Thursday, August 23, 2012

Morning Assembly Mini Lessons


This morning during our school morning assembly, Studio 214 presented a mini lesson with two presenters on how to use a couple Web 2.0 tools.  (Our spelling menu is what we do in place of a spelling packet each week.  It has ten-twelve options for students to complete and they choose one.  There are several options of technology applications for students to choose from.)  Briley presented his Voki (www.voki.com) and Cyrus presented his Blabberize (www.blabberize.com).  It cuts off at the end of Briley's presentation for some reason- I'm not sure what happened... :(  They did a great job speaking in front of so many people and I was so proud of them!


Paris led our class in a song that we use for a "brain break".  Research shows that if students focus for a few minutes and then take a break with movement, they will learn more and think more clearly.  Research also shows that when you move and cross your limbs across the center of your body to the opposite side, it activates different hemispheres of the brain and you think better also. (I LOVE brain research- I can't help it!)  This song is called "What-a-lee-acha" and it is silly, but it is funny and covers all the bases for taking a quick break and activating those hemispheres!