On Monday morning we released the butterflies in Keysor's bird garden. The students got very excited each time one flew away. This was a great way to learn about life cycles.
Tuesday, May 14, 2013
Butterfly Release
Our first butterfly emerged from its chrysalis on Friday. It was cold on Friday, so I didn't want to release it them. I figured the rest would emerge soon, so I took them home for the weekend. My own two children had a great time "babysitting" them over the weekend, and watching them emerge. By Sunday night, all five butterflies were out of their chrysalises.
On Monday morning we released the butterflies in Keysor's bird garden. The students got very excited each time one flew away. This was a great way to learn about life cycles.
On Monday morning we released the butterflies in Keysor's bird garden. The students got very excited each time one flew away. This was a great way to learn about life cycles.
Sunday, May 12, 2013
iPads on a Field Trip?
This week we had an experiment as we took our iPads off campus for the first time. We took our Minis on a field trip to Litzsinger Road Ecology Center. I have to admit, this venture made me nervous, as I even had a dream about an iPad falling into the creek.
Before the field trip, I sent students several documents through Edmodo that I wanted them to have on the field trip. Normally, I would have printed these documents and given the students paper copies, but The Bartin Bunch is all about saving paper. One document was a form that all Keysor second graders used on this third trip to Litzsinger (the other classes used paper) to document our learning about life cycles. The other was a butterfly identification chart, which was four pages long. Knowing that we would not have internet access on the field trip, I made sure that all students had the documents ready to go in Notability before we left school, and we went over the expectations.
In addition to using these two documents, we talked ahead of time about taking pictures of what we saw on the field trip. I encouraged the students to use the camera to document what they saw, but we also talked about not letting that distract from listening to their volunteer or staying with their group.
When we got off of the bus, I could tell that some volunteers were surprised, and perhaps uncomfortable, with the students having iPads. I am sure this was new for them. We found that the volunteers definitely handled the iPads in different ways. One volunteer was worried about them, so she collected them from her group, and they didn't have many pictures or notes. Other groups took full advantage of their iPads, taking pictures and videos, making notes in Notabillity, etc.
When we came back together at the end of the field trip, I told students to take a few minutes to complete the life cycle observation sheet in Notability. This sheet involved an illustration of a life cycle they observed, along with some writing about it. I found it very interesting how kids chose to complete the assignment. Some students imported pictures they had taken, while others chose to draw their observations. Some students typed their ideas, while others annotated by hand.
When we got back to school, I gave the students time to work on their notes and assignments. Students finished their life cycle observations, and several kids mirrored their page to the projector (did I mention we now have an Apple TV?) to share them. Then everyone uploaded their assignment and sent it to the class through Edmodo.
We also looked at the butterfly identification chart. Some groups had seen a lot of butterflies, and students found their own ways to record this data. Some students made tally marks on the note to keep track of how many butterflies they had seen of each type, while others circled pictures and wrote notes about what they noticed.
Finally, each student used the pictures they took to create a Pic Collage. I often do this after a field trip to share with the class, and they loved creating their own collage of the field trip. A few students didn't have many pictures, but other students were able to share their pictures through the Dropbox.
Overall, I think the experience was a positive one. I love that students used their iPads to document what was most important to them- some students recorded bird sounds, others took pictures of insects. I also love that the iPads did not keep students from interacting with nature. Kids still waded in the creek (with the iPads sitting safely on the shore) and picked up caterpillars and rocks. In the future, I would want to communicate better with the volunteers to make sure they understand the expectations. I think I would also give students a choice to bring an iPad or use paper and pencil.
All students and iPads were intact and accounted for at the end of the trip, so I would say the experiment was a success.
