New Site!

I hope everyone is having a wonderful school year so far! As many of you know, I am no longer a "Classroom" teacher, rather, I am a Technology Coach for the teachers in Holmdel and I am also working with the Voyager students. I am no longer updating this blog, but I have started a new blog for students called, CoolSitesFromSchool.com. I will be posting fun, educational games for students to help them review what is being taught in school or to just enrich their learning. Feel free to sign up and receive email updates whenever I post new games and articles!

Hope to see all of you around the school soon!!

Love,
Mrs. MacConnell

Justin Bieber Alert!

http://iamfirst.dipdive.com/ 

I hope everyone is having a fantastic summer! I know I am!

I saw this website, and thought it was very cool to see all of these famous people talk about how science has been so important to them! I especially like Jack Black's video but the Justin Bieber one is pretty good too! :) 

The website is promoting a show that will be on ABC on August 14th @7 pm. The show is a celebration of Science and Technology and the students who competed in this year's USFirst Robotics Tournament.  Take a minute to watch the video below all about it. 

Enjoy the rest of your summer and I will see you all soon! 

:) Mrs. MacConnell

BrainPop Games are Live!

http://www.brainpop.com/games/

Game Up!

Yay!! BrainPop has finally released the games that some of you helped me test in Beta! Game Up is BrainPop's  new educational game section. Both games that we tested are now live as well as many others that are really fun. Check out the Branches of Power game and the Battleship Numberline! 

Go outside and enjoy the summer weather, but definitely try Game Up when you come inside to cool off!

Pottermore

Pottermore

 

JK Rowling is giving back to all her fans with Pottermore. It won't be available until October, but a few lucky people will be able to view the site before anyone else. Log on July 31st to find out more, but until then go to http://www.pottermore.com/ to watch a video about the new website and to sign up to be notified when it becomes live! Even a Muggle like me cannot wait for this site!!!

Ten Marks for Summer Math Practice

Ten Marks 

I hope everyone is enjoying the beginning of your summer vacation!

I wanted to share something I am doing with my daughter this summer. Ten Marks is a PAID website where your child can go for math practice over the summer. The goal of the summer program is to refresh the math topics covered this past year, and preview what’s to come next year – helping students build up their math skills for fall success.  Students are assigned 3-4 worksheets each week, each with 10 problems.  Each interactive worksheet has hints and video lessons, which help them refresh what they know, and learn what they don’t. The site also provides hints (up to 3 per question) if they get stuck on a problem. The basic plan is only $39 for a 3 month subscription.  I like it because Carleigh (my daughter) can do it when it works for us - before the beach, after, if she wakes up early. She doesn't need me to be there to do it. Ten Marks sends a weekly report on her progress which helps me gauge where her strengths and weaknesses are.  If you try it, let me know how you like it.


Have a great summer!!

Here is a video about the program from the Ten Marks website:

MATH FAIR 2011

On June 9th and 10th  the boys and girls in my Honors Math classes presented their Math Fair projects to family and fellow Indian Hill students. Preparation for the Fair started weeks ago when each student pair was given a different problem to solve. They worked very hard to solve the problem first by themselves - then with their partner. From there, the pairs made up their own problem based on the original problem I had given them. If that wasn't enough, they then made a really hard extension problem using the same strategy that was used to solve the original problem. Next, all of their creative juices started to flow as they thought of a theme, presentation, manipulatives, prizes, coaching techniques....the list goes on!!

I couldn't be prouder of my students and how the Math Fair turned out. 

Please enjoy the movie below of some of the highlights of the fair!

Newark Boys Choir

On Tuesday, May 31st, the boys and girls of Indian Hill will be treated to a wonderful performance of the Newark Boys Choir. We are all very excited and realize what a privilege it is to have them at our school. In Music class, the students have been learning about the Newark Boys Choir and have been asked to wear their "Concert Best" clothes to school tomorrow. 

Looking forward to a wonderful performance!

Thank You, Mr. Celenti!

My PM Math class was treated to a wonderful presentation by, Dr. Celenti, Eric's dad! Dr. Celenti spoke to the student's about logic and math or what he likes to say, "Playing Mind Games!" The students had a great time! Not only was it very informative and interesting for them, but Dr. Celenti instilled that all important message to my students - "MATH ROCKS!" Thank you, Dr. Celenti!

MATH FAIR JUNE 9TH

You are invited to our Math Fair on June 9th!  

The students have been hard at work making this the best Math Fair ever!

Please come and support their hard work!

My AM math class Math Fair will be at 11:00 in Science Lab 127.

My PM math class Math Fair will be at 12:45 in Science Lab 127.

