FES at the Alabama Educational Technology Conference

This year, we were invited to speak at the Alabama Educational Technology Conference, which was held on June 13 at the BJCC. We conducted two different Student Showcases. The first one we shared the amazing Global Read Aloud Project and the second one we explained how we use blogging to strengthen ourselves as learners. We had a fantastic time sharing and teaching teachers about the awesome ways we use technology to support out learning in our classroom. Below is a slideshow of us in action. It was so much fun getting to be ambassadors for our school.

Good Digital Citizenship Tips

Today, we reviewed some of the ideas about digital citizenship that we talked about the first week of school. We had a greate discussion and thought we would share some of our ideas with you. Do you see anything we should add? If so, please leave it in a comment.

1. Keep personal information to yourself. You MUST stay safe!
2. Don't threaten anyone. Bullying isn't acceptable at any time.
3. Only say nice, kind, friendly things. Don't say mean and insulting things to others. It still can hurt their feelings even if you can't see their faces.
4. Don't give out where you are at what time. You don't want people to know that your house is empty or that you are somewhere justing hanging out woth friends. It's not safe.
5. Always log out of whatever tool, app, or program you are using. You don't want someone to post inappropriate things from your account.
6. Make more than three letter passwords so that others can easily figure it out and get into your account. A combination of letters and numers are usually good.
7. Think before you type or speak. Once it is put out into the Internet, you can never really get it back.
8. Don't give any pictures of yourself to anyone you don't know. You must stay safe!
9. Keep your actions age-appropriate. Ask parents before you log-on to any websites that have inforamtion that may not be appropriate.
10. Do not invite people to meet you. If you are on social media, you don't want others to know where you are if you are with friends. If that person is not someone you know in life, never agree to meet with them. Things can be different than what they seem to be.
11. Remember that teasing that you do may appear to others as being mean or a bully. Be careful what you say online.

Our Sweet Lab

When we studied chemical and physical changes, our class did a awesome lab. A physical change is when something changes in size, shape, or state of matter. Chemical changes are change in temperature, color, a release of gas, or solid is formed. We went outside and we partnered up with someone of our choice. Before we went outside, we got all of the supplies/ingredients. We got a small, zip lock bag, a larger one, salt, vanilla extract, sugar, ice, milk, and our brains. After that we tried to guess what we were going to do. Mrs. Ramsay had been giving us hints all week.  We poured a half cup of milk into our bags. After that, we poured some sugar into the same bag. Everyone agreed it was a physical change. No one saw a change in in color or temperature. We also didn't see a release of gas or a solid being formed. After that, we put 1/4 teaspoon of vanilla extract, zipped the bag, and put it into the bigger bag. The class still thought it was a physical change because the color or temperature did not change. Next, we put the sandwich sized bag in a gallon sized bag. After that, we put in ice and salt. When we added the salt it was a chemical change because the ingredients were colder than before, much colder. Then we shook and shook until a huge chemical change! It went from a liqud to a solid. After that we talked about the changes that happened while we ate our sweet lab! This was such a great way to really learn and experince the differences between chemical and physical changes.

Lab: Acid or Base?

Our class did a science lesson on acids and bases. Acids are sour, and bases are bitter and sometimes slippery. We can use some stuff like red cabbage juice and litmus paper to measure acids and bases. If the litmus paper or some red cabbage juice turns a bluish purple color it is probably pH of neutral. If the color is like red, pinkish red, or purple it is probably a pH of an acid. If the color is like violet, green, and blue it is probably a pH of an base. Some examples for an acid are lemon juice, soft drinks, vinegar, tomato juice, and sour milk. Some examples for a base are soup, baking soda, plaster, cement, and some dyes. Also acids have high concentration of hydrogen ions, and bases have low concentration of hydrogen ions. Acid give up hydrogen ions (H+), and bases give up hydroxide ions (HO-). When the two react with each other, they neutralize each other.

