Singing for Retention

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This time of year is full of song and music.  This is a great time to change up those Christmas carols with crazy lyrics of multiplication facts and the periodic table.  Sound strange?  Well, the stranger the better to help with retention.

Believe me, your auditory learners will love you for it!  This is a great way to make learning fun.  Auditory learners will respond well to hearing the rhythm.  Linking information and facts to a catchy tune is very helpful for students who process information auditorily and struggle with retention.

A great geometry example is:

Oh Isoseles (Sung to the tune of :“O Christmas Tree”)

     Oh isosceles, oh isosceles
    Two angles have
    Equal degrees

    Oh isosceles, oh isosceles
    You look just like
    A Christmas tree

Or a science example:

Light Travels in Straight Lines (Sung to the tune of:  "God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen")

Light travels in straight lines, that is unless somehow it's turned.
It can reflect (or bounce right back), but that's quite eas'ly learned.
Refraction is the property with which we're now concerned:

Oh - Sin theta-one times index one is equal to
Sin theta-two times index two!

Refraction is the bending which is caused by changing speed.
When entering at an angle, light will bend, and then proceed--
to travel in a new straight line, wherever that may lead.

 Oh - Sin theta-one times index one is equal to
Sin theta-two times index two!

Now since the bending's caused by changing speed, we have a clue
To calculate light's speed in any medium, (it's true!)
n-one v-one is equal to n-two times v-two.

Oh - Sin theta-one times index one is equal to
Sin theta-two times index two!

When slowing down the light bends 'toward the normal' as they say.
When speeding-up it will bend from the normal away --
Until the angle critical is reached to our dismay!

Oh - Sin theta-one times index one is equal to
Sin theta-two times index two!

Source:  Ms. Palmer’s Neighborhood http://bit.ly/TgLXDD

Other great examples of putting information to song are as follows:

The classic Cheers episode in which Coach gave Sam a geography lesson by teaching him the “Albania” song http://bit.ly/YFoUGk . 

Or more recently, Dr. Sheldon Cooper’s song for remembering the elements http://bit.ly/VZ5rcZ or the stars in the solar system that are closest to him http://bit.ly/TlIC8A .

Changing the lyrics to familiar songs can help children (and adults for that matter) learn important information in a fun and easy way.  It will also facilitate long-term retention.  I am not ashamed to say that sometimes I recite the “abc song” while I am filing something!  “…t, u, v….w, x…y and z”.  You will find many songs that others have already created by a simple Internet search.  However, do not underestimate your ability to create your own.  Your kids will thank you for making learning fun once again!

Jux- Super Sleek Presentation Tool jux.com

Cool Online Stopwatches

I love it when I stumble upon (thanks to Michelle Ayala's pin)a super cool practical tool for my online classroom. These collection of stopwatches surely beat the timer that Blackboard Collaborate provides. These are so fun! I cannot wait to use them and HAD to share them! Check out my demonstration: I think that my favorite is still the rocket. Although the swimmers are a close second (Get it? Second...hee! hee!). Enjoy! Colleen

I Miss A Hot Classroom in July

I was driving with my husband today and we passed a small elementary school. There were three cars in the parking lot. Some of the classroom windows were open. As I drove past, I remembered what it was like to head into my brick and mortar classroom at this time of year. I had to be careful to make sure that the hallway leading to my classroom had already been waxed and polished otherwise, I could not go in that day. Once I was able to go in, I remember the smell of the room. The old wood,fresh wax, dusty paper and books. When I opened my cabinets, the paper smelled so good. Funny how that in any other environment, these smells would not bring back good memories! I would look around at the empty bulletin boards and boxes and boxes of books and materials to be put back away on shelves. I would imagine how this classroom would look different this year for this group of students. What could I provide that would inspire them to read something new?, ask more questions? or understand an unfamiliar concept? How would the furniture be arranged? What other furniture would be needed to create the atmosphere of learning that I wanted for this room. So much anticipation about the possibilities for this classroom would make me stay and work for most of the day and look forward to coming back another day. As a virtual educator, I am still lucky enough to have a classroom. Just like my previous classroom, I am not able to "get in" this one until necessary software upgrades are completed this weekend. Unfortunately, there are no comforting smells that accompany my online classroom. However, each year, I look forward to creating my welcome screens, birthday and student interest spreadsheets and scouring my training files for interactive whiteboard files of games or lessons that I have learned about. I also look forward to finding more web 2.0 tools that will allow me to emulate traditional classroom based activities (calendar time, centers, circle time, reward charts, etc.) in the online classroom. Oh, yes, and I get to do this from my air conditioned home office in Whitewater, WI. I will not lie, this has been nice the past few days (ugh!) I will look forward to passing along those online tools that I find to make a memorable start to the school year for virtual teachers as well! Stay tuned! Colleen

Quizlet.com - Virtual Flashcards!

I really love this site. First, the set up is easy for me (selfish, I know...). Hey, we all know that time is not something that we have to spare. I love the fact that I can simply upload words and definitions that I have in a spreadsheet and I do not need to retype in words and definitions! Also, for those visual and auditory learners out there, There is a speaker that students can click on that will read all text aloud to them (YEAH!). Finally, there is an opportunity to add pictures to your flashcards for a visual representation of the word or concept on the flashcard. Once the flashcards are made, I can simply send my students the link and they can flip through them in various forms (word and definition on one side, word on one side and flip the card over for the definition) In addition to flipping through the flashcards, there are games that can be played. My personal favorite is Scatter. It is a drag-n-drop matching game. The other game that is offered is space race. It is also fun. However, there is a bit more pressure put on the student. They are required to type in the word that matches the definition that is passing by. If a student has time anxiety or limited typing skills, this would not be recommended. Oh gosh, after watching this video, there is so much more to Quizlet than I have even checked out. Enjoy and I would love to hear how you are using it!

Swackett: An Electronic Weather Board!

Gather round students, lets talk about what the weather is going to be today, tomorrow and so on.  We are use to doing this with our poster-board sized calendar that is tacked to the bulletin board.  The squares have apples with numbers on them and we add a bright yellow sun or some gloomy looking clouds to signify the weather of the day.

   Remember this?

Well, all of us virtual teachers can't sit our students in front of the bulletin board calendar to talk about the weather.  This is for a few reasons...1)  Our students are located throughout the state..they join us in our online classroom.  I can certainly put up a whiteboard with a calendar and apples with numbers but it is mainly for reason number 2) that  this plan will not work.  I am certain to hear my student in Superior WI (WAY up north) disagree with me if I am describing the weather in Janesville, WI (southern border between WI and IL).  They are usually experiencing VERY different weather!

Discussing the weather and how we plan for it is a very valuable topic for our students and just because we are not physically in front of them, should they miss out on the activity.

Well...I have found a solution!  http://www.swackett.com/ (a combination of Sweater, Jacket or Coat).  The "App" comes in a web based version and it is free!  I demonstrate using it here:    



This is just one more example of a great learning activity for students within a brick and mortar school setting, can also be translated into the virtual environment!

Love it!

Colleen