Literature Led Technology Fun!

Last week the class completed an author study. 
We read a variety of books by the author, Chris Van Allsburg. 

By Tim Pierce (Own work) [CC BY-SA 3.0 
(http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0)], via Wikimedia Commons

We then compared and contrasted various literary elements.

We looked at the illustrations and the various types of drawings. Some illustrations had color, while others were black and white using pen and paper.

We marveled at the beautiful drawings made by Chris Van Allsburg, and also enjoyed looking out for hidden clues. We often found Fritz, the author's dog, in many of his books either as a character or in the background. We also saw identical images in various books. For example, we saw the train from The Polar Express in Jumanji, or the kitchen from Two Bad Ants in the book Ben's Dream.

After we discussed each story, students picked their favorite one to re-tell and summarize. A summary is a paragraph, re-telling the main events of a story.  Students each worked in their Google Classroom and brainstormed their summary on a Google Doc. Students focused on the main characters (who was the story about), what the main character wanted, or what goal they had (what is happening), what was the main problem, how did the character try to solve the problem, and finally, what was the outcome or the solution to the problem.

See some examples below:

Here students are hard at work writing their summary brainstorm ideas:

All Photos by Ms. Tulbure

Next, students picked a project to show their summary creatively. Students could choose between using an iPad and working on Poplet, Facetalker, or Educreations. 

Below are some examples of Poplet in action:

Students could also use Google Drive and write a summary in their Google Docs or create a presentation using Google Slides. 

Here students are working on Google Docs and Google Slides:

Students could also write their summary interactively using PowToon on their Acer. 

 What fun we had learning both to summarize and also using technology to further our learning and imaginations!

What was your favorite author study project? 

Are there other apps or programs that you would like to try to show your learning?

What was your favorite Chris Van Allsburg book and why?

Winter Solstice and Welcome 2016!

FACT: Seasons change as we orbit the sun.


Spring • Summer • Autumn • Winter


The four seasons are caused by the Earth's tilt as it revolves around the sun. As the Earth orbits the sun, the tilt causes the light from the sun to shine on the Northern and Southern hemispheres differently. This causes a difference temperatures and the amount of daylight in the Northern and Southern hemispheres. 

In the Northern Hemisphere, March 20 or 21 marks the Vernal Equinox, or beginning of the spring season. 


December 22, 2015 at 4:48am UTC (Coordinated Universal Time) marked the beginning of the Winter Solstice. This was the shortest day of the year in the Northern Hemisphere. This is because the Northern Hemisphere is at the farthest distance from the sun. Those living on the East coast of the U.S. saw only see nine hours and 15 minutes of daylight on that day. 

At the same time, in the Southern Hemisphere, south of the Equator, on December 22 people experienced their longest day of daylight.


Check out the Brainpop video below for the different Solstices and Equinoxes: 

Things to look for in winter:

1. Plant life shows little or no growth. In the Fall, after the Deciduous (di•si•jo͞o•əs) trees change colors the leaves will drop. Evergreen trees will stay green throughout the seasons. Why do you think that is? Use World Book Online to research. Remember, do NOT copy sentences. That is plagiarism, and it is against the law! Take notes, and then turn your notes into your own sentences. 

Photo by Ms. Tulbure

2. As temperatures change, so does climate. Weather may be rainy or even snow. Snow will fall when the temperature outside is 0 degrees Celsius. 

Photo by Ms. Tulbure

Watch the video below for more information about Winter climate:

3. The cooler temperatures also signal for some animals to hibernate. To hibernate [hi-ber-neyt] is to spend the winter in close quarters in a dormant condition, as bears and certain other animal (http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/hibernation). 

Some animals thrive during this time. You may even see some of these friends walking about:

Photo by Ms. Tulbure

Which other animals thrive in winter? Use World Book Online to research. Remember, do NOT copy sentences. That is plagiarism, and it is against the law! Take notes, and then turn your notes into your own sentences. 

Share some fun facts about winter!
Did you use BrainPop or World Book Online as a reference? 

 

 

Tell us what you enjoy doing in winter.  

How are you changing your behavior due to the weather?