A Visit From Ryley in 2KM/2KJ Australia!

Educational blogging has many magical moments and one occurred today!

Mrs. Yollis, who lives in Los Angeles, is a friend of Mrs. Morris, who lives in Australia.

They have worked together on some some incredible projects, but the two have never met. 

Today, a student from 2KM/2KJ who is vacationing in Los Angeles, came to visit Mrs. Yollis and her students! It was a wonderful time!

Ryley and his family

Panda welcomes Ryley and Darby.

First, Ryley and his family talked about their big adventure in the United States.

Then the class connected via Skype with Mrs. and Mr. Morris! It was 7:00 A.M. on Friday in Australia.

It was 2:00 P.M. on Thursday in Los Angeles.

We talked about some of the differences between the United States and Australia.

Mrs. Ranney and her class came over to meet their friend from 2KM/2KJ!

Wonderful souvenirs were exchanged!

Some of the kids wanted  Ryley to sign their Australian souvenirs!

Panda and Mrs. Yollis love making new friends!

What did you think of the visit?

Do you have any questions for Ryley and his family?

Would you like to travel to Australia one day?

Mrs. Yollis and her class wish Ryley and his family a wonderful experience in America! We will be excited to hear the details of the thrilling American journey!

Classy Clauses!

Mrs. Yollis' students have learned that one clever way to add class to your writing is to use a 
variety of sentence types!

One type that we have learned to write is a sentence that starts with a dependent clause.

Dependent clauses start with special words:

After, Before, Since, While, When, If, During.

 A dependent clause ends with a comma and cannot stand alone as a sentence. It must be followed by an independent clause, which is a sentence that can stand alone!

Here are some excellent examples of sentences with dependent clauses, tweeted out this week by students in our class:

If you would like to submit your spelling here, please type your quality sentences in the comment section.

  

(Ooh La! La! Nice dependent clause followed by an independent clause!)

Video: Using a Creative Commons License

Mrs. Yollis tried a little experiment with her students. She posted her students' artwork, but put another person's name on each picture!

How does it feel when someone takes your work and doesn't credit you?

That's MY picture! Why is someone else's name on MY artwork?

Happiness is credit for the work you created!

FACTS:

Copyright means all rights reserved. That means you MUST get permission to use.

Creative Commons license allows certain uses of someone's work. That means some rights are reserved. Permission has already been granted for certain uses, but attribution must be given! 

(Attribution is a fancy word for giving credit.)

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For those looking for interesting photos to enhance a blog post or digital project, check out:

  flickercc.bluemountains.net

Type in a key word and select the photo you'd like to use. Remember to credit the photographer in your caption. 
(See the sample below.)

http://www.flickr.com/photos/55943778@N00/3640360821

There are several
types of Creative Commons (CC) licenses. 

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Other Creative Commons resources:

1.  Student Blogging and Internet Images 

by the fabulous Kathleen Morris of 2KM/2KJ


2.  Get Creative video

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What did you think of the experiment? 

Have you used a CC license before? 

More Quality Comments ~ Family Blogging Month!

April is Family Blogging Month in Mrs. Yollis' class and everyone is working on writing quality comments! Many wonderful conversations are going on in comment sections! Everyone is learning!

Below are a few fantastic comment samples from this week!


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Example #1: 

The  92 : Eagle Cam from the Yollis' 365 Project has been a popular site. Here is an exchange between Ben's mom and Mrs. Yollis. Both of Ben's grandparents left comments on this site too!

Example #2

Here is a fantastic comment from our good friend and fellow blogger, Mrs. Morris! It is interesting to hear about fads from Australia.

Below is a wonderful comment from our friend, AA, also from Australia!

Here is a terrific comment from Miriam's second grade sister!

 And a fantastic comment from Miriam's mother! She is not only sharing about fads from her childhood, but she is commenting back to Mrs. Morris! 

 

Some fabulous fifties fads from Ben's grandfather. Check out his Where's Nonno series in our archive!

Another fun fifties fad from Grandma Grace!

A terrific contribution from Hannah about current fads!

Example #3

Our Biographical Bonanza post yielded many wonderful contributions from our readers! Check out the historic people who have commented on Mrs. Yollis' Classroom Blog!

Here is a comment from the first woman doctor, Elizabeth Blackwell:

 

Thomas Alva Edison (Mr. Avery, our blogging friend from Massachusetts) has been having a punny conversation with Leonardo Da Vinci! 

Finally, there was a post from Madame Curie! (AKA Hannah's mom!)

What do you think of Family Blogging Month so far? 

What has been your favorite post or comment?

Flaunt Your Funny, Frivolous, Fabulous Fads!

 

Currently, Mrs. Yollis' class is 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!

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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? 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!

Welcome Students From EDM 310 Class in Alabama!

Mrs. Yollis' class has  received many wonderful comments from college students!  These lovely people are education majors at the University of South Alabama and are members of Dr. Strange’s EDM 310 class. This college-level class is learning how to integrate technology in the classroom.

Here are a few samples of the quality comments we've received:

Like any good blogger, Mrs. Yollis started to respond to the commenters!

 
So many wonderful comments were coming in that Mrs. Yollis responded to the college students as a group!

Teachers, here is a wiki made by Mrs. Yollis called:  

Educational Blogging.    

The section about teaching comments is quite useful.

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Mrs. Yollis would like to invite students, parents, and other bloggers to share their experiences! 

What advice would you give these future teachers with regard to blogging?

Do you recommend that they have a class blog? 
What are the benefits?