by Sandra Sicard
For the second installment in my series about tools, I've decided to showcase Microsoft Excel. Excel is a spreadsheet program that, at first glance, is unexciting. It is used widely in the business world to organize and analyze data. I'm trying to encourage teachers to use it not only administratively but also instructionally. Here are some examples of how we've used it this year at Pierce; maybe one will inspire you to try it out.
(I have first-hand knowledge about the following lessons because students were in the lab for some of their learning. There are other examples of students using Excel in various parts of the curriculum; I just don’t know about all of them.)
Students in 4S are learning about minerals in science; as part of the unit, they conduct tests on a variety of samples (about 12) and compare their results to identify a mystery rock. We used Excel to create a chart of their test results; our goal was to organize their data in an easy-to-read way. This is a great first step in learning to navigate the cells, columns, and rows in Excel.
Last fall, 5k researched wolves. As part of their unit, they conducted opinion polls about wolf characteristics and lifestyles. Students then input their data into Excel and created graphs to illustrate the survey results. Printing the graphs in color gave them a polished and professional appearance. Later in the year, students returned to Excel and used it in a science lesson to analyze respiration rates of peers and adults.
Eighth grade students have used Excel in a variety of math and science units this year. Their first lesson reviewed the basics of Excel by using a spreadsheet to calculate grades and some class statistics. Students then used Excel to determine if a correlation existed between stride length and height and then shoe size and height. They graphed the data and found the line of best fit as well as the r squared (the square of the correlation coefficient).
From those lessons, it's easy to see how Excel is a flexible tool that allows you to do a little or a lot with data.
Have some data of your own to collect, organize, and/or analyze? Let’s talk about what tool makes the most sense to do what you need. I'll be sharing some lessons from The Graph Club in my next blog - a very simple data tool for primary students.
Tuesday, May 27, 2008
Thursday, May 15, 2008
Research Supports Summer Reading
Research Supports Summer Reading
by Joan Hamilton
The Book Fair is coming! The Book Fair is coming! This wonderful event sponsored annually by the hardworking, energetic members of our amazing PTO will have hundreds of books for sale, many of which are on Pierce's summer reading lists. As in the past, for Pierce students entering grades 2 - 8, there will be a required title -- one book to be read by every person in the class, plus a list of books from which students must choose four other titles.
There is a great deal of research that states that children who don't read over the summer actually lose ground in reading proficiency. Recent research from John Hopkins University's Center for Summer Learning concludes, "The effect of reading four to five books during the summer is large enough to prevent a decline in reading scores from spring to fall." Another study entitled Summer Learning and the Effects of Schooling by Barbara Heyns states. "Children (she was working with 6th and 7th graders) in every income group who read six or more books over the summer gained more in reading achievement that children who did not."
Stephen Krashen, in his report, The Power of Reading, says that children read more when they see other people reading. This suggests a practice my family indulged in successfully during the summers when my three children were still in school -- family reading time. The time was announced and it was expected that every family member would produce a book and we would all sit and read silently for half an hour. This could be followed by discussion or read aloud. It worked as well for family journaling--especially effective while on vacation. Krashen states, "If children read one million words a year, at least one thousand words will be added to their vocabulary." He concludes that reading as a leisure activity increases comprehension, fluency, and vocabulary as well as making the reader a better speller and a better writer.
So, see you at the Book Fair on May 27th, 28th, and 29th, and Happy Reading!
by Joan Hamilton
The Book Fair is coming! The Book Fair is coming! This wonderful event sponsored annually by the hardworking, energetic members of our amazing PTO will have hundreds of books for sale, many of which are on Pierce's summer reading lists. As in the past, for Pierce students entering grades 2 - 8, there will be a required title -- one book to be read by every person in the class, plus a list of books from which students must choose four other titles.
There is a great deal of research that states that children who don't read over the summer actually lose ground in reading proficiency. Recent research from John Hopkins University's Center for Summer Learning concludes, "The effect of reading four to five books during the summer is large enough to prevent a decline in reading scores from spring to fall." Another study entitled Summer Learning and the Effects of Schooling by Barbara Heyns states. "Children (she was working with 6th and 7th graders) in every income group who read six or more books over the summer gained more in reading achievement that children who did not."
Stephen Krashen, in his report, The Power of Reading, says that children read more when they see other people reading. This suggests a practice my family indulged in successfully during the summers when my three children were still in school -- family reading time. The time was announced and it was expected that every family member would produce a book and we would all sit and read silently for half an hour. This could be followed by discussion or read aloud. It worked as well for family journaling--especially effective while on vacation. Krashen states, "If children read one million words a year, at least one thousand words will be added to their vocabulary." He concludes that reading as a leisure activity increases comprehension, fluency, and vocabulary as well as making the reader a better speller and a better writer.
So, see you at the Book Fair on May 27th, 28th, and 29th, and Happy Reading!
Friday, May 2, 2008
These Are a Few of my Favorite Tools (TimeLiner)
by Sandra Sicard
I've decided to write a series of blogs on software tools that work well across grade levels and subject areas. The first tool I'm highlighting is TimeLiner, which allows students to create, illustrate and present timelines easily.
In 2G, students read biographies in Reading Workshop and noted important events from their subject's life. They then came to the lab and created a timeline of 5-6 important events. They could then add text notes to identify turning points. Lastly, they added a picture of their subject; most of their subjects had pictures included as part of the TimeLiner clipart. (Their teacher and I had to go online to find a few pictures of subjects not included in the clipart collection.)
4H recently completed a thorough investigation of European explorers. Students worked in pairs to research an explorer's life to present to their classmates. They created a timeline, a slideshow, a handout, and a board game. TimeLiner allowed students to import pictures from the Internet as well as pictures that students had drawn in KidPix and then exported. Each event on the timeline became a slide; parents were able to view the students' final slideshow and products during a family breakfast.
Lastly, seventh grade students used TimeLiner in a brief project to organize Revolutionary War dates and events in order to make generalizations about the challenges and successes of the Patriot war effort. Seeing this information visually allowed them to make predictions about the immediate consequences of independence.
Sidebar: I had been under the illusion that TimeLiner didn't work on our computers so it wasn't installed in the lab and laptops until a few months ago. If you'd like it on your classroom computer(s), just let me know.
I've decided to write a series of blogs on software tools that work well across grade levels and subject areas. The first tool I'm highlighting is TimeLiner, which allows students to create, illustrate and present timelines easily.
In 2G, students read biographies in Reading Workshop and noted important events from their subject's life. They then came to the lab and created a timeline of 5-6 important events. They could then add text notes to identify turning points. Lastly, they added a picture of their subject; most of their subjects had pictures included as part of the TimeLiner clipart. (Their teacher and I had to go online to find a few pictures of subjects not included in the clipart collection.)
4H recently completed a thorough investigation of European explorers. Students worked in pairs to research an explorer's life to present to their classmates. They created a timeline, a slideshow, a handout, and a board game. TimeLiner allowed students to import pictures from the Internet as well as pictures that students had drawn in KidPix and then exported. Each event on the timeline became a slide; parents were able to view the students' final slideshow and products during a family breakfast.
Lastly, seventh grade students used TimeLiner in a brief project to organize Revolutionary War dates and events in order to make generalizations about the challenges and successes of the Patriot war effort. Seeing this information visually allowed them to make predictions about the immediate consequences of independence.
Sidebar: I had been under the illusion that TimeLiner didn't work on our computers so it wasn't installed in the lab and laptops until a few months ago. If you'd like it on your classroom computer(s), just let me know.
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