Category: Trekkers

Apr 05 2010 April 5, 2010 May 11, 2010 NoComment by David

Happy Spring Break!

Posted in Trekkers

During my spring break I did a lot of video editing. Mostly it was for a side job, but two of the videos were just for fun, and they kind of relate to education so I’ll share them here. The first video highlights one of the computer contact meetings we had at the Henrico Theater earlier this year. The computer contact at your school came and learned about GoogleEarth, Pixie, DigiTemps, ProScopes, and more! So ask them to tell you about it… or just watch the video. The second video highlights a fundraiser that Echo Lake Elementary had for their counselor’s son who was injured in an accident. We were able to video conference with him all the way out in Denver, Colorado so the students could ask him questions live! I would love to try some more video conferencing with our students, so if you are interested in doing that, please let me know. Anyway, my fellow ITRT, Alfonso, and I DJ-ed the event. And speaking of DJ-ing, remember the Virginia Trekkers are holding a contest, and the winning school gets a free dance DJ-ed by the Trekkers! The deadline for submissions is May 1st, so get your entries to us! More details here.


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Mar 31 2010 March 31, 2010 May 11, 2010 NoComment by David

3rd Grade Simple Machines

Posted in 3rd Grade, Science, Trekkers

Third graders at Laburnum have been studying simple machines (SOL 3.2) so they created Pixie projects to show off what they have learned. If you click here you can see a sample, and if you click here you can download the template to get your started. First we created Word Art (the directions are on the template), then we found Stickers of the simple machines (go to the Science folder, then to the Simple Machines folder). Next the students took their picture and drew their bodies. Finally they recorded an audio voiceover identifying the machines. There are many other project ideas you could do. Using photos of the machines (click here to download it) you can create a ComicLife or an iMovie. There are lots of cool websites on simple machines for your students to explore, and I’ve tried to gather them all together on this webpage. Don’t forget to check out the Trekkers’ simple machines from the past activity. Go ahead and have fun with your simple machines unit!


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Mar 29 2010 March 29, 2010 May 11, 2010 NoComment by David

3rd Grade Energy & the Environment

Posted in 3rd Grade, Science, Trekkers

Earth Day is coming up, and third graders at Trevvett elementary are working on special projects about the sources of energy and the environment (SOL3.10). They will be using a combination of PhotoBooth, Keynote, and iMovie to create their projects. I’ll put up the link when they are done, but I wanted to share the resources with you now. I gave them a folder of pictures to use with examples of the different types of energy sources as well as examples of recycling, conservation, and pollution. You can download the folder by clicking here. I also created a special site for their research with lots of great links to interactive webpages about energy and the environment. If you’d like to show your students what happens in a real recycling facility right here in Virginia, take a look at the Trekkers podcast! Here are a couple of examples of what the students are doing: Water Pollution Video, Land Pollution Video.


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Jan 13 2010 January 13, 2010 January 19, 2010 NoComment by David

4th Grade New Nation Comic

Posted in 4th Grade, Social Studies, Trekkers

SOL VS.6 may be a little dry and difficult to teach, so why not spice it up with a cool project like the fourth grade teachers at Holladay did. They asked me to give them some pictures and a Comic Life template to use, and then they taught their students how to make the comics on their own. That made topics like the Virginia Declaration of Rights and the Constitution a lot more interesting. If you’d like to download the template and pictures click here. To see a finished sample of the “New Nation Comic” click here. And don’t forget about the Constitution website I mentioned in this post for Constitution Day. Finally, if you are looking for a way to show your students the Cumberland Gap (VS.6c), the Virginia Trekkers filmed Podcast #19 there. We’ll take you right through the main passageway that the early settlers used to migrate west!


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Dec 17 2009 December 17, 2009 January 19, 2010 NoComment by David

New Trekkers Podcasts

Posted in Trekkers

This week several of my schools have been working on MAPS testing so they have needed the computers. This has given me some much needed time to update the Virginia Trekkers website. We’ve added two new podcasts. In Podcast #27 we take your class on a virtual field trip to a peanut factory in Wakefield, Virginia. Your students will learn about one of the important crops in southern Virginia and how it played an important part during the Civil War. We’ll show you first-hand how peanuts are processed from the farm to the store shelf. It’s a great way to review your economics and Virginia studies SOLs with your students. In Podcast #28 we take your class to the Citie of Henricus, which was the second English settlement, established just four years after Jamestown in 1611. It was home to Pocahontas and John Rolfe, and it’s also how Henrico County got its name. We’ll show you inside an English settler’s house and a Powhatan Indian’s house, plus you’ll learn about early colonial economics. So come on, let’s go trekkin’!


