Students in 1st Grade are definitely getting the hang of their new iPads.
Teacher Josie Smock’s students are using iPads for Math Time.
“They are telling time, playing Everyday Math Top It, and counting coins,” she said. “[They are also] using their iPads for word work, journaling, and listening to stories.”
Below are photos of these technology whizzes.
The Three Bees visited Pleasant View Elementary again!
On Wednesday, October 2, 2013, Be Safe, Be Respectful, and Be Responsible visited students again.
“This time they talked about safety on the playground, in the school, on the bus, and on the way home,” Pleasant View Elementary Secretary Meredith Mickelson said. “Two other visitors stopped by to help and talked about safety.”
These visitors were Officer Wardell and Firefighter Andy.
“All students learned a lot about ways to be safe,” Mickelson said.
According to Kindergarten teacher Deb Dunham, Ms Williams’ class was awarded Be Safe, Mrs. Nessa’s class was awarded Be Respectful, and Mr. Ross’ class was awarded Be Responsible.
Firefighter Andy went over fire safety, and Officer Wardell went over how to be safe at school, Dunham said.
Below are photos of students enjoying their five visitors.
Students at Sunset Heights Elementary recently got to bring a little of the outdoors inside.
Teacher Rachael Hansen’s 2nd grade class found a praying mantis outside at the end of September, and the students wanted to learn more about them.
“We talked about finding books during the Daily 5 that interest us to read and write about,” Hansen said. “I chose many bug books, and our class explored and shared what they learned.”
Below is a short video of students sharing what they learned about the mantis, as well as some photos.
Learning can be fun!
Teacher Josie Smock’s 1st Grade students learned this first-hand recently.
In an effort to expend their vocabulary, students got to use play-dough! Students were given a list of words that they then sculpted using their play-dough.
“Soooooo much fun,” Smock said.
Below are some photos of this exercise!
School was out, but learning was still happening.
On Monday, September 16, 2013, there was no school for Webster City Community School District students. Instead, teachers took part in a Teacher Professional Development day.
This district-wide technology-based development included instruction by national speakers as well as other speakers from the AEA, our school district and other school districts.
The main focus concerned how teachers can use iPads in the classroom, and how they can then apply these concepts into their lessons for this school year to help students develop understanding and apply knowledge.
This Professional Development was opened for our teachers as well as teachers from St. Edmond’s, Eagle Grove, Northeast Hamilton and Clarion-Goldfield. As many as 450 people attended.
Elizabeth Hubbell, a nationally-known speaker and principal consultant with McREL, was the keynote speaker. She currently conducts workshops and training for K-12 teachers on research-based instructional strategies and technology integration. She also provides consulting for technology initiatives.
Teachers attended Hubbell’s keynote speech, as well as six breakout sessions of their choice.
Below are some photos from Hubbell’s speech in Prem Sahai Auditorium, provided by Sunset Heights Elementary Principal Chuck Bonjour:
Wow! Week One is done! Below are some photos from the first week of school at Webster City Community School District!
Middle School teachers continue to learn technology tricks on their iPads in order to benefit students.
On Wednesday, August 21, 2012, these teachers attended a Professional Development session in the afternoon that included an iPad Basics PowerPoint Presentation.
According to instructor Gary Scholtens, teachers were asked questions concerning the technology, and if they knew the answer or could find out quickly, they received candy prizes.
“We felt that many staff members knew the simple basics of operation, so we wanted to show them more tips and tricks,” he said. “[We] discovered even the ‘veteran’ iPad users picked up a couple of tips and tricks.”
Overall, Scholtens said the learning session received “high marks” from staff, and he hopes they will continue using the information they learned.
“I came away with a couple new tips that I didn’t know,” he added. “[This] goes to show people [that] you need to be constantly learning. Love it!”
Below are some of the slides from the PowerPoint.
Students aren’t the only people taking summer courses these days.
This summer some teachers in Webster City are taking summer classes to help them prepare for various aspects of the upcoming school year.
Two of these classes concern the Kindergarten through Fourth Grade science curriculum, instructed by FOSS Consultant and Science Specialist Lynne Bleeker.
“Student understanding and enthusiasm of science and school will skyrocket,” Bleeker said. “Their depth of understanding for how the world works will increase dramatically as they get to actually do science and not just read about it.”
