First Grade Movie Stars!

First graders became actors and actresses as they starred in their own Water Cycle movie!  Learning the skills of choral reading, projecting their voices, and of course the steps of the water cycle were the goals of this project.  Hollywood, here we come!

Poetry Reading, Podcast Style

Mrs. Kearing has been looking for a creative way to work on reading fluency with her students.  After taking the Apple professional development class, she discovered GarageBand, a tool for recording podcasts.  Together we created a poetry podcast!  Each student was recorded reading a poem utilizing the skills of inflection, pace, volume, etc.  The third grade definitely rose to the occasion!  What an outstanding job!!

The Perfect Community!

Fifth graders have been working on Operation: Create a Community project.  By learning that throughout history, people have grouped themselves together for protection, assistance and companionship, thus becoming linked together not only geographically but emotionally, the students learned about becoming a community.  "Learning Crews" designed the "perfect community" utilizing their skill in persuasive writing to describe characteristics that make their community a desirable place to live.
Special thanks to Mrs. Quinn's fifth graders for letting me observe their project, the writing process and final creations.  Below is just one example of a book that was created.  This book can be downloaded on your iPad, iPhone, Nook, Kindle etc. by going to https://www.smashwords.com/books/search?query=forest+hills and signing up for a free account.  Well done fifth grade!

First Grade Hibernation

Thanks to fiber-optic camera technology, the first graders watched real-time footage of a black bear named Lugnut as she hibernates in a den beneath an upturned sugar maple in northern Maine.  The 8 year old Lugnut gave birth to two cubs while in hibernation.  The camera is a project of the Wildlife Research Foundation in Maine.

Upon completion the first graders used their iPads to research many animals that hibernate, become dormant or go into diapause over the winter.  Enjoy the pictures of the various animals they discovered!


      

                                 

 

                         

         

                            

Happy Thanksgiving from Kindergarten!

The kindergarteners created a green screen video today of a song they learned for Thanksgiving.  They did an impressive job, some remarking they would like to be on camera when they grow up!  Enjoy our future actors and actresses in their movie debut!

Wampanoag People

In third grade, the students are learning everything they can about the Wampanoag people.  Using an interactive site:  http://www.plimoth.org/media/olc/intro.html (click to view and learn for yourself!), the third graders recorded facts they found interesting in their study of this tribe.  They became true historians!

4th Graders Teach Mini Lessons

On the day before their clay topographical map activity,  the fourth grade took to teaching mini lessons on their assigned states.  They identified cardinal directions, lines of longitude and latitude, plus the lowlands, hills and mountains.  Check out the screen casting these students made as they are quite impressive. Special thanks to Mrs. Scott for sharing this lesson idea!

                                  SAM

JERRY


                                                                    SYDNI

AINSLEY



                                   LIZZY

                                                                     

Landmarks and Symbols of Our Nation

The second graders learned what landmarks are and discovered many United States landmarks and symbols in many areas of our great country.  Take a look at their creative collages showcasing what they've learned.  Job well done!

 

 

Interactive Learning!

Our new Smart Board was installed Friday and as a result student learning is becoming even more interactive!  So far, the first grade categorized animals and learned names of animals' adults and young.  The third grade sorted characteristics of deciduous trees and coniferous trees.  The fourth graders mapped coordinates using degrees of latitude and longitude.  Being able to manipulate objects on the board accommodates different learning styles, increases motivation, and encourages involvement in learning.

 

Integrating Technology on Election Day!

Students took to the polls to vote electronically this year!  A special thanks to Mrs. O'Shea and the fifth graders who ran the polls while I was attending an iPad convention in Boston.  I was able to track the results all day, 100 miles away!  President Barack Obama won our Center election and our nation's election.

Presenting...The Branches of Government

The second graders worked very hard on creating a presentation on the Branches of Government.  First, they researched each branch and took notes.  Secondly, they put the information they learned into a Keynote presentation.  Thirdly, they added transitions and special effects.  Finally, they presented their projects to the class on the big screen!  The way the children helped each other during this project was most impressive.