May 16 2017 May 16, 2017 June 1, 2017 NoComment by David

Kindergarten Butterfly Life Cycle Animations

Posted in Kindergarten, Science

Kindergarten students at Holladay Elementary have been learning about the butterfly life cycle (SOLK.7c), so today Ms.Hartwell’s and Ms.Ambrose’s classes created animations showing the life cycle from egg to adult. First, we reviewed the four stages: egg, larva, chrysalis (pupa), and adult butterfly. We used two different websites to create our animations: in Ms. Hartwell’s class we used SketchToy, and in Ms. Ambrose’s class we used ABCYa!Animate, but the process was basically the same for both. We started by drawing the egg. I showed them examples of real butterfly eggs using a Google image search. We noticed that most eggs were white or yellow and were laid on plants. Next we used the drawing tools to draw the larva. Again, I used a Google image search to show examples. We repeated those steps for the chrysalis and the adult butterfly. Finally, we published our animations. SketchToy generates a link which replays the drawing. ABCYa!Animate makes a GIF file that we uploaded to Padlet. You can see Ms.Hartwell’s class projects here and Ms.Ambrose’s class projects here.


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May 04 2017 May 4, 2017 June 1, 2017 NoComment by David

3rd Grade Shapes in Virtual Reality

Posted in 3rd Grade

Third graders at Trevvett Elementary have been learning about plane and solid geometric figures (SOL3.14). Today, students in Ms. Hufnell’s class used our new resource, CoSpaces, to create a virtual reality world of 3-D shapes to explore. First, we logged into CoSpaces with our Google accounts, then we created a new space. I showed them how to click the Environment button in the bottom left corner to choose a background image (you can also upload 360 degreee photos). Next, we went to the image library and added a person. The students could customize the people by right clicking on them and changing their colors and poses. We added a speech bubble, and typed an introduction. Then we went back to the library and added a variety of solid figures. Using the right click, we changed the colors of the shapes and typed sentences describing them in speech bubbles. You can even use coding to program the shapes to be interactive. We didn’t have time to do that today, but here’s an example. Finally, we clicked the share button, copied the link, and pasted it into Schoology so we could explore each others’ virtual worlds. You can explore them yourself here.


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May 03 2017 May 3, 2017 May 18, 2017 NoComment by David

4th Grade VR Review Worlds

Posted in 4th Grade, Science, Social Studies

Fourth graders at Laburnum Elementary have been reviewing for their upcoming SOL Tests, so today students in Ms. Mauck’s class created virtual-reality review worlds about a topic using CoSpaces. First, we reviewed different topics to get them thinking. They’ve learned about motion (SOL4.2), electricity (SOL4.3), plants (SOL4.4), animals (SOL4.5) weather (SOL4.6), space (SOL4.7), Virginia history (Virginia Studies), and more. There were plenty of topics to choose from! Next, we signed into CoSpaces with our Google accounts. I showed the students how to choose a background image (you can also upload your own 360 photo as a background image). Next we went to the Library (at the bottom) and added a person. The older objects are currently more customizable than the newer (low-poly) models. I showed them how to click on an object to resize or raise it using the buttons that appear above it (you have to click and drag the actual button). You can also rotate objects with the rotate button. To customize the object, we right clicked on it and changed the colors or typed something for it to say. We also made walls using the “Building blocks” in the library. Students added photos of their topic to the walls by clicking “Web image search,” then right clicking the image to make it a “Panel,” and attaching it to the wall with the “Attach” button. CoSpaces even has a coding feature, but the students didn’t have time to use that (look at my example to see some coding features). Finally, we published our projects and pasted the links to Google classroom so everyone could explore our virtual worlds for review. You can take a look at them here.


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May 02 2017 May 2, 2017 June 1, 2017 NoComment by David

2nd Grade Time Movies

Posted in 2nd Grade, Math

Second graders at Holladay Elementary have been learning how to tell time to the nearest five minutes (SOL2.12), and today students in Ms. Brown’s class created videos about time using WeVideo. WeVideo is bandwidth intensive, so in order to reduce the number of computers accessing the website, the students worked in pairs. First, we signed into WeVideo with our Google accounts. I showed them how to create the title page and pick a theme. Since the theme music is usually too loud, we turned the volume down to 50% (at the bottom). Next we used the record button to record our introductions with the built-in webcam. For the content, I instructed the students to find images of clocks showing a specific time (they did a Google image search for “8:30,” for example). They also searched for pictures showing an activity they would be doing at that time (eating, sleeping, going to school, etc). We uploaded our images to WeVideo and arranged them in the order we wanted them in the timeline. Then the students recorded a voiceover explaining the time and the activity. I showed them how to increase the volume of their voiceovers to 150%. Finally, we published our videos and pasted the links to Google classroom so everyone could watch them. You can see them here.


