Severe Weather Awareness Week

From The Wizard of Oz -Dorothy-[singing] "The wind began to switch / The house, to pitch / And suddenly the hinges started to unhitch"

Everywhere I turn this week I seem to hear something about weather.  During the Pike Couty Primary School's Faculty Meeting, the Assistant Principal discussed the weather and the procedures that follow each situation.  The weather channel is showing a special segments on severe weather types as I speak.  I just found myself searching for ways to expose my students to "real" weather.  I want to show them something authentic.  I have all the potential in the world!!  I have 25 computers in ONE room!  I went to the http://www.livewxradar.com/  and visited the live radar. and then visited youtube and looked up a video of authentic pictures for severe weather(there were many to choose from).  I mixed these 2 types of media and it seems to be the perfect mixture for an engaging lesson for 6-7 year olds.  I am sure I hit an array of standards.  Chart reading, geography, and the curiousity of science.  The most important standard I will hit- will be my own!  I always have the biggest desire to satisfy my stuudents engagement.  When my students are quiet, amazed, and engaged in what they see and do- I have hit MY standard. 

Second Grade Level Meeting

                                                                

I will be a guest in our second grade team meeting today.  I am so excited to be included in the team.  I started a wiki for for each of our grade levels.  Kindergarten, First, and Second.  I started the wikis and made the grade chair persons editors of the wikis and made our Principal and instructional coach the administrators of the wikis.  We have 12 teachers per grade level and 1 EIP teacher per grade level.  I made each of them a member of the wiki.  Today in the grade level meeting I will show the wiki to all the teachers in second grade.  I will show them a few how tos on ways to navigate and add data and documents to the grade wiki.  For right now we are going to to save all our grade unit materials on the wiki.  This will save printing and copying; it will also allow for easier sharing and collaborating.  I truly think this will be a great idea.  We have teachers that have never heard of wiki- so I am crossing my fingers that they will embrace this new technology and like it.  Here is the link to our second grade wiki. I named it Primary Second.  http://primarysecond.pbworks.com/   It is still a newborn, but I am sure by next year it will be as awesome as our second grade team!!