What’s the Story?

A WebQuery for 4^th Grade

Designed by: Mrs. Goeden

The Prezi for this task can be found at:

http://prezi.com/axzd7ue0vnzd/a-webquery-designed-for-4th-grade-students/

Introduction:

Have you ever read story and afterwards thought to yourself that you could have created a better ending? Well here’s your chance to show your creative side! There are four story starters to choose from, and it’s up to YOU to decide the character’s fate by completing the story!

The Task:

The way you choose to communicate the rest of the story is completely up to you. You can write your own story (including the first portion – prompt), create a poster (using magazine cut outs, hand drawings, comic book – style (frame boxes indicating time sequence), Word document, painted picture, etc.

It is important that you find a way to include some of the unit words and follow the rules of writing and storytelling that we’ve recently gone over in class. Have fun with this assignment, but also remember to keep it appropriate – you’ll be sharing this with your classmates!

Things to think about while working on your project:

• Where should you start?
• Will a graph, concept map, or picture help?
• What patterns can you detect in the information you have collected? Any similarities or differences that are important?
• Is something missing? Certain perspectives?
• Have you checked the rubric and task to make sure that you have completed all aspects of the task?

Resources

Since this is a creative-based assignment, I will not require you to search for any particular information; however, I do expect you to use your textbook, hand-outs, and/or homework assignments to help with identifying the proper unit information that should be reflected.

Evaluation

Performance will be evaluated according to these specifics:

• - Usage of at least 5 unit words (in the correct context)
• - Correct use of grammar
• - Appropriate language
• - Includes at least 2 images
• - Creativity/effort
• - Presentation of final product

Helpful tips before you turn in your final product:

Check for correct:

            - Spelling

            - Punctuation

            - Grammar

            - Capitalization

Conclusion

Hey, you’ve made it! You did a marvelous job!

Now that you’ve had experience with writing these exciting and creative stories, you can take them home and share them with your family! Be prepared on Monday to learn about the power in writing persuasive essays! We will brainstorm topics of interest as a class on Monday.

Sources:

www.rubistar.com  

http://www.educationworld.com/a_lesson/worksheets/TCM/pdfs/020222pl-download.pdf

Apple iBooks??

The Apple Company wants to get in on the production of textbooks for K-12 students. Some cannot help but express their excitement for the new age of technology to energize students’ learning. There are others who feel as though Apple is in it for the money. James Kendrick describes Apples iBook textbook program, in a blog entitled “Why the Apple textbook program will never work” as a “mind-bogglingly greedy and evil license agreement”.

Where do I stand in all of this? To take a side is rather difficult for me. As with many arguments and major decisions in life, I tend to remain moderate. Not because I don’t have an option, but because I try to look at issues from a variety of angles and usually settle somewhere in between. In this reflection, I’ll bring attention to some of the obvious pros and cons of the situation.

With this new ibook textbook technology, students will have less weight in their bags to have to keep track of - which will be a long-term physical benefit for them since a lot of times student's bags are so heavy they create backpain and sometimes effect posture. During my middle and high school years, I was assigned a locker to use, but I chose not to use them. They were not time efficient (since I only had 5 minutes to get from one class to another – sometimes on the other end of the school), and the few times I did try to use them, something would go wrong (jammed door, book fell and made it pretty much impossible for me to get it open, locker was in one building and my classes were in another building, etc). Today’s students require a lot of interaction. Having the ibook option, students will have the ability to do more than simply ‘read’ the book – they’ll be able to ‘explore’ all of the resources it has to offer. It really is an innovative strategy to get students more involved and excited to learn.

           

Believe it or not, everything has a dark side to it – even Apple, Inc. Making this new age technology available to students comes with a high responsibility - in case the ibook gets lost or stolen. The risk of theft is raised dramatically simply by allowing students to take them home. Students from other schools that do not have this type of technology/opportunity might find themselves with a case of ‘sticky fingers’ in order to get their hands on the technology. Aside from the students, whom else does this new product affect? Will this action force businesses to shut down? Will a high number of jobs be lost due to the major cut in production of paper books? This aspect will create a negative affect on the students as well; especially if a parent loses their job due to the impact having the ibook has on the economy? There is the daunting thought that Apple might have a larger focus on upping their wealth status rather than doing something to support the community of learners.

After this, where do I stand? As a person who has yet to even explore with an iPad, I remain in between. I would like to see this technology in action. After all, we have been using the same format in our classrooms for decades without much change. Change isn’t necessarily a bad thing, but many people are deathly afraid of it. The way I look at it is how will we know unless we try? If this doesn’t work out and optimistic Mr. Kendrick turns out to be correct… then what would we have lost? But if the ibook turns out to be the wondrous, innovative technology that many people are hoping it to be, then imagine the impact it can make not only our learning, but also our lives.

Simple Science Lesson

This playful video, Kids Learn About Oxygen, is both entertaining and informative. It can be used when introducing the periodic table to students, or paired with a lesson about oxygen.
http://www.wimp.com/oxygenanimation/

A Vision of Students Today

I consider this video, A Vision of Students Today, ‘educational’ since it sheds light on the life of a traditional student. It illustrates the reality of a college student and doesn’t hide the flaws.
http://www.wimp.com/studentstoday/

Creative Education

The video, Nine Weird Things You Never Learned in School, is meant for a mature audience. I found the information in it to be quite interesting.
http://www.wimp.com/funfacts/


Fuel Your Creativity is a site that includes a variety of creative expressions, inspirational aspects, along with tips and tools that are available to expand ones creative juices. Creativity is also an important aspect of education. When students are having fun (and) fulfilling the requirements presented in the curriculum, then everyone is benefitting.
http://www.fuelyourcreativity.com/

Motivation

“If you never failed, you never lived.” This video, Awesome Motivation, left me with an enlightened feeling, and it took a mere 1 min 16 seconds to accomplish. It is amazing how much stories/facts from real-life people and/or inspirations can have an impact on the way we view life.
http://www.wimp.com/awesomemotivation/

Educational Resources

OSPI (Office of Superintendent of Public Instruction) is a resource tool for teachers in Washington State for assessment/testing. It provides teachers, students, parents, and the public with state testing specifics in every major subject area, along with details regarding getting certified, variety of programs offered, research and development, and much more.
http://www.k12.wa.us/assessment/default.aspx


YouTube has become majorly popular over the years. Even teachers use YouTube as an interactive resource to educate students. There is an immeasurable amount of videos that need to be avoided; however, there are also many videos that teachers can use that tie into lessons.
http://www.youtube.com/