Lit Picks and Tech Tips

Upstart promotions is hosting a Vote for Books project. Students can nominate their favorite books until April 30. The top 10 candidates will be announced online on May 1. A general election will run through summer and fall. Votes will be talled on Election Day, and the winner will be announced on November 5. Have your students nominate their favorite books by going to VoteForBooks.com.

Here is a VoiceThread project I did in the LMC with Mrs. Sheets’ and Mrs. Vejraska’s classes during flexible time. The students made their own Field Guide based on the Spiderwick series. Check it out! If you would like to try a VoiceThread project, just let me know. I will also be teaching a workhsop on VoiceThread on April 24th.

Have you ever noticed those fancy Google logos they have on special holidays? Google calls these Google Doodles, and they are having a contest for kids to create a Google Doodle! How cool would it be for one of our kids to come up with a design that would be featured on the Google website? Well, here’s their chance.

Doodle 4 Google is a national contest that asks kids to come up with a logo based on the theme “What if…”. You can read the contest details on their website. Here are some examples from past contests in the United Kingdom and Australia.

I already registered our school as a participant. If you would like to have your students participate in the contest, just let me know. I would be glad to help you develop this as a project with your students. It would be a great activity to do during those stressful MAP testing weeks, and it would definitely keep our students engaged in learning. We can only submit 6 entries in the contest from our school, so I will have a panel of teachers help select the entries to send in from all of the classes that participate.

Entries are due April 12, so start planning now for this fun learning opportunity!

Okay, I realize I’m sharing yet another online tool that really isn’t school related, but it’s too cool not to share. My son has gotten me addicted to an online radio site called Pandora. The neat thing about this site is that you select an artist that you like (for example - Sting - I know, I’m dating myself), and Pandora will play songs by Sting and create the “Sting” channel for you. In addition to songs by that particular artist, it will also play songs that are similar in style to songs by Sting. It gives you the option to give those songs the “thumbs up” or “thumbs down” as to whether you think they belong on your Sting channel.  It is so awesome! You get to listen to the songs and artists you like, and you don’t have to listen to commercials. All types of music are included, which has been great for my son who loves contemporary Christian artists like Skillet and Reliant K. Anyway, give it a try and create your own custom radio stations!

Back in October, I shared with you a time-saving blog that I use to get recipe ideas - Mommy Cooks. I have always been a menu planner, and I thought that maybe my obsessive menu planning could help others with this task. So, I decided to make my own recipe blog which I titled “What’s for Dinner?”.  I post my weekly dinner menu plan and the recipes I use, including photos (I’m a geek - what can I say?). I hope you find this blog useful, or at least maybe it will entertain you to know that I photograph my dinner each night. Either way - enjoy!

Cindy, your slightly obsessive library lady

Last week, one of my eMINTS sessions was on the topic of visual literacy (the ability to understand and use images to communicate). As an opening activity, I used a great online tool called VoiceThread to have my eMINTS teachers interact with images. You can see this example at http://voicethread.com/share/44327/ or click below.

I think there are so many possibilities for using this tool in the classroom. You could have your students create online digital stories, have them respond to a photograph, share research information, and so much more. For example, DeAnna, one of my 3rd grade eMINTS teachers, created a VoiceThread to have her students respond to some images about Martin Luther King, Jr. Here are some examples of what you can do with VoiceThread:

Flat Stanley Project - http://voicethread.com/share/43401/
James and the Giant Peach - http://voicethread.com/share/45060/
Venn Diagram Response - http://voicethread.com/share/6979/
Jack’s Monster Cards - http://voicethread.com/share/236/
Baseball Multiplication - http://voicethread.com/share/45540/
Voices from the Past - http://voicethread.com/share/25448/
Third Grade Book Reports – http://voicethread.com/share/41795/
I Like Winter - http://voicethread.com/share/37747/
Triangle Scavenger Hunt - http://voicethread.com/share/44033/

If you would like to do a project using VoiceThread, just let me know and I will be glad to collaborate with you and help you get it set up.

