Tech Tips Tuesday

Lego WeDo 2.0

This year I took on the role of STEAM facilitator for my area. This hasn't been too large a role, but has prompted me to pay more attention to what we are teaching and programming in the STEAM subjects. I have also been considering how to make connections between the STEAM subject areas, and how to set tasks for students that will involve them in solving problems using skills and knowledge from a variety of the subject areas. With this year's Science Week theme "Drones, droids and robots" we thought we would take advantage of this to get students involved in robotics.

Towards the end of Term 2 we purchased a class set of WeDo 2.0 Lego sets. With these sets students can build and modify a variety of Lego robots and programme them using the WeDo 2.0 app. I can't recommend these sets enough - they are simple to use, the app walks you through what to do and they don't take too long to build and enjoy! Students collaborate while working with them and learn to solve problems together, make adjustments and get creative in their designs. They learn basic engineering and programming skills and explore scientific concepts through experimentation.


Getting Started

When the sets arrived the Lego pieces arrived in their little plastic bags and needed to be sorted into the sections of the container. We had purchased 12 sets (a class pack) and so this was no quick job. I managed it by taking a few home at night and sorting while I watched TV! The benefit of doing this sort yourself is that you quickly learn where the pieces are stored and how many of each piece there should be. This means you are better able to help students find what they need when they get stuck.

In preparation I also charged up the Smarthubs and numbered each kit with a sticker for the lid and base. I followed the instructions from the manual (available on the website) to rename each Smarthub to make it easier for students to connect to the right robot. I learnt the value of this the hard way! I kept the cardboard boxes to store the kits in and found somewhere to store them.


Introducing the Kits

I introduced these kits to my students and walked them through the first couple of sessions to teach them the basics. They built their confidence with this and then I guided them in coaching the other Year 1 classes using the Kids Can Coach approach described here. I explained the importance of taking care of the kits and gave instructions on how to organise the workspace when using them and how to pack up properly at the end.


Science Week

Once each class had completed the basics with their coach from my class (1.5 hrs), we were ready to attempt another project. We found a project related to some science we completed earlier in the year, which involved building a tadpole and transforming it into a frog (1.5 hrs). Two classes paired up and went through the process together. I used the interactive whiteboard to walk students through the early steps in the project - thinking about the changes during a frog's lifecycle and documenting these changes - and then let them go when we reached the building stage.

The app takes students through building a tadpole and then adding the back legs. It is then up to them to consider what changes to make to turn it into a frog. It was exciting to see the variety of ideas students used for front legs and the modifications that were made as they began programming their robots to move. For those who progressed quickly through these stages I suggested thinking about how the robot could "see" (using the sensor) and croak (using the sounds available).  Students explored the programming side of things, initially beginning with the code provided and then making modifications to suit what they were wanting to achieve.

To finish off the week we had a timed challenge where 2 students from each class built and programmed a frog in 25 minutes and then raced them in front of the grade. The tension was great as the frogs raced off and classes cheered for their representative!


Going Forward

My plan now is to find opportunities where the robots will link in to the science units we are covering in class and to add it to the programmes for next year. We will also use the sets in our STEAM lunchtime program with students in Kindergarten and Year 1. Our students are very excited to use these sets and are benefitting from the learning experience.

Tech Tips Tuesday

This Week's Tip: Learning about the Brain

Next term both my Year 1 students and my Year 2 students will be completing a health unit. The unit for the Year 1s focuses on what makes us healthy including diet, exercise, sleep, hygiene etc. They unit for the Year 2s focuses on the different body systems and how they work. I've spent some time these holidays seeking out some interactive resources that I can use with a particular focus on the brain and nervous system. I'd like to share some of these with you here:

E-learning for Kids - has a great activity about the brain and nerves. This would be useful to explore with students to gain a greater understanding of how the brain works. It is interactive and has kid-friendly pictures and animations.

The Secret Life of the Brain - is a PBS site providing a range of information about the brain. I particularly like the 3D anatomy of the brain which allows you to look at an illustration of the brain from different angles.