On our project we used some red cabbage juice, and we had different kind of acid and bases. There were about 10- 20 items to test (of course not tasting it), and we used the red cabbage juice. We each had a piece of paper, and we had to write what the item was and predict if it's an acid or base, what the color is going to be, and if it's strong or weak. When we tested it turned to a color, and you had to record your onservations on your lab paper.

Student Taught Great Depression Lesson

Our class is reading the book Bud, Not Buddy by Christopher Paul Curtis. This story takes place in the years of The Great Depression.  I (David) thought about doing a project on the years of The Great Depression to build our background knowledge for the book. I told Mrs.Ramsay that if we could do something that involved a whole team, it would be really great. I came up with the idea of making a illustration of a topic og causes of  The Great Depression. Each team could do a different illustration and then we could publish them on InstaCollage. I thought if we watched a Brain Pop on The Great Depression everyone could think of a cause to illustrate about.
Now, it was my turn to be the teacher. First, I started to tell everyone about my plan. After, they agreed to my plan, we watched the Brain Pop video on the casuese of the Great Depression. Once we were done watching the video, I told the class if they could think about some topics on the video. We made a list of all of the casues on teh board as a class. Then each team chose one of the casues.  Once we were done writing the topics down on the board, I had to make a drawing so each table could failrly choose a cause and make an illustration. If I didn't do the drawing that would not have been fair to the other tables. Once each table had a topic, each table had to illustrate their topic. When everyone was done with their illustration we had to make those pictures into a InstaCollage. I had some help from Luke to make the InstaCollage becasue he had some experience usig that app. Once we were done with that, we printed the collage for the ahllway and pubished it on our website. After we finished this lesson and project, we all saw the Great Depression in a different way.

Book image from: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bud,_Not_Buddy

Innovation Day- January 2013

Some people may ask "What is Innovation Day?" To our class this isn't a foreign subject. Innovation day is a day were in the classroom the students can choose any topic they can learn about and create a project to teach their information to the other students and the teacher. We organized Innovation Day by informing the students of what Innovation Day is and how they can display their projects.

This year, the students covered many topics from Ancient Greek to Narwhals.  Some examples of the projects are how sound waves travel, and demonstrations of different styles of art. Normally the teacher teaches and the students learn,but on Innovation Day the students are the teachers. Innovation Day teaches the students learn about many different subjects at the same time that aren't even in the curriculum. Innovation Day teaches students how to learn new things while controlling their learning. After all of the students are finished with their projects they present them to their peers and teach them what they have learned.

Let's eats rocks!!!

Mrs. Ramsay told us we were going to make rocks and eat them. We were all really surprised and excited. On Thursday, we did a rock cycle simulation. We got to help her with the poject. So first,we had to get sediment (jumbo marshmallows) into a riverbed (flat pan). Do you know how sediment becomes sedimentary rock? Well this is how, minerals and sediment get pushed down with pressure and becomes sedimentary rock. WE got to come up and put lost of pressure on top of the layers of sediment. More and more layers of sediment came and created that pressure. The more pressure that is added the deeper a rock goes. That's when heat ios applied and it becomes a metamorphic rock. Minerals mix (chocolate chips, sugar, vanilla) into the rock as as the heat increases it becomes magma. Magma boils up and shoots out of the volcano. When magma exits it becomes lava. Lava is magma that is outside a volcano. Then it cooled and hardened and it became igneous rock. Those are the rocks that we ate. Yummy! 

You can make your own rocks at home too. Here are the incredients.
1 bag of chocolate chips
3 bags jumbo marshmallows
3 cups sugar
1 cup of vanilla
1 pan
1 mixing spoon
stove
2 sticks of butter

We're sure you will enjoy eating rocks as much as we did.

Innovation Day: January 2013

This month of January we did something called Innovation Day. "What is that?" you may ask. Innovation Day is a day when students are teachers and the teacher is the student. On this day we teach others and make a project about what interests us the most. We also have to tell what we made and tell a bit of it's history.

