NewsQuest

Students View Web Site

September 12, 2002

Today we continued work on "Good Introductions". We know this is an area where lots of practice is needed. Students are going to work on creating good leads this week. We hope to share some soon.

Lindsay told us about a September 11 memorial that she attended yesterday. She is going to write a story and share her thoughts. We look forward to reading that.

Time was spent discussing this whole process with the students. They need time exploring the site so the remainder of the time was spent browsing. We had a lot of discussion as we browsed. The students liked the current events sites. On the Time for Kids site you can even play a game called Top the Teacher. Now that's fun!

Next week I will give the students time to join and gain an understanding of how to discuss. I need to let them have time to get a feel for the environment, how things are set up, and just to enjoy the experience. Then, I think I will start with different stories that will be springboards for discussion for the students. They will then learn how to join the log and enter the discussion. Hmmm, where will all this lead? One thing I know, we are going to enjoy the process. It's going to be a great learning experience.

Tonight I will meet with the parents. We're off and running

More Quotes from Kids

September 10, 2002

More Initial Thoughts from Students Who Have Joined Our Group

My name is Perla . I love current events because it helps me learn a lot more about the world. I have been watching CNN since I was in the third grade. I love CNN because I think it is a very educational show for children. I think J.H. House is a wonderful school because it helps you learn more than any other school. I also think current events has made me a better thinker. Since September 11, 2002 I've taken things more seriously and I am very glad I came to this school.
Perla

My name is Jennifer. I am glad that I can watch what's going on around the world. I know that other kids don't have a chance to watch current events like I do at JH House. I feel concerned about other kids when I see them on TV. Current events makes me be a better thinker. I'm glad that I know what current events are and how I feel about them.
Jennifer

What I like about CNN is that you are getting more knowledge from all around the globe. CNN has changed my life by knowing what happened in New York at the World Trade Center. Some people don¢‰Áçt have food and shelter for homes. Is Osama Bin Laden dead or alive? What is a question you would like to ask the United States?
Derrick

Current events have changed my life because when I was in second grade, I barely ever watched the news and I was clueless about what was happening in the world. I was so lucky in third grade because our school started CNN. CNN is a news show for kids. Then I got to see current events everyday. After a week or so, I was taking some of the best notes in the class. Now I can say that I know that in some places people die from waiting in line for voting. I have learned a lot from CNN, and I will never forget what happened on 9-11-01.
Emily

Session 2

September 6, 2002

I entered the school.  I had to catch my breath.  The bulletin board display was captivating.  This display gives an excellent overview of the current events program at this school. My next thought was that I needed to provide a little more background for those of you who like to delve deep into a project.  In addition, there is an article entitled Cable in the Classroom Scores With Teachers and Students written by John Crook of TVData. John and Mitch Leff from Turner Learning visited our school to learn how we integrated the news right into our classroom curriculum to foster thinking skills. Onward to the classroom!  My NewsQuest group cheerfully assembled in the hall. We then marched purposefully out to the K-Station. We were eager to get started.  New members have joined the group. Updates were given by the students who attended last week. I was certainly impressed with all they remembered. The K-Station is a trailer that has been converted into a multi-purpose room.  It has wonderful little light-weight benches, seminar tables, comfortable chairs, good lighting, technology equipment, and other unique items to make the learning environment warm and inviting.  It was created for the students. It is a dream come true because preserving this type of space in a school setting is not always easy.  I am glad the administration of this fine school works so hard to make students the number one priority. This dynamic team of students will be the first to use it this school year.    It is really the KCAASE Station- we call it the K-Station for short.  The name helps us remember to focus on Bloom's Taxonomy as we teach Knowledge, Comprehension, Application, Analysis, Synthesis, and Evaluation.  The students remembered these words last year by acting out a humorous skit. Students act out Keep Calm At All Sports Events!  Maybe we will review as our boys and girls do love the acting part. Based on the writing from last week, I had decided to work on good introductions- good leads for their stories to come  I created a PowerPoint presentation entitled Good Introductions to use as a springboard for discussion.  Today we just got the first three techniques finished, but what good discussion and feedback.  Assignment one Practice good introductions.  They promised to practice this week. It will be enjoyable to share next week.  The goal is to hook the reader, make then want to dive in and read what is being written.  We will continue with the PowerPoint next week. Interest piqued when I told the group that we had heard from a class teacher from the British School of Amsterdam in The Netherlands. Their eyes lit up when I told them that his students would be reading this web log. Assignment two Learn about The Netherlands this week and be prepared to share next session. Students composed letters about a meeting for their parents.  A meeting is planned for next week so we can share our exciting plans for this project.  We welcome participation from the parents. Now, I have lots of homework. See students, I am right there with you. Teachers have homework, too. I have to figure out just what I need to do to create student blogs, keep it all secure, figure out the coding, think ahead to all that is needed for us to keep on making those connections to learning.  Any suggestions from those of you who have traveled this path would be most appreciated.

