This week I have seen many amazing things happening all around! Today Mrs. Lizotte invited me into her 5th grade classroom to create Henrico History Timelines using Timeline Maker. First, students filled out a “brainstorming” timeline: click {HERE} for the document. Then we modeled how to use the Timeline Maker website before students started to transfer their events to the computer. This was a very quick and easy project that the students enjoyed!
While I was in Mrs. Lizotte’s classroom she shared with me a really cool app that she has been using as a student incentive. It is called Win a Spin and is 99 cents in the app store. The teacher can add her own rewards and students are invited to visit the iPad to spin the wheel to win a prize. Her students LOVE this app!
Tuesday I attended Crestview’s faculty meeting and their PE teacher, Kelly Dyer, is doing fabulous things with her faculty! She had everyone gather in the gym and demonstrated how she uses an X Box Kinect with her classes. Then she had us take part in a variety of “brain breaks” that are suppose to get the kids up and moving during the day. Brain breaks enhance attentiveness, concentration, focus and accelerate learning! Some sites she recommended were:
Adventure Fitness: http://adventuretofitness.com
JMU Muscular Fitness: https://sites.google.com/site/activityfirst/
I used this brain break site last year with my 3rd graders. It contains 20 five minute or less brain break videos that will get your kids up and dancing: click {HERE}.
