Thing 9

We are having fun in reading class with a story about Mt. Vesuvius and the city of Pompeii. I went out to United Streaming to find some information about volcanoes to help the students build background. It was interesting to find out how much they already knew from having done a unit in fourth grade about volcanoes. Students were excited to watch the action on the big screen. It was a great way to bring the story to life for the students and I loved that there were lessons and ideas available to use with the videos. It was also very helpful to be able to choose small snipits of video that fit with what I was teaching. I explored a little deeper and found videos about many other topics I teach this is definitley a tool that I will use often!

Thing 4

I spent time this weekend exploring the new Minneapolis Public Library. I'm wondering if everything I work on for this class will be overwhelming. It was a beautiful building with more resources than I could possibly mention. The collections of sheet music was something I hadn't seen before, wow! The children's section was incredible. I even got to your the stacks on the rails where they hide a gazillion older books. The teen center was packed. My guide shared with me that they had teens help design it and they must have done a great job. There was homework help, students researching, reading, and just hanging out. This space was very user friendly and the kids were obviously very comfortable. I need to go back and spend some more time checking things out. The details were amazing, little car mice on the kids computers and areas for all populations to hang out. The help available at all times to answer questions just look for the big lit up "i". I offer extra credit to my students who have a library card. I'm also considering a field trip to the libary here in Chaska. It is within walking distance to our school and what a great way to get students interested in the library. There is even a huge city park right across the street where we could have lunch! The ideas are flowing!

Adding the Avatar

I would have thought that after our class last Thursday I would have been able to easily add my avatar to my blog, but no I still needed help. Thanks Jeanne!
The football in the corner is for the Vikings!! GO PURPLE!!