Your Brain and Nervous System and Your Gross and Cool Body: Nervous System- provide explanations of the brain. These will be useful during our literacy lessons when we teach students about the features of explanations and model how to write them.

Brain Drain - is a simple activity for getting an idea of the functions of different parts of the brain.

Brainy Games - is a variety of games to help you learn more about the brain and test your knowledge. I haven't tried them all, but found the ones I did most useful for revision.

Neuron Explosion - goes into greater detail than I plan to cover with my students, but may be a useful activity for students who want to take things further. This simple activity explains the parts of a neuron and has a true/false quiz.

I hope you find something useful for stretching the minds of your students too! Enjoy

Friday Fun - 30/4/10

Term 2 started this week and it was nice to get back into things with a short week. Here are some of the highlights.

Fun This Week

Anzac Day Assembly

On Tuesday afternoon the Year 5/6 students hosted a special assembly in recognition of Anzac Day. The proceedings were very respectful and students maintained a very solemn attitude throughout.

Antonyms

We taught students about antonyms (more commonly thought of as opposites) and encouraged students to think of words that pair up. We had a cardboard jigsaw for students to use to extend this learning, and also found a couple of online games to practice pairing antonyms. One is at Do2Learn and another more complex one can be found here.

What's in the Box?

This term Year 2 students will be exploring different materials and considering their properties and how they may be changed. We began by presenting them with eight different items in shoe boxes. They reached into the box and felt the object and then wrote down words to describe the properties they identified. We used the following worksheet to record the investigation. Items we used included: glass, wood, concrete, rubber, aluminium, plastic, plasticine, and styrofoam.

What's in the box

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Art

For 2P and 1/2Rs art lesson we played with tones, textures and fractions to create an abstract piece of artwork. Students were given three coloured squares - black, grey, and white. They cut one of these in half creating two triangles; one in half creating rectangles; and one in quarters (squares or triangles). They used scrunched newspaper to splotch a large sheet of purple paper with yellow paint (for the background). I also gave them some strips of crepe paper streamers to twist or fold into lines. Students then added all their bits to the purple paper - creating a picture or pattern if desired or placing in an abstract design.

Friday Fun - 19/3/10

I feel as though I turned a corner with my class this week. It seems that we've got to that comfortable zone where we know enough about each other to be able to relax a little, even let down our guard and enjoy a bit of fun together.

Fun this Week

Tower Building

This week all the Year 2 students completed a technology project to design, make and appraise a tower using 10 sheets of newspaper and 50cm of tape. The tower needed to be free-standing and to hold a ping-pong ball at the top. Students considered different ways of manipulating the newspaper to increase strength, stability and appearance. When they were

finished, we conducted a "gallery tour" where students walked around and jotted down constructive feedback for one another on a sheet of paper next to each tower. In a couple of weeks we will be having a "Build-A-Bridge Day" where students will have a chance to use recycled materials to design, make and appraise a bridge.

Year 1 Assembly

This week my Year 1s spent quite a bit of time in with the other Year 1s preparing for the assembly they hosted on Friday. They sang two Peter Coombe songs and showed some of their mini-beast artworks. The Year 1s did a great job and it was nice to see them up there with all their other Year 1 friends.

Beatrix Potter Books

During our visit to the library on Tuesday, I read my class one of the little Beatrix Potter Books. It's been a while since I've picked up one of these classics and found I needed to spend quite a bit of time clarifying the meaning of words which are no longer commonly used. Quite a few of the girls enjoyed the story and decided to borrow some of the other Beatrix Potter books. The librarian said that they had been coming up on the 'at risk' list in a cull she is required to do to remove the books that haven't been borrowed for a number of years. Guess their safe now for a little longer!

Money, Money, Money

In Maths we focused on recognising coins and adding and subtracting with money. One of the groups worked on team problem solving using the canteen price list, another worked on finding how much change students would get from a dollar if they spent different amounts. My group worked on calculating totals using 10c and 5c coins and also finding different ways to make up 80c. This is one of those maths concepts that is an important life skill to develop and easy for parents to practise with their children at home.

