Many people celebrate Christmas. Many people celebrate other holidays this time of year such as Hanukah and Kwanzaa. Many people create their own celebrations.
A tradition is something done on a regular basis. Putting up a Christmas tree is a tradition. Lighting a Menorah is a tradition. Always going skiing on New Years Eve is a tradition. I always do my Christmas present shopping on Christmas Eve, that is my personal tradition.
Over this vacation, what are your traditions? Do you always go to the same relative's house for dinner? Do you always eat the same thing? Do you always take the same trips?
What are the things you and your family do every year at this time? What are your traditions during the Christmas Vacation?
Post your traditions in full and complete sentences.
Merry Christmas, Happy New Year, and of course Happy Vacation Week off!
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.
Thursday, December 23, 2010
Wednesday, December 22, 2010
5th Grade - Christmas Break - A birds eye view...
Welcome to the 5th Grade Christmas Break 2010 assignment...
The video below was captured using a model airplane and a camcorder.
Watch the video. What do you think about the view? Have you ever seen parts of New York from that perspective? Seeing some of the sites up close, does it change your thoughts or impressions of those landmarks (Statue of Liberty, Brooklyn Bridge, etc)?
Does anyone recognize the location of the start, and finish, of the flight? I know where it is, do you? Many of you might have even been there...
Posts your thoughts and reaction to the video, as well as the answers to my questions, as comments.
Have a great vacation!
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.
The video below was captured using a model airplane and a camcorder.
New York City from trappy : TeamBlackSheep on Vimeo.
Watch the video. What do you think about the view? Have you ever seen parts of New York from that perspective? Seeing some of the sites up close, does it change your thoughts or impressions of those landmarks (Statue of Liberty, Brooklyn Bridge, etc)?
Does anyone recognize the location of the start, and finish, of the flight? I know where it is, do you? Many of you might have even been there...
Posts your thoughts and reaction to the video, as well as the answers to my questions, as comments.
Have a great vacation!
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 - Christmas Break - New York to Nebraska...
4th graders of Brooklyn, meet 4th graders of Nebraska....
Mr. Casal has been in touch with Mr. Horst of Chadron Elementary school, in Nebraska, and we thought it would be interesting to have our 4th graders communicate and collaborate.
For the Brooklyn 4th graders here is a little information about Nebraska:
Students of Chadron, here is some information about Brooklyn:
Now, for the assignment....
1) Introduced yourself (first names and last initial only, no full names)
2) Give 1 fact about the city you are from.
3) Ask 1 question about the other city.
(If you are from Brooklyn, talk about Brooklyn/New York City and ask about Chadron/Nebraska. If you are from Chadron, talk about Chadron/Nebraska and ask about Brooklyn/New York)
Check the comments throughout the vacation to see the different questions and answers.
This will give each group a chance to learn about where the other is from (use the links throughout the post to learn about Brooklyn and Chadron.
Have a great vacation!
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.
Mr. Casal has been in touch with Mr. Horst of Chadron Elementary school, in Nebraska, and we thought it would be interesting to have our 4th graders communicate and collaborate.
For the Brooklyn 4th graders here is a little information about Nebraska:
Chadron Public Schools is located in Chadron, Nebraska. Zip:69337
Our school website is www.chadronschools.org
We have approximately 340 elementary students K-4 in two buildings across town from each other. We also have a middle school (5-8), high school (9-12), and 4 rural attendance centers that serve k-8 in two or three classrooms.
Chadron is a small college town with around 6,000 residents and a college that has between 2500 and 3000 students.
Students of Chadron, here is some information about Brooklyn:
Our school is located in Brooklyn, NY Zip: 11215
Our school website is ps10.org (Mr. Casal also has a website, as do other PS 10 teachers too)
The New York CIty school system is quite large, over 1,000,000 million students in over 1,700 different buildings. Our school alone is over 700 in grades Pre-K thru 5th (New York City has over 8,000,000 residents, over 2,000,000 in Brooklyn alone)
Here is some more information about Brooklyn, and New York City...
Now, for the assignment....
1) Introduced yourself (first names and last initial only, no full names)
2) Give 1 fact about the city you are from.
3) Ask 1 question about the other city.
(If you are from Brooklyn, talk about Brooklyn/New York City and ask about Chadron/Nebraska. If you are from Chadron, talk about Chadron/Nebraska and ask about Brooklyn/New York)
Check the comments throughout the vacation to see the different questions and answers.
This will give each group a chance to learn about where the other is from (use the links throughout the post to learn about Brooklyn and Chadron.
Have a great vacation!
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.
Monday, November 22, 2010
Thanksgiving Break 5th Grade - 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.
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.
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.
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.
Thanksgiving Break 3rd & 4th Grade - What is a blog?
As 3rd and 4th graders you are making your first trip to my blog, Mr. Casal's Computer Lab.
What is a blog? Here are 2 links to help define them for you
Link 1
Link 2
Your assignment:
Click on the 2 links above and read the definitions. Then answer these 2 questions:
1) In your own words describe the word "blog"
2) If you were to start a blog what would it be about?
