Virtual Field Trip

        Once again we feel so lucky to have the opportunity to use another new piece of technology, our Google Chromebooks, which help hook us up to our Google Drives. No surprise, the students of Sixth Grade City have jumped right in and become experts.
       If you haven't heard about what we are doing yet, each student now has access to their Google Drive, which we have been using to complete interactive assignments, share them easily with each other, and submit for easy grading and feedback. This is a web based drive, so students can start an assignment at school and easily continue it while it at home or anywhere they have access to the internet! Students will have this account throughout their whole time as a Hillsboro student.
       This past week we have taken advantage of our iPads, Google Drives, and Chromebooks (technology overload!) to go on the longest field trip of our lives…a virtual field trip that will follow the path of our main character of latest novel study, Esperanza, as she immigrates from Mexico to California. In order to do this we are using Google Earth to explore the journey she takes. It has been so engaging to actually explore the setting of the story, the city of Aguascalientes. Through the Google Lit Trip we are taking, we have also been able to read about the history of the Mexican Revolution, watch videos about Quincieneras, and even learn and review some Spanish words.

      

                            

                            

                             

                             

     After exploring Google Earth and reading the story, students are then logging into their Google Drives to answer comprehension question about what they have learned. Through this interactive document, the students are able to compose their answers, cite evidence from the text, and then share their documents with myself or others to encourage further discussion about the questions. So far the work I have seen demonstrates great critical thinking and shows their deep understanding of the story and the historical background that accompanies it.

                             

     I decided to ask the students what they thought about our adventures with technology this year, and everyone was more than willing to share their excitement. Hearing their responses continues to fill me with excitement, as well as fuel me to find new and exciting ways to incorporate technology into our daily lessons. Check out their thoughtful answers in the following video.

    I have truly appreciated the great attitudes and responsibility all the students have shown when

trying new technology. I don't want to think about how close we are to the end of the year, because we have so many more exciting things we can accomplish. Maybe with our Google Drives we can all continue to collaborate throughout the summer to keep our skills fresh and ready for 7th grade. Online Google Drive Summer book club anyone?

Earth Day Festival

                                                  Happy Earth Day from Sixth Grade City!

    Today we finally got to put all of our hard work into action as we taught the kids of Free Orchards about different environmental issues that face our earth. Each student was in an Earth Day Committee that was focused on one specific issue including recycling, global warming, littering, air pollution, water pollution, replanting, and composting. They spent two weeks researching their issue and coming up with an acttivity where the kids could show what they have learned. 

     I was so impressed with all of their creativy, and more importantly their leadership skills teaching kids from Kindergarten through 6th grade. Check out some of the pictures of everyone in action and the highlight video as well. 

       

         

     Once again these kids continue to amaze me with their respectful and responsible behavior. They all learned a lot about their topic, and did an amazing job educating others about important issues we need to address to keep our earth beautiful. Keep it green! Happy Earth Day!

iPads, QR Codes, and Science...Oh My!!

     Coming back from Spring Break, our class has been revitalized, and we are ready to attack our study of cells, prepare for the math OAKS test, and incorporate technology into our learning however it best fits. Here are a few examples of what we have been up to this week. (I can't believe it's already the end of the week!) Time sure flies when you're having fun learning.

                                                              Science Learning

   

                                   

     This week we started our science unit and are learning about cells. Since we don't have access to microscopes, we used our iPads to find pictures of different living and nonliving objects that have been magnified to levels much higher than we could do with a microscope. The students had a great time exploring all sorts of different objects, they were interested in, that we may not have had access to for a hands on lab. Ever wonder what a guitar string, jelly fish, or fish scales look like magnified? Well Sixth Grade City navigated the web and found those examples, and many more! The ideas and questions just kept coming! 

                                

                                                          Photo Editor- Phonto

       We also used the photo editor Phonto to find pictures of different animal, plant, and single cells to label. Through this program students were able to add graphics and text to the photos to show their understanding of the different organelles of a cell. 

         After creating the photos, we then airdropped them to each other to check for accuracy, and then used the collection of photos we had to compare and contrast the different types of cells during our ELD lessons. It was great to see not only the accuracy in their productions, but also the creativity in their labeling and variety of cell photos they found. 

          The following are a few examples of the students' work! Check it out! 

                                 

                                  

                                   

                                           Practice, Apply, Scan, and Check! 

   Mrs. Dessert's class will be taking the OAKS math test starting on April 14th. In preparation for this, we have been in major review mode practicing and applying what we have been learning all year. With so many different levels of understanding, a great amount of differentiation is needed. In order to assist with this, Mrs. Dessert designed review QR code flashcards. These flashcards reviewed adding and subtracting decimals, points on the coordinate grid, and finding area and perimeter of shapes on the coordinate grid. 

    Students simply solve the problems on the cards, and then scan the QR code, with a QR code reader, and are instantly shown the answer to the problem. This independent activity allows the students to practice their skills in an interactive way, while Mrs. Dessert is able to work with small groups and help instruct students that need extra help. 

    Here are a few kids in action with their QR codes- the excitement I hear every time a code is scanned and a correct answer is confirmed is contagious! Keep solving those problems Sixth Grade City!

                             

     

                             

                             

     We are continuing to make great strides and learn new things every day. I can't believe how fast this year is going, but we still have so much work to do. Looking forward to all we will accomplish before our foxes are off to Evergreen.