Iceland’s Volcano, Eyjafjallajokull, Erupts Curiosity

If you have never heard of Eyjafjallajokull before, on April 14, 2010, Eyjafjallajokull made its presence known. With a name that is difficult for many of us to pronounce, Eyjafjallajokull, has made a significant impact on the environment. With splendor, awe, and a bit of curiosity, I have watched via television, Eyjafjallajokull spew out clouds of ash.Students enrolled in sixth grade science classes may have studied and discussed volcanoes. Even so, their discussions may include terminology and the science behind the elements of nature aligning to cause such combustion.With the aid of technology, digital photography and podcast of the eruption on the Internet students are able to remain current on the status of Eyjafjallajokull.Listed below are web links that may aid in these discussions. (See North Carolina Standard Course of Study Science (Grade 6, Competency Goal 3)

The following web links provide resources and other interesting facts about volcanoes. http://vulcan.wr.usgs.gov/Outreach/AboutVolcanoes/framework.html
http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,1983887,00.html
http://www.time.com/time/photogallery/0,29307,1982747_2126373,00.html
http://vulcan.wr.usgs.gov/Volcanoes/Iceland/framework.html
http://volcanoes.usgs.gov/about/edu/
http://doe.sd.gov/octa/ddn4learning/themeunits/Volcanoes/facts.htm

Picture from Microsoft clip art online

Preparing Young Children for a Lifetime of Learning

This free eBook details how teachers can deliver meaningful lessons for all types of learners by using the SMART Table interactive learning center. Many studies have shown that early childhood education is the key to academic success and teachers need to help prepare children for a lifetime of learning. As stated in the eBook from the National Association of Elementary School Principals the key principles of a high-quality early-education program are:

• Supportive interactions between teachers and students;
• Physically and emotionally safe, supportive and engaging learning environments;
• Language development, literacy, mathematics, science, creative arts, physical health and development, and social and emotional development;
• Meaningful learning for the individual child; and
• A culture of authentic assessment and continuous learning that pays attention to all aspects of children’s development.

The eBook outlines:

• The Universal Design for Learning (UDL)
• The Skills Early Learners Must Develop to Succeed
• How the SMART Table Can Assist Teachers in Encouraging These Skills in Young Learners

The SMART Table allows groups of students to explore, move objects, sort items, solve math problems and manipulate images with their hands providing engaging learning experiences for the students. Teachers can also create activities with videos, images and audio files for non-readers. The table comes with a collection of eight applications that teachers can customize to better meet the needs of their students. The SMART Exchange also provides additional applications and ready-made lesson activities for the SMART Table.

The eBook also provides additional information about the SMART Table at: www.smarttech.com/table, and other information.

Click here to register for a free account
http://techlearning.com/Registration

To read the entile eBookl sponsored by SMART – Tech & Learning eBooks use the link below
http://newbay.ebookhost.net/tl/smart/1/

After creating an account access the eBook from the link below:
http://newbay.ebookhost.net/tl/smart/1/index.php?e=44&open=1

The Learning Power of Digital Storytelling

I recently downloaded a copy of Tell a Story, Become a Lifelong Learner from Microsoft Education. Within this guide it states that there are many educational benefits for teachers to use digital storytelling learning projects with their students. Teachers who have used digital storytelling note that student grades improve and students are more likely to do homework and engage in classwork. Digital storytelling also helps students develop technology skills and can inspire them to be lifelong learners. When students are given the opportunity to create digital stories students are inspired to dig deeper into the subject and communicate what they learn in a creative way.

