Learn Something New #2

I learned how to use Google Documents! I am very excited about this! Our fourth grade students are learning how to create graphs in Excel. I have created the following online survey using Google Documents. Please take the time to select your favorite pizza toppings.

Voting will end the evening of April 11.

Beginning April 12 the fourth graders will be making pie graphs with the information collected from the online survey.

http://tinyurl.com/yc4hjsm

Please feel free to pass it on to your friends and family.

My next goal is to learn how to do Podcasts!

Learn Something New

Today’s blog entry is to encourage all of us to learn something new.

A friend shared with me a well known company’s philosophy of being known to be good at least at one thing. It is hard to be half as good at many different things. As you master the one thing begin learning something new.

I like this idea so my goal for 2010 has been learn something new and have chosen to learn:
1. to create clay animation and save it using Windows Movie Maker
2. to use Google Documents
3. to learn how to create a podcast


How do you learn something new? Probably the same way most of us learned how to play a game or learned how to use the computers. Try it out and use the Help from the toolbar!

I have learned how to use clay animation and I feel very comfortable teaching this in my classroom!

Materials that you will need:
Goose neck lamp
Digital camera
Computer with Microsoft PowerPoint and/or a Movie Maker
Non-drying clay
CD-R to save the projects

Renewable items that are needed will depend on how often the class is offered, and that would be CD-R, 40W bulbs and non-drying clay.

Timeline of Events
Each meeting is twice a week for 3-4 Weeks.

Week 1 Introduction Introduce claymation and what it involves

Week 2 Create Draw or Print background for project and create clay figures. We used Kidpix for the background

Week 3 Picture Taking Take the necessary pictures for the project. Small movements and more pictures make a great project. Basically repeat these steps. Move the object. Take a picture

Weeks 4-6 Put Project together Using PowerPoint or Windows Movie
Put Project together Or Show and Tell projects

Pi Day

Happy Pi Day!

Pi is the ratio of the circumference of a circle to its diameter. But why is Pi Day celebrated today, Sunday, March 14th? Because it's 3.14, and Pi is 3.1415926535.

The Math teacher even had a local bakery donate pies!

Pi picture is from: www.flickr.com/photos/myklroventine/2332789392/