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Sixth-grade students became community leaders during the Windsor Mill Middle School Night of Innovation. Students, parents, community members, and stakeholders gathered for an evening of learning and fun on December 3rd. Discovery Ed, partners in education with BCPS, sponsored the event. Teachers dipped into their trove of Learner-Centered Environment lessons, and student leaders took it from there, facilitating sessions on digital tools such as Nearpod, Plickers, MakeBeliefsComix, and guiding visitors through a virtual archaeological dig on the Aztec, Inca, and Maya; a tutorial in Business Entrepreneurship; and hands-on science experiments with Spaghetti Towers and Marshmallow Catapults. The historic evening was captured by a Tweetbeam and a livestream via Periscope. Participants in the WMMS NOI Community shared words that captured the evening for them on a Word Cloud. The final verdict? Joyful. Read more about the fall Night of Innovation by clicking here.
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6th grade Reading Teacher and Language Arts Department Chair at Windsor Mill Middle School, Sonja Jackson, reached out to the local Rolling Road Exxon Station to create a community-school partnership, and Exxon responded. Jackson asked the owners to support the WMMS Lighthouse conversion by donating earbuds for students. And support they did. Exxon owners gifted Jackson’s students with 100 pairs of earbuds for use in the classroom. Jackson infuses the use of technology daily in her classroom for collaborative, small group, and independent work. The earbuds allow students to expand their tools for learning beyond texts to videos and to work at their own pace without disturbing other students and activities in the classroom. “Students are now able to listen independently to audio and video,” said Jackson. “Today we studied about Japan, and students were able to listen to and actually hear the words of the Japanese national anthem. They can also use IReady, a reading intervention program that meets students where they are and increases reading skills. My students can personalize their learning and listen to oral instructions and have stories read to them.”
Ms. Hahn has eagerly embraced the use of small-group instruction and technology infusion in her 6th grade math classes at Windsor Mill Middle School. Hahn designed her furniture arrangement to house four stations in her classroom: Teacher Station—Hahn provides direct instruction with rigorous questioning to students; Activity Station—students take the skills learned with Hahn and apply them to an activity; Co-op Station—students may choose to work independently or with a partner or group on assignments housed in One Note; and Computer Station—students work on the Ascend Math program, an Intensive Math Intervention Program that begins work at each student's skill level. Hahn uses formative assessment to create groups that are responsive to student learning which affords her the opportunity to quickly and easily revisit the material with students who are struggling. She regularly revisits her classroom instructional model to tweak and fine tune the process and structure.
The downstairs hallway at Rodgers Forge Elementary has been buzzing with activity and excitement this year. Kindergarten (yes…Kindergarten!!!) students in Mrs. Guth’s class (@tcguth) are now able to access Wixie, use text boxes to type their names and sentences, and use backgrounds, stickers, and paint tools in order to express their ideas. Mrs. Guth often provides students with a word bank from which they can draw their ideas and learn new word spellings in addition to using their developmental spellings. The students have been working with Wixie for several weeks now and proudly show off their work and explore other students’ ideas through a gallery walk. Prior to learning how to use various Wixie tools during their “Tech Tuesday” time, Kindergarten students have also explored both the camera and video tools on their device, both the writing and drawing tools in activInspire, and have learned how to access both lesson tiles and digital content in BCPSOne These skills are taught in a small group format over a one-hour block each week.
Through a reading lesson in the fifth grade curriculum, students at Rodgers Forge discovered that our wonderful BrainPop database does not include a video clip for the historical event of Black Sunday. So, they were tasked with the job of creating one! Students were first engaged in authentic research using other databases through the BCPS One platform in order to learn about Black Sunday and take notes on the event. Then, they integrated this information, which was gathered from multiple sources, and drafted a script for their simulated BrainPop video. Some students chose the format of a recording a paper slide show, while others chose to act out their skit live and film it. This example of authentic learning was incredibly meaningful to students, as they took ownership of this project and were excited to share their new learning with others. Created by Bennett Frank and Nora Sevidal, 5th Grade Students at Rodgers Forge E.S.