Background

I wrote this synopsis while I was the Instructional Technology Specialist at J. H. House At J. H. House students in grades 3-5 watch CNN Student Newsroom daily.  CNN Student  Newsroom is a commercial-free, 30-minute news and features program designed specifically for use in the classroom. CNN Student Newsroom is free.  A daily classroom guide is available.  It contains questions and activities designed to enhance studentsâ understanding of the news and develop curriculum-related skills.  Educators with expertise in the fields of Social Studies, Science, Language Arts, and Health write the daily classroom guide.  The program accommodates different learning styles and provides opportunities for differentiated instruction.  We do not teach directly from this guide but use it as a resource to build on our current curriculum. We use the program as a springboard to teach critical thinking skills, media awareness, and to tie in with our curriculum objectives.  On each guide, I add a vocabulary word for the day and a writing prompt specific to the needs of our students.  First, our students mind-map the news as they watch it.  This is a method of taking notes where children use pictures, symbols, and lines as they make their thinking visible.  This is the beginning step for them to learn to become good note-takers who can get ideas out of their heads and on to paper to begin to play with how they fit together, to look for relationships, and to form ideas.  They participate in think-pair-share which is a critical thinking strategy where they first think about their ideas quietly themselves, then discuss with a partner, and then share with the whole group. Other brain-compatible strategies are used in the classroom and then the technology lab.  In my role as Instructional Technology Specialist, I prepare activities for the technology lab that teachers can use to integrate throughout their curriculum.  The goal is to promote studentsâ knowledge of current events to enable them to make curriculum connections and to foster lifelong learning.  A sampling of programs used with students are Microsoft Word, Microsoft PowerPoint, Inspiration, Kidspiration, and  Vocab-Flash (a program created by Joe Tompkins, a fellow co-instructional technology specialist).    We teachers strive daily to incorporate higher order level of questions in our classroom instruction. Bloomâs Taxonomy focuses on the way people learn.  "Bloom's Taxonomy divides the way people learn into three domains.  One of these is the cognitive domain which emphasizes intellectual outcomes.  This domain further divides into categories which are arranged progressively from the lowest level of thinking, simple recall, to the highest level, evaluating information." Last year we have moved the students through the task of developing a student created resource.  The first teacher designed set was a model for students to use as they went about the assignment to develop a set of though-provoking questions along with wonderful illustrations.  The process was indeed rewarding as we guided our students in developing questions revolving around our school-wide study of current events.  We saw eyes light up as they began to internalize different levels of thinking.  We noted improved attention to detail, increased understandings, and expanded connections and applications to content they had learned throughout the year.  An explanation of Bloomâs Taxonomy for Educators and Parents along with tips for parents on how to improve their childâs thinking is available on our web site at: ð http://www.rockdale.k12.ga.us/jhh/Student%20Showcase/Blooms/blooming.htm The NewsQuest magazines, which are current events publications created by our students highlight student work from many of the technology lessons we have taught.  Our Key Pal program matches students with local, national, and global citizens.  This is a writing program across cyberspace where mentors discuss the news with our students.  Current events quiz bowls and student news broadcasts are conducted throughout the year.  Many other resources are used with CNN Newsroom.  Examples are:  Accu Weatherâs AccuNet/AP Photo Archive on the Internet, Time for Kids, Scholastic News, WebQuests, media resources, newspapers, and news magazines. We as educators must continue to look beneath the surface of the "technology glitz". We must use technology as a tool to prepare our students for the future as thinkers. The future belongs to the thinkers and we want to do our part to help J. H. House students lead in this endeavor.  At J. H. House each teacher has high expectations for students, provides active learning environments, and we all work together to encourage the very best use of technology to enhance the education of our children.