Other than tying up a few loose ends on some projects, my classes were rewarded for all their hard work this year with some free time.

First graders finished up their 2 week seed project. We imported their seed pictures into Keynote and recorded them narrating their slide shows. They had a lot of fun recording them and loved listening to them when they were finished.

Second graders finished up their Geocaching unit from PE with a short reflection piece online. Mr. Tilbury created a questionnaire about the unit in Google Docs which the students filled out in computers. If you’d like to know more about Geocaching, visit our Geocaching web page which I’ll try to leave up year-round. It’s a fun activity that the family can enjoy together.

Third grade finished out the year with a discussion on cyber-bullying. After taking a short Are You a Cyber Bully quiz (completely anonymous) we discussed what to do when we feel like we’re being bullied by someone on line.

Fourth grade continued to work in MYAccess! and wrapped up their animal projects.

2nd graders took a break this week with some EM Games while we wait for them to finish up the GPS unit in PE.  Unfortunately, it rained most of the week and they were only able to get outside on Monday.  Those classes did a great job though, and had a lot of fun.   We’re hoping to get back out again next week but the forecast isn’t looking good.

Third graders continued to study the solar system through a series of online videos and games.  We should be ready for a one week unit on cyber-bullying next week.

Fourth graders continue to write in MYAccess and work on their animal reports.

Tigercast celebrated a big week this week with a new web site, acceptance to the iTunes music store (we’re still free) and a trip to Springfield to participate in the TECH 2010 conference.  We spent the afternoon in the rotunda of the capitol building with 100 other school presenting the projects we do in school to our state legislators.  3 representatives from Tigercast were present and they did a fantastic job and had a great time. We recorded a podcast live from the capitol building which can be found on our new Tigercast site.

Tigercast – http://d102.org/blogs/tigercast

First graders worked in EM Games this week.  Next week, we’ll be starting a short project about seeds and the five stages of their growth.  We’ll be illustrating pictures and recording an audio narration to go with them in a slide show.

Second graders began an exciting GPS/Geocaching unit this week.  In computers, we learned how to use the GPS units on the small playground.  I took 8 tupperware containers and put a different word in each one.  Students had to use the GPS units to find 3 specific containers and report back to me with the correct words.  It was a difficult lesson but the purpose was only to make them comfortable using the GPS units.  Next week and the week after, they’ll be using the GPS units in PE to navigate a much larger course on the big playground and the playfield.  Then they’ll come back to the computer lab to reflect on the unit through a web page designed by the PE teachers and myself.

Third grade is finishing up their Illinois brochures. Thosse who are finished are learning about the planets through a series of online videos and games.

Fourth grade continues to work on their writing either using MYAccess or getting started on their animal research projects.

But the most exciting news for next week is that Tripp School is going to Springfield.  Well, 4 of us are anyway.  As part of the Tech 2010 conference in Springfield, IL, I will be presenting our Tigercast project with 3 of its student participants in the rotunda of the state capitol building.  The conference is designed to let schools show our legislators how we use the money they give us for technology.  I’ll have some pictures and reflections to post here when we get back.

If you haven’t checked out Tigercast, please do so.  The students involved work very hard on it each month.  Due to some scheduling issues, we got off to a late start this year but we hope to have 4 episodes up by the end of the year.  We hope to have a new episode up on Monday afternoon and a special episode will be posted here on Thursday from Springfield if we can manage to squeeze it in during our short time there.

First, Third, and Fourth grades continued working on the respective projects and activities with nothing new to report.

Second graders finished up their Light and Sound project by looking at the data for the entire second grade.  They also published their individual result charts to the class wikis.  If you’d like to know more about this project, click here.

In other news, it’s time for…

The labs will be closed for the next two weeks for MAP testing.  Updates will resume at that time.

First graders are getting caught up on their Solids and Liquids and playing some math games in EM Games this week.  Look for some new projects to start after MAP testing in a couple of weeks.

Second graders continue to analyze and graph their data from the Light and Sound project.  Our last group finsihed up today.  I’ll try to post the final graphs here next week.

Third graders are finishing up their Illinois brochures.  We hope to have them complete next week before MAP testing begins.

Fourth graders are continuing to write in MYAccess.

Second graders started evaluating the data they gathered last week when they measured light and sound around the school.  They created and printed a graph of their individual data in Pages and then started inputting the data into some online forms and graphs so we could see the results for the entire second grade.  I’ll post a link to the data when it’s all been collected.

Third graders are hard at work on their Illinois brochures.  Look for them to finish up a couple weeks after Spring break.

Fourth graders finished up their African American History wiki projects. You can find them online in the 4th grade wikis.

You can listen to it here.

First graders had a great time using the digital cameras this week to take pictures of solids and liquids around the building. Next week we’ll start putting them all together in Comic Life to make a 6 panel comic about solids and liquids.

Second graders had a blast using the laptops, Scratch, and our new Scratch boards to measure light and sound in different parts of the building.  We’ll be graphing and analyzing our data next week.

light and sound 4 (video of a group measuring in the lunchroom)

Taking measurements in the gym.  Some classes measured while the gym was empty, others while Mr. Tilbury was teaching a bowling unit.

Measuring in the lunchroom.  For most classes it was empty but one class was in there while the Clubhouse teachers were getting ready.

Measuring in the office.  Always a busy place.

Third graders are hard at work on their Illinois brochures.  We hope to have them finished up when we come back from Spring break and should be able to share them on the wikis.

Fourth graders are putting the finishing touches on their African American Heroes project.  Next week will be our last week working on the project.  After that, we will be focusing much of our time writing and rewriting in MyAccess.