Before Innovation Day we had to plan what will my classmates be learning from us, what I'll be creating, and how will we present it. First, we searched or thought about a topic what interests us the most. We wrote our topic on our Innovation Day plan sheet. We used the planning sheet to help us organize what were are going to do on Innovation Day. After that, we had to think what we'll be learning and what my classmates will be learning. Next, we brainstormed what were we going to make or create. What we made had to go with our topic. Last, we had to know how to present our topic.

On our Innovation Day we did all kinds of things from Ancient Greece to model cars, from art to fish, and historical dolls to a replica of WW1. Our class took some time to present because a storm hit our school. Everybody eventually presented. Each time someone presented, the class had to write on a piece of paper what they learned from that person. The teacher even learned something new from the students. At the end of each presentation there was a Q and A which is questions and answers. There were at least 3-4 classmates who asked a question. We gave everyone a big applause after the presentation and Q and A. So that is how we spent our awesome Innovation Day.

I can't wait until we get to do it again.

Our Geometry Fan

Our class made a Geometry Fan in geometry. A Geometry Fan is a paper folded in a zigzag (fanlike) way. You can tape the paper strips to make your fan longer and taller. On each box we put our geometry facts about angles, vertex, axes, triangles, quadrilaterals, and also degrees on a shape. We also put facts about parallel lines and perpendicular lines. The Geometry Fan helps us understand geometry better. The Geometry Fan also helps us study better in a fun and fascinating way.

The Geometry Fan is really easy to make. So instead of writing your notes on paper, make your own Geometry Fan. All you need to make a Geometry Fan are white paper and tape. On the index card you fill the card with facts. Draw the shape, tell the degrees, and anything else you see in the shape or angle. After that you can make it all pretty and color the Geometry Fan. For more on geometry go to GeoMEtry and see what we did. ~DC and AP

Snowflakes for Sandy Hook

The holiday season is a time for giving back to others. Sometimes we need to give to people we don't even know. It is not about getting new stuff. As a class, we wanted to find a way to help others.

Yesterday, we found out that the students and teachers from the Sandy Hook Elementary School  are moving into a new building. They are moving all the furniture into the building, but it is not decorated like a school. They requested that students send glittery snowflakes to decorate their school so that when the students return, it will look like a Winter Wonderland.

For our Christmas party, we made snowflakes for  Sandy Hook Elementary School. When we were making the snowflakes, we put glue on our snowflakes and we sprinkled glitter onto the snowflakes. We really enjoyed taking time to do something for other people even though we've never met. We hope that our snowflakes bring joy and happiness to those students. ~MH and AM

Wonderful Weebly Portfolios

 Weebly is a wonderful website were you can create a website. You can also create a portfolio. You can make your Weebly public or private. We are using Weebly to create a portfolio of everything we have learned this year. For now, our Weebly is private. Mrs. Ramsay's Weebly is public and a lot of people visit her Weebly.

For our Weebly we have to write about all the marvelous and magnificent things we have done over the year. There are four pages for each season including the home page. The pages are Home, Fall, Winter, and Spring.We have been mainly working on our Fall page. We could put pictures too. So some people are done with there Fall page and some are starting their Winter page.

With our experience with blogging, it was simple. Good thing we knew the rules for the online world. It would be terrible if we didn't know the rules. For the Winter portfolio page we don't have that much to write about because Winter just started. By the time it's January, you will probably think we started two year's ago because we have learned and accomplished so much in a short time period. So check back on our class blog and Weebly.  ~AP

Fall 6 Word Memoirs

Our class did a 6 Word Memoir for our digital portfolios that we are publishing on Weebly.  In a 6 Word Memoir, you summarize a point in your life in exactly six words. You can  explain your feelings, your life, or whatever you want, but it must be in six words.

The 6 Word Memoir is pretty challenging because you have to really think how you are going to write about your life in six words. We started by looking at and analyzing some published 6 Word Memoirs online. After we discussed our findings, we began to brain storm some ways to create our won to publish in our digital portfolios.