Please ask your son/daughter what math class they are in if you do not know.

Hope to see you there! :)

Pick of the Week - Fraboom

Frabroom.com

Fraboom is a very cool online museum for kids of all ages. Fraboom has great interactive books and really fun games. Make sure to check out the games Quit Shovin and Who's That President!  Another very fun feature of this site is the online classes with LIVE teachers. They have a Daily Doodle class and a Presidential Challenge class, all monitored by teachers (the Daily Doodle is a bit primary - make sure to show it to your younger brothers or sisters). Fraboom is free to play, there is a gold membership for $5 a month, but there are plenty of free things to do on the site without having to pay for it. Have fun checking out Fraboom!

Bored Yet?

Bored? Nothing to do? How about trying my Math Problem of the Week? You don't have to be in my Math classes to try it. Just email the answer to me sometime over break ( cmacconnell@holmdelschools.org). Think Drop if you get either the Elementary or Middle School POW correct. 2 Think Drops if you get them both correct!

Click here for the Math POW - Problem Of the Week! 

Enjoy your break and see you soon!!
:) Mrs. MacConnell

Happy Spring Break!

I hope everyone has a relaxing and wonderful Spring Break! Enjoy and see you on April 26th.

:) Mrs. Macconnell

PS - Here is a link to the Cadbury Egg Site if you want to "Goo" your house.

RETURN OF THE GOO!

Pick of the Week - Solar System Scope

Solar System Scope is an amazing website I found while surfing the Internet the other day. It is a must see for my Science students since we are currently studying the Solar System in our Astronomy unit. Solar System Scope is a 3D representation of space. You can choose to interact with it in a geocentric view, heliocentric view, or a panoramic view. I love how you can view the constellations in panoramic view, and how the site tells you the distance of planets just by clicking on them.  The best way to experience this site is to just go on it and start playing with it. Make sure to click on a planet to move it all around and view it from all angles. Have fun!

Pennies for Japan Update!

Our Pennies for Japan project has come to an end and I am so very happy to report that we raised $193.71!! That is 40 pounds in change! We had over 1,500 visitors from 11 different countries! The winning charity was the Japanese Red Cross and I am happy to report that a donation of $200.00 was made this weekend in the name of "Pennies for Japan" Homeroom 236! I am so proud of everyone in Homeroom 236 for all of their kindness and effort shown during this project. We all learned how important it is to help others and how by working together we can accomplish wonderful things.  The students made up great questions, donated and counted a lot of change, helped figure out visitors to our website, and got everyone they know involved by sending emails and telling them about our project. Great job boys and girls! You really can "Change" the world!

Happy Vernal Equinox!

Happy Spring Everyone! In Science we learned about equinoxes (last chapter). I mentioned that some people believe that today is the one and only day you can balance an egg. I told the students that really it can be done any day of the year - not just on the Vernal Equinox. Here is a great video showing you how to do it. By the way, I did not take the video, I found it on YouTube - so that is not my messy kitchen!! :) Happy Spring! It is finally here!

Click her for the video and great information about the Vernal Equinox.

Twitterview with Tim and Moby from BrainPOP

On Thursday, during lunch and recess, all of my students were treated to an online interview with Tim and Moby from BrainPOP! If you are not familiar with BrainPOP (your child certainly is) click here to see the BrainPOP movie of the week. About a week before the big interview with Tim, the students wrote down questions they wanted to ask him. Then, during recess and lunch, students came to my room to be a part of the Twitterview. A Twitterview is an interview that takes place on the social network site, Twitter. We found out all kinds of things! We learned that Moby speaks Binary code (and then watched a movie on it), we learned about famous mathematicians, interesting science facts, and even Moby's favorite geometrical shape (it's a decohedron).You can see some of Tim and Moby's answers by clicking on the above link for the BrainPOP movie of the week and scrolling to the live Twitter feed. What a great experience for all of us!

Pennies For Japan

 

Pennies for Japan!

I am so lucky to teach such wonderful students! When I presented the idea of doing something for the people of Japan in light of the recent tragic earthquake and tsunami, my students jumped at the chance!  So pennies for Japan was born! Here is how it works. The boys and girls in my homeroom are collecting pennies from home and working extra chores to earn some change. In class, we are collecting and counting the change. Meanwhile, the students are developing quizzes about Japan. These quizzes will be posted daily on my website. For each visitor to the site who answers the quiz, we will donate $0.02 ($0.05 if you live in another country!). The students have also researched and learned about 4 different charities to donate the money to. When you are done taking the quiz, you get to vote where you would like us to send the pennies to. The charity with the most votes wins! The students will be learning not only new computer skills (like designing an online quiz - including research, embedding html code, Google Docs, and following Google Analytics about the visitors to our site!) and counting numerous coins, but they will be gaining an experience that books cannot teach-the feeling of doing something nice for others. They are learning that doing something small CAN make a big difference!

