Virtual Manipulatives! Ipad App Review

Ms. Neumeyer is our online student teacher from Mr. Shareski's class in Saskatchewan, Canada. She loves teaching and even sent this special Valentine to the class!

Today she kicks off a new series called Ms. Neumeyer's Ipad App Review! In this series, she will introduce a new app to the class, explain a special feature or two, and explain how the app can be used by students. 

Virtual Manipulatives! is a free app that allows students to move around blocks, called manipulatives, to make fractions and decimals more understandable. 

A student can drag the manipulatives onto a workspace and match them up to compare and contrast. The student can also draw on the workspace to indicate instructions. What I enjoy most about this is that it is a free way to have students working with manipulatives, just as the name of the program says.

This is the opening instructions page- it does a good job of explaining how you can use the app’s functions.

Virtual Manipulatives uses traditional rectangular or pie-shaped objects to represent fractions and decimals. These objects can be dragged around a screen into groups for a range of activities, such as comparing fractions, adding, and subtracting fractions. There are a lot of manipulative options for the student to use. A very useful feature is the ability to press and hold on the fraction to see its decimal form and percentage. You can also save your workspace as an image and email it.

  

  
 What do you think of the Virtual Manipulatives app?

What are some fractions that are equivalent to one half? 

Equivalent to one third?

(Equivalent means equal to.)

Teach us about a feature you discovered!

What is a Polygon?

Mrs. Yollis' class has been learning all about geometry.   

This week, the students are learning about POLYGONS! For those who don't know, a polygon is a closed figure with straight lines.

Hey, what is Circle doing in the Polygon movie? 

In this 2008 drama, Circle tries to get a starring role in the new movie, Polygons, but is forced to accept the fact that:

A CIRCLE is NOT A POLYGON and never will be.


Don't worry, it has a happy ending!

Click here to watch the movie!


*     *     *     *     *

Tell us about some polygons you see in your house?

Which shape was your favorite character?

Thank You, Mr. Webb and Class!

Guest post by Nate, Samantha, Ali, Sheila, and Peter

Blogging is a great way to connect with other classes, learn about geography, and make new friends. 

Recently, we got a lovely package from our blogging buddies in the southern hemisphere!


Thank You, Mr. Webb and class from New Zealand!

 Thank you New Zealanders for the grand maps, stickers, calendar, posters, and pens. They are all wonderful things to have in our classroom. We especially like the the roadsigns and the map. Where we live, you do not see a sign that says, "PENGUINS and SEALS next 500 nautical miles." 

In addition, we do not see any kiwis or kiwi signs. We have kiwi, the fruit, but not the bird. We looked up facts about kiwis on World Book Online. Kiwi are interesting birds. They are flightless and nocturnal. We guess that you probably don't see kiwis during school. 

We also like the posters of the school mural and your QR code. We have murals on our walls too. However, our murals are all realistic animals from this area. The students painted the murals years ago. 


 The map of your neighborhood has a really big volcanic National Park. Does the volcano ever erupt or is it dormant?

What is the mascot of your school? Is it a kiwi?

Happy Presidents' Day!

There are many famous American Presidents, but on Presidents’ Day we honor two important men.

The Father of our Country, George Washington, was our first president. Mr. President, as he liked to be called, was born in Virginia, on February 22, 1732. The American Colonies fought for freedom from Great Britain, and Washington was the general of the Continental Army. General Washington surprised the British when he and his men crossed the icy Delaware River on Christmas. Washington and his men were victorious in the Revolutionary War,  and America became a country 1787. We honor George Washington in many ways. He is on the quarter, the dollar, and the new dollar coin. In addition, his face is carved into Mount Rushmore and there is a monument to him  in Washington, D.C. The Washington Monument  is a tall obelisk that stands 555 feet tall.  George Washington died on December 14, 1799, at his home in Mount Vernon, Virginia.

Equally important is our sixteenth president, Abraham Lincoln. He was born on February 12, 1809, in a log cabin located in Kentucky. As a youth, he worked as a shopkeeper. He was so honest, he one time walked miles to give a lady six cents that he had overcharged her at the shop. Honest Abe was a name that suited him well. Lincoln grew to be 6-foot- 4-inches  tall and when he wore his stove pipe hat he was nearly seven feet tall. He served as president from 1861 - 1865, and he kept America united during the Civil War. Sadly, President Lincoln was assassinated a few days after the war ended. The Lincoln Memorial in Washington, D.C. honors this great leader.

Clearly, George Washington and Abraham Lincoln were remarkable men who served the country well, and America celebrates their February birthdays on the third Monday in February. Happy Presidents’ Day!

Quiz: Angle Review

In geometry, we are learning about angles!

An angle is a  figure formed when two rays share the same endpoint.

 
Below is a special angle called a right angle. 
It is also called a 90˚ angle.

 

Any angle less than a right is called an acute angle. 

Any angle greater than a right is called an obtuse angle. 

Below is a quiz. Can you guess the angle?

Name That Angle! on PhotoPeach

Do you see any acute, right, or obtuse angles in your house?

Tell us about them!

Global Vocabulary A-Z Project!

Educational blogging offers many rewards! 

The collaborative learning connections that can occur when the classroom walls are flattened are rich and engaging for all learners, teachers included! 

Here is a slide show documenting an international vocabulary building project between our third grade class in California and our blogging buddies in England, A Room With a View. This fabulous A-Z Twitter project was the idea of  Catherine Monaghan. This literacy project integrates dictionary skills, Twitter, Google Presentations, and blogging.

Here is a blog post about the project.

Enjoy!

What was your favorite word?

What do you think of this type of global project?

Students and friends, use a high-level word or two in your comment! Let's keep learning!  

(Use html code to bold your word.)

UPDATED: Who WAS Our Millionth Viewer?

Mrs. Yollis and her students are excited to be approaching a huge milestone. The classroom blog will hit 1,000,000 page views today.

Who will it be the millionth? 

Please take a screenshot for us if it is you!



*   *   *  UPDATE  *   *   *  



Excitement was high! Our RevolverMap was going up.

 

I tweeted out that we were close! 







As I watched the statistics in the Blogger dashboard, it suddenly read one million! 








 Thank you Chris Ericson from York, Nebraska, for being our millionth viewer! 

We appreciate you documenting the event with a screenshot.   









My Google Teacher Academy classmate, 
Joe Wood, was very close!  

Students, the event occurred on Sunday at 3:42 P.M. Central Standard Time (CST). What time was that in our Pacific Standard Time (PST) zone?

Which student be the closest with their guess? 

We'll see tomorrow!

Happy Groundhog Day!

Today, February 2, is Groundhog Day in America! 

Many people believe that Punxsutawney Phil can predict the weather on this day. This morning, the famous Punxsutawney Phil came out of his burrow at Gobbler's Knob in Pennsylvania.

Did Punxsutawney Phil see his shadow?

Tradition says that if Punxsutawney Phil:

sees his shadow... 

then winter weather will continue for six more weeks.

*     *     *     *     *

 does NOT see his shadow... then spring weather will come soon

Official Punxsutawney Phil Link

Today, Punxsutawney Phil SAW his shadow! 

:-( 

Six more weeks of winter weather will ensue. 

*     *     *     *     *  

What do you think of the Groundhog Day tradition?

Do you believe Punxsutawney Phil?


Do you know of any other silly traditions?