How We Organize Ourselves

November/December 2019

Important Dates:

Dec 3-5 2-5 District PLC Day (See Spreadsheet for more information.)
Dec 16 K-1 Math CBA 1 Window Open
Jan 17 K-1 Math CBA 1 Window Closes
Dec 16-20 4-5 Science CBA 2 Window
Dec 20 3-5 Science Performance Task Exemplars Due

Other Dates:

Dec 20 End of 2nd Nine Weeks

Digital Breakout Fun

Tips for Making Digital Breakouts Easier for Everyone!

A digital breakout can be a little confusing at first because directions are not provided or spelled out specifically.

It helps for students to work in pairs (two brains process information differently, which really helps in finding answers).

Try working out a digital breakout as a class first to model possible strategies. The PBJ, Cracker Jack, and Lego Mini Figures are a couple easy breakouts to get started.

Digital Breakouts

Virtual Field Trips

Explore the websites below for some fun virtual field trips! Below are a few fall field trips.

Assign a trip in Google Classroom and try the See, Think, Wonder Strategy!

What do you SEE? * What do you THINK about that? * What does it make you WONDER?

360Cities.net is a great resource for 360-degree videos or panoramic photos.

Inside a Red Apple Tree – Looking out from inside the tree covered in bright red apples.
The Big Apple Farm – Harvesting apples
Pumpkin on Vine – Foliage and a pumpkin still on the vine
Pumpkins Ready for Harvest – The foliage has died back and pumpkins are laying right where they grew
Halloween Hide and Seek – Over 30 Halloween-themed items are hidden in this panorama for your students to find. Don’t forget to look up!

YouTube 360 videos let you search for a plethora of immersive videos on all different topics. They can be used with VR goggles or you can drag the screen on a laptop.

New England Fall Foliage Fly Through at Bartlett Arboretum – Produced by NBC, beautiful views of fall foliage in all colors and an excellent explanation of how and why leaves change colors.
Tomb of the Unknown Soldier – The Changing of the Guard (Veteran’s Day) is a great 360 video of Arlington cemetery and explanation of changing of the guard at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier.
Dia de los Muertos – Explanation and short video of Dia de los Muertos in 360 video

Google Earth – Go anywhere in the world and chances are there is a 360 street view. Google also has Google Voyager, which showcases 360-degree pictures with a theme.

Voyager – Thanksgiving Traditions – This tour takes you from Plymouth Rock to the Lincoln Memorial and explains how the Thanksgiving tradition evolved in America.
Voyager – World War I Memorials around the world – With Veterans Day approaching, this is a great tour of ten different World War I memorials around the world.

Chromebook Keyboard Shortcuts

Check out some of the great tips Todd sent in his Weekly Tech Tips to help fix some of the settings on a Chromebook!

Screen is rotated - press Control + Shift + Refresh (curved arrow above the 4) until the screen is back to normal

Chromebook is speaking - at log in screen, click US at botton right > Accessibility > ChromeVox (spoken feedback) to uncheck it

Screen colors are inverted - at log in screen, click US at botton right > Accessibility > High contrast mode to uncheck it

Screen is magnified - at log in screen, click US at botton right > Accessibility > Fullscreen magnifier to uncheck it

For more shortcuts, click Here or see below!

Chromebook Shortcuts.pdf

Online Spinner

You can customize your own spinner with your own labels using the tools below the spinner.

You can save your spinner for later use by either copying the address from the browser or by using the sharing buttons embedded on this page.

Embrace Diverse Topics

As the NAEYC article indicates, teaching about the seasons isn’t limited to just winter holidays and changes in the weather. Broader lessons about the environment, like Maisonville’s students observing a lack of birds, can open up early lessons in scientific inquiry, even the scientific method, for example.

Julie Smith, “The Techie Teacher,” has complied a number of winter activities focused on tech, but which can teach math, creative writing, and more.
Ed Tech Ideas’ diverse list of resources includes games, cards, Santa-tracking, and fun uses of Google Earth.
The NEA collects useful games, activities, and even lesson plans for K-5 learners on wide-ranging topics like time, temperature, animal migration, winter sports, and more. And don’t miss out on their collection of books, music, and video.