Graphing

Students in 2P and 1/2R surveyed one another about their favourite bridges and created a bar graph to show student preferences. Students found it lots of fun and a little challenging, particularly when it came to keeping track of who they had already asked.

Cricket

In Cricket this week students learnt how to bowl with straight arms and practised bowling at wickets. It has been great to watch them developing these skills a little more each week, and we look forward to the mini-game they will get to play next week.

Story Writing

Last week my class read the big book The Greedy Goat by Faye Bolton. One of the things we discussed together was the role that mice often play in stories: while small, they often make the biggest difference. Examples include The Lion and The Mouse, Who Sank the Boat, and The Mitten. As I had a copy of Jan Brett's The Mitten on hand, we read it for a bit of fun. So this week, when selecting my big book, I found The Old Man's Mitten retold by Yevonne Pollock. After reading this with the class we used a Venn diagram to compare Pollock's version with Brett's. (You can find other follow-up activities here.) Students then created their own stories with a similar plot.

Paper Planes for Friday Fun

I've been trying to stick to some kind of sciency theme in my room during Friday Fun and, not being particularly sciency myself, it's not always easy. This week I decided to do some exploration of flight using paper aeroplanes! We watched some eHow videos to learn how to make a couple of different designs and then took them outside for some test flights. Students then made modifications to their planes and we tested them out again. I think we all had a lot of fun playing around with planes and experimenting with the best way to get them to go the distance.

Space Spectacular #4

Week 6 and 7 - Finding Out, Sorting Out, Making Conclusions, Going Further

The activities in these weeks were designed to provide opportunities for students to find out about space and sort their ideas in a range of forms. Students took a test to demonstrate the conclusions they had made from their learning. We then had an excursion to Questacon for students to take their learning further and explore other scientific concepts through hands on exhibits and shows.

Science

Gravity
One of the focus questions for our unit this term is: What is gravity and how does the force of it pull things on or above the Earth's surface towards it?In preparation, I took the text from Ask an Astronomer for KIDS! and spread out the key ideas on a worksheet:

What Is Gravity

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As we discussed each key idea, students drew a picture to illustrate the concept. I found that this was a helpful way to unpack the ideas. I particularly liked the last point and showed students these photos from when I stood on the special scales in the American Museum of Natural History in New York City.

We also read and discussed this simple explanation.
We then made artificial satellites as explained in this NASA activity. The gravity of the larger clump of plasticine balances out with the centrifugal force of the smaller clump of plasticine, keeping it 'orbiting'. I'm not sure that this is the best way to describe how orbits work, but it was fun to do anyway! You can see a video of the result below:



Earth's Atmosphere
Jonathan, my teaching partner, crafted the following lesson using this lesson plan found online. In teams of four, students drew the Earth and then added the atmospheric layers using a scale of 1mm=2km. We used this website for further information and also watched this animation to see it all in motion. The only change I would make is that I would make sure the Earth is to scale next time as well, by checking out the diameter of the earth and using a compass to draw it. (I just found this animation that would be helpful as well - too late for us this time, but may help others).

Guest Speaker
"Commander Cooper" (AKA Captain Lister) came to talk to us about his experiences with Space travel. We actually combined two grades - the Year 1s who are learning about transport and the Year 4s who are learning about Space. Yet again, Commander Cooper did an awesome job of engaging students with costumes, photos, videos, student participation and valuable, kid-friendly information about Space travel. Thank you Commander Cooper!

Making Conclusions - Taking the Test
I created this test to determine whether students had achieved the key learning outcomes for the unit of work. I asked them to give as much detail as possible and not just take short-cuts with their answers. I was impressed by how much students demonstrated in their responses and was also surprised when some students asked for a spare copy so they could do it again at lunch, just for fun! As you can see, the test ties very closely to the activities we did throughout the unit.