Before the field trip, I sent students several documents through Edmodo that I wanted them to have on the field trip. Normally, I would have printed these documents and given the students paper copies, but The Bartin Bunch is all about saving paper. One document was a form that all Keysor second graders used on this third trip to Litzsinger (the other classes used paper) to document our learning about life cycles. The other was a butterfly identification chart, which was four pages long. Knowing that we would not have internet access on the field trip, I made sure that all students had the documents ready to go in Notability before we left school, and we went over the expectations.
In addition to using these two documents, we talked ahead of time about taking pictures of what we saw on the field trip. I encouraged the students to use the camera to document what they saw, but we also talked about not letting that distract from listening to their volunteer or staying with their group.
When we got off of the bus, I could tell that some volunteers were surprised, and perhaps uncomfortable, with the students having iPads. I am sure this was new for them. We found that the volunteers definitely handled the iPads in different ways. One volunteer was worried about them, so she collected them from her group, and they didn't have many pictures or notes. Other groups took full advantage of their iPads, taking pictures and videos, making notes in Notabillity, etc.
 |
| Eddie recorded bird sounds that he heard. |
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| Alexis got a close-up shot of an interesting plant. |
 |
| Kira took a picture of tadpoles that her group found. |
 |
| Marin and Sydney organized their notes when we met back together at the end of the trip. |
When we got back to school, I gave the students time to work on their notes and assignments. Students finished their life cycle observations, and several kids mirrored their page to the projector (did I mention we now have an Apple TV?) to share them. Then everyone uploaded their assignment and sent it to the class through Edmodo.
We also looked at the butterfly identification chart. Some groups had seen a lot of butterflies, and students found their own ways to record this data. Some students made tally marks on the note to keep track of how many butterflies they had seen of each type, while others circled pictures and wrote notes about what they noticed.
Finally, each student used the pictures they took to create a Pic Collage. I often do this after a field trip to share with the class, and they loved creating their own collage of the field trip. A few students didn't have many pictures, but other students were able to share their pictures through the Dropbox.
Overall, I think the experience was a positive one. I love that students used their iPads to document what was most important to them- some students recorded bird sounds, others took pictures of insects. I also love that the iPads did not keep students from interacting with nature. Kids still waded in the creek (with the iPads sitting safely on the shore) and picked up caterpillars and rocks. In the future, I would want to communicate better with the volunteers to make sure they understand the expectations. I think I would also give students a choice to bring an iPad or use paper and pencil.
All students and iPads were intact and accounted for at the end of the trip, so I would say the experiment was a success.
Tuesday, May 7, 2013
iPad Scout- Week 5
Last week saw fewer new activities with the iPads, but we are again getting better and more confident with what we are doing.
Here are a few highlights from our week:
- Printing: Mrs. Handley got us set up to print directly from the iPad Minis. This is huge, as it took a lot of steps earlier to save things to the Dropbox, open on a computer, and then print. Since we are using the iPads more often as word processing devices, this is very handy. We have already printed poetry and letters to our fifth-grade buddies, and it went very smoothly.
- Music Class: This should have been in the week 4 update as well. Our students have brought their iPads to music class for the last two classes. They have been working with Mrs. St. Clair to learn to use GarageBand. This has been a huge hit so far.
- Research: As I talked about in my post on butterflies, we did our first mini research project, in which students worked together to find answers to their questions about butterflies. What I like best about this is that students did the research, typed their findings, inserted pictures, and printed it all directly from their iPads. This was great practice for some future work I hope to do.
Here are a few highlights from our week:
- Printing: Mrs. Handley got us set up to print directly from the iPad Minis. This is huge, as it took a lot of steps earlier to save things to the Dropbox, open on a computer, and then print. Since we are using the iPads more often as word processing devices, this is very handy. We have already printed poetry and letters to our fifth-grade buddies, and it went very smoothly.
- Music Class: This should have been in the week 4 update as well. Our students have brought their iPads to music class for the last two classes. They have been working with Mrs. St. Clair to learn to use GarageBand. This has been a huge hit so far.
