Saturday, January 24, 2015

Watering two plants with one Hose: Accomplishing much with GAFE

Never heard of the idiom above?  Well, it is a nicer alternative to the idiom about birds.


The class has been learning about figurative language and each was challenged to make a digital book (using Google Presentations).  The book had to include original similes or metaphors, or explain commonly heard similes and metaphors.

The class creatively found ways to express themselves using Google image search, creative commons websites, and Google Drawings.  We had discussions on digital citizenship and how to access pictures that are allowed to be reused freely.  There are some great websites that feature images that can be used freely for non-commercial purposes.  Searching for images within a Google Doc (using the insert image function or research tools) automatically returns pictures that are free to use.  Greater care must be taken when searching generally.

When creating this book, students honed their skills with creating their own Google Presentation.   They learned from me and learned from each other how to change the back ground color, insert an image as the background of the slide, create a Google Drawing and then import into their presentation, and add transitions between slides.

Each student made their own book and we made a compilation of their work to make a class "book" seen below.  Their book  in their entirety are available for viewing on our website. Please note that you need to be logged into Google using your @ramapocentral.net account first before being able to see the books.



Sunday, January 11, 2015

Mondrian Art for Introducing Area

Our recent unit on multiplication and division started with creating arrays to represent equal groups.  Now we are transitioning to learning about area (which the students will discover is really the same thing).  Last year's class really enjoyed connecting Math with Art so I decided that learning about Piet Mondrian would make a repeat performance.   Composition in Red, Blue, and Yellow was our inspiration.


After learning about Piet Mondrian and his work above, students turned blank grid paper into artistic and mathematical masterpieces.


The final result:








Wednesday, January 7, 2015

Illustrating Figurative Language

The beauty of using figurative language is the visuals they create in the reader's mind as they encounter new ways of viewing situations.  Today we had the opportunity to read poems by Valerie Worth and look at her use of metaphors and similes.  

After reading each poem we created our mental images using the A Web Whiteboard website. You can check out our creations on our class website.