Tuesday, December 15, 2015

Paper Snowflakes and common core....


Snowflakes...and the common core! 
Today we made the most amazing snowflakes. My students folded and cut out the beautiful snowflakes that you see in the picture above. How is this related to Common Core..well let me explain: 
First we read an expository text in our ELA book about snowflakes and how they are formed. Then we discussed the fact that snowflakes all have 6 points or arms, which we decided meant that they must have a line of symmetry. We watched an informational video that explained the steps to create these beautiful paper creations, and then we all folded and cut them out.  Each student was engaged, each student participated to his/her ability, and each student created a product. I have added the link to the youtube video and also I have listed the standards that we covered. Enjoy!

Tutorial Video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sd8kEItoh-k

Standards:

Snowflakes…. are examples of symmetry
We can identify and create line-symmetry figures.

Reading for Informational Text Standard 7: Interpret information presented visually, orally, or quantitatively (e.g., in charts, graphs, diagrams, time lines, animations, or interactive elements on Web pages).
Mathematics Standard 4.G: Recognize a line of symmetry for a two-dimensional figure as a line across the figure such that the figure can be folded along the line into matching parts. Identify line-symmetric figures and draw lines of symmetry.


Thursday, August 6, 2015

Poetry and Animoto

I had my students write a Haiku poem and then turn it into an Animoto Video.
Animoto is very easy to use and is free. The students found images that went along with their poems, selected an appropriate theme, and picked music. The results were amazing. I have added a link to an example video that I created. 

https://animoto.com/play/W7S7by2B0gQS59mdxsGNVw

Friday, July 31, 2015

New apps to use in the classroom

I love looking for and trying out new apps to use in the classroom. I especially love Free apps. I have used the LearnZillion website for a while and just realized they now have a free app that contains a huge amount of math and ELA content that is Common Core aligned. Check it out!

Check it out!