Here is a list of the educational benefits that prepare students for success in the 21st century:

1. Encourage research
2. Fosters critical thinking skills
3. Encourage students to write and to work at becoming better writers
4. Gives students a voice
5. Tells a personal narrative
6. Helps students retain knowledge longer
7. Enhances learning by encouraging students to communicate effectively
8. Helps students make a connection between the classroom and the outside world
9. Encourages creativity
10. Works well with portfolio assessments
11. Promotes digital literacy

Another benefit of digital storytelling is that all six 2007 National Education Technology Standards (NETS) are addressed:

1. Creativity and innovation
2. Communication and collaboration
3. Research and information fluency
4. Critical thinking, problem-solving, and decision-making
5. Digital citizenship
6. Technology operations and concepts

The guide shares examples of digital stories created by students, a suggested outline of how to create a great digital story and a list of resources for teachers. The guide also helps teachers decide which tools are best suited for their students by outlining how Powerpoint, PhotoStory and Movie Makes could be used to help students research, create and share digital stories.

To download a copy of Tell a Story, Become a Lifelong Learner from Microsoft Education please click on the link below.
http://www.microsoft.com/education/teachers/guides/digital_storytelling.aspx

Image from the Tell a Story, Become a Lifelong Learner - Microsoft Education page 3.

Skype for Educators

Skype for Educators is a list of experts willing to skype into classrooms. On this google doc, you can find a list of names and contact information as well as what they feel comfortable speaking about to your class or school.

• What a great way to bring people into your classroom that might not be able to get there any other way
• Think of the experiences you can provide for your students
• If you would be interested in adding your name to this list of willing individuals, please see this page:
• "Are you an educator willing to share ideas through Skype? If you have a skill or expertise that you would like to share with educators around the world, or visit classroom to classroom, please input your information here. Examples: authors, illustrators, career visits, experts on history, sciences, math, etc. Please be sure to fill in all applicable form fields to assist users with narrowing down the expertise by topic."

Using Labels In ActivInspire To Reveal Answers In A Diagram Or An Image

Here is a cool trick in ActivInspire. You can use labels in the Property Browser to create the answers in a diagram or an image. I used the life cycle of a caterpillar image from the Resource Browser. Then I drew the lines with the connector tool. Actually I only drew one line and then I duplicated it, just because that’s the way I am. I won’t go into the details on that one. Now, select a line and click on the Property Browser. Click the plus sign next to Label if it isn’t already expanded. Type the answer in the caption box. Select your font, font size, font color and background color. In the behavior drop down, choose tooltip. Place your pen on the line and position the text when it appears. Now when a student is at the board telling the class what the answer is, they only need to hover the pen over the line. Very easy, yet very cool and effective too. There are numerous tricks you can do in ActivInspire to add excitement to your lessons. Try them out and enjoy!

New video game academy won't be child's play

I read an interesting article from ASCD Smartbrief this week. The Fort Bend Independent School District will open a new Academy of Game Design and Development for students to study video games through 2D and 3D animation, graphics, conceptual art, lighting and sound mixing beginning this fall. Certainly some parents are skeptical but educators believe that these courses will help students prepare for future careers and engage at-risk students who may otherwise drop out of school.

Many college students are exposed to simulations and video games as training tools. Some video game designers may work on a game one year and the next year work on a military simulation for the government. Giving students the opportunity to learn about video game design while still in high school will give them an advantage for future careers in game design. The article states that last year alone $20.2 billion was spent on video games which doesn’t include Web-based games, smart phone applications and simulations created for government and businesses.

Rodney Gibbs, an Austin-based game developer, sees game design as a natural evolution of computer science and the shift in education as a reflection of student interest in visual arts and digital media. There are so many interactive, educational games available for students today I can only wonder what new and exciting video games will be available in the future for all students.