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May 01 2017 May 1, 2017 June 1, 2017 NoComment by David

3rd Grade Mali Comics

Posted in 3rd Grade, Language Arts, Social Studies

Third graders at Varina Elementary have been learning about the Empire of Mali (SOL3.2), so today students in Ms. Galvin’s class created comics about Mali using StoryboardThat. First we reviewed what they learned, and I wrote a word bank on the board: Africa, empire, Mali, gold, salt, trade, route, pilgrimage, Mansa Musa, Sundiata, Niger River, griot, Timbuktu, Sahara, etc. Next, we went to StoryboardThat, and I showed them how to search in the Scenes for background images that look like Mali. We compared the images from the American southwest desert with the ones of the Sahara Desert so they wouldn’t pick the wrong kind of desert. Next we searched the Characters for people that looked like the people of ancient Mali. I did a Google image search to show them how the people really dressed. I also demonstrated how to customize the characters by changing their skin colors and poses. Finally we added speech bubbles from the Textables, and students wrote complete sentences with facts about Mali. Since our students cannot have accounts (they are under 13), we saved our comics by taking screenshots using the Snipping Tool. Then we uploaded them to a shared Google folder so we could read each others’ comics. You can take a look at all of them here.


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May 01 2017 May 1, 2017 May 16, 2017 NoComment by David

5th Grade Planet Websites

Posted in 4th Grade, 5th Grade, Language Arts, Science

Fifth graders at Varina Elementary have been reviewing the planets in our solar system (SOL4.7), so today students in Ms. Primrose’s class researched a planet of their choice and created a website about it using the new Google sites. First we reviewed the planets, their order, and interesting facts about each one to get the students thinking. We discussed how the Earth is unique in space, and is not named after a god. The other planets are mostly named after Roman gods, except Uranus, which is named after a Greek god. (By the way, did you know Uranus was first named after King George)? After the students chose a planet that interested them, they conducted their research online. There are several good sites, but the ones we used are ESA Kids (good facts, written at on elementary reading level), Solar System Scope (an interactive, animated solar system), and the basic Google search page. Other websites sites that your students can explore in a center or station are PixelSpace (shows the vast scale of the solar system if the moon were the size of a pixel); Scale of the Universe (shows not only the relative sizes of the planets, but many other objects in the universe), and Neave Planetarium (shows students where the planets and constellations are in the sky tonight). Next, it was time to create our website using Google sites. Students went to their Google drive and clicked New > More > Google sites. The students typed a creative title for their planet webpage, then typed some facts in their own words (we discussed the problems with plagiarism). Finally, students added photos using the built-in Google image search. We published our websites, and shared the links on Google classroom. You can see them all here.


Apr 26 2017 April 26, 2017 May 18, 2017 NoComment by David

3rd Grade 3D Shapes on the Earth

Posted in 3rd Grade, Math, Social Studies

Third graders at Laburnum Elementary have been learning about plane (2D) and solid (3D) figures in Math (SOL3.14). Today students in Ms. Ford’s, Ms. Forrester’s, and Ms. Collins’ classes found examples of these shapes using the new web-based Google Earth. Google Earth is pretty awesome, and this is attested by the Oooh’s and Ahhh’s I heard in every classroom as the students opened it up. Many of the cities are in 3D so it’s perfect for finding real-life examples of the 3D shapes (if you want to see which places are in 3D here is a downloadable KMZ file from the GEarth Blog). However, while rectangular prisms and cubes are fairly easy to find, other shapes like cones and spheres are more difficult. So I created a KMZ file that the students downloaded (you can download it here or see the map here). Then in Google Earth, the students clicked the gear (settings) to allow KMZ uploads and went to Bookmarks to upload my KMZ file. Now all the places were available to the students by clicking on the folder in their bookmarks (click the eye icon to make them visible or invisible). First we explored shapes in Richmond. The students were surprised to find out that there is a pyramid right here in Richond! I showed them how to take screenshots of the places they found and save them. Then I let them explore and try to find examples of each shape on their own. We uploaded our screenshots to a Padlet to share with our classmates. You can see them all here: Forrester, Ford, Collins.


