Friday, May 31, 2013

Our World, Our Numbers Finale!

This is a cross-post from Our World, Our Numbers

(Thanks to Kathleen Morris of 4KM and 4KJ)


Since 25th February, the seven classes participating in Our World, Our Numbers have enjoyed:
  • learning about different areas of mathematics from their friends in other countries
  • making comparisons and contrasts between their lives and the lives of their blogging buddies
  • sharing mathematical knowledge and skills
  • using a range of tools to create posts
  • engaging in rich conversations through commenting
It is now time to finish up the Our World, Our Numbers project. To conclude this wonderful learning experience, all of the classes have been working collaboratively on a collection of mathematical poems.


Watch the Sliderocket below to see the classes perform:
  • The Skip Counting Song (B4, New Zealand)
  • Aussie Doubling Ditty (4KM and 4KJ, Australia)
  • What is a Million? (Room with a View, England)
  • Triangle Trouble (Mr Avery's Class, Massachusetts, USA)
  • Smart (Mrs Yollis' Class, California, USA)
  • Shapes, Shapes, Shapes (Mrs Watson's Class, Canada)




Why don't you head over to the 

Our World, Our Numbers blog 

and leave a final comment?

Tuesday, May 28, 2013

Interview: Meet Mr. Mannell


Mr. Mannell is a retired teacher who lives in New South Wales, Australia. Although he is no longer in the classroom, he is a virtual volunteer in classes all over the world. His blog, Extended Comments for Students, has wonderful blog posts that extend the learning in numerous classrooms. For example, we had a post on our blog about biographies, and students left comments as if they were a famous person. Mr. Mannell contributed an amazing one from Albert Einstein!  In addition, he did a solid post about Rocks and Minerals! Finally, everyone loved learning about kangaroos and koalas on this post! 


Photo by Mr. Mannell

Photo by Mr. Mannell











Be sure to look through Mr. Mannell's archive! It is a treasure trove of information! 

We enjoy learning so much from Mr. Mannell, we set up an interview to learn about Mr. Mannell!
(An interview is a question and answer session set up to learn more about a person or topic.) 

Here are some photos from our interesting interview! 


Google HangOut with Mr. Mannell on PhotoPeach

Do you have any additional questions for Mr. Mannell?

What is your favorite Mr. Mannell post?

Do you ever leave comments for other bloggers? How does that help build a learning community?  

Wednesday, May 22, 2013

Annotated Arrays!






We have been exploring arrays!

Row x Column = Product

The multiplication for the array above is
3 x 4 = 12
because it has 3 rows of 4. 

When the factors are different digits, 
the arrays are in the shape of a rectangle. 
When the factors are the same digit, 
the array is a square!




*     *     *     *     *




Let's look for arrays! 

We walked around the school looking for arrays. Once we captured our arrays on our iPads, we went back to class and used Skitch to annotate our images. Here is the definition of annotate!






Images +  = great illustrations!


































Wow!
Shayna went home, downloaded Skitch for iPads, and created her own array!




Which array did you photograph and annotate?

What are some tips you can share about using Skitch   to annotate? 


Fabulous Fads!


Currently, Mrs. Yollis' third graders are reading

Ramona Quimby, Age 8 
by the wonderful, well-known author, Beverly Cleary.










We have just finished reading hilarious Chapter 3, "The Hard-Boiled Egg Fad!"




In this chapter, Ramona and all her third grade buddies are having fun with the latest fad: packing a hard-boiled egg in their lunches each day. The fad isn't just about eating a hard-boiled egg, however! It's really all about cracking it on your head before you peel it!






Some of the kids use the timid "rap-rap-rap" method. Others, like Ramona, like to show-off with one big "whack" to the head!





The fad is not so much fun anymore for Ramona, when she finds that the egg
she thought was hard-boiled was really raw! Boy, how humiliating!




******************




A fad is something that is very popular for a short time, and fads can be a lot of fun! Fads often involve fashion, an activity, or some kind of toy or trinket.



In your comment, tell us about a fad that you know about.

What is popular right now where you live? 

What has been popular in the past?


Family members and friends, this is a great post for you to get involved in! Tell us about fads that were popular 
when you were young!

Thursday, May 16, 2013

Open House ♥ 2013



Welcome to our Open House! 



Ancestry Dolls


Color Poems





Who Am I?



Josefina Story Quilt




Step-Up to Writing: My Favorite 2-D or 3-D Shapes




Traditional Haiku





Paper Bag Puppets




A Trip Down Memory Lane!  




Our International Blog and Blogging Buddies! 









Tangram Talk! Fun With Quotation Marks!










Were You Attracted to the Magnet Table? 





Rocks and Minerals (Special letter and rock samples from Mr. Mannell!)







Biography Timeline! Sculptures and Artifacts







What was your favorite part of the night? 

 What did you learn?

Friday, May 10, 2013

Mrs. Yollis Heads to ISTE!






Back in April, Mrs. Yollis noticed this tweet from her Twitter friend, Ms. Moroder. The tweet mentioned a "Thank a Teacher" essay contest to win a free trip to ISTE (International Society for Technology in Education),  compliments of Promethean. 


 




Mrs. Yollis mentioned the contest to her class and they immediately and enthusiastically jumped on the wagon train to support their teacher and get her to San Antonio, Texas, where ISTE will be held at the end of June! 

On Friday, the winner was announced!  Here is a video of Principal Hibler revealing the exiting news to Mrs. Yollis and her class!










Sheriff Yollis, who makes western style literacy videos with her sidekick Sheriff Salsich,  is excited to head out to the great state of Texas to start the learnin'.





When asked how she feels about winning the contest, Mrs. Yollis stated, "I'd like to give a big, Texas-size thank you to my students, their parents, and my principal for contributing such heart-warming letters on my behalf. As everyone knows, integrating technology in meaningful ways is a passion of mine. Last year, I presented Flattening Classroom Walls: Educational Blogging at ISTE with my talented Australian blogging buddy, Kathleen Morris. I saw firsthand how valuable this type of professional development can be for educators and their students. I look forward to this opportunity to continue my learning."  

Thank you, Promethean,  for selecting me as the recipient of your generous gift!  I look forward to learning and sharing my insights right here on Mrs. Yollis' Classroom Blog.



What are some topics you would like Mrs. Yollis to explore while at ISTE?

Have you ever been to Texas? Please share some Texan facts!



Monday, May 6, 2013

Biographical Bonanza!




biography is a true story about a person's life.
Mrs. Yollis' class is currently reading biographies about
people who have made significant contributions to our world!



Artists, inventors, statesman, composers,
doctors, inventors,
aviators, astronauts, and pioneers in many fields 
are among the amazing historical figures about whom we are reading!









We are each reading a library book, as well as doing research using
 
World Book Online.



 


********************

After reading about your biography subject

please leave  a comment as if you are that person!




Be sure to include at least three facts you learned from your library book or the online encyclopedia. Try to use the HTML code to bold your facts!   DO NOT PLAGIARIZE! (Use your own words!)

Watch the comments to see if you can converse with another biography subject you may know!


Family members and friends: 
You are invited to choose your own biography subject and join in the conversation!