To read the entire article please go to:
http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/metropolitan/6973739.html

Image from: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/15309615/from/ET/

Resources In Promethean Planet

If you are an ActivBoard/ActivInspire user, you probably know about Promethean Planet. If you don’t, be sure to go to http://www.prometheanplanet.com/index.php?20100426071600 and register to become a member. There is a wealth of information for you on this site. In this blog, I am going to talk about some of the resources. When you place your mouse on the word “resources”, a number of links will be displayed right below it. Lessons are flipcharts created by teachers and submitted to Promethean Planet. I submitted a flipchart in June of 2009 and it has been used by 116 teachers from around the world. You might consider submitting a flipchart yourself one day. One of the important things about using someone’s flipchart is to give them credit. Undoubtedly, you will also want to edit the flipchart. You might only want to use 6 out 10 pages in the flipchart for example. So you will need to know how to delete pages, create your own pages and edit the pages you use. Another type of resource you can search for is a resource pack. This is not a flipchart and it will not automatically open in ActivInspire. A resources pack must be downloaded to a place of your choosing. You will then need to choose “import” and “resource pack to shared resources” from the “file” menu to add this resource to your Resource Browser. “Magic Erasers” is a good resource pack to download because it provides you with pages, images and revealer tools that you can use in your flipcharts. By the way, it places the magic eraser resources under “lesson building tools” in the Resource Browser. The third type of resource I want to discuss in this blog are the web links. When you click the radio button for web links and do not specify the subject or grade level, you will be given a choice of 868 web links to select from. Of course you always have the option to narrow your search by choosing a grade level and subject from the drop down. The web links provided are wonderful places to use with your students. There are games, activities and information that you can use in class. These are websites used and submitted by teachers. They are not created or maintained by Promethean. One of the sites for example is a Discovery Channel website that allows you to view information and animations about types of volcanoes, plate boundaries and the location of active volcanoes.You can even build your own volcano and watch it explode. Kids love that kind of stuff!


I hope you explore Promethean Planet and use these amazing resources with your students. There is much more information in Promethean Planet that I did not mention in this blog, so go to the site, register, explore and enjoy!

The Write On WSFCS Wiki Year 2

This month wrapped up the second installment of the Write On WSFCS wiki, a wiki webpage used to create a district writing project for elementary schools. I was pleased many of the teachers and classrooms involved last year were willing to take it on again this year, and despite the snow days elementary schools across the district did an awesome job taking turns writing and illustrating this year's story.

This has become one of my favorite projects over the last two years, and I hope the students and teachers enjoyed the project as much as I did.

My thanks to all the classes and teachers that participated. Please check out our story at http://writeonwsfcs.pbworks.com/.

• The 2009-10 write on wiki schedule
• Last year's story "What Did You Say?"

It is all about the skills!

I have posted about the great "It's not about the Tools... It's about the Skills" posters on the Langwitches Blog before, but I just saw another sign added to that collection (Here is my previous post).

In addition to the Digital Storytelling one shown in this blog post, you can find skill posters related to Wikis, Blogging, Podcasting, and Video Conferencing. I really like messages presented in these posters and wanted to share them in case you haven't seen them. You can download the pdfs from the Langwitches Blog.

Look at all the skills that can taught, practiced, and even assessed using digital storytelling. It just makes sense to engage students in activities that cover skills needed in so many areas.

Need Some Earth Day 2010 Resources?

With Earth Day 2010 only a few days away, it's a great time to integrate a few Earth friendly activities into the day's lessons. Whether your school has planned a day of events or whether you'll be observing a little Earth Day in your classroom, it's nice to have some ideas and resources to pull for use in the class.

In years past I'd spend some time googling "Earth Day" to see what came up, but now I've found several educators and websites who have put together lists of great Earth Day resources.

Here is a list of a few sites that can connect you to some great ideas for Earth Day:

• Larry Ferlazzo covers a lot of well-done Earth Day sites in a recent entry on his "Websites of the Day blog.
• Education World also has a worthwhile list of links to sites on Earth Day and the enviroment
• ThinkGreen.com - Discovery Ed and Waste Management's site has a lot of activities and lessons for all grade levels.
• If you still need more ideas, check out the directory of sites on Earth Day, recycling and the environment on Cybrary Man's Environment page.

Happy Earth Day!

Choose Your Path

As with all things in life, there are choices we need to make – and a path we need to travel. Well… there is no exception with that statement in the classroom as well!

Check out these two “paths” and see if one or both will work for you/your students!