This actually challenged our class a bit. Mrs. Ramsay challenged us to write a 6Word Memoir about who we were as a learner when we entered fifth grade and how we have changed after learning together for four months.We think our memoirs were really good. Many people use analogies and imagery to share their story. You could actually understand what they were trying to say in six words if you stop and contemplate the meaning behind their memoir. Even though it was challenging, it was fun at the same time.

Once was old and now new. ~Z.F.

I was smart, now I'm wise. ~N.E 

In fifth grade, much better learner. ~S.H.

 Here I am, a new learner. ~C.A.

Little smart but smarter each day. ~J.H.

Was a caterpillar, now a butterfly. ~M.H.

Was captain; now Lt.Colonel; achieved goal. ~D.C. 

I was small, but now BIG. ~M.H.

Open your eyes then dream big. ~C.K.

Always dark. Light ahead for learning. ~C.B. 

Dreams come true in our school. ~A.M. 

Was a canvas, now painted gold. ~D.C. 

Dream small, but dream become big. ~E.G. 

Nice teacher.Keep grades.Good work. ~B.C.

Creative, Inspired.Will be forever. ~L.C. 

Challenged, inspired, creative, opened, advanced, accomplished. ~K.T.

I am here, a  great learner. ~J.I.

Inspired kid ready to learn things. ~K.J.

Enter the room, opened my eyes. ~A.P.

Here's a challenge for you. What would be your 6 Word Memoir? Please write yours in a comment.

Geometry Brain Drain

In geometry we are doing a Brain Drain. A Brain Drain is when you take everything that you know about a topic and write it down on a piece of paper. The main purpose for a Brain Drain is so people can know what you know about a subject. It also lets your teacher know what you already know and what you still need to learn.

This is also for you to know how much the other person knows about a subject. First, when we started a Brain Drain we discussed what we knew about geometry with our group. Next, we wrote what we said on the sticky note.When we were writing what we knew about geometry on a sticky note, most of us wrote about angles, shapes, polygons, volume, 2D, and 3D shapes. After that, our class discussed what we wrote on our sticky note. Some people wrote on more than one sticky note. Lastly, we stuck our sticky notes on the big green piece of paper and hung it outside to share our knowledge with everyone.

This is a great learning activity because we got to share what we knew and we got to teach our classmates.

GeoMEtry

Today, we got the opportunity to do a GeoMEtry activity. This is where you get a group of people and make different geometric shapes with your body. We had to make shapes like circles, right angles,quadrilaterals, obtuse angles, and polygons. We took pictures of  our shapes, which you can see them below.
The way that we made shapes was by working together to curve and make our shapes. There were three groups that worked together to practice their geometry. We either could sit up and make shapes or lay down in the grass and make the shapes.A lot of the groups chose to lay down. It was not too cold today so it was a perfect time to do this activity.
Some shapes were easy to do and some were challenging. Mrs. Ramsay stood up in a chair to take the pictures so, it would look like it was a flat, 2D shapes.I think that this was a great learning experience for all of us because we had to really know our geometric shapes to make them.


P.S.   Do you know why this activity is called GeoMEtry?

Family News: Unit 5 Activities for Home

Family News: Unit 5 Measuring Polygons

Below you will find the Family News explaining what we will be studying for the next couple of weeks.

Our Learning at Zoo Atlanta

We had such a great time learning at the Atlanta Zoo. We wanted to share with you some of the cool things that we learned about different animals and their habitats. Do you know something interesting about an animal that you would like to share? Please leave it in a comment.

J.I: What I learned at the Atlanta Zoo is when a flaming is cold it curls its neck to its back so it looks like a giant puffball with legs. Something else I learned is that Atlanta Zoo is one of the largest zoo's in the country.

D.C:  I learned that flamingos live up to 20 years in the wild and up to 50 years in captivity. Adult flamingos are pink because they eat pink shrimp. Pandas are meant to be carnivores but they eat plants.

