What a great week!!!!

Wow we were busy this week!!! The 4th graders covered 2 units in math already. We talked about place value and how we compare these numbers.
In reading class we wrote some AWESOME stories! Stay tuned for some pictures!!
In health we talked about peer pressure and how we need to stay strong about making our own smart choices. We also talked about personal hygiene. If your child would like to bring deodorant, toothbrush, or toothpaste to keep in their locker...it is highly encouraged!! :) :) The students can keep it in there locker and is highly encouraged to use them!! If they are need of any toothpaste, toothbrushes, soap, deodorant, or any other personal hygiene please let me know. I can make arrangements.
In writing the students all wrote a short story based on various topics.
Check out what the art students made in art class!

First week done!!

We made it!! First few days of school are done! Those days are always the hardest because we are getting used to new rules, new books, and a new classroom environment.
This year we have added a new Math Curriculum school wide! I am so excited and I know the 4th graders are really going to flourish! The books the students have received are their math books. I really pushed how important it is to NOT LOOSE THE BOOK!! This is their workbook and their math book. We are really teaching responsibility at this age level, but I have no doubt they can rise to the task!

In german class we talked about colors. As always, if the students don't use it...they loose it! Encourage the students to talk to you about the colors of the rainbow at home! I will be attaching the video here so they can watch it at home several more times with you! Next week we will be continuing the discussion on colors.
https://youtu.be/cIqrkriGfUg?list=PLQKWqf5J4rxnVacDwmabKH8yr1AvU6auv

The 7th and 8th graders talked about greetings and picked out their own German name. They also watched a video to help them practice what they have learned.
https://youtu.be/edBtiGeB2ec?list=PLQKWqf5J4rxnVacDwmabKH8yr1AvU6auv
I have assigned homework for the 7th and 8th graders. The homework will be completed on Edmodo.com (see post about Edmodo in my blog under useful tools). Each student received a code to join our group.  Edmodo is great tool because it can be accessed on any piece of technology. Parents can also log in at anytime and see the students work, grade, and even see the conversation going on in the class! I am very excited about this! If there are any questions about this program please email me at
amy.havelka@emeradok8.com

In library the students will be receiving a contract to check out books. The contract just ensures that the student will be help responsible for the books they check out. All books or fees must be returned /paid by the end of the year or a Below the Line slip will be handed out. The Below the Line slip will be handed out due to lack of responsibility. If the child receives a Below the Line slip (for any reason regarding behavior, not just library fees! :) ) they will be unable to attend the end of the year Splashers swim trip and picnic party at the end of the school year. If there are any questions please let me know!! This policy is set in place so we do not loose books. Every year hundreds of dollars of books go missing. It is hard to keep a well stocked library when I need to constantly replace books on top of obtaining new ones! :)

I am SO EXCITED for this year!!! I really encourage communication via this blog, email, texting, or phone calls. I really appreciate everything you do for your child and how we can work together to give them the best year ever!!!!!
Thank you!!!

Mrs. Havelka

HELLO AND WELCOME!!!

Welcome to a NEW YEAR!!! I am so very excited for this new year.
Most already know me, but a quick synopsis....I have been at Emerado for 8 years. I have taught 2nd grade, 1st grade, and now this is my second year teaching 4th grade. I am also the schools librarian, PTO president, German teacher, and middle school art and health teacher (with the exception of 6th grade). I graduated from UND in 2005, and this December I will be graduating with my Masters in Education, emphasis in Elementary Education, from Valley City State University. I am married and have three kids who are ages 11, 9, and 5.

There will be several things different this year that I would like to point out to parents. The biggest thing is...well..you are already here!!!!!
I will be hosting a blog. This is where I post updates, any pertinent field trip information, and just general information about the classroom.
The art students do SUCH amazing things...I really wanted to share it with the world!

Few points to consider....I will be taking pictures....USUALLY I DO NOT take pictures of students. I have an app where I blur faces out, etc. Sometimes I like to get to action shots of students (from the side or back view). This is a public blog....which means that this is a great way for other friends and relatives to see what the students are creating in class! It also means that anyone who has the address can access the pictures.
If you do not want your child's name or even side pose of your child in ANY picture...PLEASE let me know immediately. Example.....if Johnny Bob makes a beautiful mask...I will take a picture of his mask and said "mask made by Johnny Bob". IF you DO NOT want that.....I will just state "mask made by 5th grade student". PLEASE talk with me of any concerns or questions.

My classroom will be a Flipped Classroom this year. This means that the students will be doing "homework" based on the content they will be taught THE NEXT DAY. How is this possible?
A lot of the content will be intro videos I make (especially my German homework) or something the students need to discuss. ALL of the 4th graders-8th graders will have their own Chrome Book for usage during the school day. This makes getting homework done during the day a lot easier! Students can also utilize Encore time for their homework. At home, the students are then able to complete their assignments on a program called Edmodo. Edmodo is like Facebook for school. The students will be assigned into groups and will access assignments, discussions, and anything else they need right on the website. This makes it easy for parents to access the site and see EXACTLY what is assigned (no more having to wonder if little Johnny really doesn't have homework, or if he is trying to pull a fast one)!

My blog has some previous posts about the various technological tools we will be utilizing throughout the school year. I am sure there will be lots of questions, so please feel free to comment directly here, or email me personally at
amy.havelka@emeradok8.com

I am VERY excited and I cannot wait to get this year kicked off with a bang!!!!!!! :)

Kahoot!