Curriculum Pathways:

• 8^th -12^th Grades
• Free Curriculum aligned to NC Standard Course of Study
• To create an account, contact your Technology Facilitator for the school login (After which, you can then create your own account login/password)
• Curriculum Pathways covers English, History, Science, Mathematics, Spanish and other searchable keyword topics
• 21^st Century Skills are integrated into the content!

Lesson Pathways:

• K – 5^th Grades
• Free Curriculum/Teaching Resources
• Lesson Pathways covers Science, History, Reading/Phonics, Math and Language Arts
• Create a free account online: http://www.lessonpathways.com/
• Browse the educational content: http://www.lessonpathways.com/Pathways/Featured
• Over 900 free lessons
• Includes links to videos, handouts/worksheets, online games, references, etc.
• Lesson Pathways was formerly offered by subscription only but is now 100% free

SMART Table: Collaborate & Learn through Touch

We have just recently installed, into our Elementary Schools, our fourth SMART Table. Now some of you may be asking... "What is a SMART Table?" The SMART Table is a multiuser, multitouch interactive device that allows young students the ability to learn in a collaborative environment using visual, auditory and tactile senses.

As I was setting up the table the teachers were stopping by with their students to show them what I was doing. You had to be there to fully understand the expressions on their faces as I would show them how they could just touch the table top and it would make the objects move or a video would play. This is my second install of a SMART Table in our district and I have to say that I am excited about the possibilities for the students using the them.
The table allows up to 40 simultaneous touches and up to 8 children using it at one time. Now you may think that with all of those little hands the SMART Table would really get dirty and may not function well. The nice thing is that you can quickly clean the surface with any Non-alcoholic-based cleaner.


Not only are the students learning subject material but they are indirectly learning social, thinking and motor skills as well. The table comes with a number of preloaded content and activities to get your students participating right out of the box. You can also add new content and activities to the table via a usb connection and transferring directly into the table's computer. There are a number of resources available online at the SMART Technologies website. As well if you are not sure and still need some additional instruction there are a number of videos and printed materials to get you started on the road to discovery and learning. Check this out for more insight on how to see the big picture as the SMART Solution integrates into your classroom instruction. If you still have questions check out the table FAQ from the Smarttech website.

SMART Table image provided by: SMARTTech.com

Technology Implementation

I recently sat for an hour at a middle school and listened to teachers (from that middle school and some from the Arts) share how they had and/or plan to implement what they learned from technology trainings this year. Everybody in the room was able to talk about at least two ways (most went far beyond that) he or she used something learned in technology trainings this year. It made me smile to hear teachers share ideas and see other teachers get ideas. I sat quietly and took notes. I got lots of ideas, and I am not even in a classroom anymore. As I listened, I heard teachers say things that made me think of other things I could share with them to make those projects or presentations even better. I was using notebook paper to take notes (I know I should have been using a wiki page or something). Every time I would think of another technology tool or program that I wanted to share with that teacher, I would write it down and draw a box around it. So now I have 2 pages of notes and boxes to go back through, but that is OK. When I got an idea, I would tell the teacher that I had more information that I could share with them on another option they might want to explore. Towards the end of the session, one teacher asked if I would send that whole list of things I wanted to share to everybody in the room. I smiled and said that I would. I am sorry that this is my last meeting with the group since I now have so many more ideas of things to share. Here is a link to some of the resources (EduGlogster, Medi 2.0, and SlidRocket) I shared with these teachers (good resources for teachers of any level not just middle school): http://mwedwardstechnology.blogspot.com/2010/04/some-resources-i-shared.html

The group that I met with that day had been involved in somewhat of a year-long-technology-training program focusing on the needs and interests of the teachers and administration (they did not start until several months into the year). Training the same people each month with the same expectations developed some consistency. I know that as a classroom teacher, the technology trainings I remember were not really connected to each other. One training did not build upon or refer back to a previous training. The trainings many times were done by different people, so there was not really a relationship developed. Doing trainings on a regular basis with the same people (not having a large group helps too) allows the presenter and the participants to develop and continue a "learning conversation" that works to benefit all involved. In a way, it seems to work like the teaching idea of "scaffolding" in the way the trainer is able to provide background knowledge and understanding one time that is needed for the next time. As the trainer (or presenter), I know what I shared before that I can use to build on for what I am sharing that is new. I can try to help make those connections to improve the learning for the teachers so they can help the students.

