A few weeks ago in my technology class, we did collaborative group work. This meant that we all got to do the same thing at the same time, but through different computers and talk as we were working about what we were experiencing. A few things all happened at once as we were taking part in this learning activity.
The first was that we could collaborate. If someone got stuck on a certain part of our "virtual fieldtrip", another group member could either explain how to get back on track, or we could actually go and manipulate their computer to show them how to get back to where they were supposed to be. It allowed for critical thinking as well: something I have been stressing to my eighth graders. When we came across a certain site, we could stop and discuss the benefits of the website or tool as well as its downsides so that we could all get a good handle on where to use the tools in our future classrooms and not simply "ya, this is a pretty good tool, I'll use it at some point."
The second was that it allowed our leader Caitlin to work with us in smaller groups to give us smart board training. She was able to focus on the needs of a few because she knew the rest of us (the majority of the class) was on task in our smaller groups because we were helping each other stay focussed.
I would recommend this method of working collaboratively for all of my grade eights as well as the parents who may be reading this blog. Students, if you are finding it hard to stay on task, or you need to discuss the benefits or negative aspects of something you are studying, find a buddy to work with who can help you out when you get stuck, or simply give you a fresh pair of eyes to analyze a piece of information!
The old saying is true: two heads are better than one, or in this case, two students on different computers doing the same task make for more effective and deep discussion and a better problem solving pair than one.
Monday, 29 October 2012
Tuesday, 25 September 2012
Cells, Cells, and More Cells!
If you are like me, science is not your specialty. You may have a lot of trouble remembering the difference between a golgi body and cytoplasm, a cell wall from the membrane. Well do not fret! There is a matching game called Cell Inspector that you can play online which will help you figure out which parts of the cells go where! And don't worry if you don't know the answer, there is a check button and it allows you to change your wrong answers until you get them all right! It even allows you to see the difference between an animal and a plant cell. Also, to expand your thinking and learning further, click on the "INFO" button and it will briefly explain what each part of the cell does in order to help you put them in the right boxes! So get out your magnifying glass, put on some gloves, and begin exploring cells in a way that is educational, and for some of you, it might even be FUN!
Attention Parents!
Just like my last post on the elements of style in writing, this simulation is also educational. The tool it teaches is a skill that comes right out of the Ontario Curriculum Science document. It meets the standard 3.1 in the "Understanding Life Systems" unit which states that students need to be able to "identify structures and organelles in cells, including the nucleus, cell membrane, cell wall, chloroplasts, vacuole, mitochondria, and cytoplasm, and explan the basic functions of each." It is a great review for a test where they have to match the cell parts to a diagram, or even for students who just want to confirm the learning that they have done in class about cells. The website this game is attached to has a wealth of information for other science lessons as well, so feel free to explore the site for even more resources!
Attention Parents!
Just like my last post on the elements of style in writing, this simulation is also educational. The tool it teaches is a skill that comes right out of the Ontario Curriculum Science document. It meets the standard 3.1 in the "Understanding Life Systems" unit which states that students need to be able to "identify structures and organelles in cells, including the nucleus, cell membrane, cell wall, chloroplasts, vacuole, mitochondria, and cytoplasm, and explan the basic functions of each." It is a great review for a test where they have to match the cell parts to a diagram, or even for students who just want to confirm the learning that they have done in class about cells. The website this game is attached to has a wealth of information for other science lessons as well, so feel free to explore the site for even more resources!
I am an Oxymoron and I like to eat Jumbo Shrimp
As a student-teacher, I am the very definition of an oxymoron: it is a phrase where the two words actually contradict each other. Another example would be "jumbo-shrimp" because jumbo refers to something that is extraordinarily large, and shrimp can mean very tiny. It is one of those play on words which can add humour to your writing, or is just fun to point out.