PLEASE CLICK HERE to go to my website and take our quiz on Japan. Come back daily since a new kid created quiz will be posted each weekday. Please forward this to your friends and family - we have a goal of 5,000 visitors!

Pick of the Week - Lure of the Labyrinth

Lure of the Labyrinth is a online pre-algebra middle-school math game developed in partnership with Maryland Public Television and MIT. In the game, underground monsters come to life as students plunge into a shadowy factory on a mission to rescue a missing pet. Students then progress through three sections, or "wings." Each is related to a different math strand such as proportions (including fractions and ratios), variables and equations, numbers and operations (including geometry, order of operations and modular arithmetic). Each of the three wings includes three puzzles, and each of the puzzles has three levels. The levels progress from easy to hard. And, continuing with the "rule of three," students have to successfully solve each puzzle three times before they can eliminate a room. You will need to sign up, but you don't need to confirm an email to play. Remember your username and password so the next time you play you can pick up where you left off! Try it and let me know how you liked it! :)

Pick of the Week - Scratch

SCRATCH

My daughter just finished a 4 week computer camp at her school. The class was suppose to teach her a form of computer programming well enough that she would be able to design her own computer games after only 4 sessions. I was skeptical. Sure enough though, she came home on the last day with not one but several games she had created. Although the camp used many different resources, the main form of computer language she learned was Scratch. Scratch was developed with the help of people from MIT. It is easy, fun, and students will learn valuable computer programming skills. The best part is that it is a free download. CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD SCRATCH. If your child needs assistance there are loads of helpful videos on YouTube, and instructions and helpful tutorials right on the site. Here is one I found on the Scratch site (Click Here), you must first download Scratch to view it. Let me know if you make any games and I will post them to my web page! Have fun!!

Math Fraction Cookbooks!

Today in my AM and PM math classes, we shared a delicious project! The task of this mini-project was to find a favorite recipe with at least four fractions in it. Then, rewrite the recipe for half the amount of people it serves and then again for  3 times the amount of people the original recipe serves. For an added bonus, if the students made the recipe to serve a third of the people in the original recipe and brought it into class today, they were able to choose a homework pass or 5 points added to their extra credit ticket. Needless to say, we had a lot of fractional food in my room today! :) Everything was delicious and we all had a great time! The students enjoyed the food so much that they were asking for the recipes. Below are links to each cookbook. Enjoy and feel free to leave a comment!

AM Math Fraction Cookbook
PM Math Fraction Cookbook Part 1
Pm Math Fraction Cookbook Part 2

A digital collage by Smilebox

Famous Scientist and Inventors

The boys and girls in my science classes were given the task to research a famous scientist or inventor. Once they researched them, they needed to write a paragraph about them (a hard task to get a lot of facts into a small, concise paragraph) and make a Baseball Style Trading Card of them. Click here to view Homeroom 235's Trading Cards. Click here to view Homeroom 236's Trading Cards. Feel free to leave a comment below about them!

Nrich February Newsletter

I have written about the Nrich website before and all of its wonderful math resources. Today I am letting you know that the February Nrich newsletter is available online. If you want to enrich your child's math problem solving outside of the classroom, this is a great site to go to. Nrich is a British site, so they group their students a little differently. Select Key Stage 1 & 2 for 5th graders, but by all means try the later Key Stages if they need more of a challenge. Try it out and let me know how you liked it.

The Math and Science of Football

Before watching the BIG GAME on Sunday, why not learn something new about the sport. Science of NFL Football has wonderful videos about the science and math of football. I especially like the Pythagorean Theorem video. How about you? What was your favorite video? What did you learn that was new?  Don't forget to leave your first name and last initial only to stay safe on the web. Enjoy watching the Super Bowl and GO STEELERS!

Fraction Fun!

On Friday, the students in my math classes learned to play a new card game. Here are the rules:
1. Two to three players can play.
2. Each player gets four cards placed face down. Cards are placed as shown below.

3. Turn cards over.You now have two fractions in front of you.The top card is your numerator.Bottom card is your denominator.All face cards and Aces are worth 10.
4. Add the two fractions together.
5. Make sure to simplify your fraction.Make sure to make any improper fractions proper.
6. Compare your fraction to the other player.
7. The largest fraction wins.That player gets all of the cards that were just used. Put your winning cards off to the side.
8. Repeat until all the cards have been used in the deck.
9. Count how many cards you collected during the game.The person with the most cards wins.

