Hawaii: Turtle Time!

This year, Mrs. Yollis celebrated her fiftieth birthday!  She and her husband took a special trip to Hawaii. One of the best parts of the vacation was snorkeling, especially with turtles!

Here are two videos shot by Mr. Yollis in Maui, Hawaii.  

Turtles are beautiful creatures!

The End

Have you ever snorkeled with turtles?

Do you know any additional facts about sea turtles?

Langwitches' Video of the Mystery Skype Call

Last June, 

Mrs. Tolisano  (@langwitches) invited Mrs. Yollis' class to be part of a 

Mystery Skype call with a group of teachers! Read about the event here. 

Recently,

Mrs. Tolisano created a video of the call to share with teachers and parents in the hopes that others will incorporate this type of authentic learning in their classrooms.

Here is her video about the event!

Mrs. Yollis used the concept of  “The Digital Learning Farm: Students as Authentic Contributors” by Alan November to create jobs for each student or group of students. 

Collage by Silvia Tolisano

 Here are photos of the students doing their jobs:

Three Inquirers who asked the yes or no questions.

 Two Question Keepers sat next to the Inquirers and typed the questions and answers in Word. 

It was helpful to review the yes and no answers quickly. 

Click to Enlarge

Others were Google Mappers. They used Google Maps and traditional atlases to zero in on the clues.

A few students used our giant atlas we call "Big Blue" to find the mystery location.

 

 

Another station was filled with Logical Reasoners. They listened to the clues and tried to eliminate states that did not match the clues. 

 Behind the Inquirers were the Clue Keepers. They collected relevant information from everyone. 

Jaden and Alexa took notes on TodaysMeet. Here is the transcript!

 Nick was the Runner. If students had problems, Nick would try and solve them. In addition, he would run facts to the Inquirers that the Logical Reasoners wanted to contribute.

 It was a very close game filled with fantastic questions! Everyone worked hard to solve the mystery together.

Mrs. Yollis' class asked if the Mystery Callers lived in St. Joseph, Missouri and the answer was...

Yes!

 

Kristen was the phabulous photographer!

Read Mrs. Tolisano's post about the event called

The Excitement of Learning.

If you're interesting in a Mystery Skype call, here is a site to make connections. It was set up by Mr. Avery!

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What do you think of Langwitches' Mystery Skype video?

What value do you see in this type of activity?  

Happy Fourth of July, America!

By Mrs. Yollis 

July 4th is Independence Day in America!

On July 4, 1776, the Declaration of Independence was adopted by the Continental Congress in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. This document announced America's independence from Britain.

 

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I was with my family last Fourth of July, and we had a special event planned for the day.

 

My family had three old, tattered flags that needed to be retired. So on July 4th, we had a retirement ceremony.

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The United States Flag Code states: "The Flag, when it is in such condition that it is no longer a fitting emblem of display, should be destroyed in a dignified way, preferably by burning."



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First, we sang some patriotic songs!

 

 

Then, my cousin John gave a short speech. Finally, we retired the old flags to the fire.

 

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This year, my class learned how to fold an American flag. 

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What did you do on the Fourth of July?

Have you ever been to a flag retirement ceremony? 

What special national holidays are celebrated where you live?

 

 

June 16 ~ School is Out!

Today was the last day of school for Mrs. Yollis' students. Here are some reflections about the year!

Goodbye to my third graders!

A group hug!

 

I know you'll do well in fourth grade!

What are some of your favorite memories from this year?

Mystery Skype Call With Mr. Avery!

Mrs. Tolisano invited Mrs. Yollis' class to be part of a 

Mystery Skype call with a group of teachers! They had such a good time...they did another one!

This time, they had to cover the screen so the caller was not identified by name.

RULES:  Two groups come together via Skype, but neither know the other's location. Closed questions, or questions that can only be answered with a YES or a NO answer, were permitted. If a question got a YES answer, a follow-up question was awarded. 

Every third grader contributed and tried to solve the Mystery. Before the call, the class decided who would be in each role. 

They used the same job titles they created for the last Mystery Call:  Inquirers, Clue Keepers, Question Keepers, Google Mappers, Logical Reasoners, TodaysMeet, Runners, Big Blue (giant atlas), and photographer. 

However, this time they added a new job. One person sat with Mrs. Yollis at Google Central. Mrs. Yollis supervised the Google searches and helped with spelling.

Inquirers, Question Keepers, and Clue Keepers worked close together.

"Are you east of the Mississippi River?"  

Yes!

 Google Mappers worked diligently to figure out the mystery location.

TodaysMeet typers had a difficult task. The speakers were out in Mrs. Yollis' room, so it was difficult to record the events. Click here to read the transcript.

Although Mrs. Yollis' class did not discover the identity of the caller first, it was still a fun game to play!

The mystery caller was Mr. Avery and his class in Massachusetts!

Photos by Tucker  (Photo of him to be added tomorrow.)

What questions would you like to know about Massachusetts? 

How was this Mystery Call different than the last?

How was it the same?

What job would you like to be next time and why?

An Olympian in our Room!

Ben's mother is  an Olympic athlete! Ben's mother is also Nonno's daughter! 

The Olympics are held every four years and the best athletes in the world come together to represent their country. It is an exciting international event!

She was a member of the U.S. Speed Skiing Team. That's the fastest ski race there is! The skis are very long and measure approximately  240 cm long. (About 94 inches)  No one could believe how fast speed skiers go. The fastest speed Ben's mom recorded was 196 km (That's 120 m.p.h.  WOW!)

Each Olympian is given a team suit to wear. In addition, she had special identification so she could get into the Olympic Village. The Olympic Village is where the athletes stay.

Students enjoyed looking at the special photos and Olympic moments.

Here is a great photo where you can see the length of the skis and the special suit she wore during races.

Nonno and Ben's mom! Notice the special helmet at the top of the skis!

The President invites all Olympians to Washington, D.C. Here is a photo of Ben's mom with President Bush. She also met Vice President Dan Quayle.

Athletes love to trade pins. Here is one side of her pin collection.

She recommends that young kids try out lots of sports and see which ones they love. Then they need to practice and practice if they'd like to be an Olympian. 

Ben's mom gave everyone some great advice. She said that it can be very difficult to stay calm sometimes. Rather than saying to yourself, "I've got to win." She would tell herself to remember the steps to success. Focusing on what you need to do is the key!  

When is the next Olympics and where will they be held?

Do you have any questions for our Olympian? 

What sports do you enjoy?

June 14 is Flag Day!

Today is the day we honor the America flag. Mrs. Ranney's class joined Mrs. Yollis', and together they learned how to formally fold our nation's Star Spangled Banner!

First, hold the flag parallel to the floor.

Fold the flag in half and then half again. Make sure the stars face up.

Starting at the striped end, begin folding a triangle.

Continue folding the triangles...

...until all you have left is one star spangled triangle.

Tuck in the end, and you have folded the American flag in a respectful manner.

Last Fourth of July, Mrs. Yollis and her family retired three American flags. Click here to watch the ceremony. 

Please share some facts you learned about the flag.

Use World Book Online to add new information.