As a grade 8 student, you are expected to be able to identify and use different elements of style to improve your writing. These include metaphors, irony, analogies, and symbolism. But these words and definitions can be quite confusing. You can feel as if you are lost in the ocean, paddling in circles and gaining no ground. But I can help! There is an interactive game you can play online called: Name That Literary Element! which allows you to match the definition and the word in a way that is much more fun than filling out a simple worksheet! And don't fret if you do not know all of the definitions when you first play this game, it allows for multiple wrong answers without making you lose the game!
A Head's Up for Parents!
This game is very educational and connects right into the curriculum. In the Langauge Arts Curriculum, according to Reading 2.4, the student must be able to "identify a range of elements of style - including symbolism, irony, analogy, metaphor, and other rhetorical devices - and explain how they help communicate meaning and enhance the effectiveness of a text". While this game does not make them explain how the elements of the text help enhance its effectiveness, it does allow them to grasp the definitions better, which will allow this knowledge to happen in the future. This is a great quick study tool for tests, or to even just give them a recap on the definitions if they forget what literary element they want to use.
As a grade 8 student, you are expected to be able to identify and use different elements of style to improve your writing. These include metaphors, irony, analogies, and symbolism. But these words and definitions can be quite confusing. You can feel as if you are lost in the ocean, paddling in circles and gaining no ground. But I can help! There is an interactive game you can play online called: Name That Literary Element! which allows you to match the definition and the word in a way that is much more fun than filling out a simple worksheet! And don't fret if you do not know all of the definitions when you first play this game, it allows for multiple wrong answers without making you lose the game!
A Head's Up for Parents!
This game is very educational and connects right into the curriculum. In the Langauge Arts Curriculum, according to Reading 2.4, the student must be able to "identify a range of elements of style - including symbolism, irony, analogy, metaphor, and other rhetorical devices - and explain how they help communicate meaning and enhance the effectiveness of a text". While this game does not make them explain how the elements of the text help enhance its effectiveness, it does allow them to grasp the definitions better, which will allow this knowledge to happen in the future. This is a great quick study tool for tests, or to even just give them a recap on the definitions if they forget what literary element they want to use.
Monday, 24 September 2012
And Now for Something Completely Different
Sometimes, school is great, but then a teacher comes along and tells you to choose a book to read. It can be any book you want to read, but all of a sudden your mind goes completely blank and for the life of you, you cannot think of a book that would interest you at all. If you are stuck on finding a book, or you have just finished a book and cannot think of what to read next, here are some resources just for you!
The first link leads you to www.goodreads.com. This site allows you to connect with your friends through email or facebook and share your ratings for different books you have read. It also allows you to customize your own book list depending on the genres you like the best. There is a section just for young adult books too!
The second resource is a bit different. It is called www.yournextread.com. This website allows you to type in a book you have enjoyed previously, and see different suggestions for books that are similar to that book. If you then click on one of the suggested books, it goes into the center of the page, and on the right hand side, you can see comments left by others to see whether you would actually want to read the suggested book or not.
The third resource is my personal favourite. You can find it at www.teenreads.com. On this website, it shows you a bunch of different links, my favourite being "coming soon" which allows you to click on the next couple of months and see which new books are being released. Another cool link is called "Books on Screen" and shows you popular books including graphic novels and comic books which are being turned into movies. There is also a link to the "Ultimate Reading List" which has 12 pages of books listed in alphabetical order for you to check out. It even shows which books are 'NEW' for those of you who like reading the latest trends.
No matter what your fancy, there are books out there for you to get interested in. All it takes is a little digging on your part and you could be on your way to another fantastic adventure in the form of a simple book.
Don't forget that most of these popular books will be available at your local library where you can access books for FREE! If they do not have the books you are looking for, ask them to order them for you. Usually libraries will look at their user's suggestions when buying new books to stock the library shelves so don't let your opinions go unnoticed.
The first link leads you to www.goodreads.com. This site allows you to connect with your friends through email or facebook and share your ratings for different books you have read. It also allows you to customize your own book list depending on the genres you like the best. There is a section just for young adult books too!
