sutton007

I feel almost guilty writing this post as I know many folks think PowerPoint is "passe".   Honestly, I really felt that way too until the other day.  With such a wide variety of presentation tools available for use including Prezi , Voicethread and Glogster ,  it seems almost silly to be using 'boring, old' PowerPoint.  As I'm constantly searching for new ways to incorporate technology into my classroom it seems that I sometimes overlook the obvious. My students have been studying and using this essential question to guide their learning: "How Can Scientists Classify Animals?"  They have learned about the major groups of Vertebrates: Amphibians, Reptiles, Birds, Mammals and Fish.  Initially, the plan was to have the students create a poster using a rubric agreed upon by my colleagues.  As we had time in the computer lab I decided to give the students a choice between making a poster and creating PowerPoint presentation.  One hundred percent of t...

Tadpoles feasting During a science lesson yesterday about Vertebrates, the life cycle of a frog became a focus.   This of course led to a discussion about tadpoles.  In a weak moment, I shouted "Okay, tomorrow wear your old sneakers and jeans because we are going to go in search of tadpoles in the stream behind the school!"  The chairs went flying as the kids jumped out of their seats with joy. When the cheers died down, I instantly realized what I had done. My lesson for the day was done as the students couldn't think about anything other than the upcoming science class outdoors.  Then came the questions and comments: "What about poison ivy? Last time I was in those woods, I got a bad case." "How long are we going to be out there?" "I don't have any old sneakers." "Wow, my mom can come because she knows all about poison ivy."  "Where are the tadpoles? Did you see them?"  I realized I was over my head on this one. As ...