Introducing DEN

I recently found out about the Discovery Education Network (DEN), a teaching resource that has been provided to us in the Surrey School District. It is a website that has a ton of useful content and activities to enhance the curriculum and engage students in their learning (as well as online utilities to help teachers manage their classes use of the tools). Plus, it has the BC learning outcomes built in, allowing you to search for content by PLO - an added bonus!

I've been able to find a lot of videos for my science learning outcomes (specifically human body for the grade 5's). Sometimes my problem is that there is too much content to sort through. Usually I try and stick to videos that have lesson plans and worksheets attached to help me with my planning.

Setting up my class was also really easy, as our Surrey Tech Guys have put in all the students in Surrey into their login database.  The students use their Surrey-issued email address as their account, and when I search to add students to my class, my view is already filtered so I can only see students at my school.  I can create separate classes for my 5's and 6's, and assign different content to each of them.

I've recently become a DEN Star, which means that I've shared my DEN experiences with staff and now have access to more features.  Expect more updates as I find new things to share!

Freshgrade beta

I would love a grade book app that supports rubrics, and I haven't found one yet.  The new beta from Freshgrade looks like it has potential to change that.

One feature that I've found to be interesting is the ability to tag multiple learning outcomes for each assessment.  I like the idea of assessing assignments with a cross-curricular focus.

They also have multiple assessment scales, including the 1-4 scale that is the basis of report cards in Surrey.  If they can expand this into into rubrics, they will have something that I will definitely use.

Another feature I like is the iPhone app for anecdotal text and picture assessment.  It doesn't currently have any tagging for learning outcomes, so any notes you make go into the student's assessment stream.  Not too useful for assessing yet, but there is still time for that to change.

The support for split classes is also appreciated - activities and learning outcomes can be assigned to subgroups of students, with the default choices being by grade.  Very thoughtful!

This website is currently 70% of the way to the system that I would have created.  I'm looking forward to participating in the beta and hopefully they continue improving what is a promising product.

Hunger Games Dodgeball

The best games are those where you take a theme that the kids enjoy, and combine it with a game that they already like.  Exactly like peanut butter and chocolate.  Our class collaborated and came up with rules for a (safer) version of the Hunger Games.

Before
1. Create districts.  I divided the students up into districts of 2 people each.  The gym we have is just too small to all play at the same time, so we used the districts to take turns - one person from each district got to play at a time.  With bigger areas, this might not be necessary.

The Setup:
1. Create a circle of cones - one cone for each person playing.  These are the starting positions for the players.  They need to stand with both feet on the cones, and must stay on the cones until the countdown has finished.  Some players will "jump the gun" - these players are out (much like leaving the starting spots early in the hunger games - but again - safer).

2. Create a pile of soft projectiles in the centre - these are whatever you use for dodgeball.  Placing them in the centre creates a dilemma for the students: go for the "weapons" and risk getting out quickly, or leave and risk being defenceless.

3. Scatter larger objects around the edges - I use giant rubber balls.  These are not allowed to be thrown, but can be used to block without getting out.  I also might put some strange objects, like foam frisbies, at various places.

4. Setup obstacles - stand up crash mats, if you have them, in various places to create places to hide.

The Rules:
1. If you are hit, you are out.  Go to the side and become a "sponsor".

2. If you tip over a cone, when starting or later on when running, you are out.  You may move a cone as long as you don't let the sides touch the ground.

3. People that are waiting on the edges are sponsors.  If any useful objects roll near them, they may grab them and attempt to pass them to a person of their choosing (sponsor them).

4. If the game slows down (eg. people hiding in corners), the "Game Master" can announce events to keep the game moving.  For example, "A firestorm has started in this half of the gym!  You have 5 seconds to evacuate or you are out!"

The Results:
Students had to keep moving at all times.  The most successful ones were those that stayed moving.

Being successful in one round makes you a target in future rounds, which spreads around the success.  I had 8 different winners in 10 rounds.

Students who are "out" still have a chance to stay engaged, plus they are usually only a couple minutes away from being back in the game.

Everybody has a chance to get someone out, as it is not possible to keep track of all players at once.  I joined in the later rounds, and was usually blind-sided by someone I didn't see coming.

Extensions:
Our class thought it might be fun to have a "training" session where people got to try different events (dodgeball targets, agility ladders, climbing, etc.) to try and earn sponsors.  This could be a gym period where people have stations and keep track of their scores.  This would be a fun way to get ready for the "Hunger Games".