Week 4

Last day before vacation was busy, busy, busy.

• K-14 surprised us by being overly excited as we played the games and took pictures. It was hard to settle down after each game to write the steps and think about the math. We finished Tic-Tac-Toe, Candyland, and Bingo. We started Operation, but didn't finish. Ms. Ieong will get the bowling and soccer props. Ms. Moran will get the Sorry game. 
• 1-104 was extremely productive. They learned to add titles and credits to their movies, as well as add pictures from the Internet. The most fun was watching the mini-videos we created. Next they will work on their scripts and finish their backgrounds.
• 2-204/3-304 continued to work on their iWebs. Students collected pictures of real-world math examples and used them to create photo albums in different categories.
• 4-404 bucked down today to use what they have learned about animation to storyboard their ideas. First students thought about what they were teaching and broke each topic into components that would work in short animations. Then they storyboarded their ideas. We used manipulatives in some groups to help clarify our thinking.
• 5-504 is no longer a fifth grade class, but a fully-functioning movie studio. The producer today accepted applications and hired her behind the scenes staff for the two feature films, The Cooking Show and The Money Math Mystery. With directors, casting agents, set designers, editors, camera people, sound engineers, music directors, art directors, costume directors, prop managers, and even gaffers, everyone has an important job to do. We had a table reading of the scripts (which got Ms. Moran laughing sooooo hard). Next, the casting director will hold auditions for the on-camera positions. 

Finally, we set a training for April 9. Ms. Moran will teach all the teachers how to upload video to Eduvsion (which can be embedded on any site) and also how to upload iWeb to the PS 376 website. This will happen during our second period training. Each teacher will be responsible for uploading his/her own content after this training, relieving Ms. Catania of taking care of everyone.