Monday, January 23, 2012

1. Self-Starter: Individual Reading and fill out reading log.

2. Sign up for a celebrity and complete an attitude survey.

3. Reading Strategy:  Asking Questions  

a. specific questions about the subject
b. critical questions
   Who is the author or sponsor?
    How does the author know about this subject?
   What is the author's purpose?
    Can I depend on this author or sponsor for the truth?

Is this site reliable?
Is this site  useful?

Lesson on Finding/Evaluating  Reliable Sites --  The ABCs of Finding Reliable URLs*
A  Author
B  Bias
C  Coverage
D  Dates
E   Editor

* Uniform Resource Locator or Universal Resource Locator
According to The American Heritage Dictionary,  The term URL is a noun and it is
"an Internet address (for example, http://www.hmco.com/trade/), usually consisting of the access protocol (http), the domain name (www.hmco.com), and optionally the path to a file or resource residing on that server (trade)."

Find the URL in the address bar on your browser.

Address Bar

These are the sample sites we looked at in class. 
Let's try it with a real site or three:  http://www.scbartoletti.com/
http://www.pabook.libraries.psu.edu/palitmap/bios/Bartoletti__Susan_Campbell.html
http://www.pabook.libraries.psu.edu/

We looked at how many people had revised a Wikipedia entry, and at their strange user names!
 http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Susan_Campbell_Bartoletti
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/User:Dabomb87#Committed_identity 
You may use Wikipedia as a source ONLY if you can verify information from it with two other sources.

4.  Partner Fluency Practice

Next time: Computer Lab to take the SRI (Scholastic Reading Inventory to find your reading level)  and to learn more about doing research.

Computer Lab Calendar for Celebrity Project:

January 25 (to give SRI)  and instruction about using the web
January 31    Web Research with instruction   --  
         Research on the Internet papers are due by the end of the period.

February 8     Web Research  with instruction
February 14   Web Research  with instruction
       (All website evaluations are due -- 3 for an individual, 5 for a pair.)
February 16   Bibliographic entries (bibme)  are due by the end of class.
                      Completing Web Research (if yours are late) and working on PowerPoints 
February 21   Completing PowerPoints
         (PowerPoints should be ready to be graded by the end of the period.)
February 23   PowerPoint Presentations

Monday, October 24, 2011

No computer lab today.

1. Self-Starter:  Individual Reading and Reading Log

2. Using Primary and Secondary Sources:

 Primary and Secondary Sources
Example:
It is 3:05 and you are standing at the corner to cross the street to go home. Two cars collide at the intersection. You saw it happen. Y ou are a primary source. You run into the building to tell the principal. The principal calls the police. The principal is not a primary source- he/she was not there when it happened- he/she is just passing on information they got from someone else. The policeman asks you to draw a little map of where the cars were coming from when they collided. The map is a primary source- it was drawn by someone who was there. When you get home, you write about it in your journal or diary. The journal is a primary source- it was written by somone who was actually there during the event.

(Thanks to http://www.cgrove417.org/cghs/KASL/sources.html)

•Another example:

I have an old teddy bear named Boo. I always thought I got Boo when I was a baby, and then I found a picture of me unwrapping Boo at Christmas when I was 2 years old. The picture is a primary source- it was taken at the event. My parents told me it was true. I didn't get Boo until I was two. They are primary sources. They were there. Boo is also a primary source--the actual artifact. You could tell this story using a bear and a photo.

•A primary source would be a diary about something that happened to a person, like traveling West on the Oregon Trail. A secondary source would be a book written using information from a diary. Primary=U.S. Constitution-- Secondary=a book explaining it.

Which is primary?  Which is secondary?

An actor's diary ---- A textbook on acting
Encyclopedia article about Pearl Harbor ---- Eyewitness account of Pearl Harbor
Book about pioneer women ---- Book of letters by pioneer women
Autobiography of Maya Angelou ---- Biography of Maya Angelou
Interpretations of Constitution ---- The Constitution
Interview with a musician ---- Reference book about musicians
A. Lincoln's inaugural address ---- Commentary on A. Lincoln's address
Book on the history of clothing ---- Clothes belonging to Martha Washington.
(Thanks to http://www.cgrove417.org/cghs/KASL/sources.html)

3.  bibme.org  practice 
A bibliography entry looks like this: 

House, Martha . "Primary and Secondary Sources." Morris County Schools. Kansas Association of School Librarians, 10 Apr. 2003. Web. 24 Oct. 2011. .

4. Fluency Practice with partners

Thursday, September 22, 2011

There will be no computer lab time today.

1. Focus on Reading
         Inner Voices and Reading and  Internet Safety

2.  Fluency Practice:
a. partner reading
[We'll finish and present "Ladies First!" at a later date.]

3.  Individual Reading Time and Reading Log

4.   Focus on Reading
        Inner Voices and Reading and Penguins?! 

Did we learn yet about the tree octopi?  Try looking up tree octopus online.  Look for at least one site devoted  entirely to them.

Check out this information about safely surfing the Internet:  http://www.4kids.org/safesurf/

November 15, 2010

If you have not shown your PowerPoint, or if you would like to add points to what you have earned on your PowerPoint -- have it ready on the 15th -- the last day of class for our rotation.   Make sure you have included citations -- not just URL's  on your bibliography slide.  (Use bibme.org to create your citations using the URL of each site.  Remember to copy the URL from the page where you found the information, then click on the tab for websites before you enter the URL.)

Finish poem fluency presentations.

Write about the experience of completing your celebrity webquest.

From Pieces of Flair

     What reading strategies did you use?

 ____________________________

Extra Credit:  Be the first to come tell me the meaning of the word Penultimate. See the information below.

Brian P. Cleary The word PENULTIMATE means “the next to last.” If someone refers to the penultimate scene in the play, it’s the one before the final. The word “vacation,” for instance, has its accent on the penultimate syllable.

Lemony Snicket wrote a book called The Penultimate Peril, so it is about the next to the last peril. 

October 8, 2010

to Ms. Dorsey's part of your Reading 7 class!

We want to create a great door for Red Ribbon Week.  
Here's the information I received: We will be doing a door decoration contest with your B-2 class.  They can start decorating this week and the judging will be done on Oct 12th.  The 3 top doors will win a prize for the class.  They can decorate before school, CAVETIME, or after school.  We do have the late bus on Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday at 4:00pm. that your students can use if they stay after to decorate.

Today's activities:

1. (B2 only) Bell-Ringer:  Ideas for the door for Ribbon Week.

2. Read articles from the internet and notice your inner voices.  

3. Supported Individual Reading Time

4. Fluency Practice
5. (B2 only) Work on the door

October 4, 2010

1) Bell-Ringer:  On a piece of clean lined paper, respond about the inquiry/research/internet/celebrity project: 

Journal Prompt:  

Part 1.  What did you think about this unit? Was it worthwhile to you? What did you learn that you didn't know before? What did you enjoy most from this unit? What did you like least? What suggestions do you have for me so that future students can have an even better experience?

Part 2.  Look at the chart of reading strategies on our classroom wall. Tell about how you used two or more of the reading strategies as you read from the Internet.   

2) Inquiry Reading and Thinking Critically with the iBrain!


3) Supported Individual Reading Time

4) Reading Fluency Practice

Important:  Hand in your PowerPoint and Website Evaluations if you haven't yet.

This Wednesday is the last day in this rotation.  You will then move(on Friday) to Mrs. Fugal's class. 


image from http://www.clipartheaven.com/show/clipart/anatomy/brain_-_mechanical-gif.html