Global Play Day 2016!

Today, my class participated in Global School Play Day! 

Thank you to the Bedley Brothers and Twitter for introducing me to this project!  The power of a Personal Learning Network (PLN) triumphs again!

I was heavily influence to participate in #GSPD after listening to this eye opening presentation: 

The Decline of Play TED Talk from psychologist Peter Gray. 

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On Monday, I emailed parents, shared "The Decline of Play" video, and asked for games to be brought in for our #GSPD event. On Wednesday, we had a few curricular blocks, but we were able to have two solid play sessions. One session was with our 5th grade buddies!

The sessions were sensational!

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First, we talked about the rules. 

There would only be ☝, the Golden Rule.

We made centers for different types of games

Let's Play!

We played outside

We had some fun games of Twister

Some Mancala

Played cards

 We played some difficult balancing games like Jenga

We created using LEGO

And even had a puppet show!

What is your opinion of Global School Play Day?

Would you recommend it?

Convince me!

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?

 

Hour of Code

Computer Science Education Week

December 7 - 13, 2015

To celebrate Computer Science Education Week, Ms. Tulbure and her students participated in the global Hour of Code! This is the second year of participation for Ms. Tulbure's Class.

Thank you, Hadi Partovi for creating this project!

Computer Science week coincides with the birthdays of two computer science pioneers. 

A pioneer is a person who is one of the first to enter a field of study or explore a new area of thought. 

• Ada Lovelace, born in England on December 10, 1815, is considered the world's first computer programmer.

•  Grace Hopper, whose birthday is December 9, 1906, was an American computer programmer and Navy rear admiral. She 

  

  Photo Credit

  contributed to the development of theCOBOL language and is credited with popularizing the term "computer bug" in the programming community. 

Grace Hopper said: "To me programming is more than an important practical art. It is also a gigantic undertaking in the foundations of knowledge."

For students: 

We will be accessing these Hour of Code Tutorials on our Acers or iPads. 

A hearty thank you, Lisa Highfill for putting these Hour of Code tutorials into a useful hyperdoc! 

Students, you are free to go to these tutorials at home with your parents. Share what you've learned with the class in the comment section! On Monday, started our Hour of Code Tutorials and began to write and create with code.

What are you going to create with code?

What are some coding sites or apps that you like?

Teach us some code in the comment section! 

Congratulations Family Blogging Month Winners!

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Congratulations to our Family Blogging Month Winners, 

Hyunsuh, Ramin, Ryan, and Sammy! 

Each blogger received a free kid's meal to a local restaurant, a fabulous crown to wear, and a free choice post on Ms. Tulbure's Classroom Blog!

Photo by Ms. Tulbure

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Mrs. Yollis created the idea of Family Blogging Month back on April 1, 2010. This inspired Ms. Tulbure to participate as well. The participation, the quality of the commenting, the interaction and learning that transpired via this classroom blog makes Ms. Tulbure beam with pride.


Not only are her students and their family members becoming superior writers, but they are also honing important digital skills like how to communicate and contribute on line, how to limit personal information on the Internet, and how to develop a dynamic digital footprint. (To hone is a fancy verb that means to improve over time.) 

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Ms. Tulbure would like to personally thank all the parents and family members for their constant support.Your participation is the key to your child's educational success!

What did you think of Family Blogging Month?

Who commented from your family?

Where did your family comment from? 

Pumpkins and Turkeys!

The leaves are changing which means it's almost Thanksgiving!
Fall is a special time for us because it means that we are baking.....Pumpkin Bread!


We had wonderful parent volunteers helping us stir and sift, measure and mash our deliciously donated ingredients. Thank you volunteers!


Below is a slideshow of our hard work (also included some Halloween activities)
Pumpkin Bread Bake on PhotoPeach

I hope you enjoyed your Thanksgiving break! 

What did you do for Thanksgiving?

Did you have a special meal planned?

What are you grateful for?