Israel's Neighbors - A Project about Influence

Students worked in small groups on this project for Bible class. They researched a country that was a neighbor of Israel with the aim of deciding which country had the greatest influence on the other. Each group created a presentation using technology to teach the class about their country and its influence. This group used Prezi to present their information in front of the class, and also developed an engaging Jeopardy quiz for class review at the end. After the presentations students wrote about what ideas, products and trends in our culture today are having an effect on them.

 

Earth Science Mini-Project 
Meets 
ESLR Thinking Creatively, Analytically, and Independently

One of the performance expectation in Grade 7 Earth Science was to develop a model to describe the cycling of water through Earth's systems. Students needed to show how the energy from the sun and the force of gravity drives this cycle.
To demonstrate understanding, students were given a choice between creative thinking, or independently solve a challenge that requires knowledge of the water cycle. 

For the creative project, students created comic strips, wrote autobiographies as a raindrop on a journey, performed voice recordings, documented their life as a raindrop in a journal, made stop-motion videos etc. Here are a couple of creative digital products: a stop-motion video, and a voice-recording of a raindrop on an exciting adventure.  

For the challenge, students had to figure out how to obtain drinkable water while stranded in a humid forest, with nothing but a tarp and a can of beans. Here's a video created by a student, who went beyond what was required, to demonstrate his problem solving skills in a creative way.

Think Through Math - Grade 6

In 6th Grade math we have been using Think Through Math.  Each student is given a pathway that is inline with Common Core.  Students are able to work through problems at their own pace.  When students work at home they have the option to contact a live teacher in the United States and receive step by step assistance if needed.

Within the program, students earn points for levels passed.  As they accumulate points that can create an Avatar and also compete with their classmates. 

Students also have the opportunity to donate points towards a charity.  Based on the number of points donated, Think Through Math will donate a dollar amount.

Click on the link below for more information.
http://www.thinkthroughmath.com/

Jesus Vs: an Infographic Story

Currently in 8th grade Bible (the study of Jesus) we are exploring some characteristics of Christ.  As we analyze these different characteristics, students are able to present their findings through different projects.  Specifically for our lesson on Jesus as a Rule Breaker, students researched the different people groups that opposed Jesus using biblegateway.com.  From this research they designed infographics to present their findings.  This was all done in class using a variety of apps such as piktochart.com and Google Drawing. Overall, the objective was for students to analyze and present the different people groups that opposed Jesus during his ministry.  Here are a few infographics!

Whats APP'ening in PE? - 7th Grade Invasion Games

Justin Trudeau said "A good teacher isn't someone who gives the answers out to their kids but is understanding of needs and challenges and gives tools to help other people succeed." 

This comment epitomizes how technology can and should be used in the classroom, it is a tool, a tool that can enhance the students learning experience by allowing them to explore areas of their performance more deeply than before. This is paramount in the PE classroom, we encourage our students to assess theirs and others performance regularly, to check and re-check how they are moving towards their learning goals. Technology allows us to do this to a much higher level than previously. 

This video below is a part of an invasion games assessment that our 7th graders do which is focusing on creating and implementing defensive strategies. First they use an APP called 'COACH NOTE'
this allows them to plan out their strategy - here is an example of a 7th graders Coach Note plan.

The second part of the assessment involves taking this defensive strategy and implementing it into a tournament situation. Each game is video recorded and the task is for the students to demonstrate that they are able to implement the strategy they have created, consistently, into a game situation. Students are graded on how they implement the strategy and not whether they win games i.e. are they in the correct position? Do they help their team mates? Are they sticking to the plan?

This APP allows the students to plan in a far more detailed manner, to demonstrate their thinking in a more verbal/visual way and it is something that can be tangibly assessed and commented on.

Mathletics - Grade 8

 All students in Algebra 1 and Introduction to Algebra classes  have access to the Mathletics Online program.

The work in this program aligns with the Common Core Curriculum followed in the maths department. Students use the program to practice and embed skills and processes learned in class.

They can work through problems at their own rate, and are able to repeat activities to improve.

Topics for Study

There is also the ability to compete, in real time, against other students around the world, within ICS, or just within their own class.

The report section allows students and teachers to view progress made re maths topics, 'live' competition against other students, time spent on the program, and certificates awarded.

Progress made on learning activities.

Certificates Awarded

One student's progress

Storytelling in Bible Class

A majority of what is covered in 8th grade bible is looking at the stories of Jesus ministry and exploring the themes to discover deeper understanding.  One important aspect of this process though is KNOWING the story.  Unit 2 in 8th grade is about knowing the stories of Jesus early ministry to the point where students can re-tell them.  As a final project to this unit, students are given the opportunity to re-tell the stories through many different mediums.  Students are given a menu of 15 options and they can pick how they would like to re-tell the stories. The main objective is for the students to know the ins and outs of the story rather than simply memorizing the scriptures. Below are a few video examples of what students have done.

Example 1: Jesus turns water into wine
This student did an incredible job creating an animation through a tecnique called "stop motion".  She took 582 pictures of drawings that she created on a whiteboard.  Then using iMovie she strung them all together and added a voiceover to tell the story.  Truly an incredible work.

Example 2: The Temptation of Jesus

This student tells the story of Jesus temptation by recording herself drawing out on a sketchbook.  She then creates a time-lapse video and provides a voice over to enhance her story. 

Students have been thriving with creativity as we have integrated new opportunities in the classroom.  I am looking forward to what students will be able to accomplish this semester!

MS News!

3 years ago, while at an education conference, Mrs. Bartell and I started wondering why we were sharing important information via Word documents and Schoology posts.  Besides the lack of engagement from simple text, there was no way of knowing whether or not the messages were being received.  6th grade news was born!

The following year 7th grade news was added, and this year we have gone to a full MS News with separate grade level specific news still being done.  We also migrated from just using whatever open classrooms we could find to utilizing the 5th floor media lab and some of the more advanced equipment available in there.

The best part of the news team is that it is student led.  16 students this year have come together to gather news, write scripts, direct, act as news casters, and edit video.  We also have a lot of fun in the process!

Thanks to YouTube, we now know how well we are reaching our audience.  This year we are averaging 150 views for MS News and about 35 views for each of the grade level news videos.  We hope those numbers will continue to grow as we continue to get better at what we do!