According to their Website, FOSS (Full Option Science System) is a research-based science curriculum for grades K-8 at the Lawrence Hall of Science at the University of California, Berkeley.
“FOSS is also an ongoing research project dedicated to improving the learning and teaching of science,” the website said. “The FOSS Program materials are designed to meet the challenge of providing meaningful science education for all students in diverse American classrooms and to prepare them for life in 21st century.”
The Program believes that science is a creative and analytic enterprise as well as a discovery activity.
“The best way for students to appreciate the scientific enterprise, learn important scientific and engineering concepts, and develop the ability to think well is to actively participate in scientific practices through their own investigations and analyses,” the website said. “The FOSS Program was created specifically to provide students and teachers with meaningful experiences through engaging with this active participation in scientific practices.”
Webster City Community School District Curriculum Director Linda Williams thinks very highly of this Program.
“It’s hands-on, experimental,” she said. “Students discover and hypothesize what will happen during labs, and come to school excited to know if they were right. They learn to enjoy science.”
You may remember our first post on this blog: Bugs, Bugs, Bugs. If you haven’t seen that one, please visit that link. That post contains more information about the FOSS Program and how some of our students responded during the pilot stage.
Before teachers roll-out the new curriculum, they had a chance this week to learn more about the Program by reading, watching, trying and doing some of the things that students will be doing this coming school year.
Below are some photos of teachers observing objects with their really fancy, hi-tech binoculars:
Teachers also checked out some crayfish:
Below are some photos of our teachers preparing for a bug race:
Of course, snails couldn’t be left out of this racing event:
Frogs might also be making an appearance in classrooms this coming year:
And various caterpillars as well (and students will be making little habitats for them):
Beetles will probably be pretty popular among students, particularly the Bess beetles whose large frame allows students to learn the anatomy easier.
These guys like to burrow into pieces of wood.
“Webster City is in for an amazing adventure this year–for both students and teachers,” FOSS Consultant Lynne Bleeker said.
Some current and former Sunset Heights Elementary students are getting their hands dirty this summer while sporting new green thumbs.
Teacher Dawn Scholtens, who instructs 2nd Grade students during the school year, is heading Garden Camp this summer. This program is paid for with a grant from the Webster City School Foundation.
Garden Camp has 29 children this summer and is comprised of students who just finished 2nd, 3rd, and 4th Grade.
So far this summer, these kids have been busy! They’ve worked in the 10 school garden beds, visited The Little Greenhouse, dissected seeds and flowers, made crafts, learned about heroes and villains in the garden, and read. They’ve even done some writing!
Garden Camp meets at Trinity Lutheran Church due to the remodeling at Sunset Heights. They will meet three more times this summer to weed and pick in the school gardens.
Below are some photos from Scholtens:
Certain students at Sunset Heights Elementary learned that it WAS all fun and games (and nobody got hurt)!
On Wednesday, May 15, 2013, 3rd and 4th Grade Project Explore students were busy playing board games. They learned valuable skills through the creation and eventual playing of these games.
During the past few weeks, the 4th Grade Project Explore classes worked on their creative thinking and the invention process for their newest project: the creation of math games. They also talked about what qualities make up a good game.
While developing their games, the students soon learned that it wasn’t as easy as they thought it would be. They learned that sometimes failure can be a good thing because one learns from it and can then make improvements.
After brainstorming their ideas, creating the game boards and accessories, and then testing them out with their fellow classmates, these students were ready to share them with the 3rd Grade Project Explore students.
The games varied and involved multiplication, money skills, strategy planning, addition and subtraction, and tangrams (mixed in with a little fun). The names of the games were D.I.V.A., Bucket Ball, Shopping is Life, Pet Shop Run, Trash Run, Zombopolis, Car Rush, and Tangram Multiplication.
Yesterday, the 3rd Grade Project Explore students got to test-drive these games!
“They all enjoyed playing the games and being able to work with the 4th Grade students also,” Project Explore instructor Julie Pagel said. “The interaction between the two groups was amazing!”
The 3rd Grade students will be writing an evaluation for each of the games they played that will later be shared with the game creators.
Below are some photos from yesterday:
Looks like they had fun!
Webster City Community Schools 