Space Test

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Going Further - Excursion to Questacon
I've found no better place to take students to experience science on a large scale, than Questacon. It is fun, kid-friendly and brings science to life. Rather than post all the photos separately, I've added a slide show here for you to see.


Integrating with Literacy

Journey to the Moon
Jonathan crafted and taught this lesson. He began with astronaut training, briefing students on some key information about the Moon. They then buckled in as Jonathan used Celestia to take them to the Moon. As they got close, their lunar module experienced difficulty and crash-landed on the surface of the moon. Students worked in small groups, to prioritise a list of items they would need as they travelled toward a space station for support. I found a similar lesson plan here. Students then reported back to the group giving justifications for their choices. This was a very engaging activity and provided students with opportunities to use language to discuss the problem in small groups and also to share their ideas with the whole class.

Descriptive Writing
This activity is similar to one we did about spiders earlier in the year. We looked at some photos of nebulae and created a list of words that could be used to describe them. Students then played with the words (and their own adjectives) to create descriptive pieces of writing. Some had a poetic structure and others were descriptive paragraphs. My plan is for students to type these up and display them with their Nebula Watercolour Paintings from Week 4.

Evaluating Explanations
Earlier in the term students wrote explanations of the life cycle of a star. This week I displayed their posters around the room and gave students mini post-it notes on which to write constructive feedback (one + and one - ) for each other and attach to the posters. I asked that they ensure every poster had some feedback. They continued with this process of reading and providing feedback for about 10 minutes, collecting additional post-it notes as necessary. At the end of the 10 minutes, students collected their own poster and made a circle sitting on the floor. We went around the circle with each student sharing the feedback they received and what they had learnt about themselves as a writer and the process of writing an explanation. It was a great way for students to reflect on their work and learning and to consider areas for improvement in the future.

Reading with Expression and Comprehension
We have had a strong focus on writing during Literacy this term, so I wanted students to have an opportunity to practise some reading as well. Some of the students in my group have become a little lazy with their reading: not self-correcting when reading aloud, and not focusing on what they are comprehending. I decided to address that with some reading aloud about space.
We only had 7 copies of a book called "Life in Space" which provides explanations about elements of space travel, so I grouped students to read together.
Each person was given a topic to master. They needed to be able to read it fluently with expression and to have full comprehension of what it is explaining. Students took turns to read aloud to their group, who then provided feedback on their expression/volume etc.
Next week students will 'perform' their reading to a larger group and explain their topic and/or any diagrams on the page.


If you enjoyed this post, why not check out previous posts in the Space Spectacular Series.

Space Spectacular #3

Week 4 and 5 - More Finding Out and Sorting Out

The activities in these weeks were designed to provide opportunities for students to find out about space and sort their ideas in a range of forms. Students typically "found out" through books, videos, websites, songs and experiments. They "sorted out" using writing, diagrams, reports and art.

Science
One of the focus questions for this unit is: "What are the relationships between distance and apparent size of objects to an observer?" My first thought was, "Huh?" closely followed by "Hmmmm." The models we made in weeks 2 and 3 touched on this but didn't really EXPLAIN anything or help students to make these deductions. I found an explanation of Emmert's Law on Wikipedia, but it was still too confusing for Year 4 students to really grasp. Somewhere along the way I thought about the funny photos you can take that play with this concept. Like this one by Andy Hay:


http://www.flickr.com/photos/andyhay/ / CC BY 2.0

I found a bunch of these at 100+ Funny Photos Taken At Unusual Angles and pulled out some appropriate ones to use with my class. (WARNING: Some are inappropriate, so do not use this site uncensored with your students.)
We looked at these at the start of the lesson and discussed the concept about apparent size and distance. I compared this to the apparent sizes of the sun and moon from Earth. I then gave students two different sized balls which they took outside and had to space apart in such a way that they looked the same size when viewed through the camera. Students then glued these pictures into their books and wrote an explanation of what they did and what they learnt. Those who finished early had time to create their own funny photos using their creativity.