Z.F:   I learned that gorillas walk with their knuckles because they have callused knuckles.

C.A:  What I learned in the Atlanta Zoo is that was where Ivan lived. There are lots of smart animals. While we were down there,I discovered that Pandas eat more than 300 pounds of bamboo a day.

  A.P: The first thing I learned at the zoo was that there is a snake called a Spitting Cobra. They shoot venom into your eyes. Next,I saw an alligator turtle which is a turtle with an alligator's skin as a shell. Last,I learned that a python doesn't have teeth. I also learned that it can eat an alligator whole.

A.M:  I learned that the gorilla eat fruit, insects, vegetables, and leaves. They are fast and can live up to 30 or 40 years. Ivan lived for 50 years.

E.G:    One thing I learned at the zoo is that gorillas are mostly vegetarians, and that silver backs are the leaders.

M.H:   I learned at the zoo that male gorillas are silver backs but the baby boy gorillas aren't a silver back yet.

L.C:    What I learned at the Atlanta Zoo is Gorillas are mainly vegetarians. I learned that Meerkats might like to eat pumpkins. Another thing I learned is Vultures are big birds that mainly eat dead things. I also learned that all male gorillas turn into a Silver back.

N.E: I learned at the zoo that flamingos eat fruit vegetables and pink shrimp. They are pink because of the shrimp they eat.

J.P:I learned that you shouldn't tease the reptiles because if you do they will get mad at you. Example:Snakes will strike at the glass if you tease them or bother them.

C.C: What I learned at the zoo was pandas were made to be carnivores but, they made adaptions and now they are vegetarians.

B.C:I learned that gorillas get fed twice a day. They are tomatoes and apples when we were there.

Do you know something interesting about an animal that you would like to share? Please leave it in a comment.

Remembering Ivan: Our Trip to the Atlanta Zoo

On October 30, 2012, we took a field trip to the Atlanta Zoo to see where the real Ivan, who inspired The One and Only Ivan, spent twenty years of his life.. We rode on a charter bus to the zoo. On the charter bus we could watch TV, eat snacks, and play our hand held consoles. We watched a zoo movie. Through all of these things, we were excited about arriving in Atlanta and seeing the gorilla habitat.

When we got to the entrance, we saw different pictures of animals which was like a preview of the amazing things to come. The zoo was amazing! We saw so many amazing animals. We saw flamingos, elephants, tigers, lions, meercats, pandas, bears, and gorillas.

Then we went to the Gorilla Habitat which is the largest in North America. It was feeding time in the different habitats. They have eighteen gorillas. In Habitat 1, one of the momma gorillas had a baby on its back. Many of them would run and pound on their chests to get attention. We learned that if a little boy gorilla is born, it will turn into a Silverback when they grow up.

Ivan was a real gorilla. He was born in Central Africa. He was taken in from the wild and to a mall. The docent could tell us all about Ivan's life. He lived there for twenty years after living for almost thirty years in a cage at a mall in Tacoma, Washington. He really did paint, but the zoo had to agree not to sell any of his paintings. They are now teaching all of the gorillas how to paint and sign their name with a thumbprint, just like Ivan. There is a habitat dedicated to Ivan's life with a memorial. It was nice to learn all about his life at the zoo.

Kinyani was really Ivan's girlfriend. She lived at the Atlanta Zoo, but has been moved to the Columbus, Ohio Zoo. She used to hide beside the observation house and then when it was full of people, she would run in front and hit on all of them windows as she ran by. Everyone would jump and screams and then she would look over her shoulder and cover her mouth like she was saying, "Did I do something?"

We took many photos at the zoo and we turned them into a Trip Wow. We really hope you enjoy "travelling" with us to visit the real home of "The One and Only Ivan."

   

The Atlanta Zoo Slideshow: Mrs.’s trip to Atlanta was created with TripAdvisor TripWow!

