Mrs. McGinnis' Classroom Blog

Hi everyone!
     I have been taking a graduate course called "Building Your Professional Learning Network: Networking & Collaborating Beyond Classroom Walls, Doors, & Limits" since March 20th. It has been an incredible journey so far. I now have a Twitter account and have sent out over 100 Tweets. I have this blog which is something still new to me. Bill Burkhead, my instructor has introduced our class to the use of technology and social media to build a network of fellow educators to learn from. We have had conversations with several educators using Skype. We even participated in several "Twitter- Live Chats!" He was very impressed with our ability to keep up with the pros. We've explored Pinterest, Google Docs, Google+, Igoogle, Drop Box, Diigo, and Livebinders so far.

Our instructor assigned us a Class Project: develop a 5-15 minute presentation on any form of social media that is new to you and has helped develop your PLN or classroom practice.

So I chose to look at Pinterest for my inspiration. I was looking for something to go along with the
book "Because of Winn Dixie". I had just finished reading it to our class. In the book the main character India Opal is being raised by her father. She asks her father to tell her 10 things about her mother so she can get to know her. We will be starting a very big project called "10 Things I Know About My Mother" after the April break. It is an "All About" book. They will be interviewing their mothers for the book. I was looking for a lesson for the class to practice their interviewing skills and the lesson I found was a perfect opportunity for them to do just that.

I found a great lesson pinned by a very generous teacher named Becky. It was called "The 10 Things We Learned About Our Classmates". http://www.dots-n-spots.com/?p=922 After reading "Because of Winn Dixie" with her 4th grade class they did this activity. I loved it!

I took her idea and adapted the lesson to use with my 2nd grade class. When I introduced the lesson to my class I challenged them to step out of their comfort zone and interview someone in the class that they really would like know more about. The children volunteered a list of good questions
and I quickly charted them down. We decided that we would post the questions around the room to use as a guide. They were encouraged to use them or come up with their own questions.
They were so excited! Each child paired up with a partner and began the interviewing.

Next they composed 10 new facts about their partner. Then each student made the paper doll template look like themselves. I had photographed photos of them which they trimmed and glued onto the templates. The facts and the picture were put together on a bulletin board to connect the students faces with the information from the interview.

 Finally their work was posted onto a bulletin board for the entire school to enjoy.

Enjoy our video! http://animoto.com/play/h7kRdVAMCIYttbhC1maFVg#

The possibilities are endless.....I have 2 other lessons pinned to do before the year is out. One is for a story called "A Curve in the River" and the other is for "Charlotte's Web"!
Stay tuned!
Irene:)