Animal Research Project WebQuest

As you can tell, my 4th quarter at school is focused around our 8 week animal research project.  For my final WebQuest, I chose to use the resources that I had previously created and make a WebQuest that hopefully in the future my students can use.  It will require more preparation on my part (on the technology side of things), but I think with Common Core being introduced this is the way planning should be headed.  Click on the sea turtle below and have fun!

Animal Resources Website

Click on the animals below and you will be taken into the wonderful world of animals!  I created a website to make research easier for my students.  I have listed the most popular animals that are researched by our 3rd graders and have linked a kid friendly site to each of them.  There is also a teacher resource page where my Animal Habitat video and book introduction to Animal Homes are located.  This page will be update each year with new animals (as my students choose them) and new sites as they become available. 

Animal Habitats Video

Once again, I chose to complete my project on Animal Habitats for the upcoming research project that my 3rd graders will complete after Spring Break.  I found Windows Movie Maker very easy to use and had a ton of fun with the animations and effects that I could change.  I think at one point, I had each slide changing in a different way..but decided it looked better this way!  I like the click and drag ability that the program gave me so I could arrange my work so it fit with my music.  Enjoy!!

 

 

VoiceThread

I am using VoiceThread to review/introduce probability and the important definitions to my 3rd grade students. Along with the definitions, I am also giving examples of each area and using the voice part to give directions to my students to come up with examples of their own. I think VoiceThread would be a great platform to use because as a review tool, my students can work at their own pace and still be led by teacher directions.
Standards covered:
3.1.14 Identify whether everyday events are certain, likely, unlikely, or impossible.
3.1.15 Record the possible outcomes for a simple probability experiment.

Animoto

I LOVE the options that are available with this program. I used pictures of my daughter (I bet no one saw that one coming!) for my assignment. However I could see using this to introduce lessons on different animals, shapes, or anything that would require a picture description. It could also be used in show an overview of the school on back to school night or on a website for new families. You would of course need more than the free 30 second though! Enjoy!

Make your own slideshow at Animoto.

Visual and Audio

A Vision of Students Today (7 Videos All Educator Should Watch)
          The statistics that were showed in this short video were scary, but true - I found myself reflecting back on my early college days.  It showed college age students holding up statistics that were true to them, including how much reading was assigned to them and how little reading actually applied to what they were studying.  This video also supports the changes that we are trying to make in the classroom - moving away from the standardized tests (recall) and more toward performance assessments (perform, apply - higher DOK questioning).  These types of assessments will help prepare students for the jobs of the future, jobs which may not currently exist.  Finally, the video discuss that technology ALONE cannot fix the problems of the world - because let's be real, it causes problems.  The students in the video admitted to using the computer during class for  Facebook and other non-academic reasons.  We must remember this in our own classrooms.  Like everything else, technology needs to be watched and incorporated with other strategies within the classroom for its best effect.

Resources

Math A Tube - http://mathatube.com/index.html

• This is a new favorite web site!  I am the head of our math committee at school and we are always looking for new strategies to teach difficult concepts.  I love how this web site lists the skills or sub skills and then has available videos, definitions, and pictorial descriptions for each available.  The site says it is helpful for parents who need to help their children, but I think it can be used in the classroom to introduce some skills, or reteach others.  There are also links to upload your own videos if they do not have one available yet.  I would suggest this site to anyone who teaches math!

Discovery Channel - http://dsc.discovery.com/

• This site offers a lot of great resources and information, but I am afraid it is hidden behind "fun" less-educational information that will distract my students.  Knowing my 3rd graders, I am concerned that they will be spending their time reading about the TV shows and looking under the game application before using the factual information that can be gained from this page.  I think I will stick with discovery kids until I can "train" my students how to use the search tool on the site.  I am also concerned that this site may include information that is too mature for my kids.

       

Go!Animate

I am using GoAnimate to introduce the book Animal Homes to my class. This is the story in our reading series that we will read the week we return from spring break. This will be a great to introduce to my students using GoAnimate because we will not only use the book for our story of the week in reading, but also as a springboard into our writing research projects for the 3rd quarter! This book is designed for 3rd grade students and will be perfect to introduce my students to habitats that different animals have. Indiana State Standards: 3.2.2 Ask questions and support answers by connecting prior knowledge with literal information from the text. 3.2.3 Show understanding by identifying answers in the text. 3.2.4 Recall major points in the text and make and revise predictions about what is read. We will work on reading comprehension, making predictions, and confirming these predictions by checking answers from the text. As stated earlier, we will also begin to connections to writing our research reports and how they can use the information from this story to "jump start" their research. Intro to Animal Homes by helfrichsm on GoAnimate

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