Before I started my new job almost 2 months ago, I was a participant in year-long-technology-trainings at an elementary school. I have now become the trainer/presenter at some of these year-long projects at the elementary, middle, and high school levels. Being a part of these trainings from both sides really helped me realize the potential benefits.

image from http://www.flickr.com/photos/subcess/3723699858/

Creating Self Paced Questions In ActivInspire

Normally only one question can be inserted on a page of a flipchart. Self paced questions allow you to insert a series of questions on one page. You don’t actually see the questions listed on the page. The self paced questions will only work on ActivExpressions. They will not work with the ActivVotes. You will need to update the driver of your ActivHub. You can download the upgrade by going to http://www.prometheanplanet.com/server.php?show=nav.19248# and follow the 3 steps. This includes the documentation as well as the downloads. The instructions can be printed out, except on Earth Day, for those of you visual people. Step 1 is to upgrade the ActivDriver to version 5.4.6.1. Step 2 is to upgrade the ActivHub of the Expressions and step 3 is to upgrade the kernel and firmware of the ActivExpressions. Again, all the documentation is provided to you on this site.
Once all this is done you are ready to add the self paced questions to your flipchart. Choose “self paced question set” from the insert menu. Select the question type and follow the prompts. You can also have the wizard generate questions in Math for example. Once you have added your questions you have the option of adding levels to your question set. Students must complete one level correctly before moving to the next level. To change the level of your questions, click on the number in the level column. You don’t have to do levels. It is a choice that you have when creating the question set. If you do create levels, make sure the correct answers column matches the correct answers needed to pass the level.

To start the self paced voting session, click the “start/stop vote” icon (the green play button) in the main menu. Have fun! It’s a great way to use the Expressions with your students. Remember to export your voting results to Excel!

Kerpoof

Kerpoof was shown at the NCTIES conference during the session 10 Web2.0 Tools to Engage Your Students on a SMART Board by Mary Ann Sansonetti.

By using the Kerpoof Animation Studio or Picture Maker students can make pictures, movies, stories, use a doodle pad, or make cards. The site includes tutorials, tips & tricks, a kid’s FAQ and a teacher’s FAQ.

In the teachers section there’s a downloadable fourteen page teacher’s guide that outlines the activity carousel and the community gallery. Teachers will also find lesson plans in the guide and ideas on how to use Kerpoof to meet ISTE National Educational Technology standards.

In just a few minutes I made a simple movie with two characters and background music. It’s a fun and easy site that students can use to show their imaginations in a creative way. To learn more about Kerpoof go to: http://www.kerpoof.com/

North Carolina History ... a digital version

Having lived in NC most of my life and having taught 4th grade Social Studies for 7 years, anything related to NC History captures my attention. I have found many excellent resources on LearnNC previously, so when I saw something on Twitter about LearnNC and a digital textbook, I was intrigued. The North Carolina History Digital Textbook provides "primary sources, multimedia, readings, and lesson plans to tell the many stories of North Carolina's past." Part of the subtitle says, "Replace your textbook — or enhance your teaching with selections." That part about replacing a textbook made me think of my first year teaching 4th grade Social Studies. We were talking about the lighthouses on the Outer Banks of NC. There was one paragraph that talked about how the Cape Hatteras Lighthouse needed to be moved so it would not erode away. Well, the lighthouse was moved a few years before I taught that lesson. With a digital textbook, that information could have been easily updated and even linked to the movie or animation showing the moving process. Think of all the ways that one story (moment in history) could be enriched (and students engaged) using multimedia.
Even though I am not currently in a classroom, I have so many ideas about the ways I could use this North Carolina History Digital Textbook to teach various Social Studies and Reading Skills. Even though this book is designed for 8th grade, think about the skills related to timelines, historical images, landforms, history, nonfiction text, as well as maps and diagrams that could be based on this type of textbook even for younger students.

