put together a presentation on their experiences and created either a brochure to warn of the apocalypse or a news program. Check out the pictures and links below. Video and Presentation