Tweet Stories

                                                      

 Today we were given the challenge to create a story in 140 characters or less. We thought it would be easy, but we learned to be careful selecting our words to say the most important things. This challenged our thinking and creativity. Can you write Tweet Story? We challenge you to try and share your story in a  comment. We hope you enjoy our Tweet Stories.

Dancing with the Pigs

As a pig wants to be a dancing  star! He always warn heed his favorite TV show, Dancing with the Pigs and dreamed he could dance there one day. 

Dreamland

There once was a land called dreamland. Where people imagined things and they appeared. Jack lives there, and my job is defeating furious dragons.

A Prince and Princess                                                       

Once upon a time there was a princess who was very intelligent but, her parents mistreated her. She met  a prince and they ran away. 

 Spoiled Girl

One morning a witch snuck out to grab children. A spoiled little girl got caught. She pitched a fit and the witch let her go.

Haunted House

Once upon a  time  Lauren and Brooke went to a haunted house. As they creeped through a man with a chainsaw jumped out. They ran for our lives and never looked back.

Billy

Billy is a superhero. He likes to help people with problems. He loves to fight crime, and make the world a better place.

Gross 

An alien named Bob came to planet E. He thought humans were the grossest thing he'd ever seen. Bob threw up all day long and flew away quickly.

Dancing Al 

There was an elephant named Al. He dreamed of cheering for Alabama. He kicked the old mascot of the stage and cheered his heart out.

Fighting for the Right to Dribble

Julie lives in 1974. She is a bright girl. She finds out at school that no girls can play basketball. Julie protested and now they have a girls team.    

Bad Luck? 

Once there was a brown dog and a black cat.The brown dog was jumpy because he thought the black cat was bad luck. It wasn't true. They met and became friends.

World Record for... 

One time a monkey wanted to get into the world record book. He wanted to break the banana eating record. He did by eating 248 bananas. 

Polly Want a Win          A parrot wanted to win a phrase saying contest. He practiced for 26 days. He won by saying 469   phrases.  

A Dog with a Blog 

One day Mya and her family found the most adorable dog and took him home. When they turned around to get him food, he disappeared. He was blogging on their computer. 

A Surprising End 

A frog wanted to kiss a princess, but the princess thought he was disgusting. She finally agreed. When they kissed, she turned into a frog. 

 Suzzy's Dream

A panda named Suzzy wanted to work at a circus. Suzzy had a ungue talent. She can pogo stick and eat ice cream. A circus man discovered Suzzy and she worked at the circus. 
Lost Dog

There was a dog that loved to play. While playing, he found a path. It took him to another world. He was scared and returned home. 

Fame and Learning 

There is a famous person named Mrs. Ramsay. She became famous by giving her students tools to learn. She gave them tech; they Skype too. 

Cheer 

There was a girl named Chelsea. She wanted to cheer at ACE. Her dad said no. So she cried all day, and she gave her dad the silent  treatment. 

Goners 

We went to an old house. Inside, a witch told us to stay and offered candy. She put us in a hot tub. We knew that we were goners. 

Zombies? 
There was a boy named Josh who didn't believe in zombies. One day walking home, he took a shortcut and found a family of zombies. 

Global Read Aloud: Surprise Guest Reader

Mrs. Ramsay told us we were going to get a surprise on Friday.We could not figure out what it was.So, when we got back from lunch, we thought we were just going to read The One and Only Ivan which always makes us happy and excited. We got on our class carpet and sat down with our books, iPods, and iPads. Then all of a sudden a Skype call came through our class computer.Guess who?  It was Mrs. Ripp!  She is very nice. Mrs.Ripp is the founder of the Global Read Aloud. She with some other teachers chose the book The One and Only Ivan by Katherine Applegate for us to read this year for the Global Read Aloud.

 It is one of the best books we have ever read. It is a book about a gorilla and other animals facing life changes in a mall. We all love this book truly. It was written by a very enthusiastic author, who can write very interesting and detailed books.We read to almost the end of the book with Mrs. Ripp. We felt honored and surprised to read with the founder of the Global Read Aloud. This was a great surprise. ~LC