4th Grade - Christmas 12/2013 - Into the Atmosphere

Have you ever looked at the sky and just watched the clouds go by?

Have you watched the stars imagined the earth spinning?

Have you ever wanted to watch a sunset but dind't have the time?

Time lapse photography is a great way to see things in a way you haven't.

Your assignment...



Watch the time lapse video below and answer the questions underneath it.

What is time lapse you ask?

So, what exactly is Time Lapse?

According to Wikipedia, “Time-lapse photography is a cinematography technique whereby the frequency at which film frames are captured (the frame rate) is much lower than that which will be used to play the sequence back. When replayed at normal speed, time appears to be moving faster and thus lapsing.”

Generally, a video comprises of 24-30 frames of photos per second (called fps). At this rate, our eye is not able to identify the individual frames and we perceive them as a continuous stream of images. So when we watch a 3-minute video on YouTube, technically we have seen 24fps x 180 secs = 4320 frames or images. So, if you set the time-lapse recording for 4 seconds and record a 40-second video, the resulting time-lapse video will be of 10 seconds and thus time flies by, super fast.

In other words, why wait for 12 hours from sunrise to sunset, by using time-lapse, watch the sun set it in a matter of minutes.

(courtesy of http://www.globaldelight.com/blog/2011/07/what-is-a-time-lapse-video/)

Here is the video:

Into The Atmosphere from Michael Shainblum on Vimeo.

Here are your questions

• What did you think about the video?
• What did you see in the video? Describe some things that stood out to you?
• Does time lapse give you a different perspective about what you were watching?
• Any thoughts or comments about the idea of time lapse video/photography in general?

Please post your answers to all 4 questions as a comment below. Remember, use full & complete sentences and check your spelling and grammar.

Enjoy the video and have a great vacation!


Remember - Comment as "Name/URL" and use your first name and last initial (proper capitalization, no URL)- Comments with last names will not be published! Please respond in full and complete sentences - double check your work before posting your comment. 

"Why isn't my comment posted?"

That is a questions I get a lot.

Students will do the homework assignment, maybe even re-post a comment multiple times, and never see it published.

Before I get into why a comment isn't published let me remind students of the only appropriate way to sign a comment:

• In the "Choose an Identity" field select the "Name/URL" option
• Enter first name and last initial ONLY
• Leave the URL field empty
• An example of a properly signed comment is: JohnS or MikeT

It will look like this:

Once you "Publish Your Comment" if you have done it correctly you will see this at the top of the page:

Please allow 24 hours for me to see review the comment. There is no need to re-post a comment within those first 24 hours. 

Why isn't your comment published? Here are a few reasons...

• You used your full name, including first & last, in your post
• I will not publish any comments that include full first & last names
• You posted as "Anonymous"
• I can't publish a comment if I don't know who wrote it
• You were logged in as your parent or another Google Account
• I will not publish comments that have any name other than a student's first name & last initial
• You put something into the URL field, turning your name into a link
• I will not publish a comment with a linked name - leave the URL field empty

Remember, only use first name & last initial to get your comment published!

Please review the video tutorial here & feel free to post comments here with questions or send me an email.

Thanks!

5th Grade - Thanksgiving 11/2013 - Who's Coming to Dinner?

Imagine you are hosting Thanksgiving. You can invite one person to eat with. That one person can be anyone at all. It must be a living person, but other than that you can choose anyone in the world to share Thanksgiving dinner....

Who would you choose? Why them?

Your assignment:

• Name the person you'd choose to eat with
• Explain your rational for choosing this person. Why them?
• Describe what you would want to talk about with this person during dinner

Post your response, in full and complete sentences, as a comment to this blog post. Comment as "Name/URL" and use your first name and last initial (proper capitalization, no URL)- please respond in full and complete sentences - double check your work before posting your comment.

Your comment will not appear right away. I, Mr Casal, will receive an email when you post a comment and I will publish it as soon as I see it. 

Thank you, and have a good Thanksgiving...

Remember - Comment as "Name/URL" and use your first name and last initial (proper capitalization, no URL)- please respond in full and complete sentences - double check your work before posting your comment.

4th Grade - Thanksgiving 11/2013 - How to Cook a Turkey

You are in charge of cooking Thanksgiving dinner. You have to cook a turkey and 2 side dishes (a side dish is usually mashed potato, mac & cheese, stuffing, etc).

How are you going to cook the turkey? What side dishes are you going to make?

Imagine you have no help from your parents, what & how are you going to prepare for Thanksgiving dinner?

Your assignment:

• Describe your meal in one or two sentences
• List your ingredients for all aspects of your meal
• List the directions you will use for preparing your turkey and side dishes
• If you could have help cooking from one person, who would you choose to help you & why

Post your answers to these questions, in full and complete sentences, as a comment to this blog post. Comment as "Name/URL" and use your first name and last initial (proper capitalization, no URL)- please respond in full and complete sentences - double check your work before posting your comment.

Your comment will not appear right away. I, Mr Casal, will receive an email when you post a comment and I will publish it as soon as I see it. 

Thank you, and have a good Thanksgiving...

Remember - Comment as "Name/URL" and use your first name and last initial (proper capitalization, no URL)- please respond in full and complete sentences - double check your work before posting your comment.

3rd Grade - Thanksgiving 11/2013 - What is Thanksgiving?

What is Thanksgiving? Do you know where the holiday came from? Do you know some of the myths of thanksgiving?

For me Thanksgiving is about remembering how we got to where we are. Remembering those who came before us to help us get where we are. It is a chance to get together with family and friends and think about our history as well as look to the future. And honestly, for me, it's also a little bit about football. Eating and watching football has always been a big part of Thanksgiving in my family. We have a football tradition, every year we play the "Turkey Bowl". The Turkey Bowl is a 1 hour touch-football game where we split the family into 2 teams and play before we eat. It's all in fun, and it works up an appetite.

Your assignment:

• What does Thanksgiving mean to you? 
• Why do you think we celebrate it? 
• How do you celebrate it? 
• What are your family's traditions?

Post your answers to these questions, in full and complete sentences, as a comment to this blog post. Comment as "Name/URL" and use your first name and last initial (proper capitalization, no URL)- please respond in full and complete sentences - double check your work before posting your comment.

Your comment will not appear right away. I, Mr Casal, will receive an email when you post a comment and I will publish it as soon as I see it. 

Thank you, and have a good Thanksgiving...

Remember - Comment as "Name/URL" and use your first name and last initial (proper capitalization, no URL)- please respond in full and complete sentences - double check your work before posting your comment.

Blog homework - "how to comment" tutorial video

There are often assignments for students that require them to comment on a blog post.

We do a number of these assignments in class, but there are also homework posts.

The regular homework assignments are:

• Thanksgiving Break
• Christmas Break
• February Break
• Spring Break

Students have from the last day of school until the next time they see me for class to complete the assignment. Each assignment will be different by grade, with each grade having their own independent blog post with which to comment in. The actual post titles will be sent home on a half-sheet of paper by the last day of school before each break.

This blog, and the comment form, can be accessed from any internet-enabled device; smartphone, tablet, laptop, desktop, Android, iOS, Mac, PC, etc. With the assignments being given over extended periods of time, and with the blog being open & accessible (no need to log in) I have made every effort to ensure all students have plenty of time & opportunity to complete the assignments.

Posting comments require a few steps and are moderated to help ensure only appropriate content is published. Here is a short video tutorial on how to post a comment:

I will review each comment and publish them within 24 hours of submission, so feel free to check back the day after a student submits a comment to make sure it went through.

As always feel free to reach out and contact me with any questions, comments, or concerns.

Thank you