image from http://www.learnnc.org/nchistory/

Museum Box

Back in January, I came across Museum Box and shared it with elementary school teachers as a possible way to do some of the February Black History Month projects they had planned. A few months later, I showed Museum Box to some middle school teachers as one of many ways to do effective presentations. I thought it might be a good way for students to present research, especially related to Social Studies and History. I was pleasantly surprised how the art and dance teachers seemed excited to try out this tool. Several of those teachers have used it to organize information and pictures for instruction as well as plan to give students an option to use it. They have also had several questions about the program, so I looked around and found some advice, tips, and tricks to share. This wiki has even more resources as well as a list of strengths, weaknesses, and possible lesson ideas related to the use of Museum Box.
I also put these presentations on the WSFCS DIT Wiki on a page titled "Museum Box" in the resources folder.

How to use Museum Box

View more presentations from digitalmaverick.

Using Museum Box

View more presentations from S Kennedy.

Don't know what to do without technology . . .

This week, I have spent several days at an elementary school in Winston-Salem. After seeing EduGlogster at NCTIES, a member of the staff wanted to learn more about that great tool. NCTIES is a great opportunity to see and experience new things.

At this school, there is a strong level of support behind using technology to support students and to aid in instruction. They want to integrate technology seamlessly into the classroom practices for both teachers and students. I overheard several teacher laughing about not knowing what to do without technology when the power went out for a little while one day.

At the beginning of the year, these teachers moved into classrooms that really did not have much in them other than technology ... there was no dry erase board, overhead, or even textbook. Although I am sure there was a little bit of grumbling at first, the teachers had to learn how to make the technology work for them in those classrooms. It was a "Sink or Swim" way to start the year. Now towards the end of the year, these teachers reflect on those "early days" and are so glad they had to learn the technology because now they don't know what they would do without it.

While I was visiting this school, I sat in on Single School Culture Meetings. At the beginning of each of these meetings (for 2 days), I presented a brief overview of EduGlogster and showed lots of examples. Sometimes when a technology tool is presented, it is received with the "oh another thing I have to make fit in" attitude. That was not the case for those two days. I could barely get through the presentation before teachers were already sharing ideas of ways teachers and students could use this for projects and lessons. The Single School Culture Facilitator thought of several ways to use EduGlogster to help out all the teachers with the Essential Standards and resources. This staff saw opportunities for learning something new and being able to use it almost immediately. That is pretty powerful learning.

I overheard many of these teachers saying, "I don't know what I would do without the technology in my classroom." I hope they would still teach the students, but I understand what they are saying.

image from http://www.flickr.com/photos/crystaljingsr/3914729343/

Looking at Learning ...

I was looking at a blog that is part of my Blogging Alliance. The author of that blog posted an image from and a link to another blog in the Blogging Alliance (Suzanne's blog post starts off: "While reading a wonderful post on the “What Ed Said” Blog, I saw this great graphic on what learning looks like.").

For me, learning is so much better when it is done with and though others. I enjoy learning things on my own, but I benefit so much from the interaction with others who learn. It feels like we are all on a "learning journey" together. By "we" in that last sentence, I mean you, the reader of this blog, and me the author of this blog post. You are encouraging my learning by reading my blog post.

The words in the image below are action words. That makes perfect sense because "learning" is an action of which we are a part and in which we participate.

• How do you see your "learning journey"?

• Are there other words you would add to this image?

• How do you think learning is done best?

• How does technology fit with or in this image?

The picture was made on the site www.toondoo.com
and found originally on “What Ed Said” Blog
but I first saw it on Suzanne's Blog

------------------------------------

The creator of this image posed the question, "What does learning look like?" She compiled answers and images in this great presentation: Does Learning Look Like This?

