Monday, October 10th was the 8th Grade Field Trip to the Pittsburgh Zoo. Students had the opportunity to listen to a presentation on biodiversity and to see some of the animals up close. Students were given the rest of the day to explore the different exhibits at the Pittsburgh Zoo. One of the favorite places to visit was the PPG Aquarium and the giant stingray tank. In addition, students had the opportunity to see the polar bears swim in the water, which is apparently pretty rare to see. In fact, according to a Pittsburgh Zoo employee, polar bears only spend about ten percent of their life in the water. All in all, the trip to the Pittsburgh Zoo was a huge success and I hope that everyone had a great time! On Tuesday, students completed their final theories for the Lost Colony of Roanoke Investigation. Students collaborated with their investigation teams to choose a final theory (Native American attack, assimilation, or relocation,) and use evidence to support that theory. Once again, the blog feature on Weebly was used for students to share their thoughts on this investigation. I was very impressed by the final conclusions that students generated and the amount of supporting evidence that was provided. Great work everyone! On Wednesday, we dove into Section 3-2 of Chapter Three: Colonial America. Students were introduced to the founding of the New England Colonies. Using a Near Pod Presentation, students were introduced to the following topics:
Students were also shown a brief video clip fro History Channel’s America The Story of Us, which portrayed the Pilgrims relationship with local Native Americans. On Thursday and Friday, students utilized a tool from the Smithsonian called the Smithsonian Learning Lab to navigate a web-quest to further examine the Starving Time at Jamestown colony. Last school year, I was able to work with the Smithsonian to utilize the Learning Lab platform. The “collection” that students examined was titled Discovering Jane, which depicts the story of the discovering human remains at the Jamestown colony site. Students are introduced to forensic anthropology, as they are able to take an in-depth look at the remains of “Jane”. Students also utilized the Ed Puzzle application to watch two short videos on The Starving Time and the excavation process at the Jamestown cite. The web-quest, concluded with a 3D model of four other graves that were discovered on the site and an explanation of each grave. Students must have really interested in this 3D model because I received numerous emails about how they would like to use this resource more in the future! On Thursday and Friday, I attended a training at the Allegheny Intermediate Unit (AIU) focusing on the Games For Change Student Challenge. Games For Change is an organization located in New York City that promotes using video games to deliver important messages and truly believes that gaming can make a difference in the world. The challenge involves students creating a video games based upon one of the following themes:
On Thursday, I received training on the game design process from the Institute of Play. I also had the opportunity to collaborate with educators from school districts in our region to create an analog game. On Friday, I received training on the Scratch, Mouse, and Serious Games platform. I am very excited to bring the Games For Change Student Challenge to EFMS.
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Mr. Steve Hartnett
Mr. Hartnett will update the Room 212 Blog with classroom updates on a regular basis. Be sure to follow me on Twitter @ MrHartnett212 Archives
July 2019
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