Integrating with Literacy

Writing an Information Report

We needed to assess students' writing in preparation for end of year progress reports, so we decided to have students research and write about the sun. Information was provided through:

• a double-page spread from a book about space (including a diagram)
  
• this NASA diagram of the sun
• this Space School video on the sun
• and the following 'music video'

Students took notes while we explored these together. We watched the videos twice each and I demonstrated how I would take notes and add to them during the second viewing. Students then had the rest of the session to begin sorting through their notes to determine which ideas could be grouped together and to consider paragraph headings.
In the following session students began writing their report and drawing a diagram. In our next session students will review their work. You can see a copy of the Assessment Booklet below:

An Information Report About The Sun

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Integrating with Art

Nebula Watercolour Paintings

Having just explored the lifecycle of a star together, I showed students some photographic images of nebulas and super novas. We discussed the range of colours and the shapes and lines that were used. We then looked at these watercolour paintings by Ken Bandaruk. I gave students a large sheet of paper and some watercolours and left them to their own creativity to make nebula watercolours of their own. Once the painting was complete, students used a bamboo skewer and some white paint to add a layer of stars. Students who finished early went on to create super nova paintings using crayons and watercolours.

One Point Perspective

Building further on the concept from Emmert's Law, I taught students how to draw with one point perspective using these step-by-step instructions. Now that students have the basics, they are going to take it further, creating scenes of their own.

If you enjoyed this post, why not check out previous posts in the Space Spectacular Series.

Space Spectacular #2

Week 2 and 3 - Finding Out and Sorting Out

The activities in these weeks were designed to provide opportunities for students to find out about space and sort their ideas in a range of forms. Students typically "found out" through books, videos, websites, experiments and guest speakers. They "sorted out" using writing, diagrams, models, reports and art.

Science
Students experimented with different sized meteors - an orange, a golf ball and a marble. They dropped these from a control height to see how meteor size affected crater size. In addition to this, they dropped the items from a greater height to see how speed affected crater size. Students enjoyed this activity immensely and learnt more about craters as a result.

Special Guest
We had a special guest visitor in our classroom this week. Susan was involved with an experiment involving a small rocket which was sent 400km above the Earth's surface and returned about 400km away from the take-off location. She explained the process involved and showed a video of the take off. Students were fascinated!


Integrating with Literacy

The Planets
As we read through two big books about the planets, students created "wonder clouds" on a worksheet. Students considered the questions left unanswered on each page and wrote them in their wonder clouds to revisit at a later point in time. This activity was designed to develop students questioning activities during the reading process.
Students were then provided with a range of books to use for research. They each chose a planet to research and created a mind map to gather information about the planet's appearance, features, location, history & exploration. When they had gathered sufficient information, they began to write a report using the format on Writing Fun. They then edited it (or had ME edit it!) and began working on a final draft to be made into a class book.

Life Cycle of a Star
Students began by taking 10-15 minutes to write down their prediction of the stages that a star goes through during its lifespan. Following this, we talked about the different ways we find out information - written text, diagrams, pictures, videos, podcasts, songs, teacher-talk. We viewed an explanation of a star's lifecycle through this interactive website. We then listed the positives and negatives of this form of gathering information. I then gave students a photocopy of an explanation from a book. They read through the information, and again we listed the positives and negatives.
In the following lesson we watched this video:

Life Cycle of Star - Click here for the funniest movie of the week
As they watched, students recorded the positives and negatives in their books. When the video finished, they compared notes with a partner and then with a group of four. Finally, we looked at this diagram and discussed the effectiveness of a diagram in the absence of any other information.
Students then began work on their own creations to explain the life cycle of a star to someone with no prior knowledge. They referred back to the resources, discussed their thoughts and ideas with others and considered the aspects mentioned in the positives/negatives charts.