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Apr 19 2017 April 19, 2017 May 11, 2017 NoComment by David

5th Grade Light & Sound Animations

Posted in 5th Grade, Science

Fifth graders at all my schools have been learning about light (SOL5.3) and sound (SOL5.2), so these past few weeks we have been using ABCYa!Animate to illustrate light and sound waves. First we reviewed waves, frequencies, and amplitudes using a variety of websites: IKnowThat, Virtual Oscilloscope, Wave On A String, Digital Keyboard, Bouncy Balls, and the Interactive Ear. We also discussed how waves can be reflected or refracted. Students had to choose one of these principles to illustrate in their animation. We went to ABCYa!Animate, and I showed them how to choose a background image or use the square tool to make a solid-colored background. Next, they chose images from the Images library or drew their own images with the paint tool. Once they finished their first frame, I explained how to copy the image with the Copy Cat button and move things around a little bit or add things in each subsequent frame to give the illusion of motion. We also used the Text tool to write labels or descriptive sentences. You can see their light animations here, their sound animations here, and some students combined light and sound in the same animation. You can see those here. (NOTE: Ms.Sharpe’s class had already created animations this year, so we tried something different–movies with WeVideo).


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Apr 18 2017 April 18, 2017 May 8, 2017 NoComment by David

2nd Grade Student-Created Money Quizzes

Posted in 2nd Grade, Math

Second graders at Holladay Elementary have been learning how to count and compare a collection of pennies, nickels, dimes, and quarters whose total value is
$2.00 or less and correctly use the cent symbol, dollar symbol, and decimal point (SOL2.10). Today they created their own money quizzes using Google Drawings and Google Forms. First we had to use Google Drawings to create the image of money to use in our quiz. We went to our Google drive and clicked New > More > Google Drawings. Then we clicked the Image button and clicked “Search” to find pictures of the bills and coins we needed. I explained that students could make any amount of money up to $2.00, but they had to know how much money it was for their quiz. When the students were finished making their money picture, we clicked File > Download As > JPEG Image. Then we went back to our Google Drive and clicked New > More > Google Forms. They titled their form, “Money Test” and wrote the question, “How much money is this?” Next, they typed in several answer choices, making sure to include the correct one. We also clicked the Add Image button to upload the money drawing that we created. Finally, to turn the form into a quiz, we clicked Settings (the gear icon) > Quizzes and changed it to a quiz (you may want to change some of the other settings as well). We marked the correct answer choice, clicked “Send,” copied the link, and pasted it to Google classroom so everyone could take our quizzes. You can see them all here. (NOTE: I taught a similar lesson with Mr. Williams’ 5th graders at Varina Elementary where we created quizzes for finding perimeter, area, and volume here)


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Apr 05 2017 April 5, 2017 April 17, 2017 NoComment by David

5th Grade Circles On The Earth

Posted in 5th Grade, Math

Fifth graders at Laburnum Elementary are learning about circles and their measurements: circumference, diameter, radius, and chord (SOL5.9). Today students in Ms. Henry’s class learned how to show those measurements with Google Drawings and Google Earth. First I gave them each a copy of a blank Google slideshow in Google classroom. We created a title page on the first slide, and on the second slide I showed them how to use the shapes tool to make 4 circles (hold Shift while clicking and dragging the circle to make it perfectly round). We used the paint bucket tool to change the fill color of the circles, and they discovered another new feature that I didn’t know about (I already mentioned in this post, how students found the gradient feature). If you click Custom at the bottom of the colors panel, you can adjust the fill colors’ transparency! Next, I showed them how to use the Line tool to draw a radius, diameter, and chord on different circles. We changed the color of the lines and their thicknesses using the buttons in the toolbar. Then we labeled each measurement with a text box. For the last slide I wanted them to find a real life circle in Google Earth and measure its radius, diameter or a chord. So we went to Google Maps, clicked the Google Earth button in the bottom left corner, and searched for circles. TIPS: Look near rivers for water treatment plants, look out west for crop circles (the panhandle of Texas especially), look on the roofs of buildings for fans, look in backyards for pools and trampolines. To make a measurement, right click where you want the line to start, choose “Measure distance,” then double-click where you want the line to end. Finally, students took a screenshot of their real life circle (using the Snipping Tool) and pasted it to their slideshow with a text box explaining the measurement. You can see all their slideshows here.


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