Henrico Staff Development

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Students in Ms. Dyson’s Earth Science classroom researched information about earthquakes, volcanos, and tsunamis. In part one of the project,  students were taught internet safety and copyright law while gathering information from traditional and digital sources. In part two of the project, students were asked to create informational movies or news broadcasts like those seen on the evening news or on learning channels such as Discovery. As part of the process, students created a storyboard to organize their work, wrote and recorded their scripts, and organized their pictures in a video presentation. To accomplish the creative portion of this project students used Garage Band.

Mr. Rankin’s 7th grade French I.B students  put their oral language skills to the test when they gave tours of a house to demonstrate their understanding of the French language.  (SOL FI.5)  This assignment was done individually and could be done live in front of the class, or pre-recorded.

This example is an enhanced podcast that was completed using GarageBand.  The student matched pictures to her voice recording to create an amazing tour of a beautiful home. (creativity & innovation)

[flv]http://teachers.henrico.k12.va.us/moody/jessup_k/frenchvirtualtour.flv[/flv]

Students in Mrs. Clements’ 6th grade Gifted and Talented class worked together to create ad campaigns centered around a product of their choice.  Students were organized into groups (“agencies”) that were responsible for creating an ad designed to sell their product. Students had to work together and effectively communicate key components of their product with a larger audience. In their groups, students created TV commercials, radio commercials, and billboards that highlighted their product. Once the products were created they had to share them in a professional and informative presentation.

This lesson allowed a wonderful opportunity for students to engage in a lesson that they could easily transfer into a “real world” context. Before creating their own campaigns, students used the internet to research PR firms, listen to adds, and generate ideas based on their findings. Technology enabled students to create multimedia products that were very professional. Students were engaged and excited about the unit.

Because students starred in their television commercials we will not be able to post them here, but can share some of their radio ad’s. We hope you enjoy!

“The Ultima Show” (Radio Ad)
[audio:http://teachers.henrico.k12.va.us/byrd/bostain_k/ultima.mp3]

“Groovy Gum” Bubblegum (Radio Ad)
[audio:http://teachers.henrico.k12.va.us/byrd/bostain_k/groovygum.mp3]

Students in Mrs. Tierney’s 7th grade Social Studies class researched and studied FDR’s New Deal programs ([tippy title="SOL USII.5d"] The student will demonstrate knowledge of the social, economic, and technological changes of the early twentieth century by identifying causes of the Great Depression, its impact on Americans, and the major features of Franklin D. Roosevelt’s New Deal.[/tippy])). To teach this unit Mrs. Tierney had students research FDR’s programs using a variety of resources and tools ([tippy title="research & information fluency"] In the 21st Century classroom, students find, navigate through, and evaluate large amounts of information. Teachers provide guided and independent research opportunities for students to make informed decisions and create products. More information @ http://www.21stcenturyskills.org/ [/tippy]), write their own “fireside chat” ([tippy title="creativity & communication"] In the 21st Century classroom, students communicate and collaborate effectively to reach a common goal or to create a product. Students also develop original ideas and create products by applying critical thinking, research methods, communication tools, and collaborative processes. Teachers provide experiences that allow students to create unique ideas and products. More information @ http://www.21stcenturyskills.org [/tippy]), and record their scripts in [tippy title="Garage Band."]GarageBand is a software application that allows users to create music or podcasts. (wikipedia)[/tippy]

In this lesson students not only learned about key features of the New Deal, but also how to use research and communication tools to clearly articulate information. Each vodcast (podcast with pictures) was unique and supported students’ understanding of the New Deal programs.

A pre/post test on this SOL demonstrated major gains in student mastery with 98% pass rate on the unit assessment for this specific SOL.

For more information about this lesson please contact Mrs. Tierney

[flv]http://teachers.henrico.k12.va.us/byrd/bostain_k/FDR_1.flv[/flv]

Through our Library Information Center, students in grades 6-8 create book reviews to share with their peers. The format of the website not only allows students to post their review, but rate other books listed on the site.

More to come

http://byrdmiddle.org/books/

In conjunction with their unit on The Diary of Anne Frank, Mrs. Hunnicutt’s advanced 8th grade English students researched and studied The Holocaust and other instances of genocide as a way to bring to life the idea of promoting dignity and respect among all people. For this unit, students completed a learning contract that offered a wide variety of topics of study topics and a wide variety of ways to demonstrate learning. Students were asked to utilize critical thinking and reading skills as well as a myriad of tools to create traditional as well as multimedia artifacts that demonstrated their knowledge and creativity.

Mrs. Hunicutt was consistently amazed and impressed by the depth of knowledge and feeling that students  demonstrated in their projects from vodcasts about The Trail of Tears to original songs composed and recorded on Garageband, to scripted chapters of Elie Wiesel’s Night, to interviews with Holocaust survivors, to community service projects, to paintings and collages that profoundly communicate the pain and suffering caused by intolerance.

The SOLs covered by this project are as follows: 8.1, 8.2, 8.4, 8.6, 8.5 8.7

My Own Memory – Original Music Score

[audio:http://teachers.henrico.k12.va.us/byrd/bostain_k/myownmemory.mp3]

Why? – Original Music Score

[audio:http://teachers.henrico.k12.va.us/byrd/bostain_k/why.mp3]

In Ms. Brouillier’s 6th grade English Classes, students had the assignment to write a script for a public service announcement about a selected disease.  Topics ranged from pneumonia and allergies to poison ivy and warts. Students spent time in the library and the henrico county database researching the chosen topic and learning how to correctly site the sources.  Students then used Garageband and the library of sound effects to create an enhanced podcast about the disease.  Students then were able to write comments to one another on the class blog page.  Additionally students ranked how well they liked each other’s enhanced podcasts after listening to the PSA’s.  Click here to view the webpage of all projects from this class. Be sure to read the comments and how well students collaborated and communicated with each other on this project. 

Students in Mrs. Deyo’s 6th grade English classes spent some time writing poetry based on paintings currently featured at the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts.  Their poems were based on the point of view of a “character” in the painting or on the point of view of the artist. After writing their poem, students recorded it into GarageBand and added music that matched the tone of their poem and painting.  Here is an example based on the painting by Eastman Johnson called “A Ride to Liberty- The Fugitive Slaves, March 2, 1862″

[flv]http://teachers.henrico.k12.va.us/staffdev/maddux_j/6_PaintingsPodcastKOC.flv[/flv]

Mrs. Thompson’s 6th grade class used Garageband to create podcasts to share their writing assignments on their favorite holiday.  Students worked on expression, enunciation, speed of reading, and volume while reading their work. When students discovered their work would be shared with a broader audience, they were self motivated to make further revisions to improve the quality of their work. To listen to Mrs. Thompson’s students work visit The Spoken Word.