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and we’re back to school!
Welcome to the 2010-2011 school year at P.S. 124. It’s great to see old friends and new faces, and feel the excitement of starting another new year of learning, discovery, friendship and fun.
Along with our new Pre-Kindergarten classes, and new faces in the other grades, the whole P.S. 124 family welcomes our new teacher, Mayra Badillo in Class 1/2 SE, Room 104.
#1 The Hugo Cabret Unit Documentary (directed and edited by Ms. Abodeely)
Take a look at Ms. Abodeely’s third graders discussing the book, The Invention of Hugo Cabret by Brian Selznick. They use traditional literacy skills such as prediction and summarizing as well media literacy skills to “read” the many images in this exciting text, and use the novel as a touchstone for their fiction writing as well. The culmination is to produce iMovies based on their writing with text and “readable” images just like Hugo Cabret! This is the 3rd year Ms. Abodeely has developed a unit around this text, and it is clear from the exciting and engaging discussions in this video that it will not be the last.
#2 Kindergarten Showcase Videos by Ms. Toledo!
Kindergarten Writing Video from March 2010 — You have to give it up for Ms. Toledo for putting out the call for more coverage of the Kindergartners on the website this year. She was gushing about how she saw other schools presenting student experiences online, and, accepting no less for her students, got Mr. Rhys to help her use iSight and iMovie to start sharing the learning experiences that kids at 124 are having on the first floor with the world through the Internet.
April 2010: Kindergartners at PS 124 use activities on the Pre-K and Kindergarten Class Page on the Internet to build basic technology skills outlined in the National Educational Technology Standards, like using the mouse, opening and closing programs, and basic navigation of websites. Have a look!
2010 top 10: #3 The Invisible Man Comic Video, and #4 Our Visit With Judy Barrett Video
#3 The Invisible Man Comic Video & Making-of Documentary
In this adaptation of a classic novel into a comic book, then into a video, Mr. Tandarich’s 5th grade students demonstrated an understanding of how to use multiple media to represent details in story and bring their vision to life. It’s clear from watching the documentary that they understood how to create tone through a combination of editing, images and expressive reading. The result: a 21st century version of a classic!
WATCH: The Invisible Man, 5th Grade Comic Book Adaptation & Documentary
#4 Our Visit With Judi Barrett – author of Cloudy With a Chance of Meatballs…the video!!…
Ms. Barrett has written over 20 books including, Cloudy With A Chance Of Meatballs! She read to our students, showed pictures and answered questions. Mrs. Lane and her production team of 5th graders documented the visit with a Flip Camera, and added reflective narration and a few bells and whistles in iMovie. The result is an authentic student archival of a meaningful moment in their PS 124 experience.
- WATCH THE VIDEO of Our Visit with Judy Barrett, author of Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs
#5 Super Battery Fairy! Award-winning PSA by Class 4-302!
This WNET Channel 13 and Chase Multimedia in the Classroom Award Winning PSA was researched, scripted and storyboarded by Mr. Marsano’s kids, then shot and edited collaboratively with Mr. M and The Media Spot. It was screened for several hundred teachers and students at the Celebration of Teaching and Learning in Manhattan. It’s another great model by Mr. Marsano of a classroom production integrated in the writing curriculum with a critical focus on a specific community issue. And it was recognized by the Eveready Battery Company.
- Watch Super Battery Fairy!
#6 2nd Grade Story Reading in iMovie!
Mr. McMurrer’s kids started recording themselves reading aloud from their fiction pieces using iMovie on laptops with webcams late in the year. After a few small-group lessons, and share-outs on the projector, students were working independently on this fluency-building activity.
- Read more about the read-alouds, and watch the sample!