Integrating with Art

Plasticine Models
We used this great activity that I found online to make scale models of the Earth, Mars and the Moon. I gave each student a ball of plasticine and asked them to make a model of Earth, Mars and the Moon to show their comparable sizes. Once students had completed their models, I went around the classroom capturing their "before" photo. I then took them through the process outlined in the lesson plan and took their "after" photo. We looked at the relative distance between the Earth and the Moon for these models. In a follow up lesson (after I had time to print the photos!) students glued their before and after shots on a page and wrote about how their thinking changed as a result of the activity. This will go in their student portfolios as an example of their learning this term.
Before:

After:

Space Art
We looked at some examples of space art that were created using spray paint. I didn't have access to this video at the time, but you might find it useful if you were to teach a similar lesson (not so sure about the choice of song!) We considered the shapes and colours used in these paintings and looked at the way that colours merged together. We discussed elements that would be realistic/unrealistic given what we currently know about space (eg. no trees on other planets.) Students were then given a sheet of black paper and oil pastels to create their own space scene.

Friday Fun - 18/9/09

We've almost made it to the end of the term and with holidays just around the corner, we've been madly trying to finish all the things we've started. As a result, there wasn't a lot of new learning taking place, but rather refining and completing. We did, however, have an exciting excursion to the CSIRO Green Machine...

Fun This Week
We joined in one of the great programs offered at the CSIRO. Students learnt some background information about colour and then explored the colours that are used to make a black marker:

They then created T-shirts using permanent markers and ethanol to spread the colours:
The kids had a lot of fun and proudly wore their new creations. Some thought they should be adopted as part of school uniform!

Before we left the CSIRO, our teacher showed us this awesome experiment using ethanol:


We then walked to the Botanic Gardens for lunch on nice green lawn in the shade of big trees. We took a walk through the 'rainforest' and saw some lizards down by the loos, before hopping back on the bus and returning to school.

9th Teaching K-6 Carnival

Welcome to the September edition of Teaching K-6 carnival. As readers in the Northern Hemisphere head into the new school year there are many bloggers sharing their advice on how to make the most of this important time of year. For those of us slogging away in third term, there are also a number of lists of useful resources for integrating technology in the classroom. Whether you're heading toward Fall or bounding toward Spring and the warmer weather, I hope you find something beneficial here this month.

Starting the New School Year

Mathew Needleman presents Back to School Week: Resources and shares his thoughts on Back to School Week: It’s a Marathon Not a Sprint posted at Creating Lifelong Learners.This timely reminder encourages us to spend time getting to know our students and looking for the gems of personality that make each person unique. He reminds us that it takes longer than a week to see the depth to the people who make up our classrooms.

Meaghan Montrose presents Study Tips and Learning Strategies for the New School Year and Back to School Tips to be Successful in Class posted at TutorFi.com. You might like to share some of these tips with your students or add them to your class website.

I also came across Back to School Overload by dobrien of Lifelong Learning about managing stress as school starts back. She shares her reflection of the adjustment period when returning to school after the summer break.

Wesley Fryer shared a video in his post Believe in Me at Moving at the Speed of Creativity. This video helps us to think of the big picture and to consider the preferences and futures of the children with whom we work.

Michaele Sommerville presents What This Teacher Thinks About Early Starts to Kindergarten posted at Kindergarten's 3 R's: Respect, Resources and Rants.

Brain Strain

At SharpBrains: Your Window into the Brain Fitness Revolution, Dr David Rabiner writes about experimental research Comparing Working Memory Training & Medication Treatment for ADHD. Results from this study indicate that working memory training yields greater benefits in WM for children with ADHD than are provided by stimulant medication treatment. Furthermore, memory gains following training persist for a significant period.

Gary Andrew focuses on memory this month with his 10 Tips to Improve Your Memory posted at best online graduate degree, as does Justin Ontong with 7 Tips to Improve Your Memory and Study Power posted at phd degree.

In the News

Melissa Hedding presents Kids love Justice posted at Finds For Families. She says that when kids feel safe in the classroom, they're free to learn. She encourages us to use our authority to promote kindness and stop teasing in our classrooms today.