- Research: As I talked about in my post on butterflies, we did our first mini research project, in which students worked together to find answers to their questions about butterflies. What I like best about this is that students did the research, typed their findings, inserted pictures, and printed it all directly from their iPads. This was great practice for some future work I hope to do.
Butterflies!
We have actually been doing things in our classroom other than use iPads, although that is pretty much all I have been blogging about lately. In second grade we study life cycles. What better way to learn about life cycles than to study butterflies. I have always had a fascination with butterflies, so when I found out I was going to teach second grade this year, I got pretty excited about a butterfly unit.
It started when we got caterpillars in the mail, about two weeks ago. This is the second shipment of critters we have received this year (see previous post about our worms). They are painted lady caterpillars, and we have watched them grow. They ate and ate in their little cup, until they got huge and turned into chrysalises at the end of last week. I was glad all of the changing happened before the weekend, as the students (and me) were very excited to see the changes happening.
Meanwhile, we have been learning all about Monarch migration. This is one of those topics that the more I learn, the more questions I have. We have read a lot of books, and we regularly check out the Journey North website, which is amazing and has weekly updates. Here is it http://www.learner.org/jnorth/monarch/
After doing lots of learning, we had more questions, as well as things we wanted to share with other people. We decided to do a mini research project to teach others about Monarchs, with the goal to create a bulletin board. The students and I genereated questions, such as
In less than an hour, most partners had done their research, typed up their finding on their iPads and inserted appropriate pictures, printed their work, and put it on the bulletin board. It looks pretty great, and the kids found some great information.
We have learned that the Monarch migration to Mexico saw the smallest number of Monarchs on record. Last summer's hot weather was not kind to the butterflies. We are trying to find ways in which we can help increase the Monarch numbers. One way is to plant milkweed, since that is the only food that Monarch caterpillars can eat. We hope to plant some at Keysor, and many students also said they want to ask their parents to plant some at home. We have been learning about geography and culture through the lens of the Monarch migration. It has been some truly engaging, cross-curricular learning.
In case you are wondering, our butterflies have not yet hatched from their chrysalises. We hope they will later this week or early next week (hopefully not over the weekend). Stay tuned for future updates on our butterflies.
It started when we got caterpillars in the mail, about two weeks ago. This is the second shipment of critters we have received this year (see previous post about our worms). They are painted lady caterpillars, and we have watched them grow. They ate and ate in their little cup, until they got huge and turned into chrysalises at the end of last week. I was glad all of the changing happened before the weekend, as the students (and me) were very excited to see the changes happening.
Meanwhile, we have been learning all about Monarch migration. This is one of those topics that the more I learn, the more questions I have. We have read a lot of books, and we regularly check out the Journey North website, which is amazing and has weekly updates. Here is it http://www.learner.org/jnorth/monarch/
After doing lots of learning, we had more questions, as well as things we wanted to share with other people. We decided to do a mini research project to teach others about Monarchs, with the goal to create a bulletin board. The students and I genereated questions, such as
- How can you tell male and female Monarchs apart?
- How long is a butterfly generation?
- What is the Monarch life cycle?
- Where do they go for the winter?
- and so on.
In less than an hour, most partners had done their research, typed up their finding on their iPads and inserted appropriate pictures, printed their work, and put it on the bulletin board. It looks pretty great, and the kids found some great information.
We have learned that the Monarch migration to Mexico saw the smallest number of Monarchs on record. Last summer's hot weather was not kind to the butterflies. We are trying to find ways in which we can help increase the Monarch numbers. One way is to plant milkweed, since that is the only food that Monarch caterpillars can eat. We hope to plant some at Keysor, and many students also said they want to ask their parents to plant some at home. We have been learning about geography and culture through the lens of the Monarch migration. It has been some truly engaging, cross-curricular learning.
In case you are wondering, our butterflies have not yet hatched from their chrysalises. We hope they will later this week or early next week (hopefully not over the weekend). Stay tuned for future updates on our butterflies.
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