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Dec 01 2009 December 1, 2009 January 5, 2010 NoComment by David

VSTE 2009

Posted in Staff Development, Trekkers

I spent part of my Thanksgiving vacation at the Virginia Society for Technology in Education (VSTE) Conference in Roanoke with my fellow ITRT, Alfonso. It was 2 days (11/30-12/1) of informative sessions learning about the latest research and trends in technology education. Two of the topics I focused on were using iPods in the classroom and Web 2.0 tools. I also attended a cool session on using Google forms. You can see all my notes and links to more information on this Google doc. While we were on the trip Alfonso and I also stopped by the Cyrus McCormick Farm and the Frontier Culture Museum to create a couple of virtual field trips for your students. I’m still editing those videos, but I will post the links on this blog when I finish with them.


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Nov 11 2009 November 11, 2009 November 19, 2009 NoComment by David

4th Grade Jamestown Comics

Posted in 4th Grade, Social Studies, Trekkers

JamestownComicFourth graders at Laburnum have been creating their very own comic books about Jamestown using Comic Life. It’s a cool way to make a fun study guide. I gave them a template and a folder of pictures to use which you can download by clicking here. The students dragged the pictures they wanted from the folder into the Comic Life document. I showed them how to use the Styles button to change the look of the text and pictures. Finally they used the speech bubbles to tell important facts about each person or event. The comics look fantastic, and it’s a study guide they will definitely want to look at over and over again. You can see a finished one by clicking here. If you’re studying Jamestown, be sure to check out the Virginia Trekkers trip to Jamestown. We have a video, Flash activities, and lots of links to other interactive websites. Check out the podcast by clicking here.


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Nov 09 2009 November 9, 2009 November 19, 2009 NoComment by David

2nd Grade Weathering Podcast

Posted in 2nd Grade, Science, Trekkers

Weathering&ErosionSecond graders at Trevvett are learning about weathering and erosion (SOL2.7) and today we made podcasts about it using GarageBand. I gave them a folder of 25 pictures showing all types of weathering and erosion. I also gave them a GarageBand template to get them started. They dragged the pictures they wanted into the artwork track, recorded their voices on the vocals track, and added sound effects of water and wind in the jingles track. They are still working on them, but you can see a student sample by clicking here. You can download all the files including the template, the sample, and the photos by clicking here. Also be sure to checkout our Virginia Trekkers podcast on weathering and erosion. We went to St. Mary’s Falls in the Blue Ridge Mountains and showed several of examples of weathering. There’s a video, map activity, and lots of links to other cool weathering resources like BrainPop. Watch the podcast by clicking here.


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Nov 03 2009 November 3, 2009 November 19, 2009 NoComment by David

Trek to the Great Dismal Swamp

Posted in 4th Grade, Social Studies, Trekkers

VTDismalSwampOne of the new Social Studies SOLs for 4th Grade is learning about the Great Dismal Swamp and Lake Drummond (the largest of Virginia’s two natural lakes). I’ve mentioned it before in this blog and shared some resources for you. But we wanted to give you more. We wanted to take your students on a virtual field trip to the swamp. So since today was a staff development day, the Virginia Trekkers took a trip down to the Great Dismal Swamp and made a podcast. In the video, we’ll take your students to the Washington Ditch, created by George Washington himself; we’ll show them where a fire burned much of the swamp in the summer of 2008; and we’ll explain the unique properties of Lake Drummond’s water. You can watch the podcast by clicking here or download it on iTunes (just search for “Virginia Trekkers”). There is also a map activity to go along with the video and some additional links that your students can explore.


Sep 24 2009 September 24, 2009 September 25, 2009 1Comment by David

1st Grade Patriotic Symbols

Posted in 1st Grade, Math, Social Studies, Trekkers

Symbols1st Graders at Trevvett are studying patriotic symbols in social studies (SOL 1.11) and graphing in math (SOL 1.18) so we decided to combine those into one integrated project using Pixie and Numbers. First the students found stickers of the symbols in Pixie and matched them with their names. Then they took their photo using the webcam tool and identified their favorite symbols by recording their voices. You can take a look at their projects here. Next we tallied their favorite symbols and entered the data into a graph template that I created for them to use. You can see a sample graph here, and you can download all the files for this lesson by clicking here. There’s also an interactive quiz to review the patriotic symbols on the Virginia Trekkers website.


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