Building our 21st Century Skills
Technological opportunities to help you grow!
November 4, 2015
Lord of the Flies
Our high school media center recently became a tropical island when teacher, Mary Feagley, and librarian, Jeff Pickrell, employed elements of augmented reality (AR) and higher-level thinking skills. While reading the novel, Lord of the Flies, students hunted for clues on a mythical tropical island. Joining in the AR activity were other high school department members, who provided questions unique to their subjects. Students were asked to solve mathematical problems, translate foreign languages, provide health concepts, and use comprehension skills. Clues were encrypted in QR codes and Aurasma auras and hidden in books, shells, pictures, and other unique places. Students used their phones and ipads to unlock the clues and solve the mysteries.
Comments heard from students included: “this is hard,” “we have to listen again because we can't copy it,” “I'll use a translator,” “this is a health question,” “let's think about a subject related to the story,” and “let's work on this together”. Mary and Jeff employed the 4C’s of learning: collaboration, communication, creativity, critical thinking, and redefined learning; that's the “R” in SAMR! Nice work, team; you scored with the students!
GOOGLE TOOLS!
Explore amazing places on our Earth. Take a field trip without leaving your classroom. Get lessons plans to go along with the sites you explore.
Google. "World Wonders Project." You Tube. N.p., 30 May 2012. Web. 3 Nov. 2015.
ARE YOU MODELING Good Digital Citizenship?
Young, Chris. "I Didn't Know You Could Do That - Google Image Search Tools." You Tube. N.p., 28 Oct. 2015. Web. 2 Nov. 2015. <https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0LFqu4BJNE0>.
Thanksgiving Lessons and Activities
The First Thanksgiving - Lessons and Activities for Elementary School Students
The First Thanksgiving is a fairly comprehensive set of resources for elementary school students and teachers. The site has five primary sections for students. Those sections are The Mayflower, Daily Life, The Feast, Historical Letters, and Videos and Photos.
- Daily Life is a comparison of the lifestyles of the Pilgrims and the Wampanoag. Students can click through each aspect of daily life to see a comparison of housing, clothing, food, chores, school, and games.
- The Feast is a slideshow, with audio support, about the foods eaten and other activities at early Thanksgiving dinners.
- The Mayflower is a virtual tour of the ship. This section also has an interactive map through which students can learn about life aboard the ship as it crossed the Atlantic Ocean.
- Historical Letters is a collection of historical fiction letters written from the perspectives of a Pilgrim girl and a Wampanoag boy living in the New World. In order to access these letters you need to register as a teacher by using your email address.
- The videos and photos section of The First Thanksgiving offers short videos (some as long as 20 minutes) about life in Plymouth and the first Thanksgiving.
Applications for Education
Many of the resources in Scholastic's The First Thanksgiving could be used by students without much guidance from you. That said, there is a selection of free lesson plans that incorporate media from The First Thanksgiving website. The lesson plans are designed for elementary school students.
Byrne, Richard. "The First Thanksgiving - Lessons and Activities for Elementary School Students." Web log post. Free Technology for Teachers. N.p., 1 Nov. 2015. Web. 1 Nov. 2015. <http://goo.gl/kR52ry>.
Did You Know?
eLearning
Email: oriskypj@mvschool.org
Website: https://goo.gl/rM8WqQ
Phone: (812)831-3409
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/MSDMVIS
Twitter: @risky4