Poetry Anthology

April is poetry month! You have been learning about the different types of poems and have written some, too. Let’s create an anthology using the iPads and Book Creator. Be creative on how you express yourself and choose elements to enhance the written word. Below is an example of a few different ways to enhance the poems using apps like DoInk, iMovie, Green Screen, My Flake, PicCollage and Drawing Pad.

Author’s Breakfast Writings

We will work over the next few weeks to prepare pieces of writing for your Author’s Breakfast, a celebration of writing accomplishments which will be shared with parents. We will review formatting features of Word, adding pictures, and adding borders.

Vacation Stories

Today we will use the iPads to create our vacation story. We will find our vacation place on the Google Earth app and save a screenshot to include in our book. We will use Drawing Pad app to illustrate pages and also take a picture with the camera of any photos we have brought in. The book will be assembled in Book Creator. We will add our voices and save as an ebook. Below is a sample without voiceovers.

Black History Month

February is Black History month! You will research a famous African-American in library, then write a short script about the field he/she is famous for, the time period he/she lived, and the reason why he/she is famous. You will also get a short video of the individual if it is available. We will use the iPads and SketchbookX to draw a portrait of the individual. Next we will bring the portrait into Yakit and record the script. Finally, we will create a gallery of the pictures in the rotunda with an augmented reality component which will display your Yakit and the video creation.

Robinson

Kiva Project

We will begin our Kiva Project by researching information about the country of the entrepreneur from Kiva that you wish to sponsor. Next you will begin to create an i-Movie presentation which will hopefully persuade your classmates to vote for your entrepreneur. Below are the steps to creating your presentation. Use our Kiva wikispace for resources.

1. Research and chose your entrepreneur
2. Storyboard your persuasive writing
3. Collect pictures for your presentation
4. Place pictures on the i-Movie timeline
5. Record your voice and synch with pictures
6. Create a credits page
7. Add transitions
8. Add background music

Makey Makey

Anyone can be an inventor! We will learn the basics of electric circuits using a BrainPOP movie and explore conduction by experimenting with connecting different materials to a MaKey MaKey. A MaKey Makey is kit that allows you turn everyday objects into touchpads. It allows you to use anything with at least a small amount of conductivity connected to the MaKey MaKey to control keys like the space bar or control a computer mouse.

Makey Makey

Paper Circuit Haikus

Today we will start a project which will merge paper circuits and poetry. You have written a haiku about light. First you will illustrate your haiku using a collage method, making decisions about which element of the illustration you wish to illuminate. Once the illustration is complete, you will design a paper circuit using copper tape, LEDs, coin battery and a switch. Once it is designed you will create it on cardstock, which will sit behind your illustration.

HaikuandCircuit from Heights Elementary School on Vimeo.

Illegal Immigration Persuasive Writing Movie

You have read about the different points of view regarding illegal immigration, and now it is time to choose a side and write a persuasive piece which will be turned into a movie. Once you have finished the writing, you will storyboard it and decide which pictures will be used in which sections. Use the websites below to collect pictures for your movie.

Pixabay
Morguefiles
Wikimedia Commons

Next you will create a movie in iMovie complete with voiceovers and music.

Introduction to Word

We will put your new keyboarding skills to work today by keying in one of your writing prompts. First, we will learn how to put a school heading on your page using the Header portion of Word. We will learn how to Center a title, use the First Line Indent, and Line Spacing to double space. Next week we will learn how to use Spelling and Grammar check and format your fonts. Finally we will learn to add a picture to your document.

Book Trailers

You have seen movie trailers from studios which advertise their movies. Now it’s your turn to create a book trailer, in iMovie, for a book you love! We will begin by exploring and watching book trailers created by other students and teachers.

Visit the LiveBinder for examples of Book Trailers by students and teachers and all resources for this project.

Next we will choose a book and write the script for the trailer. Use this Book Trailer Storyboard document to type your script. We’ll search for or take pictures and find music for the trailers using the resources on the LiveBinder. Finally we will use iMovie to put it all together and record the narrative. See my example below.

Inside and Outside Characteristics Graphic Organizer

Today we will use Kidspiration to create a graphic organizer of the inside and outside characteristics of your action figure. Try to include a simile about each characteristic. You will also learn how to use the digital camera to take a picture of your figure to include in your document. Finally you will use the graphic organizer to guide you with writing a paragraph about its characteristics.


MesoAmerican PowerPoint

Today you will continue researching and also gather pictures for your chosen Meso-American culture Powerpoint presentation.
Use the links at the Heights Website to gather information about your particular culture and cultural universal. Over the next couple of weeks you and your partner will create 8-10 slides with the information to form a comprehensive slideshow for your civilization. For the first slide of your show, create a Wordle with words that represent your civilization. Below is a sample of one culture and one cultural universal.