Wesley Fryer of Moving at the Speed of Creativity wrote about the inspiring story of Damon Weaver, student reporter, who achieved his dream of interviewing President Obama.

Madeleine Begun Kane presents Republicans Bring "Classiness" To the Classroom posted at Mad Kane's Political Madness. Will Richardson also shares his thoughts on the Obama Speech at Weblogg-ed.

Innovate - Beyond the Slate

Thinking about starting up a dramatic play space in your Early Childhood classroom? This month Kelly Rockey shares 25 Incredible Kid’s Costume Ideas and Resources for Parents posted at Star Costumes Blog. Dressing up is so much fun for kids and with these links you will be able to build your dress-up box, providing new opportunities for imaginative play.

Katie Glennon reminds us to get outdoors and explore learning through real experiences in Using Nature Study to Study all Areas of Science posted at Katie's Homeschool Cottage. Katie points out how you can study science the natural way through nature, including areas of biology, physics, and chemistry, and without a textbook.

I was recently asked about which digital media students should become familiar with in Years K-6. This month Margaret Garcia presents an overwhelming list of 100 Essential Web 2.0 Tools for Teachers posted at Online Degree. She also shares 100 Awesome iPhone Apps to Organize Your School Life posted at Online Bible Colleges.

For those of you wanting to pretty-up your websites or blogs, Alisha Harmann presents Top 50 Web Design Education Blogs posted at Designer City, USA. It looks like you could spend a good day working your way through the links here and picking up tips. In 13 Enlightening Case Studies of Social Media in the Classroom posted at Best Online Universities.com Alisha shares what is happening with social media in a number of schools (predominantly universities, but you may still find ideas that can be translated to a K-6 setting).

Still on the topic of social media, Allison Johanson presents 25 Excellent Social Media Sites for Teachers posted at Top Online University Reviews. She separates sites into those to share with students and those for teachers only. These suggestions are great for connecting with other teachers and students for collaboration and networking.

This month I share Tech Tips Tuesday from my own blog where I give examples of how you can use an Interactive Whiteboard to take the roll and monitor early finishers.

Look No Further

Hannah Watson has some great links to share with parents in 100 Best Websites for Free Homework Help posted at Online Courses.org. You may even find some useful for personalising learning in the classroom.

Barbara Williams presents 25 Surprising Facts About China’s Education System posted at Teaching Tips. This makes for an interesting read, but as with all facts you read online, I recommend checking the sources rather than blindly accepting these representations.

Kakie at Bur Bur & Friends: Community Park shares some books with GREAT ideas to get kids moving in all areas of the curriculum. "Here are some fun ways to incorporate learning different things and physical activity. Early education is the key to promoting a healthy lifestyle. What a way to create memories in your classroom!"

One Family presents List of Elementary School Textbooks – ISBNs, Used and List Prices – Teachers and Home School Editions posted at One Family's Blog. This is a listing of elementary school teacher's and homeschool edition textbooks used in the USA.

Anne Simone presents 100 Terrific Twitter Feeds for Teaching Advice posted at Online Universities.com, 100 Useful Resources for Teachers and Students of Open Source posted at Online School and 50 Eye-Opening Unschooling Blogs posted at Online Best Colleges.com.

Kate Hopkins presents 10 Lessons Every Student Can Learn From Einstein posted at Online College.org and 15 Predictions for the Library of Tomorrow posted at Online Degree Programs.org.

Karen Schweitzer presents 25 Places to Find Free Printables, Worksheets, and Lesson Plans Online at I Want to Teach Forever and 20 Free Learning Technology Resources at Teaching Challenges.

Emma Taylor presents 100 Best Blogs for Teachers of the Future posted at Clear View Education Blog. Teaching Challenges didn't make the cut, but there are a number of my favourites that did, so the list is definately worth checking out. She also presents 100 Most Educational iPhone Apps posted at AccreditedOnlineColleges.org.

Christopher Dawson promotes Variquest in Variquest proves it’s OK to use paper sometimes posted at Education IT.

Why not submit your post for the next carnival?

