sutton007

Made with DoodleBuddy It has become almost an addiction! Everyday I check my blog to see if anyone has left a new comment.  When someone leaves a comment it lets me know that people are interested in what I am writing, but more importantly, they are helping me grow and learn through their thoughts and ideas! Comments: Add to the conversation by providing views and and opinions not already expressed OR validate ideas being shared. Extend the conversations as people leave links to sites that will guide or lead to further enlightenment.   Involve the reader and writer in conversations about topics of interest.   Compliment the writer or the topic.  It's nice to give and receive compliments so feel free to leave one on a blog! Several people who follow have expressed a desire to leave a comment, but they have had some difficulty with the commenting section.  So I thought it might be a good idea to explain HOW to create a successful comment.  ...

Discovery Education's Clip Art Gallery created by Mark A. Hicks, illustrator. Went shopping today at a local mall with my daughter and her friend.   We were in the mall for about two hours when all of a sudden a loud, blaring alarm was ringing out!  I looked around and the shoppers and store workers were nonplussed.  Clearly, it was a fire alarm and no one seemed the least bit bothered by it as they continued to go about their business.         Since my daughter and her friend were in another part of the mall I texted them and told them to leave the mall immediately.   "Already leaving" was what I got in return. (Most likely because they had practiced what to do at school.) Outside the mall, as I waited for the girls, I noticed there were only a handful of shoppers who also left the building. In the distance sirens blared as fire engines were making their way into the parking lot.   Still hardly anyone had exited the mall....

Crew of Apollo 7 (NASA photo) Schirra, Eisele and Cunningham may not be household names, but they are names that are now known in our fourth grade classroom thanks to one 10 year old girl and her Grandpa.  These gentlemen were the crew of Apollo 7, the first manned Apollo space flight!  Our young fourth grader shared a piece of their incredible story, but shared it through the eyes and stories of her Grandpa who was fortunate enough to see the end of Apollo's mission. In honor of Veteran's Day our class wrote letters thanking a veteran in our family (or neighbor).  My student wrote to her grandfather (who happens to also live with her) and he wrote back.  Not only did he write back but he sent in his yearbook from the ship on which he was stationed, pictures of that vessel and some amazing photos of Apollo 7 's splashdown from 1968! As this young lady shared the photos (via the class document camera) she spoke knowledgeably about each one of them. The photos were ta...

Screen Shot of the Djuma Safari with Mark the guide This morning I went on a Safari at the Djuma Game Reserve in the Sabi Sand of South Africa!  Riding along in the back seat of the open jeep, feeling the bumps of the dirt road, I witnessed Water Buffalo and Hippos basking in the watering hole,  an impala hiding in the brush and a pair of female giraffes eating from the tops of trees.  The whole time I thought, "My students would LOVE to do this!"   Well, they actually can as the safari is broadcast LIVE (twice daily for 3 hours each) through WildEarthTV .    What a way to learn about the animals in Africa!  (AS of November 2011 the Live Safari is no longer available due to funding). Virtual field trips such as this safari , allow the students to experience different opportunities without having to actually BE there.  Students need not travel far or wide to be exposed to new adventures and gain new understanding of topics they might once...