Gather pictures from the following sites:

Introduction to Word

We will put your new keyboarding skills to work today by keying in one of your writing prompts. First, we will learn how to put a school heading on your page using the Header portion of Word. We will learn how to Center a title, use the First Line Indent, and Line Spacing to double space. Next week we will learn how to use Spelling and Grammar check and format your fonts. Finally we will learn to add a picture to your document.

How to Make a Complete Circuit

Show what you know about how to make a complete circuit. Use the iPads and Explain Everything to create a short movie on how to create a complete circuit to light up a bulb. You may go to Pixabay to gather pictures for your materials. Include labels for your objects on the materials page. Label the critical contact points on your final slide. You can also demonstrate how the electrons flow with your laser tool. Use the storyboard to plan out your project.

Marionette STEAM Project

We will begin our research in the library on Newton’s Laws in preparation for the creation of a marionette in art class which will demonstrate those laws. After the marionette is built, we will use the iPads and the app Explain Everything to show what you learned and to demonstrate how the movement of the marionette demonstrates Newton’s Laws. Use the resources below to start your research.

Science Weekly newspaper article on Newton’s Three Laws of Motion

Science A-Z: Force and Motion book

Brainpop- Newton’s Laws of Motion

Science Channel – Newton’s Three Laws

marionette

A Complete Circuit

You have a battery, copper wire, and a light bulb. Can you make a complete circuit? Use Kid Pix to draw the parts of a light bulb and then arrange a wire (or two) and a battery to illustrate a complete circuit. Label the parts of the bulb, the components of the circuit, and the critical contact points.

complete-circuit

Visit the site below for interactive activities about electricity.

Circuits and Conductors

Changing Circuits

Ellis Island Tour

Using the iPads, you will learn about Ellis Island, the place where over 12 million immigrants passed through in search of a better life. The Interactive Ellis Island Tour is rich in audio files and photographs. Use the document Ellis Island Tour to take notes while you read each web page carefully and click on the audio and photo links. Click on the picture of the Statue of Liberty to take you to the website. If you are done early watch the Brainpop movie on immigration and take the graded quiz.

Do You Want To Be My Friend?

Today we will begin to work on our class movie based on the book Do You Want To Be My Friend? by Eric Carle. Each student will be either the mouse or one of the animals.

  • Read the book in class then decide how the animals might answer the mouse if they could talk.
  • Mice-Practice your line, then we will use the green screen to shoot you saying your part. Ms. Mellman will make mouse ears for us.
  • Animals- Practice your part, then we will use YakitKids to make the animals talk.
  • We will then use the Green Screen app to put it all together.
  • Finally, we will bring it into iMovie to add music and sound effect

friend

 

Alliteration at the Zoo

After studying poetry and figures of speech, specifically alliteration, create an alliteration sentence about an animal you might find in the zoo. Visit the websites below to find a public domain pictures of your animal. Download the picture to the camera role. Next, use the app Yakit Kids to import your picture and then voice over your sentence. All the short movies will be combined into a class movie, Alliteration at the Zoo.

Wikimedia Commons
Pics4Learning
USA.gov

Predicting and Reporting the Weather

You will use the activities in the website below to help you better understand reporting and predicting weather. In the first activity, you will use common weather symbols to create a weather map to report the weather. In the next activity, you will use temperature, precipitation, and cloud coverage to predict the weather in various regions.

William Wegman’s Dogs

Now that you examined the work of photographer William Wegman and his Weimaraner dogs, it’s time to create your own dog portrait in art, using water colors. Using a green screen, the apps Superimpose and SketchbookX, we’ll merge your painting with a photo of you to create an new piece of art on the iPad. We’ll use augmented reality to display your work at the art show.

Photos-29

Self Portrait Smashup

Today we will begin to create an animated self portrait with the iPads. First we’ll draw ourselves in SketchbookX using a photo that we took with the camera as a guide. Then we will create a PNG image from our drawing using Superimpose. Finally we will use DoInk to create an animated object that represents something we love to do and pull it all together as a single composition.

Volcano

Today we will use the iPads and the app Drawing Pad to draw a cross-section of a volcano. Label the different parts of the volcano and save to the camera roll. Upload your picture to Google Drive. You will use your picture in a paragraph in which you will write about the different types of volcanoes.

volcano2

Explorer Smashup

We will begin our explorer projects using the iPads. Use the Explorer Wiki Resources to help you.
1. Research your explorer and include the following information:

a. Why he explored
b. Who sponsored him
c. Where he traveled
d. How did he treat the Native people
e. What was accomplishments

2. Write the script and the bibliography.

3. Gather public domain images or creative common images for your script and save to the Camera Roll.

We will Use Explain Everything for your bibliography, Drawing Pad to create a green screen, Tellagami for your avatar speaking your script, and Green Screen to put your images and avatar together. See my sample below.

Aliens at Heights!

Today in Art we will begin our Aliens at Heights project. First we will use our iPads to take a picture of a location at Heights. Next we will create an animated alien in the app Do Ink and add our photo of a place at school. We will put all the aliens invading our school together in a movie which will be shown at the annual Art Show!