Using Pennies to tell the Story of President Lincoln

In 2009 the US Mint, in honor of the 100th anniversary of the original circulation of the Lincoln coin, issued four different pennies into circulation. Each coin highlighted a facet of the life of President Lincoln. Although President Lincoln’s persona is shown on one side of each coin, the back of each coin represents a different aspect of his life. The back of each coin places emphasis on his early life through his presidency. To learn more about the pennies visit the website at: http://www.usmint.gov/mint_programs/circulatingCoins/?action=CircPenny

Again, in the year 2010, the US Mint presents a new ne cent coin that has an interesting story to tell. See the link at the following link: http://www.usmint.gov/mint_programs/lincolnRedesign/

The US Mint website provides resources which include lesson plans, information about finacial literacy, and information about the most recent quarters to be circulated. http://www.usmint.gov/kids/teachers/http://www.usmint.gov/kids/Visit for a Virtual Tour: http://www.usmint.gov/mint_tours/index.cfm?action=vtShell

Digital Voice Recorders

Digital voice recorders may be used by students to record teacher lectures, notes and ideas. With prior approval students who have a difficult time following the lecture in class may be able to use a digital voice recorder during class and use it to review notes later. Students may also use them when interviewing people for school projects. The devices are small and easy to use. See the following links to see information about a few digital voice recorders available: Sony, Olympus, and Phillips.

Resources for Healthy Living Projects

The United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) offers a website specifically for children that address health and nutrition. This website provides online resources that not only promote eating correctly but are also emphasis the importance of exercise. As a part of the high school curriculum students are required to take courses in healthful living.
Healthy eating on-line resources for project ideas and classroom resources may be found at the following websites:
http://www.mypyramid.gov/Kids/
http://teamnutrition.usda.gov/resources/mypyramidclassroom.html
http://www.nationaldairycouncil.org/ChildNutrition/Pages/MyPyramidforKids.aspx

Spring: Lessons in bloom

When I think of spring, I think of colors, kites and beautiful weather. As seasons change this provide a theme for kindergarten art. Several websites provide coloring pages, art projects, and kite making directions. Listed below is a list of websites offering free thematic color pages. Frequently pre kindergarten students enjoy coloring pages and thus their parents are thrilled to know that this favorite activity helps in the development of their fine motor skills.

Coloring Pages that provide images of spring related items:
http://www.sites4teachers.com/links/redirect.php?url=http://www.coloring.ws/spring1.htm
http://familyfun.go.com/spring/spring-printables/
http://www.abcteach.com/directory/seasonalseasons/spring/
http://www.sites4teachers.com/links/redirect.php?url=http://www.nationalgeographic.com/xpeditions/lessons/07/g35/seasons.html http://holidays.kaboose.com/spring-printables.html
http://www.nationalkitemonth.org/kids/
http://www.educationworld.com/a_lesson/lesson257.shtml

Classroom Resource: Geographical Information Systems (GIS)

If you are planning to travel to a certain destination for the first time, you may need a map. Who determines the path you take to get there? Well, the answer may exist in the results of a Geographical Information System (GIS).

The following resources may be of value when studying Geography or GIS. Although, geographical information systems are only one of the May subjects listed in the standard course of study for Geography. (http://www.ncpublicschools.org/curriculum/socialstudies/scos/2003-04/090geography, you may find the following links useful:

What is a GIS?
http://www.gis.com/content/what-gis
http://www.gis.com/content/about-giscom
http://www.gis.com/content/answering-questions-gis

Who uses a GIS?

http://www.gis.com/content/answering-questions-gis
http://www.esri.com/software/mapping_for_everyone/api/index.html
http://www.esri.com/what-is-gis/what-can-i-do.html

Mapping tools you can use:
http://egsc.usgs.gov/isb/pubs/gis_poster/
http://www.nhgis.org/