Dominican Republic Beaches Video, Yetunde
Canadian Teams Video, Jesse
#7 Mr. McRae’s Class Voicethreads (Documentary Video)
Take a look at the size of the tag Mr. McRae’s Class 09-10 in the tag cloud on the lower right, and you’ll realize just how much work his class published to the Internet! 169 posts this year and counting! They are in the top 10 for more than just volume — Mr. McRae’s integrated technology into the writing process in a way that had students building technology skills and media literacy, while learning what makes good writing. Watch him and his students explain how they wrote, typed, and produced videos throughout the year in this documentary video:
Bonus Clip: Also watch Jesse explain her class’ Web Publishing & Reflection process:
#8 Ms. Manti’s Class Google Docs Essays
Mr. McRae’s students would not be the producers they are, without the groundwork laid by 2nd-grade teachers building fundamental computer and typing skills. Ms. Manti’s class worked on keyboarding skills through Dance Mat Typing, then on becoming proficient with laptops, and finally being able to log in to Google Docs on their own to type their fiction stories, and add images from the Internet to support their writing. They are now ready for publishing work in 3rd grade! Here’s a sample from one of Ms. Manti’s star students, who by the way, just learned English last year!:
The Monsters in the Mist, by Joshua, Class 2-208
Monsters in the Mist, by Joshua (Google Doc)
Click the red Links below to see the projects.
#9: The War with Grandpa, Book Review, by 5th Graders with Ms. Lane!
The War with grandpa was selected to the PS 124 2010 Top 10 because students are demonstrating fluency, using a variety of media to express their opinion to their peers, thinking critically about a book, creatively combining multimedia with their puppet show to re-create a scene from the story, and collaborating with Ms. Lane to edit and publish their video using iMovie.
- Watch the War with Grandpa, a 5th Grade Book Review
#10: ESL’s Tooth Traditions from Around the World!
The tech committee loves this piece by Ms. Cohen’s ESL students because they are using iMovie to build English language skills and fluency, they are building vocabulary and social studies knowledge through their engagement with this material, and collaborating with Ms. Cohen to share their work through iMovie.
- Watch Ms. Cohen’s ESL kids’ video!
Story Reading in iMovie from Class 2-203
Mr. McMurrer’s class has been working in small groups with Mac Laptops with built-in web cams, and iMovie to record themselves reading their published fiction stories aloud. iMovie allowed the students to see, and listen to themselves read, as well as others, and analyze what makes a read-aloud good.
In this video, 3 of his students explain what they focused on when recording:
- Reading Fluently — Slowly and Clearly, and
- Reading with Expression
This video features some fluent and expressive 2nd graders demonstrating how they read the favorite parts of their stories:
The PS124brooklyn.com 2010 Top 10!
Video Production in Kindergarten
PS 124 students have been publishing their work to our school website, ps124brooklyn.com, more than ever. Now it is June, and it’s time to celebrate!
The 2010 Top 10 will celebrate and showcase some of our favorite online projects of the year. We will release two choices a day, selected by our technology committee, starting with #10, and #9 on Monday June 14, and ending with #2 and #1 on Friday June 18.
We believe that literacy in 2010 should, in addition to text, include the ability to read, write and think critically about all of the multi-media our students encounter in their lives. Read more…
Thailand Video, Isiah
Midland, Texas Video, Brian B.
Spanish Sports Video, Rani
Sushi Video, Nisani
Strawberry Mice
Third graders made Strawberry Mice in afterschool with me, Ms. Cohen. Hurry up, watch the video to make and eat these critters before they scurry away!
Tooth Traditions from Around the World
Everyone loses their baby teeth! But not everyone does the same thing with their teeth after they fall out. Second graders studied some tooth traditions from around the world by reading the book, Throw Your Tooth on the Roof, Tooth Traditions from Around the World by Selby Beeler. Then, they interviewed Mr. M’s class to see what tooth traditions were popular in the second grade. We charted the results. Take a look at what we found out!
Chinese-Styled Stuffed Mushrooms Video, Jesse
Best Chinese Hospitals Video, Brian B.
Chiara’s Chinese Research
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