In the Latin America unit in 6th grade World Cultures, students analyze the issue of deforestation of the Amazon rain forest in order to explain the trade-offs of using resources to pursue economic opportunities versus preserving the environment. For this indicator, students identify the characteristics of a tropical rain forest and identify the advantages and disadvantages of deforestation for people of Latin America. The summative assessment for this topic is a public service produce a public service announcement on the trade-offs of deforestation. The students used the Wixie for their public service announcement. The criteria for the Wixie was the students needed to describe the importance of the Amazon Rain Forest, state their position on deforestation, and describe the world with or without the rainforest. Once the students completed their public service announcement, they presented the public service announcement to their peers. Student Examples:
http://www.wixie.com/s3545022 Public Key: q53q9d http://www.wixie.com/s3557349 Public Key: it5e8j http://www.wixie.com/s3546089 Public Key: j278mg Fifth graders at Church Lane Elementary participated in multiple activities surrounding the language arts unit “Transformative Ideas”. Students in 5th grade have been reading, writing, and researching about inventions that have not only transformed over the years but have transformed the way people live their lives. Students were first assigned partners and then were given the option to research either the phonograph, television, or airplane. Each pair had to read an article and watch a video about how their chosen invention was similar and different from when it was first created to nowadays. After their research was complete, students had to work to create a visual presentation using either Glogster, Wixie, or Popplet to display their findings on the classroom bulletin board. When student pairs completed their visual presentation of information, they got to create 3D models of either the original or newer model of their invention. With the help of some faculty members and the students themselves, recyclable materials such as toilet paper rolls, water bottles, and shoeboxes were brought in for the students to use to build their models. Students researched a picture of the model they needed to replicate and then used their creativity to build the invention. A few pairs were chosen to present their research and models at Church Lane’s Night of Innovation for the community to see. As an extension activity, the entire 5th grade met in one classroom to go on a virtual field trip to the Thomas Edison Historical Museum in New Jersey. Through the trip, students were able to see examples of artifacts, machinery, and Thomas Edison’s inventions (including the phonograph!) and ask/answer questions from the tour guide skyping with us!
When I first came to Church Lane, we were in our first year of being a Lighthouse School. I did not know what to expect. Would devices really make learning more meaningful? Would classrooms filled with bean bags, unconventional seating, and student first décor really make an impact on the students’ education? Would providing student choice on almost everything make them more engaged on a daily basis? Would differentiated grouping and tasks be possible and effective? When I first began, I wasn’t so sure. However, after almost a year and a half, I can easily say the answer to all those questions is YES!
What I have come to learn is that S.T.A.T is much more than just 1:1. It is a mindset. A mindset in which teacher and student learn as they go. There are an infinite number of resources, websites, project ideas, etc. available to teachers. I was overwhelmed at first. I did not know where to start. I have come to learn that focusing on implementing one thing at a time is much less of a burden. After some time, I am now familiar with numerous tools, not all technology related, that have made my classroom environment a wonderful one. Differentiated small groups were new to me as well. Ones that are constantly changing, sometimes within one class period, seemed like it would make my head spin. My clipboard was filled with post-it notes of student names circled, crossed out, and arrows going in every direction. This directly correlates to the S.T.A.T mindset mentioned above. I had to learn as I went. Eventually, it started to become easier. I learned how to create groups. Students learned how to transition between groups. The students and I were aware that groups would be different depending on the day and topic. Once this became routine, it became possible to REALLY differentiate work for my small groups. Students started to become more engaged in their work because it was tailored to their needs. Their choice of how to show their learning started to snowball into ways that I didn’t even know was possible. “Instead of a Wixie, can I create a Board Builder?” “After I make my Board Builder, can I add my own voice to describe what is included?” The list goes on. My greatest challenge, implementing these small groups was that I wanted to be in control of everything. I have learned to take the back seat and let the students drive. When they drive, we all learn. Fort Garrison students, in Lindsay O’Donnell’s Library classes, are proud to have participated in the Hour of Code during Computer Science Education Week (Dec. 7-13). The Hour of Code is a national movement aimed at increasing the number of students involved in computer programming and to educate students about future careers in this field. Every Fort Garrison student in grades K-5 participated in the Hour of Code. Kindergarteners started learning coding by turning the library carpet into a grid and giving each other directions to reach a destination. Older students wrote lines of code to program their very own computer games featuring characters from Star Wars, Minecraft, and Flappy Bird, among others. Students used drag-and-drop blocks to link commands with events in their games. Some students were ready for a challenge and coded using JavaScript programming language. Many of our students agreed that computer programming seemed like a great career to have when they’re older! For more information on the Hour of Code and to see other coding websites for kids, visit https://code.org/learn.
Submitted by Stacy Siegel Reading Specialist, Fort Garrison Elementary Third grade students at Fort Garrison Elementary worked with art teacher Grace Hulse and media specialist Lindsay O’Donnell to build a unique structure on their school grounds. Each student selected an insect that is native to Maryland and using their devices completed research about their insects. The students identified what their insect does over the winter: lay eggs and die, hibernate, nest, or migrate. For nesting and hibernating insects the students constructed a “bug hotel” to provide a welcoming place to spend the cold winter months. The hotel, created from natural materials provides shelter for pollinators and pest controllers. The FGES hotel was built by stacking pallets and bricks to make a three story structure. Students brought in plastic two liter bottles, bamboo stalks, clay pots, and twigs from home. Additional materials (pine cones, leaves, bark) were collected on the school grounds and nature trail. Students sorted materials and arranged them in plastic bottles, cigar boxes, and bundles. The various containers were aesthetically arranged on the pallets. The hotel was topped off with potted plants and a sign to welcome visitors!
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