You can also change up the game by doing the smallest fraction wins, or the fraction closest to 1 or any other benchmark number. Have fun playing it! I know we did!

The only problem is that this game still does not have a name. Any suggestions? Please leave a comment if you play the game or if you have an idea for a name of it. Don't forget to use only your first name and last initial.

MACHINE DAY 2011

Machine Day was a huge success! All groups were able to move their roll of pennies at least 3 feet - some even more! Fantastic job, Boys and Girls!!

Simple Machine Mission!

My science students have been hard at work creating simple machines that will move a roll of pennies at least 3 feet. Tuesday the students will share their finished machines....stay tuned for more pictures of the final machines!

First In Math

First in Math is a fun, challenging program offered to all students at Indian Hill. Every student at Indian Hill has a First In Math User ID and password. If you are in my math class and you have misplaced your user name and password, please see me and I will give you yours. If your child has not played First in Math at home yet, I encourage you to have them play. It is a great review of basic facts and KNOW AND SHOW section offers a nice review for state testing. Below is a description of the program from the website. 

The backbone of the First In Math® Online Program is the 24® GAME—a classroom staple since 1988. Online games range from Addition to multi-step Algebra, and are organized into SKILL SETS®. Each Skill Set is comprised of three sequential 24 Games, labeled 1, 2 and 3. Each game builds upon the skills acquired in previous games. 

A Pre-test/Post-test module called JUST THE FACTS records each student’s proficiency with basic facts, so you will never have to check another fact sheet! Includes assessment of each student’s skill improvement.

Three KNOW & SHOW modules provide a unique way for students to experience the type of problems found in standardized tests. Students solve problems from nine categories that tie to national standards. 

WORKOUT GYMS build automaticity with addition, subtraction, multiplication and division facts, and progress to include fractions, decimals and integers. 

After completing certain Skill Set requirements, students can play BONUS GAMES. Serving as incentives that encourage students to continue to achieve, these games offer various types of skill-building activities, such as sequencing and working with tens. Bonus Games are targeted to skills students need to master at each grade level, based on national standards. 

MEASUREMENT WORLD showcases games and activities that focus on Money, Time, Length, Distance, Area, Volume and Weights. 

Pick of the Week - Qwiki

I usually like to post sites that will help students in my classes, math or science. But this week's site will help not only my students, but everyone in their home as well. Qwiki is a new site (still in Alpha stage so you will have to request an invitation) that takes researching to a new, futuristic, level. Today my daughter spent a whole hour just typing in topics and learning new things because she was so taken by the graphics and reading of the text. There are still topics that may not be covered at Qwiki, but I found everything I was looking for when I searched it earlier. Also, once you sign up for an invitation to be part of Qwiki, they will send daily "Qwiki of the Day" emails that let you know what happened today in history with a link to the corresponding Qwiki page. A great conversation starter at the dinner table!

If you try Qwiki, post a comment and let me know what you think or how you used it. Don't forget to sign your name (but only your first name and your first letter of your last name).

Pick of the Week-Khan Academy

Khan Academy is a non-profit educational site, whose mission is to provide world class education to everyone, everywhere. There are fantastic videos at Khan Academy, especially their math lessons. The videos on the site (over 1,800) range from beginning math concepts to college level. What is new to Khan Academy is their use of self-paced math lessons. Click on the "Do Exercises" tab on the top to begin. You will need a Google Account or a Facebook account to login.On the exercises dashboard on Khan Academy there is a road map for lessons that shows visitors a recommended path to follow as they complete each lesson.If you get stuck, click on the "hint" button to watch a video to help you.

Leave a comment about Khan Academy if you try any of their videos or if you try one of their self-paced lessons.

Geography Bee at Indian Hill

Congratulations to Hamzah S. and Jessica K. for qualifying for the Indian Hill Geography Bee! It was a great Bee with sixth grader, Aishwanya Kalyanaraman winning. To read an article about the Geography Bee that was in the Asbury Park Press, Click Here! 

Force and Motion Unit

Today in Science we started our Force and Motion unit. The students learned that force is a push or a pull that causes changes in motion. Force speeds things up, slows things down, or makes them change direction. What better way to demonstrate this than with dominoes! Students had fun creating their own example of force using dominoes.

HAPPY PRIME NEW YEAR!

Happy 2011! 

Not only is 2011 a prime number, but it is the sum of 11 CONSECUTIVE prime numbers: 

2011= 157+163+167+173+179+181+191+193+197+199+211

This is going to be a great year! See you on Monday!