The third resource is my personal favourite. You can find it at www.teenreads.com. On this website, it shows you a bunch of different links, my favourite being "coming soon" which allows you to click on the next couple of months and see which new books are being released. Another cool link is called "Books on Screen" and shows you popular books including graphic novels and comic books which are being turned into movies. There is also a link to the "Ultimate Reading List" which has 12 pages of books listed in alphabetical order for you to check out. It even shows which books are 'NEW' for those of you who like reading the latest trends.
No matter what your fancy, there are books out there for you to get interested in. All it takes is a little digging on your part and you could be on your way to another fantastic adventure in the form of a simple book.
Don't forget that most of these popular books will be available at your local library where you can access books for FREE! If they do not have the books you are looking for, ask them to order them for you. Usually libraries will look at their user's suggestions when buying new books to stock the library shelves so don't let your opinions go unnoticed.
A Grammar Resource for Students
Hey Grade 8's.
Grammar is one of those things which seems really pointless, but can make the difference between being legible, and people misinterpreting what you meant. While it can be confusing to know whether to use a comma or a semicolon, an exclamation mark or just a period, it is worthwhile to learn how to use all of these different elements of grammar to improve your writing. Unfortunately, most grammar games and workbooks are boring: they are teaching you the basics, and are not the most enjoyable things you could be doing with your time. However, there is this one game I found called Commas Galore which allows you to play a "who wants to be a millionaire" type game but with grammar; specifically, commas and semi-colons.
Another place to try is your public library. Instead of going for the boring basic books to test your grammar skills, pick up books such as "Eats, Shoots, and Leaves" and "The Girl's Like Spaghetti" by Lynne Truss. Both books provide pictorial representations of grammar sentences in humorous ways in order to show the difference a few commas or apostrophes can make!
Here's an example of 2 pages in the book "Eats, Shoots, and Leaves" by Lynne Truss. It shows the difference between"Slow children crossing" meaning that the students are crossing the street slowly, and "Slow, children crossing" meaning drive slowly because there are children crossing the street. All this difference is simply from a comma!
Grammar is what you make of it. So be proactive, and learn the skills which will help you get an edge in your writing!
Grammar is one of those things which seems really pointless, but can make the difference between being legible, and people misinterpreting what you meant. While it can be confusing to know whether to use a comma or a semicolon, an exclamation mark or just a period, it is worthwhile to learn how to use all of these different elements of grammar to improve your writing. Unfortunately, most grammar games and workbooks are boring: they are teaching you the basics, and are not the most enjoyable things you could be doing with your time. However, there is this one game I found called Commas Galore which allows you to play a "who wants to be a millionaire" type game but with grammar; specifically, commas and semi-colons.
Another place to try is your public library. Instead of going for the boring basic books to test your grammar skills, pick up books such as "Eats, Shoots, and Leaves" and "The Girl's Like Spaghetti" by Lynne Truss. Both books provide pictorial representations of grammar sentences in humorous ways in order to show the difference a few commas or apostrophes can make!
Here's an example of 2 pages in the book "Eats, Shoots, and Leaves" by Lynne Truss. It shows the difference between"Slow children crossing" meaning that the students are crossing the street slowly, and "Slow, children crossing" meaning drive slowly because there are children crossing the street. All this difference is simply from a comma!
Grammar is what you make of it. So be proactive, and learn the skills which will help you get an edge in your writing!
Monday, 17 September 2012
Hello and Welcome!
Hi Everyone!
If you have found my blog, let me introduce myself: I am a teacher candidate who is currently student teaching in a grade 8 class in the Peel District School Board. I am excited to share with you the different techniques and lesson ideas I have been learning so that you can get ideas and learn new skills too!
If you are one of my grade 8 students, stay tuned for the resources I have used during lessons in case you want more information about why I used them or to catch up on school work from home.
If you have found my blog, let me introduce myself: I am a teacher candidate who is currently student teaching in a grade 8 class in the Peel District School Board. I am excited to share with you the different techniques and lesson ideas I have been learning so that you can get ideas and learn new skills too!
If you are one of my grade 8 students, stay tuned for the resources I have used during lessons in case you want more information about why I used them or to catch up on school work from home.
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