Five on Friday

1.  No that we have chromebooks, have you ever considered playing a QR code game?  The first thing  you need to do is head over the the Chrome Web Store and choose a QR Code Generator.  There are plenty to choose from!  Send an email to Joe Goldman with the name of the extension and ask that he add it to the grade level's Chromebooks.  The browse through the QR Code tasks on Teachers Pay Teachers.  If you find something that you like, you are welcome to purchase it but what I like to do is look through what others have and then create my own task cards.  This way you can be assured that it aligns with our SOLs.  Once you have your task or activity, you can use the QR Code extension and the Chromebook's built in camera to run the activity.

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2.  I found this wonderful graphic organizer research project online.  I altered it to fit in with the first of the year's region unit.  Fourth grade teachers can use it to research VA's regions while Fifth grade can research US regions.  Click on the image and then Make A Copy to get your own copy. 

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3.  Here are five quick tips for Google:

• CRTL + Shift +T will bring back a recently closed tab.  If you close something out that you really want opened, try this!  You have to keep repeating it if you closed multiple tabs.  
• Shift + z will put the same file into multiple folders
• CRTL + F will open a white box at the top of your web page and allow you to look for a certain word.
• CRTL  + C will copy something you have highlighted.
• CRTL + V will paste what you have copied.  

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4.  I recently had a conversation with a teacher who asked me what STEAM stood for.  STEAM is an acronym for science, technology, engineering, arts, and math.  It consists of a challenge that integrates one or more of the components and can be used in any curriculum.  Here is a really cool STEAM project that can be used as a spelling center.  Provide the students with a lego mat and two colors of lego bricks.  Also make sure that there is a copy of the binary alphabet close by. With the binary code letters are made using only the digits 1 & 0.   Encourage the students to "build their words" using the binary code.  When you are looking at letters for as long as it will take to find the correct bricks, you are bound to remember the words!  This idea came from a book called Code with Lego; however, I think you could do the same thing if you had two different colors of unifix cubes or two colors of unit blocks.  

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5.  Friday at the Movies - Eddie B, what can I say?  He says things I WISH I could say.  LOL!!