• Kahoot is a great tool for students to further their learning in any subject area, and with a fun competitive twist on it!
• Teachers can create an exact Kahoot that will help extend their lesson plan. A Kahoot can have several different layouts and ending goals. The teacher can write the Kahoot to have several same answers to provoke a conversation between the students. The Kahoot can also have open ended answers in which the students would have to verbally explain. The possibilities are endless and can really bring a unit to life. 
• There are not costs associated with Kahoot.
• Kahoot can be found at https://getkahoot.com
• I anticipate using Kahoot in my German classes this year! The students will use this as an end of lesson assessment. Here is an example of a short end of lesson assessment: https://play.kahoot.it/#/k/82ca46d8-abe8-4822-b3e8-6650237347d5

     

I could not figure out how to actually play a game without knowing other people that are "on" to play against, but I was able to search around the website for all of the various games available to the public and attempted to play several of them.  I really enjoyed the option of playing with teams or individually. 

• ISTE Standards used by students:
• 2a
• 2b
• 4d
• 5b
• ISTE Standards used by teachers:
• 1a
• 1b
• 2b
• 2d
• 3b
• References:

http://www.iste.org/standards/standards/standards-for-students

http://www.iste.org/standards/standards-lp/standards-for-teachers

https://getkahoot.com

QR Codes

• QR codes are a great and fun way for students to self check their work, answer questions on work, advertise for upcoming events throughout the school, scavenger hunts, or so many more options. The list is endless with the various ways teachers can use QR codes. 
• Most devices already have a QR codes reader or a barcode scanner right on them, so this makes the activity easy for students to access. If the device does not have an already installed reader, they are easily downloaded from 
• http://www.qrstuff.com/ is great and easy site for students and teachers to utilize to create QR codes for various activities. 
• I would love to implement QR Codes for my library. I have approximately 250 new library books that the school purchased and I would like to create a QR Code listing all of the new books that were purchased! This way the students can easily scan through the list to see if any of the new titles catch their interest. This code can be made available right at the entrance of the library. I would also like to create come QR codes detailing some of the books. I could even have my students involved in this endeavor. They could read a book, write a short summary/book report about it, create a QR code, and then attach it to the book for other students to scan and read! 
• Most of the QR programs do not have a cost associated with it.
• Standards used by students:
• 1b
• 2b
• 4b
• 5b
• ISTE used by teachers:
• 1c
• 2d
• 3a
• References

http://www.iste.org/standards/standards/standards-for-students

http://www.iste.org/standards/standards-lp/standards-for-teachers

 40 interesting ways to use QR Codes   

Virtual Field Trips

Virtual field trips work well for various aspects in the classroom. I anticipate virtual tours/field trips becoming a normal things in my classroom. Students often lack the basic knowledge and background information about certain topics. Money is very tight in a small school making it difficult, and sometimes travel is very near impossible (as in my Outer Space Example).

• This tool would be amazing to use in the classroom after a lecture or to assign the virtual tour alongside with a scavenger hunt to the students before the actual class discussion. 
• To access my sample lesson:

https://drive.google.com/open?id=0BxAQSocrxIHramVEdzVLcTlnUUE

• Teachers can create a Virtual Tours using various number of online tours! Various places have Virtual Tours available. Here are some of the ones I have personally toured: 
• www.discoveryeducation.com/Events/virtual-field-trips/.../index.cfm
• www.educationworld.com/a_tech/tech/tech071.shtml
• www.simplek12.com/virtual.../virtual-field-trips-every-teacher-ought-to- know-about/
• There are no costs associated with virtual field trips.
• ISTE Standards used by students:
• 1a
• 2b
• 3c
• 4a
• 4c
• 4d
• ISTE Standards used by teachers:
• 1b
• 1c
• 4b
• 3a
• References:

 http://nineplanets.org/tour/

www.discoveryeducation.com/Events/virtual-field-trips/.../index.cfm
www.educationworld.com/a_tech/tech/tech071.shtml
www.simplek12.com/virtual.../virtual-field-trips-every-teacher-ought-to- know-about/

http://www.iste.org/standards/standards/standards-for-students

http://www.iste.org/standards/standards-lp/standards-for-teachers

Educreations

Educreations is a great place where teachers can create online lessons in which students and parents can view at home. This type of resource is perfect for the Flipped Classroom Scenario or any other means of homework that the teacher would want to assign.

• I would like to use this tool for various lesson throughout my reading group as shown in this example:https://www.educreations.com/lesson/view/squaring-vocabulary-words/39637328/?ref=link
• This tool would be great for having really differentiate learning and having the students be in charge on their own education. They are able to watch videos by teachers before class, complete any assignment, and then be able to further understanding and participate in discussion in class the next day. 
• A teacher can also use Educreations for staff developments such as I have created:  https://www.educreations.com/lesson/view/what-is-a-flipped-classroom/39637473/?ref=link
• Educreations can be found at https://www.educreations.com

There are 3 cost levels to Educreations

 

• References 

http://www.iste.org/standards/standards/standards-for-students

http://www.iste.org/standards/standards-lp/standards-for-teachers

https://www.educreations.com

• iste Standards used by students:
• 2c
• 2d
• 3b
• 4b
• iste standards used by teachers:
• 1a
• 1c
• 1d
• 2b
• 2c
• 3a
• 5d