Happy New Year! Since we have started a new year, I thought my first post should be a book review of one of the new Mark Twain Award nominees for 2008-2009. Hope you enjoy!

The Million Dollar Putt by Dan Gutman

RL 3.8

Ed Bogard (“Bogie”) is like many thirteen-year-old boys – he likes to ride his bike, parasail, ride jet skis, and play the guitar. But unlike many boys his age, Bogie is blind. When he accidentally discovers that he has a talent for golf, Birdie, the girl next door, becomes his coach and they develop a unique friendship as they learn the sport together. Someone mysteriously enters Bogie in a golf tournament with a million dollar prize. Can a blind golfer even hope to have a chance to win?

Cindy’s Two-Cents Worth

This is the first Dan Gutman book I have read, and I really enjoyed it! I definitely think it will appeal to our students, including sports-loving boys. The story is easy to read and does a great job of using the voice of a thirteen-year-old boy. The sub-story of Bogie’s relationship with his dad is touching without being too “sappy” for boys, and the exploration of dealing with bullies at school and friendship with girls is pretty realistic. The excitement of the possibility of a kid winning a million dollars will keep the kids hooked. Extension activities could include researching blindness and blind golfers, exploring the setting of Hawaii, learning basic guitar chords, and learning the basics of golf. I encourage you to check it out!

Online Resources

Author’s Website
http://www.dangutman.com/

Interview with Dan Gutman
http://teacher.scholastic.com/scholasticnews/indepth/kids_primaries/activities/gutman/submit-question.asp

Radio Interview with Dan Gutman (need Real Player)
http://real.playstream.com:8080/ramgen/sinc/TeacherRadio/tr2_gutman_20001009_bonus.smi

Retinitis Pigmentosa
http://www.blindness.org/content.asp?id=45

International Blind Golf Association
http://www.internationalblindgolf.org/about_IBGA.htm

Middle Atlantic Blind Golf Association
http://www.mabga.org/

The Water Horse by Dick King-Smith

RL 5.4

This is the story of eight-year-old Kirstie, who lives in Scotland in 1930. When the egg hatches into an unusual sea creature, Kirstie and her family must decide what to do with Crusoe. This take on the origins of the Loch Ness monster is an easy-to-read story that kids will love. It’s a great read aloud, and with the movie coming out on Christmas day, it is sure to be a hit with our students.

Cindy’s Two-Cents Worth:

My mom gave Corey this book when he was in first grade, and he just loved it. It is a very accessible chapter book for kids who seem to be intimidated by anything that is not a picture book. Because our students seem to be so fascinated by monsters such as Big Foot and the Loch Ness Monster (these books are always checked out of the library), I think they will really enjoy this story. It doesn’t hurt that there is a movie adaptation on its way. Even though the reading level says 5.4, I think it is much easier than that.

Online Resources

Dick King-Smith Author Website
http://www.randomhouse.com/kids/dickkingsmith/ 

The Water Horse Teaching Resources
http://www.walden.com/walden/teach/water/index.php 

The Water Horse Movie Website
http://www.sonypictures.com/movies/thewaterhorse/ 

The Legend of Nessie
http://www.nessie.co.uk/index.html 

The Beast of Loch Ness
http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/nova/lochness/

Since I seem to have a holiday theme going today, I thought I’d share another item. For those of us who grew up in the 80s and loved “Africa” by Toto, you’ll get a kick out of this video. It is a safe one to share with others, even your students, but I don’t think they are old enough to get the humor. Enjoy!

Here are some fun holiday activities you can use with your SMART Board. I’m not sure how educational they are, but they’re fun.

Build your own gingerbread house
Build a snowman
Reindeer Orchestra (play Christmas songs by squeezing the deer’s nose) - this is my favorite
Make a snowflake
Santa Sliding Puzzle
Snow Line Game (draw a line to help Santa get the presents) - this one was hard for me, but I’m sure kids will figure it out