Very Hungry Caterpillar!

Mrs. Rivera's Dual Kindergarten Class completed their retell on The Very Hungry Caterpillar by Eric Carle.The students enjoyed this activity and wanted to share it with you!  Document Cameras are used quite a bit to document growth in kindergarten.  It is creative how Mrs. Rivera's class shared in English and Spanish.

What happens When Sophie Gets Really, Really Angry!

Mrs. Mooney's Kindergarten class completed their retell on When Sophie Gets Angry-Really, Really Angry by Molly Bang This is what they came up with.  They really enjoyed sharing using their document camera.  
K.8 Reading/Comprehension of Literary Text/Fiction. Students understand, make inferences and draw conclusions about the 
structure and elements of fiction and provide evidence from text to support their understanding. Students are expected to:
(A)  retell a main event from a story read aloud;

Math Measuring Concepts Demonstrated by Kindergarten

" Scavenger Hunt" and "Sole Mates" videos go with the following Kindergarten Math Texas Essential Knowledge and Skills (TEKS):

K.10A Compare and order two or three concrete objects according to length (longer/shorter than, or the same)

K.7B Compare two objects with a common measurable attribute to see which object has more of/less of the attribute and describe the difference

K.10C Compare two containers according to capacity (holds more, holds less, holds the same)

Kindergarten classes worked on Measuring, how and why we measure and had two activities.  First they went around the school on a scavenger hunt to find things to measure by comparing.  Next they compared their feet with others in the class to find a foot that was shorter, longer, and the same size.  This is what they shared.  
Mooney's Class / Rivera's Class

Mooney's Class / Miller's Class

Reflecting Through Writing

Our kindergarten class this past fall learned about the Thanksgiving Holiday and why we celebrate. Kindergartners wrote about why they were thankful and displayed through PaperSlides using their class document camera.
Mooney's Class


They also started out this new year and learned about Martin Luther King and how he made a difference. Again the students were writing on how the world could be a better place.  Both of these activities go with their Texas Essential Knowledge and Skills on History K.2:
The student understands how historical figures, patriots, and good citizens helped shape the community, state, and nation.
Kindergarten loves to share with families and friends through videotaping the kindergartners to see their growth in learning.
Mooney's Class / Rivera's Class

Good Citizenship Lesson Culminates in Video

Kindergarten learns about good citizenship.  Kindergarteners love to "publish" their work through video using the document camera.

Kinder is Thankful!

Ms. Rivera's Kindergarten Class write expository text at Thanksgiving Time and give thanks!
Kindergarten at Purple Sage have a great time using their document camera to share with families their student projects through video.  Google Drive allows them an easy way to share with the public on their websites and our Getting I.T. Right Blog.

Writing TEKS/SEs

Expository Texts

K.15 Writing/Expository and Procedural Texts. Students write expository and procedural or work-related texts to communicate ideas and information to specific audiences for specific purposes. Students are expected to:

(A) dictate or write information for lists, captions, or invitations.

Watch a Venus Fly Trap in Action!

Ms. Kosub, fourth grade teacher at Purple Sage Elementary, discovered in our tech training this past week how neat it is to videotape what goes on under her document camera.  She was able to capture the excitement of her class and that true teachable moment.  Listen to her class answering all her questions as they watch a Venus Fly Trap in action!  What an AWESOME video!!
 Click Venus Fly Trap Video to view.
In language arts, Ms. Kosub's class read a paired passage that had a poem and an article about the Venus flytrap.  The students got really interested and started asking a lot of questions.  Over the break, Ms. Kosub mentioned the enthusiasm to her dad, and he bought her class a pitcher plant and a Venus flytrap (at Lowe's).  When they first got it, all of the pads were closed, but on Friday one opened, so the students caught a beetle at recess.  The rest is in the video.  It is their "pet" project!  Now Ms. Kosub is using the carnivorous plants to model planning a research project in writing.  They were also able to tie this into science because they just finished a unit on soil, and these plants have some very interesting habitat requirements.  

Welcome to Purple Sage's Technology Blog

Welcome to Purple Sage's first posting on their new Technology Blog, Getting I.T. Right @ Purple Sage, where we will showcase instructional technology on our campus.  For a few years now, Purple Sage has been blessed to have Promethean Boards in many of their classrooms.  This year we actually have them in all classrooms 2nd grade to 5th grade.  Last year through district bond funds, the district was able to complete putting ceiling mounted data projectors and document cameras in every classroom.  We also were able to refresh laptop carts, and now we have 5 netbook carts of 24 netbooks to share in grade levels.  This truly brings us into the 21st century!  All this new equipment has been greatly appreciated by everyone, teachers and students alike.  Teachers are able now to immediately display student work onto the big screen for all to see and edit or view different ways students solve problems.  They no longer need to show education video streaming on the tiny TV screens, but can enjoy "big screens."  We've even had Skyping happening at Purple Sage with this new hardware.  Every year teachers come up with new ideas on how to use our equipment and software to enhance student achievement.  
This blog will be our way to showcase our technology in action happening at Purple Sage.  Please come back often to see what our teachers are sharing.