The Teaching K-6 Carnival is posted monthly on the 7th, however will be on hiatus for the month of October. I will be collecting submissions throughout the next two months, looking in particular for posts that discuss and exemplify innovative teaching and the integration of technology in the K-6 classroom. I also invite some discussion around education related news articles and a few "brain strains" to keep our minds alert and challenged. Please submit only articles of which you are the author and refrain from using this merely as a sales pitch. For full details, please read my call for submissions.

If you have a relevant post that you would like to submit to the next edition of teaching k-6 carnival use our carnival submission form. Past posts and future hosts can be found on our blog carnival index page.

Support this Carnival

If you enjoyed this edition of the carnival, you can support its continuation by sharing it with others. Link to us, add us to a tweet, stumble or digg us. Thanks!

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Tech Tips Tuesday - 20 Free Learning Technology Resources

Today I share with you a guest post from education writer Karen Schweitzer. Karen is the About.com Guide to Business School. She also writes about online courses for OnlineCourses.org.
Thanks for putting this great collection together for us Karen.

20 Free Learning Technology Resources

Looking for free online resources to integrate technology into the classroom? The Internet is loaded with a variety of interactive games, activities, education technology blogs and podcasts to help you successfully implement new technology. Here is a list of 20 free learning technology resources to try:

BrainPOP - BrainPOP offers curriculum-based educational games and activities for students of all ages. The site's educator page also provides free tools and tips to help teachers use these games in the classroom.

Virtual Field Trips - The Education Network features virtual field trips that can be used by students who want to visit fun and exciting places that they might not otherwise be able to see. This site also allows teachers to create, add, and edit their own virtual field trip.

FunBrain - FunBrain offers interactive games and activities that teachers can use in the classroom for grades K-8. The site also provides fun movies, web books, and comics.

BGFL - This interactive whiteboard site provides games and activities that cover all subjects.

TeacherLED - TeacherLED offers resources to make introducing interactive whiteboards in the classroom easier. Resources are provided for several subjects, including math, literature, and geography.

Eduscapes - This site features tips and tricks for introducing interactive whiteboards in the classroom. Eduscapes also offers tutorials, workshops, assignments, curriculum ideas, and activities.

Free Technology for Teachers - This blog provides information and reviews on free technology as well as tips on how to implement new technologies in the classroom.

LearningPlanet.com - Designed for parents and teachers, LearningPlanet.com features powerful learning tools that teachers can use with students. Activities are available for students of all subjects and grades.

IKnowThat.com - This free game and activity site ignites lifelong learning in children through interactive games and social communication tools. IKnowThat.com offers activities that cover every major school subject.

Grammar Girl - Grammar Girl is a free podcast from Mignon Fogarty that presents short, simple memory tips for troublesome grammatical rules. Each episode is short and easy to listen to.

Eight Planets - Eight Planets offers overviews of the planets and moons through a free multimedia tour.

High Techpectations - High Techpectations is a blog that provides resources and ideas for educators as well as weekly technology site suggestions for teachers.

ABC Ya! - This free computer activity site provides fun games and lessons for elementary students. Each game and lesson has been created or approved by teachers.

SMART - SMART offers customizable interactive whiteboard resources for teachers to use in the classroom. This interactive site covers all subjects and grade levels.

MathGrad.com - This free mathematics podcast is an excellent resource for classroom teachers. MathGrad.com seeks to explain math through real life topics.

The Innovative Educator - The Innovative Educator blog features a wide range of tools and resources that educators can use to enhance teaching and learning.

ClassBrain - ClassBrain provides many different interactive learning games for students of all ages. Games can be played online and may also be used with interactive whiteboards.

American Museum of Natural History - The American Museum of Natural History provides several virtual tours that are wonderful for teaching students about history, space, and natural forms.

EdTechTalk - EdTechTalk's weekly podcasts provide information for learning about the uses of technology in the classroom. Podcast options include 21st Century Learning, EdTechTalk K-12, EdTechBrainstorm, and several others.