Post your answers here, as comments. Comment as "Name/URL" and use your first name and last initial, no full name (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.
What is a blog? Here are 2 links to help define them for you
Link 1
Link 2
Your assignment:
Click on the 2 links above and read the definitions. Then answer these 2 questions:
1) In your own words describe the word "blog"
2) If you were to start a blog what would it be about?
Post your answers here, as comments. Comment as "Name/URL" and use your first name and last initial, no full name (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.
Monday, October 4, 2010
My after school club...
Right now there are 10 students in my after school club.
What do you, my students, want to accomplish?
What is something you would like to learn how to do?
Is there something specific you already know about but would like to learn more about, or have some help with?
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.
What do you, my students, want to accomplish?
What is something you would like to learn how to do?
Is there something specific you already know about but would like to learn more about, or have some help with?
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.
Sunday, October 3, 2010
Homemade spacecraft
This is a video a local father and son made. They wanted to see what space looked like so they create their own spacecraft and set off for the stars.
No, the father and son were not on their homemade spacecraft, they put a video camer on it to record the journey and an iPhone so they could use the cell-GPS to locate the camera when it returned to earth.
If it a great example of the fun, homemade science projects you can create. A little imagination and some help from parents can get you your own images of space. And the trip up and back.
Enjoy the video. For my 3rd-5th graders, does it inspire you in any way for your own Science Fair project?
No, the father and son were not on their homemade spacecraft, they put a video camer on it to record the journey and an iPhone so they could use the cell-GPS to locate the camera when it returned to earth.
If it a great example of the fun, homemade science projects you can create. A little imagination and some help from parents can get you your own images of space. And the trip up and back.
Enjoy the video. For my 3rd-5th graders, does it inspire you in any way for your own Science Fair project?
Homemade Spacecraft from Luke Geissbuhler on Vimeo.
Tuesday, September 14, 2010
10 things you need to know about Google Basic Search
This article, The Google Basic Top 10, is a great, simple, breakdown of ways to make searching with Google easier and more effective.
A few highlights include:
- the word "and" is assumed. You do not need to type it in, Google knows it's supposed to be there.
- use quotes around a search to find only results for that phrase, not each individual word - "Brooklyn Bridge" will get you only results related to the Brooklyn Bridge, not Brooklyn results and bridge results too
All 10 things can be found here:
Ten Items All Should Know When Using Google Basic Search…. Far From Basic! by Michael Gorman TL Advisor Blog - TechLearning.com
Monday, September 13, 2010
Vote for these PS 10 teachers!
Sonic and Donors Choose have partnered fund teacher created projects via a website called Limeades for Learning:
SONIC® and DonorsChoose.org are working together again to support public school classrooms. Last year, SONIC donated more than $600,000. By October, SONIC customers, friends and fans will have directed more than $1 million dollars to support teachers in local communities across the country.
There are 2 projects by PS 10 teachers eligible for voting. Go to http://www.limeadesforlearning.com/ to find the projects. When doing a search you'll find both projects under the following search criteria:
Vote for these projects and help get PS 10 classrooms these additional supplies!
(you can also find direct links to these projects on the Mr. Casal Twitter page)
Vote for these projects and help get PS 10 classrooms these additional supplies!
(you can also find direct links to these projects on the Mr. Casal Twitter page)
Monday, September 6, 2010
The big picture...
As we start a new school year I thought it would be nice to step back and look at the big picture, take in the full view so to speak...
NASA Astronaut Douglas H. Wheelock has been photographing the Earth from space and posting the pictures online.
This is a picture of New York City, at night. It might be a bit confusing at first because it is backwards. From Astronaut Wheelock's position in space Long Island appears on the left side of the picture. The very bright center of the picture if Brooklyn, Queens, Manhattan, and parts of New Jersey. If you look very close you can see the tiny sliver of light, surrounded by darkness, that is the island of Manhattan.
Click here http://twitpic.com/2izl9u/full and the picture will be big enough for you to see the dark area that is Central Park as well as the 2 dark areas in Brooklyn, Prospect Park and Greenwood Cemetery.
Follow all of Astronaut Wheelock's pictures from space here:
http://twitter.com/Astro_Wheels
Enjoy the pictures and think about just how much is out there beyond our school, neighborhood, and city.
Welcome back to school...
 |
| New York City from space |
This is a picture of New York City, at night. It might be a bit confusing at first because it is backwards. From Astronaut Wheelock's position in space Long Island appears on the left side of the picture. The very bright center of the picture if Brooklyn, Queens, Manhattan, and parts of New Jersey. If you look very close you can see the tiny sliver of light, surrounded by darkness, that is the island of Manhattan.
Click here http://twitpic.com/2izl9u/full and the picture will be big enough for you to see the dark area that is Central Park as well as the 2 dark areas in Brooklyn, Prospect Park and Greenwood Cemetery.
Follow all of Astronaut Wheelock's pictures from space here:
http://twitter.com/Astro_Wheels
Enjoy the pictures and think about just how much is out there beyond our school, neighborhood, and city.
Welcome back to school...
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)